Indy Adventure Racing

Business Development / Get Better / Indy Adventure Racing / Play Hard — Comments Off on 40-30-30 still holds true
28
Oct 13

40-30-30 still holds true

Here’s a repost of an article from Robert Nagle, one of the Fathers of adventure racing. It addresses the balance required for success in adventure racing. I’ve quoted this article to many of my friends because I believe now more than ever that it applies to business and to life as well.

40-30-30: A Ratio For Racing Success

By Robert Nagle, 2002 Team Captain Eco Internet/GoLite

No, this is not yet another thesis on how to eat during an adventure race. Nor is it a discussion on the best diet for athletic training. Instead, it is a discussion of a different kind – what goes into making a successful adventure racing experience.

How you define success is, of course, up to you. Success may mean completing the course. Or, at the other extreme, it may mean a podium finish. Regardless, there are three key elements that will determine whether or not you meet your goals.

Most people fixate on the physical challenge when they first encounter adventure racing (be it on a television show, a gripping magazine article or even just one graphic image). The immediate assumption is that adventure racing is a grueling physical test. Of course, much of the media (and some race promoters) play it this way. Is adventure racing the toughest sport of all? Is this the toughest adventure race ever staged? How can these crazies race so hard for so long on such little sustenance in such a hostile environment?

Full article

Get Better / Indy Adventure Racing / Play Hard — Comments Off on More goals are better
10
Feb 12

More goals are better

Today I made the transition from 51 years to 52. I tend to get reflective on my birthday, and today I am thinking about how badly I need goals in my life to be happy and to get better.

Whether it’s a sales goal or an Indianapolis adventure race that I’m training for, it helps me focus. It makes the day-to-day discipline required seem less like drudgery and more like meaningful work.

How badly do you need goals? Do you need to lengthen your goals list?

Indy Adventure Racing / Play Hard / Uncategorized — Comments Off on Great year of racing with Team Ragged Glory
02
Nov 11

Great year of racing with Team Ragged Glory

My favorite diversion is adventure racing. A group of friends and I have been doing adventure races since 2001 as Team Ragged Glory. This year we did four races and finished well in each :

Planet Adventure Urban Sprint – 1st overall
Planet Adventure 30 Hour Challenge – 6th overall
Planet Adventure Urban Sprint Race – 2nd all male division
Indianapolis Adventure Race – 3rd overall

Our success this year was due to a combination of factors: experience, navigation skills and good team dynamics. It’s the people that are the key ingredient to the fun we have every year. I raced with some incredible teammates in 2011:

Eric Henricks – Exceptional navigator, calm thinker, great all-around athlete. Eric knows how to lead.
Dave Tanner – Endurance legend, incredible swimmer, cyclist and navigator. Dave is kind, gentle, and relaxed during every race.
Nancy Gawrys – Energetic, positive, focused, competitive and fun. Nancy is probably the best athlete on the team, and the easily the most fun.
Julie Nor – College athlete, long-distance deity, Julie is one of our youngest and strongest. Her first race with TRG was legendary. Her faith and her strength make every race memorable.
Steve Kincade – a founding member of Team Ragged Glory, Steve is more of a brother to me than a teammate. Steve navigates, he’s supportive and considerate in-race. He effortlessly cranks out unbelievable distance on foot. He’s a rock.
Jeff Boxell – Jeff’s steady, focused relentlessness and his understanding of the inner game of adventure racing make him an excellent teammate. And brother-in law.
Joe Madren – Another one of our youngest, Joe’s strength, team mind, and focus on the finish line all give him the strength to lead. He’s also a fine brother-in-law.
Bob Mueller – Fast, accurate navigator, our strongest cyclist and a true all-around athlete, when Bob’s race face is on, we’re headed toward the finish line. The last race this season was amazing thanks to Bob’s navigation.

And even though Leslie Thompson didn’t get to race this year, Team Ragged Glory is really all her fault. She is the one who introduced me to adventure racing in 1999. She is the third founding member of Team Ragged Glory. Thanks Lester.

If you haven’t tried adventure racing, make 2012 your year. If you’re fortunate enough, you can race with friends that you respect and admire. I’m grateful for the friendships with each of these teammates. These friends make me a better person.

Indy Adventure Racing / Play Hard — 1 Comment
05
Dec 10

Tecumseh Trail Marathon and my @TeamRaggedGlory teammate Steve Kincade

Dino Series’ Tecumseh Trail Marathon took place yesterday (December 4, 2010). Steve Kincade, long-time Team Ragged Glory member and longer-time friend, and I (Doug Theis) headed down to Yellowwood State Forest in Nashville, Indiana, wondering what the wintry mix of weather had in store for us.

As sleet poured down on the racers, Brian Holzhausen, the Race Director, announced that the roads were too dicey for the bus drivers. He wisely changed the route from a point-to-point to an out-and-back. The south half of the Tecumseh would be our gauntlet. As fortune would have it, the south half is the hilliest half of the trail.

My running partner Steve Kincade and I have been playing in the woods together for a long time. Steve and I met in 1989. Steve worked in the Lab at Methodist and I worked in IT. During the 1991 Indianapolis Mini Marathon, Steve and I ended up running together during the last mile. We started running together shortly thereafter and haven’t quit yet. I was glad he was running with me. He has an uncanny ability to grind out high mileage. Misery loves company.

The gun sounded at 10am. A mixture of sleet and snow fell steadily as we circled Yellowwood Lake and headed north to the 13 mile turnaround. The temperatures stayed right in the 30 degree range the entire event. Between 2 and 4 inches of snow fell as we ran the course. Aside from some tricky passing for the leaders in two-way trail traffic, the race was well executed and tough, as always. Steve and I ended up finishing in about 6 hours and 15 minutes. Our Indy adventure racing friends Eric Henricks, Angelia Kniesly, and Phil McNealy all ran much faster and finished well.

I had a great time with my old friend, Steve. Thanks Brian, for another high-quality installment of the Tecumseh Trail Marathon.