Results | Race Photos

At 9am sharp, amidst the howling, arid Santa Ana winds, a booming cannon blast sent 78 teams into the grueling challenge of the Fogdog USA Adventure Racing 24-Hour National Championship, all vying for its $10,000 1st place prize.

For the next 24 to 48 hours, athletes from all over the world tested their intestinal fortitude, athletic ability, physical endurance and psychological preparedness through an exhausting 21-mile kayak paddle, 10-mile trek, 32-mile mountain bike, 5-mile coasteering, followed by yet another 33 miles of trekking and rappelling.

The early stage of the kayak leg proved difficult for many of the teams and the high seas deflated many team hopes for a strong standing. This was especially true for Team Balance Bar, which fell victim to hypothermia, and Team Paine Webber, both dropping out midway through the first stage.

The remaining 76 teams bore down and cruised into form, with Team Red Bull capturing the early lead. Strong winds wreaked havoc for many, forcing them to adapt, improvise and overcome Mother Nature's fury. If fact, Team Epinephrine utilized its ingenuity by making a homemade sail in hopes of capturing a friendly gale.

Soon after the kayaking leg, the sun set on Leo Carrillo State Beach, and the majority of the teams commenced their transition from sea to land. When asked about the long, foreboding, and very cold evening to come, Team Razorfish's Jeff Cohn responded with guarded confidence, "We're just gonna keep the lights on, drinks flowing and it'll be fun." Fun for them maybe, but not for others forced into early retirement by the elements, scrapes, bruises and sprains.

The Pacific current once again antagonized the athletes, as high tide rolled in for the coasteering portion of the event, forcing teams to hug the jagged Southern California cliffs. At 9pm, the speed and early arrival of Teams Venture Four, Xterraparts.com, Kool Tie, and Epinephrine enabled them to beat the tide and coasteer virtually unencumbered.

"The Fogdog is the ultimate adventure, exceeding the Ironman Triathlon in a test of physical endurance and toughness," said Michael Epstein, event executive producer. "The Fogdog will challenge adventurers' physical endurance, mental tenacity and their ability to race without sleep, while at the same time allowing them to enjoy the experience of a lifetime."

And enjoy they did, especially two members of an unnamed team — who shall remain nameless in order to protect the guilty — who were spotted playing tonsil hockey at a passport control checkpoint.

At approximately 8:29am, Team Venture Four's Bettina Ernst, Harald Zundel and Marc Secades received their final passport stamp and crossed the much anticipated finish line in a time of 23:31:34. "The wind was so strong, we were cold, then Harald yelled 'dig in' and we picked it up," exclaimed champion Bettina Ernst, recalling the kayak portion of the race.

Team Xterraparts.com finished 2nd, but an assessed two-hour penalty pushed them to 3rd, giving Team Kool Tie a 2nd place finish with a time of 24:30:30. Amazingly, less than half of the teams which began the race would go on to finish, proving the Fogdog is one not to be taken lightly in the adventure racing world.

According to champion Harald Zundel, "The formula was different in this race...the disciplines were long and you had to have mental toughness." That sentiment seemed to ring true amongst all of the finishing teams.

As an interesting sidebar, parity truly displayed itself at this year's race. While many struggled, I watched as Team AFT "All Female Team," rumored to be known as the "Woo-Hoo" Party Girls, and Team Notec, with a combined age of 166 years, cross many passport control checkpoints ahead of more formidable, at least on paper, opponents. Both teams seemed to use their inner drive and spirit to push them through the course. I guess this shows that "will" may just be stronger than "might."