January 22-23 saw the fifth running of the Two Below Duo.  This year’s event took place in Warren, PA during the Warren Winter fest.  Turn out was good, but the rugged conditions did reduce last minute entries.  A pity, because those that did not make it missed an epic event!

Stage 1-Duathlon-Start time 8:00am-Rocky Gap ATV Trails

Saturday morning was cold—absolutely the coldest of the winter.  Reports of temperatures as low as minus 16 degrees circulated at the start line.  I glanced once at my thermometer as I drove to Rocky Gap, and it read—coincidentally—2 below zero!   Despite all of this, racers were in good spirits and lined up eagerly for the start.  Standing still was not an option in these conditions.  Racers were excited to hear about the two lap criterium style start, but looked at us in disbelief when we pointed to the trail they were to enter for the first mile of the race.  It was an ATV trail and had at one time been packed by users of the trail, but many inches of snow had fallen since then.  There was little opportunity to ride on this trail—except for the periodic downhill.

After one mile of “Hike-a-Bike” racers entered FR 437.  There was little winter maintenance on this Forest Road, but it was well packed by snowmobile and truck traffic.  It was also primarily downhill and took racers quickly to the transition area for the run leg.  Dan Snyder and Chris Welsh were the first to arrive and made quick business of heading off on the two mile run on Hunter’s Ridge Trail in Chapman State Park.

The run leg was not particularly long, but the steep climbs and deep snow made it a challenge for all.  On average, teams completed the run in an hour—give or take.  When they re-mounted their bikes, it was for a steep quarter mile climb, and then back onto the unpacked ATV trails for a 5 mile slog home to the finish.  Some short sections were quite ride-able, but the majority of the return trip was challenging and uphill.  There were moments of frustration, but all racers held their heads high and finished with a great sense of accomplishment.  Now to head home to warm up and rest up for the nighttime navigation stage!

Stage 1-Top 3 Overall Results

1^st The Frosty Four (Relay)-William Skinner, Ann Freeborough:                      3:39:00

2^nd Team Hollyloft/warrenadventures.com-Scott Angove, Chuck Keeports: 3:40:41

3^rd Team Yellow Snow-Chris Welsh, Dan Snyder (includes 20 min. penalty): 3:41:02

Stage 2-Nighttime Navigation-Start time 6:00pm-Hearts Content Recreation Area

Racers met at 5:00pm at the Holiday Inn in Warren for a pre-race briefing regarding the orienteering course.  It was at this time that the location for this stage was revealed.   Racers were instructed that they would receive their maps 15 minutes prior to the start, but would not receive punch card and clue sheet until their start time.  There were three distinct “O” course loops and racers would start on a stagger.  This would serve to eliminate any “follow the leader” and required all racers to rise up and navigate on their own.  This worked like a charm, and within 15 minutes all racers were on the course and again faced deep snow and harsh winter conditions.  The race started at 6:00pm and the course would not be completely clear of all racers until after 11:00pm when Stacy Gelhaus—solo female racer—crossed the finish line.  That’s more than five hours of roaming the woods in the cold and dark—alone!  Team Yellow Snow managed to cross all their t’s and dot all their i’s and crossed the finish line first in a blazing 2:54:00 with Team Momma’s Makin’ Meatloaf/warrenadventures.com chasing them in 3:00:49.

With a third stage race start of 10:00am, racers had lots of time to get rest and food before the biathlon on Sunday morning.

Stage 2-Top 3 Overall Results

1^st Team Yellow Snow-Chris Welsh, Dan Snyder:                       2:54:00

2^nd MMM/warenadventure.com-Eric Fadale, Chris Darling:    3:00:49

3^rd Turd Ferguson and the Mustachioed Sex Panthers Lenny Lucas, Joe Egan, Jonathan McCune, Tom Matta(Relay):3:08:43 

Stage 3-Biathlon-Start time 10:00am-Kalbfus Gun Club

Sunday Morning was downright balmy with temperatures hovering in the 10 degree range.  And with the deep snow, course marking was a simple task completed by taking Ben (our border collie) for a walk on the race course.  Our footprints—the only ones to step in those woods for weeks—made a clear run course for the racers.  Same can be said for the penalty lap area.  Now it was simply a matter of getting the equipment to work in this cold weather.  After several attempts, it became clear that we would be limited to shooting traps (low and straight and easier than skeet) and that only one shooting station could be used at a time.  In years past we have had access to 2-4 stations and this made it possible to run this stage with no “bottlenecks”.  With only one station available, race staff would have to be on their toes to make sure things ran smoothly.  And smoothly is exactly how they ran!  Our hats are off to the professionals at the Kalbfus Gun Club that made this event possible.  Racers had a great time and were kept safe.  The biathlon was a perfect ending to this challenging weekend of racing.

Racers started at the shooting station in order of their race results.  First team went off at 10:00.  Each teammate took two shots at two “birds”.  Each “miss” resulted in a “penalty lap” that would occur after the one mile run in deep snow and up steep hills.  After one minute, the next team started by shooting, and then running.  And so on until all teams were on the course.  On average, teams managed to hit 1-2 “birds” per visit to the shooting station.  Several teams maxed out at three birds.  Although the penalty lap was only 200-300 meters long, it was in deep snow and gave racers enough incentive to hit “birds” so as to avoid the extra running.  Indeed it was the better shots that received the best final times.  Again, it was Team Yellow Snow that rocked the event by finishing the 4 lap stage in under an hour.  Both Dan and Chris are strong runners but Dan’s consistency in shooting helped enormously.

Stage 3-Top 3 Overall Results

1^st Team Yellow Snow-Chris Welsh, Dan Snyder:                              59:10

2^nd Steve Wendell (solo):                                                               1:02:40

3^rd Turd Ferguson and the Mustachioed Sex Panthers Lenny Lucas, Joe Egan, Jonathan McCune, Tom Matta(Relay):    1:04:04     

 Two Below Duo-Top 5 Overall Results

1^st Team Yellow Snow-Chris Welsh, Dan Snyder:                         7:34:02

2^nd Turd Ferguson and the Mustachioed Sex Panthers Lenny Lucas, Joe Egan, Jonathan McCune, Tom Matta(Relay): 8:03:02

3^rd Team Hollyloft/warrenadventures.com-Scott Angove, Chuck Keeports: 8:16:14

4^th Moxie/warrendadventures.com-Scott Newton, Dave Salvatore:  8:32:55

5^th The Frosty Four (Relay)-William Skinner, Ann Freeborough, Janet and Andy Gregory: 8:42:46

Congratulations go out to all that competed in this challenging winter race!!

Shout outs are in order for:

La Tortuga-Elena Bulakhtina, Maxim Mikheev for their strong finish in the duathlon (3:52:31). This performance—a mere 11 minutes behind the overall 2BD race winners—allowed them to win the co-ed division.

Team Moxie/warrenadventures.com-Scott Newton, Dave Salvatore pulled together their strongest navigation in their GRR history and finished the nighttime navigation in 4^th place at 3:13:38 giving them 4^th in the overall race standings.

Team Fortitude-Stacy Gelhaus raced all weekend by herself and more than lived up to her team name.

Male soloists Tom Groff and Steve Wendell showed excellent shooting skills at the biathlon and racked up excellent race times.

William Skinner and Ann Freeborough of relay team The Frosty Four spent Sunday afternoon on cross-country skis clearing the nighttime navigation course allowing us to drive home in daylight, re-organize all our race gear, and still catch the Steeler game.  Thanks you two!

Once again, thank you all for a great weekend!  We look forward to seeing you all soon at the Season Opener on April 16^th.  Until then—train smart!

Frank and Bethann