Just to Finish the race was enough for many of the competitors at this weekend's Nantahala Outdoor Center Adventure Race. Participants traveled 50 miles around the Wesser, Cheoah, and Topton areas for a finish at the Nantahala Outdoor Center.

The eight-hour course began at the commercial put-in for the Nantahala River. From there participants ran or hiked the Bartram Trail up to Cheoah Bala. Next the racers ran down a forest service road to Ledbetter Road where they got on bikes. From there the course went to Topton and took Junaluska Road for a six-mile climb to Junaluska Gap. Bikers took Old River road to the Nantahala River where they got in rafts for the final leg down the river.

Adventure Race courses are kept confidential until the morning of the race. Once maps are distributed, teams plot their course using compass and UTM coordinates. Several teams misread the maps and ended up in Robbinsville rather than Topton. Teams new to adventure racing had a tougher challenge reading maps and navigating correctly.

"The toughest part for us was the six-mile hill climb. We towed one of our teammates up the climb," said Sal Silvester from Atlanta.

The winner was Team Ronbo from the Wesser area. They finished the course in six hours and seven minutes. Team Watia included racers from Almond and Asheville and placed second. They finished the race in six hours and thirty five minutes. Third place went to Team Ooltewah, from Chattanooga, who finished in seven hours and one minute. More adventure races are scheduled for the 2001 season and registration is still open. A 30-hour race is scheduled for March 9-11 and another 8-hour race is planned on Sept. 22.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News