Before the race festivities begin, I'd like to share the results of my interview with team WEDALI (We Eat Dust And Like It).  WEDALI's a pretty hard-core team - not only did they cross the line at the 2009 Primal Quest, but they were one of the first 5 to do so.

Joanna: I’ve been told you finished top 5 at the last Primal Quest.  What were your most memorable experiences at that race?  General strategy?

Justin: We had a pretty good showing at PQ and the race came together well for us in the end. One of the best things for our team was having our two non-racing teammates come to pre-race to get us off on the right foot. They really took care of us and helped with maps and gear before the race.  Secondly, our friends, family, and fellow adventure racers that supported us before, during, and after the race - I think we all felt so lucky to have such an awesome "support crew" - our 5th teammate.  Much of the race is a haze, but we definitely got off-track Nav-wise two times that put us to the test. One time on a not-so-awesome night bike-whack and the other on day 6 or so after a serious lack of sleep caught up with us. Some other brief memories.... Running a marathon and O-section of ~40 miles to start the race. Spending $45 on late-night munchies at a 24-hour gas station, sleeping three hours, getting a CP, then spending $35 on breakfast munchies at the same gas station. Death wish prairie chicken flying into Biz's face while biking to the reservoir. Fish jumping into our boat on the river paddle. Pooping in a bag. Getting bloody noses while biking/trekking. Erl chasing Buffalo. Jason seeing "farm machinery" in the tall grass. Andrea kicking ass Day 7. Sleeping in O2 Rainwear every night for a week. The Badlands at dawn. Getting three flat tires less than 2 hours from the finish. Crossing the finish line!

Joanna: Word on the street is that you start slow and finish hard.  How true is this?  What’s your reasoning since many teams choose to start hard and ease up to hold their place through out the race.

Justin: By "start slow" do you mean "not making it to the starting line on time?" Because that never happens.... Except earlier this year at LBL. And maybe a few other races.... Ha! Seriously though, we generally try to keep an even/consistent pace throughout the entire race. One of our general mottos is to "Race Smart, Race Steady." We know that at certain points we'll have to push hard, but doing so at the beginning of the race can definitely put the team into the hurt locker quick. By maintaining a steady pace, it might be an illusion of racing "hard" even though we might just be moving slightly faster relative to other teams. That being said, we always give a race everything that we've got, all the way to the end.

Joanna: Do you have any interesting stories / general facts you'd like to share about your team?

Justin: We Eat Dust And Like It first came together in 2003 with 4 members looking to complete the Minnesota Adventure Racing Series. In 2010, WEDALI kicked off our 8th season of adventure racing with 6 teammates from Minnesota and Iowa. We have a few alums now, but we think of it like a rock band - keeping a solid crew together for the long haul is challenging and rare, but your teammates are the most important decision of the entire race. We all bring different skills and strengths to the group, we all have different jobs with everyone seeing the big picture, and our number one priority is a commitment to the team over self. We never give up on each other and we pull together when things get tough. Rally Skittles help too.... Taste the Rainbow.

Our team is below:

• Jason Nielsen (Battle Creek, IA) - Jason. Married to Andrea. Three kids: Summit, Denali, and Kenai. Increased the team's average height by 5 inches. Rides a 29er like he stole it. Drinks whole milk. Mooo.
• Molly Moilanen (Minneapolis, MN) - Mo Money. Married to Biz. Sings while paddling to stay awake. Likes long treks on the beach. Considers AR teammates and friends more valuable than gold.
• Justin Bakken (Minneapolis, MN) - Biz. Married to Mo. VP of MNOC. Teetotaler. Working toward a Masters in Adventure Racing (GIS). Decent at all disciplines, especially eating and sleeping. Can time travel. Can time travel.
• Non-racing teammates include Scott "Erl" Erlandson, Scott "Scooter" Lund, and Andrea Nielsen.

At the inaugural Atomic, a new name came out of the ranks and blew our course time estimates out of the water.  Only miles from the finish line, this team was neck-to-neck with the course leaders and mistakenly took a wrong turn which placed them on a prohibited route to the finish.  The resulting penalty put them in 5th place – still an impressive finish for that race considering Tim was suffering from a knee injury, Jason took a stop for a nap after throwing up on the final trek, and Anna was carrying not only her pack but Tim's and Jason's as well on the last half all the way up to the mystery finish.  This year, team Shake-A-Leg Miami is back as team Green Paw Adventure Sports to exact their revenge on the course in an attempt to claim the top finish they sampled the sweet taste of a year ago.

Tim and Anna are high school sweethearts who began racing together in 2004 as college students in Wisconsin.  They moved to Southern Florida where they were joined by Jason, who serves as their in-race marriage counselor, 2 years ago.  Last year was the team’s first really successful year, and they hope to follow up on that by maintaining their place in the top 10 teams nationwide, competing for the win, and improving on a national scale.

With 11 Floridian teams registered this year, we might be able to test Josh’s Floridians vs. Georgians theory.  When Tim, Anna, and Jason crossed the finish line last year, we asked them how they work hill training into their sessions since we were amazed at the success these flat-landers had on our high-altitude course.  Tim and Anna have a 10 foot man-made knoll nearby that they run up and down, up and down, up and down….  At first I thought this was a joke, but their stellar performance speaks for itself.  When asked about his thoughts on Josh’s FL vs GA theory, Tim said that he doesn’t think local knowledge is an issue on this course because of how well that’s accounted for in the race planning.  Tim found last year’s maps to be plentiful enough, descriptive enough, and accurate enough to account for any teams’ lack of local knowledge.  That fact, in addition to how much planning goes into taking racers into locations that even the locals have never been, help to even out the playing field.  Tim does find it interesting to see how teams that train in mountains perform against teams that train on hills when put to the test.

Some basic facts about Green Paw – they changed their name from Shake-A-Leg Miami after Jason founded Green Paw Adventure Sports (don’t ask me about the name – I found they’re not so sure themselves after hearing a vague explanation about Jason’s love for dog’s and nature being green).  The 2010 Atomic will be a celebration event for Tim and Anna since today they are graduating from the University of Miami with their Doctorates and are out to take on the world.  The Atomic is the one race they’ve been anticipating the most and Anna is looking forward to competing with WEDALI since they are her “hero team” – she’s been watching those guys race for most of her life and although she’s competed with them before, she always welcomes the opportunity to spend more time on another course with them.  These guys race because they love being outdoors, getting away from everything, and pushing themselves through adversity they normally would never encounter in order to learn just what they’re truly capable of.  And in case I didn’t say it enough – these guys (and gal!) are tough!

Hailing from Colorado, California, and our very own Atlanta GA – The Nightman Cometh.  Jonas, Matt, and Lee are three long time friends who, living in 3 entirely separate regions of the country, join forces once a year for an epic team event.  Although this trio is well-versed in outdoor events and Matt is highly experienced in endurance competition, the Atomic will be the team’s inaugural AR.  Why AR? - because the three are “eager to experience how this race may test the boundaries of [their] tolerance to each-other as well as the thrill of utter exhaustion and self-induced torture.”  Their primary goals will be to clear the course as an official team, have a great time, and get lucky in the raffle.  Last year’s guy’s outing resulted in 2nd degree burns on Jonas’s legs and a previous year’s outing found the guys in the emergency room at 2am to qualm fears of Scarlet fever.  Given this team’s history, I can only hope this year’s outing turns out better for them.

Jonas lives at the base of Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs where he has his fair selection of high altitude training routes.  High altitude training may have prepared him for the Atomic, but the Appalachians are said to be more difficult in places than the Rockies due to the abrupt altitude gain/loss.  Five years with the Army have prepared Jonas for the navigational challenges of the course, but only time will tell if he will suffer or survive East coast altitudes.

Matt has spent the past five years in Southern California working as a Biological researcher.  Lee works in the Atlanta area as a middle school teacher for at-risk children and suffered an unfortunate work accident but seems to have recovered in time for the race.  Due to their separate geographic locations, the team has been unable to train as one cohesive unit, but they have kept each other motivated with the typical male-jabbing and joking along with the refusal to be the team’s weakest link.  In addition to Matt quitting smoking and Lee getting cardio running from inner city gangs and stray dogs, the team has been working themselves pretty hard in preparation for the big day.  Be sure to cheer them on as they take on their first great AR challenge.

What do you get when you take the reigning Checkpoint Tracker series champs and pit them against their former team captain?  Taco Bell wars apparently.

Meet Peter Jolles and Jon Barker, current captains of CP0 and ATP/CP0 respectively.

CP0 are the reigning CPT series champions and are Abu Dhabi veterans, yet they’ve fielded several teams to the USARA nationals and haven’t had the same success.  According to Peter, it’s become a team tradition to have a great season and “throw it all away at the end” because it only fires them up for the following season, but it sounds as though the main reason they keep returning is for the free post-race beer.

Jon is the former captain of CP0 and the brand new captain of ATP/CP0 – he claims the change occurred because he’s “old, slow, and smells like a dead ferret” but I’m pretty sure he still has a trick or two hidden up his sleeves (could be where that dead ferret smell is coming from).  During his retirement from CP0, Jon has been enjoying a bit of mini golfing, cheese rolling, bog snorkeling, couch snoozing, and Taco Bell splurging – he’s back with a vengeance at the Atomic simply because he couldn’t come up with an excuse quick enough to dodge the cut.

Joining Jon will be Scott Pleban and Jennifer Rinderle.  Scott is an old friend of Jon’s from ATP whom he met during the inaugural Swamp Stomp where they said a grand total of 3 words to each other.  A few years ago, the two of them competed in the Michigan Coast to Coast and shared an interesting night paddle with a snake in the canoe which eventually capsized.  Jon claims he quit AR altogether at that point, but it seems as though he’s had a change of heart.

Peter Jolles finds that change of heart amusing and seems to be looking forward to competing against Jon at the Atomic, even if it is only to steal his secret Taco Bell stash.  Peter has raced against Scott plenty of times and claims to have spent most of that time staring at Scott’s backside.  He also extends his pity to Scott, who is “going to have his work cut out for him towing Jon and keeping Jenn focused.”

While many teams tend to field two teams at one race, who then join forces and take on the course as one cohesive unit, the last thing you can expect to see will be these two CP0’s holding hands, singing Kumbaya.  Jon plans to “poodle along, complain the whole time, overload the microwaves with [his] Taco Bell, then oversleep” and miss the second stage of the race.  In the meantime, Peter claims that CP0 will be rummaging through Jon’s bags, eating all of his Taco Bell before ATP/CP0 even reaches Stage 1.  And what happens if ATP/CP0 overtakes CP0?  Peter will be revoking their CP0 jerseys and finding an extra form of punishment in addition to devouring their Taco Bell.  Don’t worry though; Jon intends to challenge them to a “how much cold pizza can you eat” competition in order to reclaim his jersey, and his Taco Bell.

What better reason to AR than for the fun of it?  We all know how therapeutic it is to take time out of our busy schedules to breathe in a bit of fresh air, spend time with a great group of friends, exercise our minds, and get a great workout, all while getting a free mud mask facial. Members of Crossfit Garage race for just that reason – because they love it.  And just how has this fun-loving team earned their name? - Through their unique method of training – Crossfit.

Team captain, Andy MacCann, has been racing for 3 years and cleared the Atomic last year.Through his crossfit gym – The Garage – and HealthSprout chiropractics, he has encouraged over 50 people to try an AR and maintained roughly 10 individuals as consistent competitors with his team.

For Andy’s teammates David and Laura Battista, the Atomic will be their first 24 hour race, which shouldn’t be any problem for Laura who completed her first marathon in less than 5 hours. Both David and Laura are licensed pilots, but unfortunately for them there will be no flying leg of the Atomic (at least I hope not!) I have to consider David and Andy lucky to have Laura on their team since I’ve been told she can dead lift over 250 pounds (which could come in handy in the unlikely case that they need to free their canoe from a fallen tree).

Regardless to say, these guys are coming out to have a great time which I hope we’ll be able to show them. To quote their captain: “its fun to push your body, which is why we all crossfit.  Who knows what you can do unless you try it?”

Members of team Bike-Zone have successfully raced together for the past 4 years, competing as an all-male team taking lead in the Gulf Coast AR series. This year they have a new team member, Jennifer Radecker, leading them in the transition to co-ed competition as they become team Adventure South Racing. Not only will this be team captain, Dustin Branton’s, first race as co-ed, but it will be the team’s first 24 hour AR.

As successful as Bike-Zone was as an all male team, why make the change? To answer this question, we must look at Adventure South Racing’s long-term goals. As Dustin said, “When I look at elite AR teams, I see co-ed as the way to go.” And just where do they want to go? Primal Quest in 2 years time. I would say this is a pretty impressive goal.

So what does it mean to transition from an all male team to co-ed? Sure, it means finding a woman who loves playing in the mud and doesn’t mind having her legs look they got caught in a food processor, but there’s more to it than that. It means incorporating another team member with an entirely new set of strengths and weaknesses into your strategy. It means treating that new team member like one of the guys instead of a dead weight to be carried around, while at the same time being open and sensitive to the fact that she is different from the guys and will have different ideas and sensitivities all of which you must be open to.

There are more benefits to racing as co-ed than to just qualify as co-ed elite. It has been scientifically proven that, on average, women think differently than men. Because of this, they’re able to provide additional insight and ideas which the male members of the team might not have come up with. Men are more spatial and reason logically while women are more linguistically inclined and make more decisions based on emotions. Having both types of thinkers on a team provides you with an edge you wouldn’t have otherwise. Being spatially inclined enables the men of the team to be proficient with the map (although I have met some very impressive female navigators as well as quite a few men who can’t even navigate their way through a parking lot). Women tend to be more sensitive of team members’ needs, reminding them to eat and hydrate, resolving conflicts, and cheering the team on when motivation starts to ebb.

For men who have never raced with women, co-ed can be a daunting transition. Some men might fear that they’ll have to slow down to match the new comer’s pace instead of realizing they can evenly spread out strengths by distributing weight and using tows. Other men are too full of pride to accept the woman’s assistance when they’re the ones who are lagging behind. Some men are just fearful that they won’t be able to act like men with a woman present (don’t worry ladies; I learned you can dispel this fear by letting out a fresh, hearty belch at the start of the race). Fortunately, Jennifer doesn’t seem to be worried about any of these things. She says the guys of Adventure South Racing seem to respect her and she has the same respect for them. When it comes to AR, I would say mutual team respect and empathy is definitely a top determining factor for crossing the finish line.

One thing the guys of Adventure South Racing do have to sacrifice is being able to compete in all the races. Since most co-ed AR teams are teams of 3, at least one of the men will have to sit out at every race. To make up for this, they will be racing as a 2 person co-ed and 2 person all-male, but they plan on sticking together in order to establish their four person co-ed harmony in prep for PQ. Their primary goal for the Atomic AR is to experience and finish a 24 hour AR as a team while doing their best and gaining new knowledge. Although you will likely see Adventure South Racing teams A and B together for most of the race, “when it comes to the finish… it’s on!”

What better way is there to enjoy your hobby than to help others in the process?  This is the mindset of team Lead the Way, led by Georgia’s very own Greg Holland.  Joined by Martin Wilson and Rebecca Shearer, Lead the Way is a team competing not only for love of the sport, but for the respect and support of others through raising awareness of a higher cause.  This purpose was inspired after a training session at Bull Mountain when the team had a conversation with a group of U.S. Army Rangers they happened across.  After this, they decided to utilize their races in order to give something back to others by spreading awareness and raising funds for Lead the Way Fund, a non-profit organization devoted to raising funds in support of disabled Rangers and the families of Rangers “who have died, have been injured or are currently serving in harm’s way around the world.”

This year at the Blue Ridge Mountain AR was the team’s second year raising funds for a cause, during which they managed to raise over $1700.  If you are interested in joining or aiding their cause, keep an eye out for the Lead the Way Fund flyer in your Atomic AR swag bag.

Lead the Way has been competing as an organized team for 4 years now.  Greg has been racing for 5 years injury free and spent his first time as a volunteer at last year’s inaugural Atomic AR.  Greg had an unfortunate encounter with a stray dog, during which he was bitten while trying to free the stray from its leash (which was entangled with his truck).  Perhaps this is why he’s racing this year, to avoid another AR-related injury?  We can’t say for sure, but he did mention that he’s going to stay away from dogs this time.  Look for Lead the Way near the head of the 2^nd pack and be sure to give them a high five for racing for more than just the glory.