Team Thrive finishes 5th at Trioba!

PROPS!!
This past Saturday 34 teams of different combinations joined in the participation of the first Trioba Adventue Race in over a year and a half! And following previous races, this Trioba event definitely showed everyone that Trioba is BACK in large proportions. Glenn and Roger, picked an ideal venue (Index, Wa) that was hosted by Outdoor Adventure Center and displayed the amazing views that surround the area. Great job guys!!
Pre Race Prep
Well, we've got to be honest in saying that this was probably the most unorganized we have been as a team leading into any kind of race, in terms of logistics. I think part of that has to do with the time of year, for Tiff, myself and Roger; as well as not really knowing what we were getting into with the new leaders of Trioba planning a race. Needless to say everything worked out, and though the two hours leading up to the race start we hectic, we made it to the starting line, which for many is the most difficult task.
Race Recap
We awoke race day morning to the sound of train whistle as it flew past our tent at 55mph at 5am (the second time that night). Tiff and I tried to ignore the alarm, yet knew it was time to arise and seize the day! Roger had just arrived and so we checked in at 6am, received our maps, and quickly started dissecting the course, searching for short cuts where we might be able to gain time rather than lose it. Before you knew it we were summoned to a safety meeting put on by the guides of our rafting section that would be later in the day and with the conclusion of that, we only had 10 minutes before the race start. CRAP! I'm not even dressed yet! Running around like a madteam, we got ourselves our bikes and bins all organized and hurried to the bridge where the race would start on two wheels.
BIKE 1
With the conclusion of singing "God Bless America" (a nice touch!) led by Glenn we were off to CP 1 on our bikes. Everyone was together, drafting off of eachother, making sure that all of our gears were in good working order (as if there is anything that could be done by that point). After a few miles the pace car, drove by Ryan VG, peeled off and the race really began. Shortly after, the asphalt turned to gravel and we rode service roads up to CP 1. I had the pleasure of navigating most of the race, and opted to take the "rough trail" as Glenn put it on our way to CP 2, which as it turned out was the best option as a number of teams passed us up. We quickly recovered and nailed the next two controls (check out the view from CP 3). The next control would be a TA where we would drop the bikes and head out on foot. (Finished section in 7th)
TREK 1
Like with any sport in order to be good, you've gotta take chances and sometimes they don't work out the way they are suppose to. Well, that is what happened on way to CP 7 as we opted for the gamble and missed. We don't really know how much actual time was lost, however it was considerable, again losing a few places and being forced to work a little extra hard to regain our rank. This section was difficult as there was significant elevation gain, thick forest, difficult controls and even some snow. Little did we know that our efforts would actually allow us to move up a spot once arriving back to the TA and onto the bikes again. (Finished section in 6th)
BIKE 2
Upon hearing the good news of being in 6th place, we were stoked! Hopping on our bikes knowing that this section was mostly all down hill was a great feeling. We were able to hit all cp's w/out consiberable lost time and were able to nail some sweeet single track that included some burms. Back on the road again after a quick stop at race HQ to refuel with water and food, before dropping the bikes for our last Treking section of the day. (Finished section 5th)

TREK 2
By this time of the race, we had been out in the elements for over 6 hours and were all in our own ways beginning to feel the effects. It was now that our strength shined through. We pulled together as a team and began helping eachother out as much as possible to keep the team moving. Tiff and Roger each shared the load as I gave up my pack and then got a bit of assistance from Tiff with a tow. A new experience for me, and one that I would highly recommend others to take advantage of, seriously. It was durin this trek that we passed the 4th place team and then in Roger's words, "It's time to put the hammer down, like Team Nike." And we did building enough of a gap between us and the next team that couldn't be diminished. We even began to close in on the 3rd place team, but they were just out of reach.
BIKE 3
The 3rd biking section was a slow and painful road ride whose climbs made you realize how beat we were and as we rolled into the final TA before the rafting section, satisfaction began to set in.
RAFT
The rafting section consisted of 7 miles of pretty consistent class 3 rapids the whole way. A great way to end the race, even if we were overheating, cramping, and completely out of energy. Fortunately, we had an experienced guide that had a great run and made our trip down the Skykomish an enjoyable one. We got out of the bone chilling water, threw our raft overhead and marched to the finish in 5th place.


All in all it was a great race venue, and we cannot wait until the Trioba 24 hour set for September. Thanks again to our title sponsor Thrive CF for allowing us the means to compete and push ourselves to the limit.