When Reaching the Start Line is a Win
The field is stacked for the ARWS North America Championship. And while the dot watchers will be anticipating who will win, for one team, reaching the starting line feels like a win already.
It's a win for the students to take on the challenge; it's win for their teacher, Mr. Johnson, to start and oversee the club; it's a win for race directors such as Broad Run Off Road to champion the cause; it's a win for USARA to promote the sport; it's a win for the AR media to get the story out to more and more people; and it's a win for the AR community to rally and support with donations and gear.
Wayne Leek, the race director for the Wilderness Traverse heard the story of the team on The DarkZone: An Adventure Racing Podcast, and reached out to invite the team to the ARWS North America Championship race.
Host Brian Gatens had this to say about the team:
“In a media environment that doesn't hesitate to report on the perceived ills of teenagers today, it is delightful to share the story of Full Steam Ahead and how its members epitomize the best examples of teamwork, courage, and a sense of adventure.
The Dark Zone Podcast exists to amplify the wide range of stories and experiences found in the Adventure Racing community, and it is wonderful to see Full Steam Ahead take its rightful place in the stories that we tell each other during and after races. Their showing up at the start line is a victory in itself.
Adventure Racing, above all, is about the strength found in community, shared sacrifice, and working together. The Dark Zone is proud to have played its singular role, when combined with the work of so many others, in helping to give Full Steam Ahead the opportunity to shine.”
Their teacher, Jeremy Johnson is proud of the achievement:
“Creating Full Steam Ahead has been one of the most emotional and joyful journeys of my life — taking my lifelong love for the outdoors and turning it into something bigger than myself. It’s about opening doors for kids to discover adventure, resilience, and the wonder that exists right at their fingertips. This Club isn’t just about racing; it’s about showing my own children and my students that the world is wide, wild, and waiting – And that amazing things can happen when you step into it with courage and curiosity. I’m incredibly proud of the growth I’ve seen in our club members — not just as athletes, but as young people learning to take on challenge with heart, grit, and purpose!”
Jeremy races for team Broad Run Off Road. The race director and team leader of the team, Allen Wagner, has been supportive of beginning racers such as Full Steam Ahead:
“When Broad Run Off Road started hosting adventure races we had 2 goals in mind: A. Create races attractive to beginners/first-timers with a ladder of options for them to graduate up through. B. to use the proceeds from the races to give back to the communities we race in/around and the racing community itself.
Seeing Brunswick High School's Full Steam Ahead students toeing the line at Wilderness Traverse is so amazing and encouraging as a perfect culmination of those goals. We watched these Brunswick High School students sign up for their first ever 4-hour beginner adventure races over the last 3 years, to graduating up the ladder to bigger and longer races, and can't wait to see what they do now at their first ever 30-hour North American Championship. At the same time this journey has led to furthering not just our partnership with BHS-FSA to do to get more students into adventure racing/outdoor activity, but also seeing the AR community's support/donations helping to start a gear closet to get more students the gear they need to access and compete in this wonderful sport.”
USARA has a mission to encourage the growth of the sport and bring together racers and race directors across the nation. Board member Brent Freedland sees the team as a step forward:
“As anyone involved in adventure racing knows, it's not typically considered a young person's sport, and there are many factors within American society making it even harder for young people and their families to commit to AR. It's exciting to follow Full Steam Ahead on their journey into the sport, and it will be a terrific experience for them to participate and compete in a race the caliber of Wilderness Traverse. Hopefully, the team's story inspires others throughout North America to help foster a youth racing scene, as growing numbers of young people in AR would be a tremendous benefit for our community.”
Perhaps adventure racer and dot watching extraordinaire Andrea Anderson of Team ThisABILITY sums up the sentiments of the AR community the best:
“So excited for you guys!”
Regardless of the outcome, the team from Brunswick High School are winners and exemplify the spirit of Adventure Racing and the community of people who make this sport special.
