acidoticRACING/Redhook Shines at GMRA's Frigid Infliction
March 1, 2008
Bolton Valley, VT - In a series of "firsts",
acidoticRACING/Redhook introduced three
new teammates to adventure racing and put
a team on the podium in the 3-person male
division at the Frigid Infliction Winter
Adventure Race at Bolton Valley, VT on
Saturday, March 1, 2008. The 3-person male
team, including Chris, Dwight, & Matt, out
paced six other teams to win the title with a
finishing time of just over 9 hours. They also
posted a Top 10 overall finish coming in 8th place out of 36 teams. The co-ed team of Ri & Sarah had an incredible day racing in the Top 5 for most of the event and only a lost punchcard kept them off the podium in their class. Finally, Jay & Sarah E. pushed through the entire course and finished with a very respectable time in Sarah's first adventure race. Want to read the race blog and see all the pictures? Check them out on our webspace by clicking here. The team will travel next to the southern Catskills in May for The Longest Day Adventure Race.
Click here to read our race blog and see the pictures.
acidotic RACING, LLC. Copyright © 2008.
Vermont 100
Woodstock, VERMONT
Proudly refreshed by:
Ri & Sarah punch a control
Fahnestock Overcomes Elements at Pittsfield Snowshoe Marathon
News
March 8, 2008
Pittsfield, VT - Battling rain and the inevitable period of despair that accompanies all ultradistance events, Ri Fahnestock rallied to finish the Pittsfield Snowshoe Marathon. Fifty-eight competitors started the event...only 18 finished. Four brutally hilly 6.55 mile loops. The course was described by several event veterans as the toughest in recent memory. Ri was on the verge of DNFing following his third lap. Cold, exhausted, and discouraged by the unrelenting terrain he considered stopping. After a little hot soup,
Ri pushes the pace early
he finished strong in a time of 6:59. The next scheduled event in the Peak Races series is the McNaughton Peak 100 Miler in Perkins, IL.
Cunningham Wins Third Snowshoe Event of the Winter and a Series Championship
March 15, 2008
Biddeford, ME - When you win three out of the first four events in a sport that you're competing in for the first time it's described as 'domination'. For Geoff Cunningham it's business as usual. Already an accomplished mountain runner Cunningham decided to give snowshoe racing a try this winter. In fact, he decided to enter his first event the night before the race and actually showed up to the event WITHOUT a pair of snowshoes! On a pair of rentals he cruised to a second place finish and then went on to win the next three events he entered including our series finale in Biddeford, Maine. His win at Winter's Last Hurrah
Snowshoe Scramble earned him our series title and established him as one of the best snowshoe racers in the Northeast.
Geoff running on water
Dunn Cruises to Strong Finish at First Off-Road Duathlon of Season on Back-Up Bike
April 12, 2008
Fredericksburg, VA - With very little time to consider his options, Jay Dunn knew exactly what he had to do...he'd have to finish the mountain bike section on a back-up bike. Not any back-up bike however...his wife's bike. And so it was that a mile and half into a 12 mile loop Dunn suffered a catastrophic equipment failure in his first duathlon of the season, a tire wall
blow out. After running back to the transition area, Dunn hopped on his back-up ride and finished the section. Fortunately for him, the bike loop was a "home court" advantage of sorts as he rode on the trails he trains on daily. Leg cramps haunted him toward the end of the last running section as his pre-race Hop Fest nearly resulted in his demise. His full account of the race can be read on his race blog.
June 21st...The Death Race. "I'm taking it race to race and right now I'm concentrating on the Death Race." Fahnestock said. That's probably a good idea. In a correspondence to Fahnestock, the race director told him it was doubtful that anyone would finish the Death Race course. Fact is however, one athlete has a little bit more than glory riding on a finish. In what I have come to know as understated humility, Ri told me, "All in all, baring injury and unforeseen events, I feel pretty confident in my ability to finish the series." I don't doubt him.
June 1, 2008
Newmarket, NH - How do you train for an event that by the race director's own admission is an event that nobody will likely finish? What if a finish was worth $10,000? Our own Ri Fahnestock is the only athlete left who is still eligible to finish all six races in the Peak Adventures Series. If he can accomplish the unthinkable, finish the final four events, he will win the $10k. Interestingly enough, it's not the 100 miler in November that's on his mind or the 6 hour mountain bike race. For Fahnestock, the focus is squarely on
Ri kicks to the finish
It's Man vs. Course for Coveted $10k Purse in Peak Adventures Series
Jay hammers on!
From the Archives...
OUR RACE REPORTS
June 2008
by Ri Fahnestock
July 26, 2008
by Dwight Hartman
August 9-10, 2008
by Chris J. Dunn
consciousness. She still had two more legs to run. The pain made that task nearly impossible. As she'd learn a day or two later, she had fractured the 3rd metatarsal in her foot when she stepped awkwardly on a section of course that transitioned from trail to pavement. In an incredibly lucky twist of fortune, her vanmates consisted of a physical therapist and a former paramedic. Her foot wrapped and packed in ice she encouraged the others and waited for her turn to run. At the Reach The Beach Relay it seems like your turn will never come again and then when it finally does you wish you had 4 more hours to recover. For Jamie, her recovery needs could have been measured in months rather than hours but in an incredible display of guts she laced her shoe a little tighter and began running her second leg...an overnight 7.7 mile roller. Overcoming unspeakable pain she finished that section on a broken foot. It was evident immediately after she finished leg #14 that her RTB experience would be over. When she finally sought medical attention she was told that she'd be out of commission for close to 4 months. It was pretty close to a runner's worst nightmare...no running for 4 months! "I was a bear. Irritable would be putting it lightly." she recently admitted. When the boot finally came off and she got permission to begin to resume her typical activities, she began to push herself as her desire to regain her winning form consumed her. Unfortunately, she may have done too much, too soon. When she started to experience pain in the foot again (although in a different spot) she went back to her doctors. The news was once again upsetting...she had fractured another bone in her foot. It was February and again she was on the shelf for three months! When April finally rolled around and she again returned to running her approach was much more realistic and she not only found physical satisfaction in running, she also had developed a different attitude about the sport. "I'm a competitor and that I can’t change. Before the injury I had convinced myself that this must mean I run for others. This belief only weakened my efforts in every event. I would defeat myself before even starting, and ultimately hurt my ability to grow. Regardless of how much training I received, or how many books I read, I had made up my mind I was running for others." said Lesniak. "Returning to the road, I am still that same competitor with the same drive, but now with a new understanding of what the sport offers me (other then a great cardio workout). We all have different drives, and do the same activity for different reasons. I am a competitive runner because it lights my fire and I feel alive. I am my biggest critic, but I am also my biggest fan, and that’s now ok." When she taped the 2008 Mom's On The Run 5k In Dover on Mother's Day her transformation was complete.
July 1, 2008
Dover, NEW HAMPSHIRE - Some victories are bigger than they appear. For Jamie Lesniak, her win at this May's Moms On The Run 5k was more than a win over her competition...it was a triumph over seven months of self reflection. It all started with a "pop". Less than halfway through her first leg at the 2007 Reach The Beach Relay Jamie felt that something in her foot wasn't right. She kept running and finished the 9.3 mile section. Shortly after climbing in the van she could tell her foot was in rough shape. As it swelled and turned a deep shade of purple she tried to put the reality of the situation back in the deep recesses of her
Jamie finishing strong
After Two Devastating Injuries, Lesniak Is Back to Her Old Tricks...Running Strong!
Second Time Is a Charm for Dunn's as They Conquer One of Ecuador's Highest Peaks
August 2008
Andes Mountains, ECUADOR - Sometimes good things come to those who wait. For father & son, the top of one of the world's highest active volcano's was worth waiting for. In the summer of 2005, the two joined an expedition to the tiny village of Quito, Ecuador for their first ascent over 19k feet. They spent nearly ten days on and around Cotopaxi acclimating to the thin air. On summit day they were within 3000 feet of the top before weather forced the group to turn around. High altitude
Ken Young, Jim Dunn, Jay Dunn on Summit of Cotopaxi (19,347 feet)
mountaineers employ the philosophy that, "Everything is possible. The impossible just takes a little longer.". For Jim & Jay it would be three years before they returned to South America. This time they would bring fellow climber Ken Young. Ken, a tenacious athlete with an unstoppable motor, would also be making his maiden foray beyond 19k feet. Once again the team spent more than a week climbing, acclimatizing, and refining their mountaineering skills under the watchful eye of their guides. Summit day began shortly before midnight as the team roped up and began their trek to the top. In full winter gear the group made the summit in the pre-dawn hours. Their triumph represented more than five years of planning and training. Where will they go next? Stay tuned.
