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!”