Moab 12 hour Adventure Race

I went back to Moab, UT to visit my father again and to do the Moab 12 hour Adventure Race.

We woke up early so that we could get to the start at 6:30 am, as my dad was volunteering at the Start/Finish line at Gold Bar campground. Kayaking was the first leg, and then we could access our gear box for the only time during the race, after which we would be doing the mountain biking, running, rappeling and another leg of mountain biking to finish the race. We started in waves that were 15 minutes apart, with 4 person co-ed teams going first, then 4-person open, solos (me!), 2-person co-ed, and finally 2-person teams.
Watching the 4 person teams start was a hoot. They lined up at the starting line with paddles in hand and had to run over to a big stack of inflatable kayaks (piled 5 high) by the boat launch, grab a kayak, carry it down to the launch, and start. There were a lot more teams than space available, so a lot of scrambling was involved, and the slow teams spent at least a couple extra minutes waiting in line to get on the water. There was also a stack of single inflatable kayaks which one team grabbed and headed towards the water before a bystander told them it was a single and they might want to reconsider. They ended up in back of the line for the doubles.
Those of us doing the race solo had to bring our own kayak, or rent inflatable single kayaks. I rented a touring kayak from a local company that delivered and picked up the kayak for me. Several people brought their own racing kayaks and had them strategically placed right near the boat ramp, whereas I had put mine 10 rows back. Oops. I kept careful watch, however, and when the 4 person teams were done, enough space had opened up in front that I got my kayak in a good position right before our wave started. They also announced last minute that friends/family could help carry the kayaks to the water. My dad was ready to help me take advantage of this.
When the whistle blew, I got to my kayak, and my dad and I raced it down the boat ramp, getting me first on the water. I wore my SealSkinz socks, so stepping in the water wasn't a problem. I also had on some tri shorts, nylon waterproof pants, jersey, arm warmers, and polypro hat. I discovered that my sprayskirt did not fit my kayak before the race, so I stowed it ahead of time. We were on flat water so we did not need them anyways.
The kayak leg was 7 miles, and eight people passed me during that time. All of them had racing/sea kayaks and wing paddles (I had brought my Epic wing paddle with me as well). The transition went smooth as I stripped off my socks, pants and hat and threw on my biking shoes. I had my small Salomon pack with 100 oz of Carbo-pro and one extra bike bottle of Perpetuem to last me the whole race, and I carried a small waist pouch with already opened packages of Clif Shots and a couple bars that I could just reach in and grab while I was riding. I was quickly on my bike (borrowed from my dad - a Yeti 525) and was off in almost exactly an hour from my start.
The bike leg went down the road a couple miles, then up Longs Canyon road 2000 vert ft. to Dead Horse Point area. Surprisingly, I passed about six of the eight competitors in front of me at this point. I guess that running hills really helps with mountain biking them - that's promsing. I sped down the road towards the turnoff for Gemini Bridges trailhead, at which point I commited a nullo and missed the turn.
I had asked me father about the trailhead, and he told me that it was quite obvious. Anyways, I went past a dirt road going into a pasture w/no sign and just kept going, as I judged to look for the "obvious" trailhead, and it seemed a little too soon. Several minutes later, I realized I was a couple hundred feet too low, and I turned around and made a slow, sorry climb back up the hill. The checkpoint at the trailhead was an orienteering marker in a bush, and was not obvious even when I got there. All the other checkpoints were obvious and manned, and navigation was not a problem at all. I just got sucked into using the wrong information that was presented to me, rather than paying closer attention to the map.
From Gemini Bridges trailhead, I went down a wide road, dropping 1000 vert ft. to Gemini Bridges proper, then continuing past it for a ways, turning down another road to Bull Canyon (another 600 vert ft.), then back up Bull Canyon on mostly sandy trails to the bottom of a cliff below Gemini Bridges where the Bike->Run TA was. On the way down I passed the runners coming back up, and I could see a whole lot of solo racers had passed me while I was off in the weeds, so to speak, so I had work to do.
I dropped my bike and started running, still in my biking shoes. Most people changed shoes, but for an hour run on sand, I thought I could make do. Back down Bull Canyon and up Gemini Bridges brought us six miles later to the top of Gemini Bridges where the Run->Rappel TA was. I ran (slowly) the whole way and had passed (again) four of the solo racers. The rappel was fast and furious - they had 10 ropes set up so there was no wait. A 275 foot rappel off the cliffs (much of it freehanging) left my bike gloves smoking. Now I was at the bottom of the cliffs again where the Rappel->Bike TA was.
The last leg saw me biking back down Bull Canyon, then back up the Gemini Bridges trail all the way to the TH at the top (remember to punch the CP), down the road, back down the steep descent on Longs Canyon road, and three miles to the finish. I passed (again) a few more solo racers, including a couple on the flats at the top. Some of them looked beat, but I was getting a real second wind. As I descended down Longs Canyon, a flash went by me, and one of the other solo racers had woken up and sped by me like I was standing still. I picked up the pace, but could not keep with him on the downhill, as I was pushing my fear limit on the rocky gravelly road. He was fast. I hammered the last three miles and made up some time, but finished 30 seconds behind him. I was fifth (out of 50 or so solo racers) with a time of 7:13, of which there was an hour kayak, an hour run, and five hours of mountain biking. I felt pretty with this race given that I thought coming in that mountain biking was a weak area for me. I also finished feeling like I could have done more, which makes me more confident as Primal Quest approaches.

Results are here: http://www.gravityplay.com/adventureracing/Results/Moab08.pdf