DART-nuun News
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Saturday May 10th, 2008 DART-nuun sent two teams to compete in the Desert Winds 24 hour adventure race in Lake Mead, AZ. Team DART-nuun Gregory was comprised of Ryan VanGorder, Glenn Rogers, Sean Clancy and Lina Augaitis while DART-nuun had Aaron Rinn, Aaron Matzke, Cyril Jay-Rayon and Mari Chandler. DART-nuun was using this as one of their many warm ups for Primal Quest 2008 which is right around the corner in June.

Saturday morning's pre-race meeting took place at 9 am where the teams received a bearing and mileage to CP1. Shortly there after the race began with a trek and then swim to an island where teams received the coordinates for the remaining checkpoints on the first of three legs. There were Four check points (CP's) after this Island and 2 of them would require some serious swimming. The two teams were equipped with different swim set ups, DART-nuun had fins and small flotation devices while DART-nuun Gregory had larger inflatable mattresses and webbed gloves. The later proved to be a bit better as DART-nuun Gregory was the first to clear the first four checkpoints and set off on leg two with a 30 minute lead on the field.

Leg two had a 15 mile kayak, depending on your strategy and route, and two lengthy off trail desert treks in between. The section had only two mandatory check points and 13 others that allowed teams that were not able to clean the course the ability to continue racing up front and see their competitors (rogaine style). Racing in this format definitely pushed both Dart-nuun teams as it seemed like there was another team around every corner. The highlight of the section was a slot canyon that lead to an Emerald cove with a checkpoint on an island in the middle of the cove.

As DART-nuun Gregory moved methodically throughout the course, DART-nuun ran into problems in the form of a big rock. As the team rounded a point near on the far side of the second leg, their second boat hit an underwater rock that ripped apart the hull. Luckily the team was close to shore (maybe too close causing the collision with the underwater rock) so they were able to lift the boat out of the water. The team regrouped and weighed their limited options. They decided to leave the wrecked boat on shore (to be recovered after the race) and head out on foot to attempt the rest of the leg which would involve a lot of unplanned coasteering. Before departing on this massive trek, the team managed to flag down a motor boat and asked them to tow the good boat and all their paddle gear to the TA so the team could use the boat on the last leg (and hoped they could find another boat to replace the wrecked one at the TA). Trekking the rest of the second leg added many miles on their feet but the team found a fast rhythm and renewed determination in the face of this new challenge.

Just before 2:30 AM DART-nuun ran into the TA in first place (they cleaned the entire second leg) and had successfully avoided a real disaster. 50 minutes later DART-nuun Gregory, who also cleaned the second leg, paddled in just before their team mates/competitors took off. 40 minutes later both teams were on the course and on the hunt with eight more CP's left on the last leg.

The first CP on this leg was located in a tight canyon that was camouflaged by darkness and many other canyons surrounding the area. It is also worth mentioning that the water level of Lake Mead fluctuates dramatically and the water line on the map was 40 meters higher than the actual water line, as the lake is at a low level. This also made navigation a bit difficult. DART-nuun Gregory arrived and wondered why their team mate's boats were not there. After getting CP 1 and the coordinates for CP 8(coordinates were handed out at CP 1) the team decided to paddle their boats and park it near CP7 so that after rounding up all the CP's in order, the team could paddle to CP 8 (which was on an Island) and then into the finish. On their way out of the canyon Dart-nuun Gregory crossed paths with Dart-nuun who had spent time in the wrong inlet. Both teams exchanged smiles and the competition was back on.

Dart-nuun followed suit with the same boat strategy and the teams battled it out on the trek. The lead continued to change hands a couple of times until CP 5 where the two teams had run out of tricks and decided to move together to the finish line. Both teams crossed the finish line 24 hours and 10 minutes after the start and were the only two teams to clean the entire course.

Thanks to our sponsors for getting us there and suited up in the best gear, nuun for keeping us hydrated in the desert, and also to Robert and Druce at Kayak Lake Mead for putting on a great race in a great place. We will be back in '09.

Labels: Press Release, Race Results