Kinzua Tango

    I had the pleasure of doing an adventure race called the Kinzua Tango with my family. It consisted of six legs : a half marathon, twenty mile mountain bike, two and a half mile open water swim, over six miles of orienteering, a four and a half mile run, and an eight mile canoe to the finish. (And any additional distance that is added on if you get lost in the woods!) Of course, all fingers were pointed toward me when determining who would do the bike part of the race! It was relaxing to do a race just for fun and not worry about results. Our team was hoping for a top ten finish but, regardless, we were happy to it together. We all got up around 5AM to cheer for my Aunt Molly on the first leg of the race (the half.) The day only became more and more exciting from there! She came into the finish really strong (with a personal record,) we slapped hands, and I sprinted out of the chute. You can't pre-ride the course because it isn't marked until the night before. I soon realized why the parking lot was full of cyclocross bikes! The course was an unpleasant surprise of pavement and fire roads. Not exactly what I would describe as a "mountain bike" course! I just shook my head and started mashing. I believe I passed about 10 people on the three and a half mile paved climb. It was an all out effort and I finished with a respectable time of an hour and twenty minutes. Our team was in sixth place after the first two legs. I slapped my friend Dylan's hand and he set off for an Iron Man distance swim. Sprinting out of the water, he tagged my parents, and they went into the woods with their map and compass. They easily found all five checkpoints and, despite being one of the few teams that weren't avid runners, had the fastest time in our category. Next up was my Aunt Melissa for the four and a half mile run. With only six weeks to prepare herself, she ran even faster than she had hoped and secured our team in a top three placement. My Aunt Molly and Dylan jumped into the canoe and paddled their hearts out. They ended up with the fastest canoe time in our category! The "Cotton-headed-ninny-muggins" won the Corporate Community category! I am SO PROUD to be part of such an amazing family! Win or not, my family is awesome!

Team 88 : The Cotton-headed-ninny-muggins

Posing with our trophies