What do you get when you cross family picnic fun with a Hi-Tec Adventure Race? A sadistic four-legged run across sand, up stairs and along a bike path for over a quarter mile. Thus was the start of the Hi-Tec National Championships in Orchard Beach, New York.

Racers were given two 18-inch pieces of twine at the pre-race meeting and were told to keep it with them at all times. As usual, theories abounded concerning its use. Team Exide Batteries members, guessing correctly, lined their ankles with duct tape to ward off any possible rope burns, while Team Hi-Tec scoured local sporting goods stores for small carabiners and surgical tubing to augment its ropes. However, when the race gun went off it was Team Balance Bar who shot to the fore, running nearly effortlessly with a left-right cadence.

After the run, the first of two scorching seven-mile mountain bike legs awaited. Teams formed pacelines and speeds topped 30mph. Back from the first leg of the bike, teams were faced with a new special test, the No-Hands Bungee Cord. Racers were given a loop of bungee cord and were told to fit one teammate through the loop without using their hands. The cord was not allowed to touch the teammate passing through the loop.

What is unique about this race series is that each special test has multiple solutions to each problem. A solution is then only limited to each team's ingenuity. It was "envisioned" by organizers that teams would use their feet to stretch the cord and one teammate would wiggle through the loop. To the amusement of all present, most teams chose to use their teeth.

Running a national series and keeping each race fresh, race organizers did themselves proud as they inserted a new twist into the mix: Teams were given orienteering maps before heading out on the first of two three-mile trail runs. Racers were given 10 control points and were instructed to pick up seven of the 10 points before the end of the second run. Strategy, and a lesson in reading directions, played heavily as some teams ran for all their points at once, while others chose to pick up some on the first run and the rest during the second. Team Balance Bar continued to press its lead on this fast and furious course, emerging from the first run and entering the second, seven-mile mountain bike leg with a three-minute lead. The battle for the remaining top spots was on, with Team Red Bull in 2nd, followed closely by Team Exide Batteries and Team Hi-Tec.

Once back from the bike, racers were faced with yet another special test, the Human Ladder. Teams were given two four-by-fours and instructed to form a ladder to enable one teammate to cross up and over a piece of string strung six feet in the air. Passing this test and entering the water for the two-mile kayak leg, Team Balance Bar pressed the pace. Organizers then again threw a monkey wrench into the works, giving racers only two paddles instead of the requisite three and telling them to take their beloved twine and tie their two kayaks together. One racer had an easy, albeit cold ride in Long Island Sound while their teammates toiled through the choppy waters. Throughout the kayak leg, Team Balance Bar maintained its lead while Red Bull kept pace in 2nd.

With only the final three-mile trail run left, team strategy began to unfold. Emerging first from the trees was Team Balance Bar as it handed in its orienteering points and headed to the remaining special tests. Victory was not to be had easily though, as Team Exide Batteries came into view.

Keeping it fresh was the order of the day as racers were faced with two more special tests. The first was a 15-foot high military obstacle called "Over and Under." The second was the new and improved Super Slippery Mountain. Over and Under was constructed of four horizontal beams, spaced approximately four feet apart, horizontally and vertically. The beams were painted in alternating colors of green and black. Racers had to go "under" green beams and "over" black ones, all while scaling the structure. Once atop the structure, teams had to repeat the process while descending.

Team Balance Bar scaled the structure with practiced ease despite Team Exide nipping at its heals. Exide's Butch Ulrich, having the race of his life, directed his team mightily through this test and attacked Super Slippery Mountain. Normally, Slippery Mountain is a ramp of formica, a minimum of 10-feet long, lathered in Crisco and Wesson Oil. Today, however, Slippery Mountain was actually two peaks and a valley, forming the letter "V" when viewed from the side. Racers scaled the outside of the test to the summit of one peak. They then had the ride of their lives down the best slide ever created into the "Valley of Cooking Aids." Once in the valley, racers had to scale the other peak to complete the test.

Team Balance Bar and Team Exide battled out of the valley side by side in a brilliant display of teamwork. Emerging simultaneously, all racers thought it was a sprint to the finish. Alas, one final special test remained, the Kimms Game. After over two hours of continuous racing, it was a test of what team had the wherewithal to tackle not another physical challenge, but a mental one. The Kimms game is a memory test. Racers were given seven seconds to look at a board. On the board were seven symbols. One teammate then had to recite all seven symbols and their quantities as shown from left to right (i.e., three pennies, two paper clips, a bike, etc.).

Before we continue, however, a little history is necessary. At the National Championships in 1998, Team Balance Bar (then named Team Redsand) made a mistake on the final special test and lost to Team Nature's Garden (now named Team Exide Batteries). A re-match was in the making. But let us not forget the 1999 Nationals, Team Balance Bar again loses a five-minute lead, this time to Team BMC Software, for the title. History has an odd way of repeating itself.

Today, however, the adventure racing gods were smiling on Team Balance Bar as Bob Schulz rattled off all seven items and their quantities correctly and raced to the finish in a time of 2:23:19. In a twist of fate, Team Exide would miss one item and be forced to repeat Slippery Mountain and the Kimms game before crossing the line. (Unfortunately, Team Exide would be later disqualified for inadvertently not completing the second run course exactly as marked. With two victories and seven top-5 finishes, Exide should look at this season and this race as a job well done.)

Team Hi-Tec came in next from the woods, but "slipped up" in the valley, while Team Red Bull summitted Slippery Mountain cleanly to take 2nd. A battle emerged for the remaining two podium spots with Team FogDog, Team Vision and Team TIMEX separated by mere minutes. Team FogDog would pass through the tests and the Kimms game unscathed to take 4th. Team TIMEX, however, not making it easy on themselves, would summit Slippery Mountain twice, albeit with the aid of a grappling hook, to take 5th.

All-female team, Team Heineken capped its reign on the podium with its fourth 1st place finish this season. Team Out of Control continued its round of 2nd place finishes while Team Pure Estrogen took 3rd.

The all-male division saw Team Activate.com.uk finally reach the top spot on the podium, emerging victorious, while Team 4Jeanne finished 2nd and Team Never Surrender finished 3rd.

In the Masters Division, Team Christine again finished atop the podium while Team Crash, Burn and Sink grabbed 2nd with Team The Good, The Bad and The Ugly taking 3rd.

The Corporate Division saw Team Mud, Sweat and Gears top out the field, with Team Fremont Police and Team Noelle2k.com taking 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

This race culminated the 2000 Hi-Tec Adventure Racing Season. The only thing remaining is to sound out the National Point Series Champions.

Erikson once wrote of the fruits of the three stages of man: the curiosity of the child, the energy of the adult and the wisdom of the elder. These can be aptly renamed the three characteristics of the elite adventure racer. Curiosity - the one major contributing factor which brought everyone to the sport. Energy - the sustaining factor which enables us to continue to "put one foot in front of the other, walk across the floor and out the door." Wisdom - the piece of mind to stay focused and alert throughout the stresses of competition. Taking this analogy one step further leads us to characterizing the elite adventure racing team. Thirty-six months of training culminated this day with Team Balance Bar capping a great season of five victories and eight top-5 finishes. Our hats are off to Sylvia "Curiosity" Corbett, Corky "Energy" Ewing and Bob "Wisdom" Schulz. After the dust settled, the remaining Series Championship placements are as follows: Team Red Bull took 2nd with Team FogDog in 3rd. Team Exide Batteries finished 4th while Team Hi-Tec took 5th. Honorable mention should go to Team TIMEX in 6th, Team Sevylor in 7th and Team dsports.com in 8th.

The all-female Point Series Championship goes to Team Heineken with four 1st place finishes this season. Team Title IX took 2nd, while Team Pure Estrogen came in 3rd.

The all-male series division title was nabbed by Team Activate.com.uk, while Team 4Jeanne finished 2nd and Team Shugendo 3rd.

Series Title for the Masters Division went to Team Crash, Burn and Sink, with Team Christine in 2nd and Team Pure Vision Contact Lenses taking 3rd.

The Corporate Division Series Title saw Team Noelle2k.com cap their reign, with Team Mud, Sweat and Gears in 2nd and Team Prolab Nutrition 3rd.

— Tiger Mann, Team Timex Captain, MountainZone.com Correspondent