Team Ragged Glory – Adventure Racing, Multi Sport, Friends

Steve, Nancy and I raced on Saturday September 9 amongst our many Indy friends and finished the Indianapolis Adventure Race at Eagle Creek Park in Indy. We finished in about 7 hours 45 minutes, and landed 20th of 48 teams.

The weather was nearly perfect, and the course was one of the funnest that I have raced. Thanks to Michael and Debbie Sapper and the Indy Rootstock team for volunteering and staging such a fun time.

Check back for a race report soon. It was great to be out on the course again – Doug.

Team Ragged Glory 171 (Steve, Bob, Nancy and John) finished Planet Adventure this morning at 7am, 25 hours after the race began. Congratulations to this new iteration of TRG!

The course was a test of bike hill-riding endurance and cold weather trekking. Thanks again to Greg Arnold, Jerry Lyons, Dave Kauffman, Barb Geiler and all the volunteers for a racer’s race.

Team Odyssey, Infiterra and Dynamic Earth raced like the wind to take the top three positions. Each of the top three teams showed class and graciousness on the course.

Terra Trekkers and Matt Van Hoosier were awarded for helping other teams on the course. Our old buddy Kim McNealy won the best trash award for hauling the bottom half of a porcelain toilet 2 miles to CP5!

TRG was the last team to complete the alternate course, modified to remove the second paddle leg because of danger associated with paddling in the unusually high water levels after dark.

All four members said they will remember spinning the endless hills of the Corydon area, the fast paddle on the Blue River during the first canoe leg, an out-and-back hike to CP15 and meeting the sleep monster in the cold early hours of Sunday morning.

Thanks to John for accepting our invitation to race. Thanks to Bob, Steve and Nancy for being the reasons that TRG continues to race Planet Adventure.
-Doug

TRG welcomes John McInnes, one of the few racers who has done every Planet Adventure. John joins Steve, Bob, and Nancy for this years race. I (Doug) will be crewing for the new iteraion of the team. John’s lack of internal dialogue (and excess of external dialogue) should make him a perfect fit.

Twelve humans participated in the 20 degree, fourth annual, 2006 TRG Night Hike. Role call included:

TRG Doug Theis
TRG Steve Kincade
TRG Bob Mueller
TRG Nancy Gawrys
TRG Beth Thomas
TRG Friend Scott Gondeck
Temporary Avenue Ron Cornwell
Temporary Avenue Sarah Gibson
Temporary Avenue Jeff Bockelman
Veteran Dick Whicker
Veteran Tony Coulson
Veteran Zach Mitchell

It was cold, clear and fun. Hallucinations were plentiful and frozen water bladders the norm. The Veterans decided on a fast pace while TRG, friend and TA hiked it out. TRG finished the day at BeanBlossom Inn with some Blackberry Cobbler and pork products. Thanks to everyone for showing up. I’ve fallen in lust with trekking poles. They help old (and young) people continue.

Doug

One week from the 4th annual TRG night hike. We’ll hike 28 miles starting Friday night, March 3 at 10pm. If you’re planning on going, please send me an e-mail with:

-Your name
-Who is riding with you
-What you’d like to do with your car: drop at Yellowwood or Morgan Monroe
-If you’re willing to ferry people to the start or back to cars at the end.

Remember, we’re going from Yellowwood to Morgan Monroe.

dtheis@msn.com or 317.502.7622

Thanks,
Doug

TRG’s annual night hike will take place Friday, March 3 starting around 10pm at Yellowwood State Forest in Brown County. The group will hike to Morgan Monroe State Forest office (about 28 miles). Last year it took us about 10.5 hours. Contact me (Doug Theis) at dtheis@msn.com for details. We’d love to have an even bigger group than last year.

TRG will sponsor our fourth night hike again in February or March of 2006. We will finalize the date soon. We hope to have as many folks out as we can; last year’s was great fun. Chances are that we will hike the Tecumseh again.

For those unfamiliar with our night hike, we start around midnight on a Friday or Saturday night and hike into the dawn travelling between 20 and 30 miles. The last two years we’ve done 28 miles in about 11 hours.

Please reply if you’re interested in attending.

Nancy and Steve and I (Doug) finished 20 of 32 miles in the Owen Putnam 50/50 on Saturday, November 5. It was great to see race director Norm Carlson, Deb and Kivan Hutcheson, old buddy Dick Whicker and our long lost endurance friend Tim East. Steve’s trying to talk us into doing a 50 miler next year. It’s going to take a lot more preparation for me than what I did for this one! Thanks Nancy and Steve for dragging me for 20.

Due to multiple schedule conflicts, TRG will not race in the Planet Adventure Urban Sprint. We hope to at least get out on the course cheering everyone on. Good luck to all you urban racers.

TRG’s next mission is the 50k run at Owen Putnam State Forest on November 5, 2005. Steve, Nancy, Doug and possibly Bob plan to crank out the hilly miles in west central Indiana.