2005 Race

Results

Pictures

Video

Course Map

On Saturday, May 21st, 2005, the third annual Greenway Challenge Adventure Race brought in a sellout crowd of 50 teams of 3 for the second straight year to the North Chickamauga Creek Greenway Farm in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The race sold out a month in advance and had almost 20 teams on the waiting list ready to tackle the course. Despite rain leading up to race day, the sun was out and temps hit the low 80s by early afternoon. Muddy conditions on the short single-track section of the bike course led to a few scrapes and bruises but the conditions were excellent otherwise.

The Napoleon Dynamite theme permeated the entire race, but it was the "Making Sweet Moolah with Uncle Rico" mystery event that started things off and gave teams the most trouble. Before the bike leg could begin, teams were given a map of the north end of the Greenway Farm with the location of coins of varied values marked on the map. Teams had to collect $1.00 worth of coins before returning to the starting area; however, in order to keep teams from following each other, two different maps were distributed with different colored coins (poker chips) in different locations. Many teams returned to the start with the wrong colored coins and had to head back out to remedy the situation. Several teams failed to read the instructions and collected all of the coins leaving them with plenty of extra change but they were deep in the hole due to this error in judgement.

Despite being only 4 miles in length, the bike course proved to be challenging as teams climbed the steep singletrack trail past the ropes course area of the farm. The slick mud caused many riders to slide out, especially on the downhill section returning them to the paved roads leading to the south end of the farm. Team Litespeed and Team Rock Creek were putting the hammer down on the rest of the field as each team dropped one of their bikes and started the ride and tie leg. A variety of techniques, mostly involving towing and bike swapping, were employed to get teams back to the north end of the farm and the 3 mile paddle along the North Chickamauga Creek.

Before teams could hop in their boats they would first have to "Bring Tina Some Ham". Two 2x4s were all teams had to work with in order to traverse the field while carrying a bucket of ham (rocks). Team members had to balance on one 2x4 while passing the remaining plank ahead of them in order to advance across the grass. Once again, a variety of techniques were employed and weary legs set many teams back as they had to make several attempts in order to pass the test.

A beautiful paddle down the scenic creek took teams back to the south end of the farm once again and Team Litespeed held Team Rock Creek off by a couple of minutes as they exited the water. The long run back to the north end proved to be their demise as Team Rock Creek made quick work of the steep singletrack trails around the Boy Scout Loop and then up to the ropes course area above the quarry. Once there, teams were confronted with three balance tests, the log walk, the beam walk and the wire walk. Only one member of each team had to complete these tasks but the teams of three had to rejoin at the wall climb area in order to summit the vertical wall. Slippery conditions and wet shoes made these elements more difficult than usual.

Team Rock Creek was the first team to hit the last mystery event, "Put a Tot in Napoleon's Pocket". Given three 3'4" pieces of PVC pipe and a 2x4, along with a tee, 90 degree and 45 degree PVC union, teams had to deposit a tennis ball into a bucket 10 feet away. Creativity and teamwork, along with a steady hand, were the keys to solving this puzzle. Once completed, it was simply a flat mile long run around the wildflower field to the finish area where teams had to crawl through tires before being confronted with the slippery wall, a 12-foot wall on a 30 degree angle covered with plastic and slicked up with water and dishwashing liquid. Human ladders formed on the wall as teams pulled and scraped their way over the final hurdle before crossing the finish line.

Team Rock Creek held off the charge of Team Litespeed in order to take the gold. The Highlanders were next in line taking the bronze. Almost half of this years participants had never done an adventure race before and most of the teams simply wanted to cross the finish line in one piece. Despite the fact that the difficulty of the Greenway Challenge Adventure Race was stepped up a notch this year, all teams that started the race crossed the finish line.