The week before the Buff Betty Adventure Race saw me making my lists and gathering my gear.  It was as if I was preparing to run a race, but that was not the case.  I was entering the world of the AR volunteer; new territory for me, but the excitement was growing none the less.  I was entering the zone.  The Buff Betty was an all female race and I had found a way to be a part of it.

The day before the race I found myself checking into a campground one hour from the race location.  This was the closest I could get.  The signs were good that the race would be a success since all the nearby campgrounds and hotels were full.  I set up camp and headed to Cunningham Falls Park north of Frederick, MD. 

I got to the area and found the Race HQ.  I did some exploring and then found the volunteer director Jon Clark.  I was given the super secret map of the course and an assignment for the next day’s race.  Jon took me around and showed me some of the key points of the race and I got to meet the other staff, who were busy making last minute preparations for the next day.  It was really cool being on the “inside” and seeing all the work it takes to put on an Adventure Race.

The next morning dawned pretty cool.  I quickly jumped into the shower at the campground, grabbed a quick breakfast of fast food and hit the road for Cunningham Falls.  I arrived before the sun and a bunch of us waited at the gate until the ranger arrived and let us in.  As daylight arrived, the autumn colors of the area were astounding.  I reported to the check in and waited for the racers to arrive.  We had a volunteer’s meeting and received our packages.  They consisted of streamers, some snacks and check off lists.  My assignment was CP6 and 9 in the middle of the bike section.  I got the fire going to warm the lodge and watched as the racers started checking in.  It was nice to see the various expressions on the racers faces.  You had excitement, nervousness, fright and joy, all on the female form.  It was easy to pick out the pros, but I think I most admired the Newbies.  You could tell they weren’t sure if this was the right thing to do and it brought me back to my first race.  I distinctly remember my wife looking to her sister and asking, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”  Well these Bettys were going to find out soon.

Check in finished and all the women lined up outside the lodge for the pre-race brief and some pictures.  The race directors shook each persons hand to thank them for putting themselves out there.  It was a moving experience.  After the brief, we received final instructions.  We watched the start of the race and headed to our assignments. 

At our CP, racers would be coming at us at a good clip down hill after a long uphill climb.  Our main job was to make sure they didn’t come in too hot as there was a nasty hump at the bottom of the hill that could cause a spill.  We got everything ready and waited for the first racers.  It was still pretty cold out and we were just standing there, but before long the first team came over the hilltop.  We were greeted cheerily as they dropped their bikes and headed into the forest and over the hill.  They were to trek to two CPs down the mountain and then come back for their bikes.  Most of the teams went into the woods around the same area, but it was interesting to watch the thought process and see how they worked out a plan and implemented it.  Soon there were a number of bikes in the area waiting for their owners to return.  We had steady business as each team came flying down the hill, checked in and hurried off.  There was a good spread of racers and we were actually checking teams through CP 9 before we had closed CP6, but it wasn’t too confusing.  After about an hour or so, the last team came out of the woods and we closed down CP9.  All the teams were still racing, although one person had dropped out of a four women team, but they had continued on with three.

After we closed the CP, we headed back to the TA for another assignment.  We warmed up a bit and wandered around some.  Most of the teams were climbing cardiac hill by this time, but soon the front runners came back to transition and headed out on the Rogaine Style Orienteering section.  This was a great race format as each team would be able to do as many orienteering CPs as they could before the cutoff time.  They could do one or all twenty, but they had to all be back before the cutoff time of 4pm.  This makes for a nice finish, with everyone present for the award ceremony.  I remember finishing races where the bulk of the teams were already home before our slow team even reached the finish line.

I did some orienteering myself then went over to the canoe pull out to help out.  When that CP was getting ready to close, I went back to the lodge to help with the final check in.  It was really exciting seeing each of these strong racers come into the finish line.  I was collecting their phase 1 maps and I would compliment them on the condition of their maps, the grubbier the better.  Before long, the deadline was approaching and all the teams were still in the running.  Everyone pretty much made it back on time with various amounts of success on the orienteering.  The all had glowing faces, no matter how tired they were.

The race ended and the awards were presented.  I had the pleasure of returning the maps to those racers who wanted to keep them.  I would mention that these were actually their trophies, suitable for framing.  I keep all my race maps and hope to one day mount them all on my wall somewhere as a tribute to what a person goes through (and actually pays for) to complete an Adventure Race. 

I thanked Chris Rumohr, the race director for letting me be a part of this great race and headed for home.  This was a very rewarding experience for me that I recommend to everyone.  It is a way to stay involved and to give something back to this great sport called Adventure Racing. 

See you in the woods,

Joe Harold

(Team Not Dead Yet)