RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Two teams from Randolph Air Force Base won first and second place in the Xtreme category of the third-annual Adventure Race competition Saturday at Amistad International Reservoir near Laughlin AFB.
The Med Group Maniacs, Richard Koen, Joshua Sacha, Candido Ramirez and Keith Simmons, from the 12th Medical Group, took first place trailed by the Randolph Flesh Peddlers, Timothy Moser, Tony Bamsey, Matt Morand and Bill Relyea from the Air Force Personnel Center.
The Med Group Maniacs finished with a time of 3 hours, 54 minutes, 13 seconds, and the Randolph Flesh Peddlers finished in 4 hours and 6 seconds.
The race began with a 26-mile bike ride, then a six-mile run. To finish the race, teams had to row two miles along the shore of Lake Amistad and complete two mystery tasks, a balloon toss and a SuDoKu puzzle.
Competitors of the Xtreme category had to complete all of the events, opposed to Relay teams who were allowed to "tag team" each of the events.
"We were hoping for a top three finish, and didn't expect to take first," Koen, Med Group Maniacs team captain, said. "After competing in Randolph's Rambler 120 competition last fall, our team continued to train, and it feels great to have that hard work and dedication pay off."
Competing in such a long race takes endurance and perseverance, and plenty of planning. Work and training schedules are difficult to coordinate, but each team found what worked best for them.
Moser, Randolph Flesh Peddlers team captain, explained, "Our schedules were not conducive to training as a team, so we trained individually over the past few months."
One of the Flesh Peddlers had just gotten a bike the week prior to the race, and had only ridden once. Two team members were riding borrowed bikes, and one ended up with a flat tire with four miles remaining.
"It was very satisfying to win the 'fastest bike' award after having overcome those setbacks," Moser said. "Placing second in the race was an affirmation of all the hard work we had put in during the event, but the accomplishment of finishing a four-hour adventure race as a team was even greater."
Randolph will host their annual Rambler 120 triathlon in early October at Canyon Lake.
"I encourage any team to challenge these successful Randolph teams, just remember, we'll be gunning for you," Moser said.