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Upon completing the sand-laden run, competitors mounted their bikes and hit the 11.2-mile mountain bike portion of the race. The fog lingered throughout and ultimately was a huge factor in the layout of the course. Early on, Team Hi-Tec lead the race and Team Women's Sports and Fitness, with Sara Ballantyne, former three-time world mountain bike champ and '98 Eco-Challenge champ, held a tight second, with Team Balance Bar a close third, thus creating a battle that dominated much of the race.

The completion of the biking portion brought on the second special test, the electric fence. Like all special tests, the hurtle may look relatively harmless, but...each member must go over the four-foot wall without touching any part of it — a test of agility and acrobatics. Some hurtled the wall, others used teammates' backs in order to it, and some formed human pyramids. Nonetheless, it is special tests like these that insure it is not only brawn that wins the race — the teams must also have brains.

From the wall, teams dashed to the next race standard, the kayaking. However, with the extreme fog, for the first time in Hi-Tec history, organizers deemed the visibility unsafe and cut the kayak portion short. Organizers do want to see the teams pushed to their limits, but not when safety is at risk.

"It is not a Hi-Tec adventure race without at least a few bombs and the organizers dropped one midway through the run. With only three miles left, teams were astonished when the trail markers disappeared...."

Because the kayaking was interrupted, the three top teams held their respective positions entering the "Peanut Butter River." This special test called for teams to swing over an imaginary river without touching a marked out portion below. This task proved less difficult and teams hustled from the river right into the 7.3-mile run.

It is not a Hi-Tec adventure race without at least a few bombs and the organizers dropped one midway through the run. With only three miles left, teams were astonished when the trail markers disappeared. So in a mass of confusion, the orienteering test began. With only the use of a map, compass and the team's own know-how, the finality of the run became destine to the teams' ability to navigate. Team Women's Sports and Fitness, who had definitively held second place was relegated to 26th place.

With master orienteering skills, Team Hi-Tec established a two-minute lead over Team Balance Bar into the next test, the "balance beams." At this playground for adults, teams balance themselves atop a teeter-totter while passing a weighty bucket of sand from one end to the other — without letting the teeter-totter touch the ground. This frustrating task cost Hi-Tec first place, while buying Team Balance Bar a 30-second lead, and lead to a close race to the last obstacle — the 12-foot wall.

This Hi-Tec race saw the tightest finish of the year with Team Balance Bar crossing the finish in 2:35:56, taking its fourth win in the series. Team Hi-Tec captured second place at 2:27:23 while teams Fogdog, Jet, and Nature's Garden Natural Foods took third, fourth and fifth, respectively. With the final race of the series October 30 in Los Angeles, Team Balance Bar is the chosen favorite. However, if New York is any indication of the Los Angeles race it will be another to remember.

— Tracey Croughwell, MountainZone.com Correspondent