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"It's amazing what we can make people do and they'll call it fun..." — Michael Epstein, MESP founder

The competition began dramatically at 8am in a purple haze created by smoke grenades tossed by camouflaged Marines overseeing the first technical challenge, a belly crawl under cargo nets. Grueling special tests such as these set the Hi-Tec Series apart from traditional sporting events.

"It's amazing what we can make people do and they'll call it fun," observed Michael Epstein, founder of the organizing entity, Michael Epstein Sports Productions (MESP). Over 200 three-person teams turned out for this Miami race.

Hummers roved across the beach as a black Zodiac filled with Marines cut through the surf, managing the obstacle courses they helped design.

"We always invite the Marines to help out when we're in a city where they have a base. They love it," said Epstein. "We don't want [the participants] to expect stuff — that's what makes it tough."

This race in Miami, where June temperatures climbed toward 90 with a humidity rating at 70+ percent, included running and biking over the flat lands and kayaking the brackish water where fresh meets salt near the coastline. Miami's unrelenting subtropical heat was eased by a light cloud cover, making the first few hours of the race much more pleasant than they might have otherwise been.

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Flying across the finish line first was Team Fog Dog from Pennsylvania, which beat the projected circuit time of 3 hours 15 minutes by a wide margin at 2:58. Team member Doug Crytzer looked strong as he pushed himself over the final climbing wall and whizzed past the finish line, collapsing a step later, falling happily into the arms of team members Susan Falvey and Toby Angove.

"What a man!" Falvey cried to Crytzer as fans rushed forward to douse the team with water. "Welcome to Miami!"

Team Fog Dog made some of the stunts look easy, such as the railroad tie pull. While some teams grunted and huffed as they shoved and pulled the ties around the course, the coed team tugged the 350lb ties like they were twigs, jogging nimbly around their competitors on the circuitous path.

One of the first to congratulate the winners was Corky Ewing of Team Balance Bar, which won last year's national title and the first race this year in Phoenix, May 23. Ewing's California team was knocked out early in the Miami contest when member Lynn Albrow twisted her ankle about a mile into the first 6.5 mile run, just minutes from the starting line. Although the team was disqualified, Ewing and Bob Schulz continued through the course, actually clearing the finish line before the winning team.

"Of course we were disappointed," Ewing said later, stating the obvious although his team did not drop it good sport attitude, "but we're glad we finished."

Ewing and his teammates seemed to keep their cool in spite of foul luck while a few — but only a few — other teams shouted caustically at each other as they proceeded through the course. Other competitors were calmly focused as they plowed through the biking, running and kayaking sections with silent determination.

"A lot of times they just give each other non-verbal cues," commented MESP emcee Frank Palermo. "They know each other, some live with each other. You can tell they're so focused they know when to step it up or help each other out."

"The top seven to eight percent are in it to win, but the bulk of everybody else is out to have fun. Team work is the key..."— Eric Partenheimer, Hi-Tec

The major sponsored traveling teams, made up of pro and semi-pro athletes who are paid stipends to compete, had a good showing, but some local adventurers made impressive stances. Tying for second place with Team Red Bull was Team Big Wheel Cycles, consisting of locals Sylvia Corbett, a professional runner and personal trainer from Fort Lauderdale, and Eric Silika and Dan Kuehn, both from Hollywood, FL.

The local team led the way through much of the race, going into the final stretch with an eight-minute lead, but losing its advantage during the orienteering event, which involved using a map and compass to locate three hidden letters: W-A-S.

"We weren't tired," said Corbett. "We could have gone on for a while, but we got a little bit lost — nobody could think clearly under pressure," said Silika, a first-time participant, who paints parking lot lines for a living.

"The sports are our strength," continued Corbett, "not the skills."

Many participants believe it's the experience and the personal challenge, not the $1,000 prize money and trophy, that count. Just ask first time participant Hazen Kreis, a 17-year-old from Jensen Beach, FL. Kreis was invited to join Team Running Wild just the night before the race, when team captain Steve Gibbs discovered that one team recruit couldn't make the grade and was dismissed. And Kreis performed just fine — Running Wild was the first all-male team to cross the finish line.

Kreis, a high school junior and avid mountain biker, admitted, "I just love doing crazy stuff like this."

He and a few hundred spectators, it seems. Participant enrollment grows each year as friends and family watch the energy of the race. Kim Williams, wife of Team Hi-Tec competitor Roger Williams and mother of three, says she's ready to begin training so she can join the fun. She hopes to race in Portland with Hi-Tec reps Eric Partenheimer and Brett Weitl.

"I get so much adrenaline just from watching," said Williams as she massaged Hi-Tec racer Karen Lundgren's feet. "I can't imagine how it's going to feel when I'm actually doing it."

Partenheimer thinks it's going to be good.

"It's a lot of fun to watch, but to finish is the goal," he said. "The top seven to eight percent are in it to win, but the bulk of everybody else is out to have fun. Team work is the key."

— Trish Riley, MountainZone.com Correspondent