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Team Red Bull's Jim Garfield, Andy Petranek, and Jenny Wood burned up the course with a time of 2:14:28. Karen Lundgren, Paul Romero, and Tom Spiegel of Team Hi-Tec had been hot on their heels finishing 2:15:40 losing the lead during the orienteering portion. The third place position was taken by local Team Bicycles Incorporated: Linda Horneman, Lary Price, and Rich Miller.

"Teams had to make human ladders out of their teammates and crawl and tug at every available piece of clothing and body part to make their way up the incredibly slick surface..."

Athletes ranging from world champion triathletes to former competitors on the TV show American Gladiators converged upon Cedar Hill State Park for round four of the Hi-Tec adventure racing series. The event attracted 301 teams making it the world's largest adventure race.

The race started with a four mile trail after which the teams faced their first special test. They had to construct a stretcher out of materials provided and use it to carry a team member over a 0.5 mile loop. Successful completion of this strange task led straiught into the one hour kayak stretch, which culminated in a 50-75 yard swim to shore. The wet and tired bodies then continued on to the most entertaining portion of the special tests.

The "slippery mountain," as the organizers called it, was the ultimate teamwork tester. With the exception of Bill Ronalter of Team Endeavor, who charged the wall with such speed that he hit it like a ramp and launched off the other side, most teams had to make human ladders out of their teammates and crawl and tug at every available piece of clothing and body part to make their way up the incredibly slick surface. The racers then proceeded on to the two to three mile trail run, all noticeably uncomfortable due to their greased appendages.

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Coming in from the run greasy, dirty, and sweaty, the racers now had a 13-mile mountain bike loop ahead of them. This was the section where one of the top teams experienced the frustration that is adventure racing. Team E.A.R. (Encinitas Adventure Racers) after leading most of the race fell back to 22nd on the muddy 13-mile mountain bike leg.

Team E.A.R. consisting of Paula Newby-Fraser, eight-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion, Paul Huddle, winner of 1991 Japan Ironman Triathlon, and Richard Albrow, top age group triathlete was arguably one of the strongest teams in the field. Ultimately, a set of tires on Fraser's bike proved to offer too much grip and became caked with mud.

"I'd go a 100 meters and it would collect mud, and I'd have to stop," said a disappointed Fraser. "I couldn't even pedal."

Adventure racing is the great equalizer. While Team E.A.R.'s talented members were having trouble, a local team was making up a tremendous amount of time on the mountain bikes. The three local mountain bike racers of Team Bicycles Incorporated were able to move to within striking distance of Team Hi-Tec and Team Red Bull.

"When we got on the bikes, we knew we were going to catch some people," said Miller matter of factly. The team was able to hold on to third through the final special tests consisting of the orienteering section and the crawl through the mud pit to the cargo nets. Much more impressive was the fact that Miller had been in Las Vegas with friends and didn't get back in Dallas until 1:30 a.m. and was only able to get two hours of sleep.

But then again that's all part of adventure racing. Not just the obstacles on the course but also the distractions a competitor encounters before even getting to the race: not enough time to train, teammates deciding they don't want to race, equipment failure, and just lack of motivation. A competitor learns patience and reliance on teammates to get past these and other obstacles. In adventure racing it's not about winning but more the lesson and experience gained along the way. A competitor learns to deal with problems as they come. Paula Newby-Fraser summed it up best when she said, "you go from racing to win, to like okay this is what's in front of you and handle it the best way you can."

— Brandon Weaver, MountainZone.com Correspondent