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The forecast was hot, the competition fierce, and the race course long and arduous. The gun went off at 6:30am Saturday morning, sending 17 teams teams scrambling into the calm ocean. It would turn out to be the perfect morning for kayaking; race organizers for the Four Winds Mountain Rage Series anticipated a four-hour paddle, but teams blistered the 17-mile paddle in 2:40.

Exiting the water in the lead, and the first complete team into transition was the two-person team Golden Palace.com Online Casino/Znetix. Team Epicor and Team N.E.A.R. followed closely and hustled through the first transition area in preparation for a long, blistering day out on their mountain bikes, winding through the mountains which surround the Ojai Valley. Pre-race favorites Team Epinephrine and Team Sante Fe, who were tied as points leaders in the race series, did not fare as well in the water, and came out of the ocean well off the lead.

Leaving the transition, Team Golden Palace.com Online Casino/Znetix, Team N.E.A.R. and Team Epicor hammered the opening stretch of the 50-mile biking leg hoping to open up a gap between teams. By 10am, it was obvious the extreme heat was going to play a major factor in the finishing order as the thermometer hovered at 95° Fahrenheit.

The early front runner, Team Golden Palace.com Online Casino/Znetix was nowhere to be seen and finally came into the aid station in 9th place, suffering from heat stroke and cramping.

Halfway through the mountain biking section, teams came upon their assistance crews for a quick pit stop to refuel with water. The temperature now stood at 108°F and teams were fading badly. Team Sante Fe was now gaining ground on the leaders, but one of its team members was suffering badly from the extreme competition and temperature. Team Epinephrine began to move up during the biking section, closing to within 25 minutes of the leaders, Team Dawg. Team San Jose Pedicab A-Go-Go also moved up into the lead pack, taking advantage of several teams fading in the heat. The early frontrunner, Team Golden Palace.com Online Casino/Znetix, was nowhere to be seen and finally came into the aid station in 9th place, suffering from heat stroke and cramping. Teams now began the 4,000-foot climb up the exposed mountains above Ojai, heading towards the bike-to-run transition.

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Finally assuming their pre-race expectations, Team Epinephrine, captained by Paul Romero, came off the mountain bike leg 25 minutes in the lead. Romero stated, "We were playing leapfrog with three other teams coming up over the mountain. We'd push our bikes for several hundred yards, then stop to rest in the shade only to have another team pass us. This went on for some time and was quite exciting competition. We've nicknamed our bikes 'pushies' because that's what we've been doing all day. Sick terrain, very steep, but we finally were able to shake teams when we crested the hill and began our descent. We finally were able to leave Team Dawg behind at checkpoint 6 at the top of the hill."

Leaving the transition area, Team Epinephrine looked fresh but happy to be off the bikes and on to the trekking portion of the race. Team Dawg came into the transition next, followed by Team Pure Adrenaline and Team Sante Fe. Team Pure Adrenaline looked the fresher of the three and hustled to make up time in the transition area, leaving only minutes behind Team Dawg. One member of Team Sante Fe suffered badly from heat exhaustion and was unable to continue, but the remaining three members decided to go on unranked.

As assistance crews anxiously awaited the teams behind the leaders, they worried the extreme heat would force many out of competition. Two-person team J2P was forced out of the competition as the team members suffered from heat stroke and exhaustion. Several other teams would also lose members to the extreme temperature. Team Tracey, racing for the Tracey Biletnikoff Foundation, came into the transition off the bike and in the back of the pack, but happy to still be racing in its first adventure race. Slow and steady was the team's motto and members were determined to finish – despite having been in the sweltering heat all day.

"It was so bloody hot. I don't want to ride my bike for several months..." –Adam Goodvibes, Team Epinephrine

Team Golden Palace.com finally came off the bikes in 6th place feeling better and excited to be going off into the cool night. Race organizers had anticipated it would take teams seven to eight hours to finish the 25-plus mile trekking leg, but Team Epinephrine hustled though the trekking leg, running periodically, and increased its lead by finishing in just over six hours. Team member Adam Goodvibes was elated to have rappelled 300 feet in the dark and said it was the longest rappel he'd ever done. Leaving the transition quickly, Team Epinephrine looked poised for the victory stand. The team would first have to ride out of the canyon, and then descend 4,000 feet into the town of Ojai en route to the finish line at Camp Comfort Campgrounds.

Team Dawg came into the final transition over an hour behind Team Epinephrine, with Team Pure Adrenaline and Team N.E.A.R close behind. Team Dawg rode hard but was unable to gain ground on Team Epinephrine and finished in 2nd place, 1:40 back. Team Pure Adrenaline took 3rd, with Team N.E.A.R taking 4th place. Team Epicor rounded out the top-5, finishing 7:30 behind the winners.

Team Golden Palace.com won the two-person male division and took 6th place overall, and Team Extreme Madness won the two-person coed division. Despite the intense temperatures and arduous terrain, most teams prevailed and finished the race.

"It was so bloody hot. I don't want to ride my bike for several months," Goodvibes said. I got sick and tired of pushing my bike up endless hills, but the competition was exciting and I loved it. This was a great race."

Every team echoed Goodvibes' sentiment about the course: great competition, extreme conditions and well organized. Team Epinephrine's win put it solidly in the lead for winning the Mountain Rage Series entering the finals in Lake Mead, Arizona, November 4-5.

For more information on the Four Winds Adventure events email the race directors at info@4windsadventure.com.

— Doug Judson, MountainZone.com Correspondent