still not the real race write-up…

… but a race write-up. This one is from the race directors, and is currently the news on the front page of the race website (yup, it’s my team in the picture… I’m in the middle):

Team DART/NUUN – Cyril Jay-Rayon, Jen Segger and Ryan Van Gorder win the Southern NV event and take the lead in the Explore the West race.

Team Bullmoose negotiates Goldstrike Canyon

Mother Nature seemed to know it was Mother’s Day and she was in command as temps hit over 105 degrees for the first time this year. The difficult terrain combined with the high temps took its toll on teams as they made their way toward the cool waters of Lake Mead where Mother Nature continued her wrath turning the gentle waters into a 20 mph headwind and 3 foot swells.

As the sun set, teams felt a bit of relief as they headed toward the Colorado River with packrafts nestled in their packs. Here, timing was everything as some teams were forced to paddle against the strong release of water from the Hoover Dam while others got to paddle easily toward the famous Gold Strike Canyon hotsprings.

A mandatory 15 minute stop to soak in the hotsprings was a welcome relief for the teams that made it thus far before the last big climb that would return them to the quaint little town of Boulder City. Additional reports and pictures available on sleepmonsters.com. Complet detailed results coming soon.
COED – 3 person
1 – DART-NUUN, WA/Canada
(Jen Segger, Cyril Jay-Rayon, Ryan VanGorder)
2 – Kayak Lake Mead, AZ/Canada
(Robert Finlay, Druce Finlay, Jen Winiarski)
3 – Team Stride, Canada
(Tom Taylor, Jen Silverthorn, Andrew Fairhurst)
4 – Bullmoose, CA
(Paul Ablett, Mark Henderson, Kylie Evans)

2 person
1 – JBDK
(Jake Bencke, David Krosch)
2 – Feed the Machine
(Christian Burke, Ryan Ognibene)
3 – Ruination
(Jane Larkindale, Jim Holmes)

Solo
1 – Ramon Rivas, Mexico/MA