Illinois Coast 2 Coast - Written Review!!

Never in a million years (I'm only 27), did I think that I would be doing a race from one side of a state...to the other. Sure enough though, there I was, with my hand in the Mississippi River, getting ready to start a 179mi race across Illinois and ending on the north side of Chicago at Lake Michigan. The race was plotted to cover 103mi on bike, 29 by kayak/canoe (caw-new...heyo!), 15 on rollerblades and about 16 running/trekking...but due to a raging thunderstorm and potential injury (death by lightningcould count), we decided to stop with a little over 60mi to go. 

When you train for a race like this, you're expecting it to be difficult. You condition yourself to bike, paddle, rollerblade and run...literally for hours on end so that you can make a quick transition at the checkpoint. What is extremely hard to condition yourself for is nasty weather. It's takes a sick mind (and I'm getting there) to see a storm roll in and say, "Hey I think I'll go run, bike and blade with my rain gear on!!!" That's when Angie looks at me like my head is falling off, and to her credit, it usually is. 

Kristen Karnowski, Heather Kluch and I were the racers, and Angie Wing (my lovely wife) and Tim Wing (my...burly(?) father) took care of all our support needs, suchas moving gear from one checkpoint to another, laying out fresh (Smartwool) socks and food at each of the legs, etc...They performed marvelously despite never having done anything like this before, so a huge thank you was/is/always in order for them. 

We started on our bikes and headed for the Slurp N' Burp in Loran, IL...a short 25mi bike ride...and I'm not kidding...all uphill. 

There may have been a downhill somewhere in that journey, but it felt like were climbing uphill for the entire section. Quick check-in and a reload on energy bars and we were back pedaling to Freeport, IL where we'd start the paddling section. 

To our utter (otter?) surprise, this 20mi leg started with a huge hill! Luckily we were able to get over it and were treated to some flat(ter) roads where we could stay in a faster gear and pick up some time. Wrong turn set us back a couple of minutes, but since it was my fault, I'll blame Heather...

Once in downtown Freeport, we asked some locals coming out of a bar where Tutty's Landing was and shockingly, those locals coming out of the bar actually gave us the correct directions. Mental note though, liquored up locals may actually give incorrect directions to dudes in spandex. Should file that somewhere. Batting a thousand for now though...

The paddle was pretty uneventful. Imagine, well, sitting in a canoe for three hours and doing nothing but paddling. It was on the Pecatonica River that we discovered a few things:

1. Milan Kratka has superhuman speed in a kayak (see related article)
2. Milan Kratka infringed on Fred Flinstones copyrighted vehicle (see above note)
3. There are a lot of poo-ticles floating around in the air near farmland
4. Gallagher (the guy with the mallet and watermelons) drinks beer along the river

We also learned that we should have adjusted Heather's sling-seat before we got into the canoe. We needed to tighten it and move Heather forward so Kristen could stop hitting her, in the head, with her double bladed kayak paddle. That and since Heather was in the middle of the boat and low riding, it made it next to impossible for her reach over the gunwale and paddle, she wasn't able to do much except laugh at my constant witty banter and singing. Heather also suffers from Rhodes Scholar Disease (see Raynaud's Disease) where the blood vessels in her fingers restrict/contract, not letting any blood flow to that extremity. This happens anytime she gets a chill and she's cold...so naturally adventure racing in cold climates is the best option for her. Oh I'm supposed to be being serious? 

After we landed 8mi west of Sumner, IL, we changed clothes, had a quick cup of coffee, threw Heather in the Civic to warm up...we were off to run down those 8mi to Sumner where we'd check in and hop back on the bikes for a quick (notice how I keep saying 'quick') 25mi ride to Rock Cut State Park. Uneventful run, except Kristen was in writhing pain, but pulled through and covered those 8mi in unbelievable time. She's had five knee surgeries and somehow manages to lead us on every bike section of the race! 

Those last 25mi to Rock Cut were by far the hardest. This is where all the exhaustion, fatigue and self-doubt starts to creep in. It's getting dark so navigating is harder because you have to slow down to see the county road signs. You get hypnotized by the red, blinking tail light you're staring at on the back of your teammate's bike...all these things add up for one heck of a craving to stop. Those miles weren't necessarily the hilliest (word?), but it'sopen farmland and you're not able to hide between the trees and dodge the wind. We were battling all the things I mentioned, plus a 20mph headwind (you'd THINK the wind would be at our back travelling W to E) and light rain/hail. It's funny how your body works though. I can remember three separate times at where I wanted to launch myself off the bike, and make the dull, aching pain go away, but you...just...keep...going. 

I've pin-pointed it down to knowing that no matter what happens, that next checkpoint is coming, that there will be a smiling support crew willing to offer you words of encouragement to keep going...sounds small, but it REALLY does make a difference knowing that there will be an end to the misery! Yes, I just plugged our team's motto, for the LOVE of MISERY!

We decided not to continue when we came into the rollerblading transition area. We'd just spent 15min collecting ourselves at the I-173 & I-90 underpass when the rain really started coming down. Kristen had taken a tumble on her bike when she was drafting me and I shifted down too quickly so her shoulder was geeked. It was violently lightning...ing out and the two other teams that had rollerbladed had taken a couple of spills...safety always being number one. The IL Coast 2 Coast race for us...was over! 

Not a single thing to regret though. We covered our ground exceptionally fast and were behind two very experienced 2-person teams and a 3-person relay team (only team to complete moving Coast to Coast!). It wouldn't be an Otter race without worst case scenario weather, so I'm proud of what we did! Can't wait to do it again next year!

Fat Otter Spring Training Camp - Devil's Lake

Review of this camp waiting to be written...

The Truth About Milan Kratka

Have you ever done a race that involved paddling and seen someone pass you like the Roadrunner does Wile E Coyote? You see that spray of mist off the water? You taste that humiliation of being a chump compared to the human-outboard-motor that you just witnessed...

Well stop being so hard on yourself! My fellow teammates on Fat Otter and I were ready this time. Since we were the third team to launch in the paddling section of the Pecatonica River during last week's Illinois Coast 2 Coast race, we had some time to set up our sting. Thirty minutes into the paddle, we pulled off to the side of the river and secured a motion activated camera that was able to see THROUGH the murky waters and look under the hull of any kayak passing by...and what did we see? That's right. Milan Kratka and his devious ways! This friendly, down to Earth, selfless philanthropist hasn't been completely honest with us, and the truth is exposed in this unaltered, un-Microsoft Paint-ed, high-resolution snapshot.

In doing some background research on Kratka, this investigative reporter who's currently on vacation from his day job and has a limitless amount of time on Wednesday morning, found irrefutable evidence that Milan and his equally impressive and well-mannered, delightful son share a love of the Flintstones. This technology of affixing wet-suit legs and slip-on flippers to the hull of his kayak is a direct connection to Fred Flintstone and his mode of transportation. 

A Little Media Attention!

This is a little overdue, but I've been preoccupied with being lazy and gearing up for some races. Matt Stewart was kind enough to drop my name to Scott Richardson, a reporter for The Pantagraph (nothing satanic, although it sounds a lot like it). Scott got wind of how I quit smoking to focus on adventure racing and training for races like the Redbird, so he did a little Human Interest piece on yours truly! It's pasted below, but here's the link to the article. Some friends up here in Monona were visiting their family in central IL and saw my face staring at them during breakfast and brought the article to me, strangely random and convenient at the same time!

HUDSON -- Evan Wing was a former high-school athlete who picked up a cigarette habit in college. His fitness went up in smoke with the tobacco. The only exercise he got was mountain biking once in a while.

But that was before the 27-year-old Wheaton native and branch manager at a bank in Madison, Wis. was introduced to adventure racing on a trip to the Bloomington-Normal area last year. Wing snuffed out the butts to train for the Illinois State University Red Bird Challenge Adventure Race held at Comlara Park near Hudson.

The three-part event, which will be run again April 19, requires teams of two or four to canoe on Evergreen Lake and maneuver a course through the woods on foot and mountain bike.

In 2008, Wing's team came in dead last. But the experience was life-changing. Since then, he's raced in several adventure races, including a grueling 24-hour endurance test that covered more than 70 miles on bikes, 15 miles on foot and seven miles on the water. He's joined a team of adventure racers. His goal is be a motivational speaker to encourage people to give up smoking and invest the money they save wisely.

"I have a very addictive personality," said Wing. "I traded adventure racing for smokes."

He's not alone, according to Alissa Pywell, coordinator of the ISU Outdoor Adventure Program, the race sponsor. ISU Red Bird Challenge has launched others besides Wing into the sport that is growing in popularity throughout the world.

"Our event is a great gateway to try this new activity," she said. "Ours is open to everybody, pretty laid back, but a little different than other ones people have done. I know several people who have started here and gone on to pursue other adventure races. That's great."

Features that make the Red Bird Challenge a "little different" are the mystery challenges sprinkled through the course. Last year's race, which attracted 25 teams, started with a three-legged race from the start line to the canoes.

The competition and fitness aspects of adventure racing attracted Wing. After being a captain on his high school volleyball team in Wheaton and playing defensive lineman for the school, his exercise focused mostly on mountain biking and commuting to work in Chicago.

He heard about the Challenge, and asked some friends to make up a team.

"I just said, 'Hey, I want to do this race. Who's in? Who else has a screw loose?" said Wing. "I just kind of fell in love with the idea of doing an outdoorsy triathlon."

He jettisoned the cigarettes, started running and biking with a backpack filled with canned soup to add weight, and got as ready as he could.

"I loved it," he said.

As proof, Wing can cite his later entry in a 24 hour race near Fond du Lac, Wis., that featured a bike ride both on- and off-road of more than 70 miles and about 15 miles trekking on foot.

He joined an adventure racing group called Fat Otter, which sponsors races, and launched his own Web site atwww.wingspanracing.blogspot.com. Among 2009 events, he plans to take part in a 36-hour race from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River via mountain bike, kayak, trekking and roller blades the week after the Challenge.

One day, he hopes to do even more rugged expedition, including the Primal Quest, a race in South Dakota spanning 600 miles and 10 days.

Forget nicotine, Wing is addicted to another chemical now.

"It's the adrenaline," he said. "It's getting out there knowing you're not in a gym, being out in nature and seeing things you've never seen before. It feels like you're back playing GI Joe as a kid."

Upcoming Races

The below are the races that I'll be doing in the next six months or so. I'm having trouble getting my schedule clear for the GMRAS, the other ones I'm confident I'll be in. Dances with Dirt will be my first attempt at a marathon distance, but it's actually about 30miles total (listed as a 50k)! Why wouldn't I try to automaticaly go for something more extreme my first time?

Let me know if you have any interest in trying one of these. The CAARA All nighter, Warrior Dash, Muddy Buddy and Fat Otter Fall Sprint are all very doable races for beginners! I'd love to put together a training schedule for or with you!

GMRAS - Greater Mississippi River Adventure Series -- May 16th

CAARA All Nighter - 12hrs of night navigation and AR -- June 12-13 

Dances With Dirt - Trail Running at Devil's Lake -- July 11th

Warrior Dash - Joliet, IL 6k with 13 obstacles -- July 18th

Muddy Buddy - Great race for beginners -- August 2nd

Sweaty Otter - 24hr race -- August 8th

Thunder Rolls - 24hr race  -- August 29th

Fat Otter Fall Sprint - 3-5hr -- November 14th

Redbird Challenge 2009

This year's Redbird Challenge definitely proved that Matt Stewart and the Outdoor Rec group at ISU are excellent at putting on races! Everything from the grab bags to the mystery events were well thought out and considerate. Actually, in lieu of t-shirts, we got Sigg like water bottles from H2Go that said, "Give me a map and get lost!" LOVE IT! 

Good start to the race with a popcorn filled kiddy pool to find a numbered button that told us which canoe we were taking. With 40 people looking for 40 buttons, Heather and Nate got pushed/shoved/kicked/punched and stabbed trying to find ours! Couple of knife wounds later and we were good to go. 

It was pretty burly carrying the canoes through the mud to the boat launch. We figured out pretty quickly that if you walked on the grass, you could not only have better footing, but you can pass a bunch of other teams! That's right, never underestimate our sneakiness. We split our canoes into Nate and Angie in one 

and then Heather and I bringing up the rear. The plan wasn't necessarily for Heather and I to be in the rear, but apparently Nate and Angie can paddle like Otters (whaaaaat? team name plug!?)! 

Where we landed the canoe is where the trail running started. I guess there was some confusion when the first few teams out of the canoe made a wrong turn, but by the time we got there, volunteers were directing us to head right after jumping over a hay bail...which was awesome because there was a nice, deep mud pit waiting for you. SLOPPY! 

The race crew put an army crawl before the last duck into the woods and we agreed that Matt let his dog fertilize the slop we crawled through, but he maintains his innocence. Right. Sure, Matt. We all know Cassius does what you tell him.

Although I had to let my dreams of good, Comlara-style singletrack go, the road section was still fun, especially with the addition of the obstacle course! Once we rode our bikes there, we ran into the woods to find rope criss-crossing the path and we had to duck and weave through it to make it to the tight rope. The combined weight and repeated use of the two ropes stretched across the water made it pretty slack and tough to hang on. The preferred way was to get on the rope and shimmy out to where it was safe enough to drop in the water and then wade to the other side. There was a big bottle neck here as no one wanted to bypass the obstacle and take a time penalty, so we found ourselves waiting for the team in front to get all the way across. I wanted to Tyrolean the line, so I went out head first and hooked a leg on the top rope and pulled myself over. See? Wearing tights helped me NOT get some nasty rope burn on my leg. Booyakashaw! FYI tights rule in all racing situations...never thought I'd say that...

We found out five or so miles from the finish that Angie's bike was riding on some seriously low tire pressure! I guess I'll take the blame for that since I just grabbed my old bike from the basement and let her ride it. Hey! I at least checked the pressure before the race!  It wasn't long after I switched bikes with her that the back tire was completely flat and was coming off of the rim. We got into a small stretch of woods and the tire and tube were hanging off to the side, making me pick up the bike and carrying it to the race tent. Flat tire fixed and mystery puzzle solved, we were off!

And by fixed I meant the new tube briefly did its job. Two miles later and we were in the same spot. My added weight sped up whatever the hell was happening in that rear wheel and we had another flat. YES! Exactly as planned!...

I wasn't about to waste another tube on something that we didn't know WHY was happening, so I picked that damn 30lb, extremely awkwardly balanced bike and hulked it from the last turn to the finish line, just shy of a mile. 

I don't think I've ever finished a race that tired before. I was pretty wiped at the end of the 24hr Sweaty Otter, but I wasn't carrying an F'ing bike on my back.

Matt helped us clean up by squirting liduid dish soap and water on some tarps to make up a slip n slide. It got in my eyes and burned for a few hours but that's all right. Next year use Johnson's baby shampoo, Matt! Just kidding, no eye burning. 

He told me a bit ago that it was actually baby oil, but that doesn't fit the whole burning joke, so it's sticking. All in all, an excellent race...so a big thank you is owed. 

It was awesome that Angie and Nate did a race as Otters. Angie actually logged her second Otter experience this past weekend running our support crew for the IL Coast 2 Coast  with my Dad. (I'm writing that review next! Wow, that race was about as gentle as a feral dog). Whether or not Angie ends up having the same obsessive compulsive affliction revolving around AR as me is still left to be seen, but my wife did a RACE! 

A big thanks to Rod for handling the dogs while studying, and ultimately passing, his personal trainer exam the following week. You da man! Heather, I'll race with you anytime. You're crazy coming up here yar yay ha!

Thanks to Matt and his crew for hosting the event. You can expect a first place in multiple divisions next year, pal! Next year though, leave the dog poo out of the army crawl, yay ha?

HEADCOLDS AREN'T FUN!

Unfortunately, I won't be racing the 2nd Annual Klondike Days Snowshoe race on Saturday. I'm not sure how I got sick, it might have been from running in mid 20 degree weather with not enough layers on, but it doesn't really matter now.


Missed a day and a half of work, and I'll be sidelined for one more, but it's worth it to get the rest so we can still have a good time up in Eagle River. Hell, there's going to be enough chainsaw carving and lumberjack competitions to keep us all busy. Angie's promised to bring me back a medical mask and some latex gloves from work so I won't pass along the germs while we're playing cards up north. I'll wear the mask because it'll be funny, but I may be reaching a bit on the gloves part of it.


Seriously. I was really looking forward to that race.

Arches National Park - Moab, UT

It's safe to say that I've never been to a place quite like Moab. On the same trip that Christian and I hiked down into the Black Canyon, we did us some Moab. Arches National Park is just north of the town and actually had some scenes from The Incredible Hulk with Eric Bana (not Edward Norton). But you're not here to ready about The Incredible Hulk, you're here to read about me and my crazy adventures.

The great thing about this trip was that I learned you can drink roughly two liters of water and still be dehydrated at the end of the day. Moab is a high elevation desert, so the air is thinner and the heat was that of...well, a desert. The real shocking thing is that it was so dry and hot, that you didn't sweat at all, the second any perspiration hit your skin it was wicked back into the air.

CRW (aka Christian Roberts Wing) and I camped out along the Colorado River, where I learned the term "missile drop." A quick one night camp with some delicious backpacker meals and we were passed out. You know, those meals are actually really really good, and the desserts were really really desserty.

We were shuttled to the top of the Gemini Bridges Trail with our rental bikes and were among all the other tourists taking the beautiful scenery in. I fondly remember my brother and I laughing at some shmoe erratically riding his bike across one of the twin bridges. We definitely weren't expecting the length of the ride, but sections of that trail looked like how I would expect the surface of Mars to look like. It was awesome.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

The Black Canyon is 1800ft deep, which is a full football field longer than the Sears Tower in Chicago. The Black Canyon is accessible in Montrose, CO which is 40-some miles from the mouth of the Gunnison River in Gunnison.

The first time I hiked down into the canyon was with my brother back around 2000 or 2001. Starting up in the treeline, you use a lot of switchbacks to get down the extremely steep canyonside. We knew we were in for a good time when we came to an 80ft chain that lowered us down to the rocky section of the descent. Although we sound extremly tough and rugged by mention of this chain, kids do it every year (of course they don't have cool hats and developed chest muscles).

The loose rock scree was a mix between "Hey this is kinda like surfing" mixed with "Oh SH!T." One second you're sure-footed, the next you're on your backside scrambling to get back up onto your feet.

To make sure you're still on the correct path down toward the river, every five minutes or so you'd spot a stack of smaller, square shaped, stacked rocks that mark the trail. I always thought they were called "karns," but I haven't been able to find anything to back that up, sooo...yeah.

Once down on the riverside, there's not too much to do except relax and look up at the gigantic canyon walls. It's quite humbling to know that you're looking up at the edge of the canyon, and that the Sears would comfortable fit inside. Christian and I grabbed a quick picture out on a rock in the river, and headed back up. Awesome work out, awesome time.

I came back a few years later with friend and co-worker, Tim Williams, and we actually camped out overnight at the base of the canyon. Pretty amazing time, especially when I fell in the freezing river after trying to traverse a section of rock in full-out hiking boots. Not too nimble.

Highly recommend this. This was the most difficult hike I'd ever done at that point in my life (and then I found adventure racing!).

Training for Klondike Days in Eagle River

Tonight (yes tonight), I started training for the 5mi snowshoe race in Eagle River's annual Klondike Days. It was pretty cold out, but I was trying to reach the point of nausea while exerting yourself, so my body temp rose pretty friggin quickly.


FYI, you can use Gmap-pedometer to get a handle on how many miles you've run, hiked, biked, etc...Sweet Trav showed me this once upon a time, and I've used it a countless number of times prepping for a race or trek.


Anyway, using Gmaps, I've charted a rugged, nasty, sidewalk path from my duplex to the local Walgreens, measuring exactly one mile of the harshest mixture of sand, crushed stone and water (ie concrete) that Madison's civil engineers could come up with. I ran four, and I'm happy with that. Conditions being what they were, I'm imagining this Saturday to have warmer temps with the sun than what I was running in tonight.


I may not win this thing, but I'll be out there promoting AR, Wingspan Racing and of course, my fellow Fat Otters, so wish me luck and make it a point to get out and do something fun this weekend other than sit inside and remark on how cold it is. Vaseline will shield you from the wind and insulate your body heat. It's less than appetizing, but very true. Just ask Bruce "shortpants" Munson.