Sunday, September 17, 2000 ~ North Shore News - 45

Teams tackle sea2summit adventure race

Deana Lancaster

News Reporter dlancaster@usnews.com

THE mist that drizzled lightly in Deep Cove early Saturday morning gave little hint of what the iay would hold for the 500 racers taking part in last weekend's sea2summit adventure race.

At7 a.m. the sky was light- ening to a dull grev and stream of SUVs and trail towing cars was slow depositing fleece- and iv clad racers, along with their kayaks, backpacks, t mets and other assorted at Panorama Park. Coffces steamed, music played, spirits were high.

“Pm pretty nervous,” laughed Catharine Warning. “What have [got myself into?” She proudly showed off her lumpy chest, jacket pock- ets stuffed full of Clif Bars, Power Gels and stamina tablets. She and her Team Peak Nutrition teammates Mike Adams (also Warning’s boyfriend), Tim Deslauriers and Paul Hawman relayed tales about rushed preparation the day before — registering in. Richmond, dropping their bikes off downtown, and get- ting the store’s booth ready

- for the finish linc. Breakfast was “oatmeal and. caffeine,” she added.

The team’s excitement was understandable — the week-

~ end was the culmination of

seven months of training. After a few more jokes,

some crazy dance moves on

NEWS photos Deana Lancaster

AS: Catharine Warning completes the first 55- kilometre mountain bike. -stage,..teammate and boyfriend Nike Adams rides back to encourage = her (above). Then emo- tion takes over... Adams ” cleans the mud and tears : from . Warning’s . face ~ (right) as they get ready - to change for the final stage of the day:.a 14-

kilometre orienteering -

trek.

Sie NEWS photo Paul McGrath

THE theme song to St. Eimo’s Fire played as 500 racers paddled out of Deep Cove early last Saturday morii- ing in the start of the two-day, 160-kilometre, sea2summit adventure race.

the part of Deslauriers and Hawman, a safety briefing race organizers and the | and Canadian anthems, it w time. The team moved the kayaks to the water's cdge, and clambered in: Warning and Adams in one boat, and Deslauriers and Hawman in the other. With the other 496 racers they jockeved for a good. starting spot in the water.

Support crews gathered at

the water's edge and a camera crew from the Outdoor Lite Network shot the spectacle from a helicopter hovering overhead.

At 8 am., with speakers blasting “Man in Motion”: *7 can climb the highest mauu- tain, cross the wildest sea/T can

1 St. Elma’s Fire burnin? in me...” they were off, paddles windmilling through air and water.

The excitement lasted the full 19-kilometre paddle up Indian Arm — all four team members felt strong.

It_was. during. the bike

stage that problems began to arise.

Warning’s. bike: a Brodie Fury, was stolen from the back of her shop. three weeks

before. The staff ac On Top’

bikes along with the local rep

for Brodie managed to get her,

another bike, a. Rocket XT, just in time for race day. But she didn’t realize it would need to be ridden, and then tuned, before being race- ready.

- “Basically, alt the cables loosened and the chain kept coming off and getting caught berveen the chain ning and the bike.” And each time it did, the bike jarred to a stop, and Warning fell. As she made the grueling climb — the rac- ers had to get over the Coast Mountain Range to reach Squamish — she — started counting how many times she fell. On the 20th time she heard a pop, and it wasn’: on her bike, but in her knee.

At... the | summit = — Checkpoint three (CP3) -— temperatures were near freez- ing, and by then, the mist had turned to a dnving rain. Teams waiting for slower members so they could check in were hud- dled around a fire. It was at CP 3 that several racers dropped out, some of them suffering from hypothermia.

From there, it was a steep downhill, and then a muddy technical -section through Crumpet Woods. .

“Normally that stuff makes me a little nervous, but J just

wanted to get it done.”

The team’s support crew: Warning’s sister and two friends — were waiting an iously for them at the trans’ tion at the Dryden Creek Campground in Squamish. The racer in first place, Dav Norona, had made the transi- tion for his tek early in the afternoon, and in the hours since, most of the individuals and teams had. come in. The cut-off time for the mountain biking stage was 5 p.m and it was fast approaching. There

Was even-some-talk that. they.

could be one of the teams dri- ven out from CP 3.

The minutes ticked by and those waiting grew wetter and colder.

Finally at, 4:50, Adams, Deslauriers and Hawman ped- aled in to the checkpoint, cov- ered in’ mud. There was no sign of Warning.

“She's tired,” said Adams. “It was pretty tough. We knew the cut-off was five, so we thought if we-could get the rest of the team here maybe we could push it a bit.”

There was no need to try.

With only a minute to spare ~

Warning rounded the bend

towards the transition. Adams -

pedaled down to meet her and talk her in. They were the last team to make it to the tran tion without being disquali- fied.

She got off her bike with a shaky smile and then emotion took over.

“That was the thing I’ve ever done, through tears.

There was no time to dwell on it. The team munched on carrots and broccoli as they changed their bike shoes for runners, They still had a 14- kilometre trek to complete before their day would be done.

“The tying up my shoes I was trying to think of a ‘way of ‘telling them that I didn’t want to do it.” : :

But she did do it. In the rain’ and dark, and with Warning’s. knee throbbing, they “completed - the : naviga-

hardest ” she said

ole time: I: was:

tional component at a walk.

“It was hard. And when we vot to Alice Lake it was about 7 pam. and they told us we had to swim across the lake. We looked at each ether and then exch of us said ‘Penalty.

| take the penalty.” ”

Twelve hours and 23 min- utes after launching from Deep Cove, Team Peak Nutrition finished Day one of the sea2summit.

In the morning, Warning’s knee had swollen and she couldn't put weight on it. Though she wanted to finish the race, her teammates wouldn’t let her.

And they had other prob- lems as well.

Because they'd © arrived back so late the night before, there had been no time to clean and repair the bikes, and the gears were still clogged with mud.

Adams, Deslauriers and Hawman were making hasty preparations for the day, when they heard about another four-person team, one of the. leaders in the men’s category, who were going to have to drop out because one of their bikes had been stolen.

Without hesitation, Adams gave up his bike.

Team Peak Nutrition was down to two.

During the 55-kilometre ride through the Cheakamus Canyon to Whistler, Deslauriers and Hawman found they had a limited num- ber of gears, the rest didn’t work. They also had to stop when Deslauriers blew a tire and had to change i

The weather was much improved from Saturday, and,

_at that point they just wanted

to relax a little and take it easy. In second ‘to last place, they knew.a fast finishing time was no longer the goal.

“We just wanted to finish’ it, period,” said Deslauriers.

They made the transition at Brandywine Falls and: did their 10-point. orienteering course, then on to Whistler ™ Mountain. The final stage: A; run/walk/crawl from Creekside to the village - included a round of “frisbee golf.” °

As they made the finish line, with a combined time . over the two days of 23 hours and 28 minutes, MC Ted. Shredd announced: them «as the ‘last team. The. sparse: crowd | still. remaining: — including . Warning, Adams - and the support crew —— let... out a round of cheers. ‘The’ pair were enveloped in hugs and handshakes, and they: gratefully © sat down and accepted the cold beers hand- ed to them.

In the end, because two members. dropped out, the team was fisted as. Not -

Officially Ranked on the final . ‘standings,

but’ they didn’r come: away empty-handed. Adams won a tent for his : sportsmanlike conduct.in giv-: ing up his bike; and

Destauriers: was awarded - a Ps

watch for having the. worst: ster. Judges had to take his word for it, since it w private spat.” Would they do it again? “Yes,” said Deslauriers and - Hawman. “On Saturday, I thought ° ‘No way, Iv never do a

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