The racing started quickly at the 2023 USARA Adventure Race National Championship. Bend Racing was the first to complete the 10 check point section in under 2 hours, but WEDALI was right on their tail with WEDALI having the faster transition making up the 4 minute difference between the teams. Vert, Tower Racing, and Strong Machine AR/GMARA rounded out the top 5.

Teams reported facing difficult terrain with giant holes and “catch and grab” plants that “grab” onto to your feet and only hold on tighter as you struggle to free your foot.

Still, the terrain didn’t stop Jameson Henkle of Tower Racing from smiling. He says that the team’s “laughable good looks are their strength.

Teams were required to punch 5 out of the ten checkpoints. About half of the teams cleared the section. Some teams, such as BRF BARF and WDQ, only went for 5 checkpoints, strategically deciding from the start not to take up toom uch time on the first stage.

Other teams, such as Broad Run Off Road, had to change up their strategy during the stage.

“We lost contact with the map,” said Allen Wagner of team Broad Run Off Road and Race director of the Fall Foliage Race this October. The team smartly trekked downhill to the southeast to the pond to figure out where they were on the map. The bobble cost them some time and a few checkpoints.

At the transition at the sugar shack, teams mounted their bikes for stage 2.