Adventurers take first place in
Smith Lake event

by Eve Meinhardt
Paraglide

	photos by Eve Meinhardt/Paraglide Ryan Hanson, left, and Jason Hetzel cross the finish line as the top team Saturday, after completing the 10K bike ride event during Fort Bragg's Adventure Race at Smith Lake. The team finished in first place with a time of 1:53:23.

A normal Saturday morning at Smith Lake in September as the temperature finally begins to leave the 90s is peaceful. The wildlife is undisturbed as they begin their day and the water is calm as the sun begins its ascent, warming up the slightly chilled air. This Saturday morning was a departure from the norm as 31, two-person teams embarked on Fort Bragg’s Adventure Race.

The five-event race began with a 5K run at 7:30 a.m. After
completing the run, competitors shifted gears and grabbed their next set of instructions, directing them to the lake for the canoe portion of the event. After pulling their canoes out of the water, the teams received their maps and broke out the compasses to find the checkpoints they needed to hike to the orienteering part of the race.

The orienteering leveled the playing field a bit, allowing some of the teams behind the front-runners to lessen the lead or move ahead. From there, the teams hustled to the next “mystery” event, which turned out to be target shooting with a paintball gun. For each target the team hit of their five shots, five-seconds were removed from their overall finishing time.

To finish the race, the contestants mounted their bikes to ride 10 kilometers through Smith Lake’s sandy trails. The first ones to cross the finish line with a final time of 1:53:18 was team number 11, comprised of Jason Hetzel and Ryan Hanson.

The two said they used to work together in the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade and thought it would be a fun event to compete in together. Hanson paid the price for victory, scraping his arm when he lost control of his bike going around a corner on the trails. The wound ended up being minor and easily tended to after the race.

Hetzel and Hanson took first overall and won the men’s division. Amy Toguson and Bob Topper placed first in the mixed division with a time of 2:27:11 and Stacey Lyon and Savonne Holden won the women’s division at 3:11:18.

The teams had to work together, never leaving one another’s eyesight throughout all portions of the race. Ryan Green and Alexander Padilla finished in a close second in the men’s division. They were hoping to relive their first place victory at Fort Bragg’s Amazing Race earlier this year.

“We just came out to have a good time and were really hoping to repeat what we did as a team at the Amazing Race,” said Green. “It’s okay, though, we still had fun.”

Heather Adams, a sports specialist with Fort Bragg Morale, Welfare and Recreation helped plan the event along with Steve Johnson, Cecilia Jasper and Theresa Shields. Adams said she was pleased with the success of the race and hopes to make it an annual event.

“We’re happy that it has gone this well and that everyone seemed to enjoy themselves,” said Adams. “The staff and volunteers have worked hard to make the day a success.”