A Cold Overnight Paddle

Aug 3

As teams finally made their way into Transition area 5 at a bridge crossing of the North Branch Moose River, many were racing right on the edge of their capacity. Ahead of them though would be a roughly 11 mile paddle down a winding river with only a modest current. One team, RVA Racing made up of Philip and Robin Dawson had other ideas though. Seeing that the distance to cover (as the crow flies) was only a fraction of the paddle distance, this team opted to use their portage wheels to run the entire paddle leg. Their boat never touched water as they rolled it past the river, only stopping to collect the two checkpoints on Leg E which were conveniently located at bridge crossings. The strategy paid off as they launched ahead on the course by nearly two hours in front of the next teams who were still paddling.

For the rest of the teams in the field, it would be a long, cold paddle through thick fog that reduced visibility to near zero. Those teams with highly experienced paddlers were able to use the conditions to make big gains on the field. Team Tug Hill Outfitters in particular made the most efficient work of the paddle leg, arriving at the final transition area second, only behind the team who rolled their boats along the road. Rootstock Racing were able to extend their lead at the front of the field going into the final bike section at McCauley Mountain while team AR Insider were making moves with their eyes on the podium.