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August 18th — another perfect day for racing Grass Roots style! Today is the TURFF—The Urban Race For Fifty—and this race would take place primarily on the Southside of Pittsburgh. Not part of the Grass Roots Adventure Sprint Series this race would serve as a great introduction to newcomers. However, this race was also designed to serve as a substitute race for those involved in the series but either missed a race due to schedule conflicts, or had a poor performance in one event. And finally, this race would be run in a ROGAINE format (Rugged Outdoor Activity Involving Navigation and Endurance) and teams would earn points for visiting different check points (CP's) while biking, running, paddling, and climbing. The team with the most points in the fastest time wins.

Turn-out for this event was great—with over thirty teams competing—and by 7:00 am the Transition Area was full of bikes. The good folks of the Southside Works allowed us to set up T/A in the "Town Square" between REI and The Cheesecake Factory. It was great to see this small park packed with over 60 bikes and athletes—as well as two hazards. The one hazard, titled "Teeter-Totter" required teammates to balance the plank while sitting on either end. Once the plank was balanced they could inch their way forward but would need to maintain their balance. If the plank touched the ground they could not progress forward until it was balanced again. If the plank touched three times they had to start over. In the center was a CP punch which they had to use on their punch card to receive credit for completion. The other hazard was titled "Chimney Sweep" and at least one teammate had to enter the two 8 foot tall by 16 inch wide "chimney" slots to retrieve the punch at the bottom and balance between the two slots to retrieve the punch hanging there. The third hazard was the "Pinnacle" at REI and it would require at least one teammate to climb to the top to retrieve the two punches placed there. These hazards could be completed at any time during the race so racers would strategize to visit them when demand was low. Some went straight to them at the start while others planned to visit them while transitioning from one event to the next.

Another of the many options that racers would face today was the paddle. There were ten boats available to paddle at any point in the race. Two different CP's were located on the water. A strong paddling team could retrieve both in less than 30 minutes. A team that was not so strong might choose to retrieve only one of the two CP's. Or a team with no experience at all might forgo the water points and place their efforts on the large number of points to be retrieved on land. Strategy would be the key to success in this race!

The race started at 8:00 sharp on bike. At the word "GO" teams were heading in many different directions. Some jumped on their bikes and headed straight for the boats. Others stayed in T/A and headed for the three hazards. Others went off to the east end of the bike trail to pick up the "option point" set 6 miles out on its own. While still others navigated their way to Point State Park—picking up CP's on the way—where they learned about a (10) point bonus course. Here racers were given clue sheets with blanks to be filled in at certain stops on the North Shore of the Allegheny. If a team successfully filled in all the blanks they were awarded 10 bonus points and given an additional (30) minutes to complete the course. However, no partial credit was given and if a team could not complete the course they received no time or point bonuses. Most teams went for the points but some continued on the original course heading up the South Shore of the Allegheny to the final CP at the 31st Street bridge. Many of those headed back to the bonus course to complete it before heading back to T/A.

After completion of the bike leg racers were given their punch cards for the run course. Those that did not receive bonus credits were watching the clock closely because their 11:00 cut-off was looming. The run course sent racers up, up, upupup, to the top of the Southside Slopes—if they chose to retrieve that point— and over to the top of Mt. Washington. Those that paid attention realized they could maintain their altitude and get to the top of Mt. Washington without climbing twice. The less skilled navigators were following the "sure thing" and heading down Arlington to the bottom of Sycamore at the base of the mountain—only to have to climb again! Either way—once racers got to the observation deck atop Mt. Washington they were given another bonus option and could receive (10) points and (30) minutes if they completed the "Grandview Gainer"—a two mile hunt for points of interest along this famous roadway. Teams that successfully completed both the bike and run bonus course were awarded a 12:00 cut-off time. The extra hour could prove significant for teams going for all of the points.

By 11:00 T/A was getting very hectic. Teams that opted to not complete the bonus course were checking in, teams that were continuing on 'til 12:00 were completing some of the hazards before heading out to the run, and the "Saturday shoppers" were out in full force. In terms of the race it was Team Blaze (John Ralston and substitute racer Suzi Falvey) that were leading the charge. They had gotten a big lead on the bike and were looking to maintain/increase that lead on the run. Team Big lead Pipes were hot on their heels but it was unclear if they could match Blaze's navigational savvy and catch them on this final leg. All-male teams Discipline Problem, Bagel, and Vygor were in hot pursuit and bearing down on 70 points, while co-ed Team Spang was also in the chase pack.

11:23 and Team Blaze is heading toward the finish. This is unprecedented as race organizers felt certain that no one would be able to complete the full course and retrieve all 50 points, plus 20 bonus points, in the time allotted. Apparently Blaze had great navigational success and good luck on the hazards and completed the course in a "blazingly" fast 3:23:49 with all 70 points. It was a full 23 minutes later that Team Big Lead Pipes reported to the finish with their 70 points for a time of 3:46:57 and second place. Discipline Problem was very close behind with 70 points and a time of 3:48:45 to round out the top three.

We want to thank all of our competitors as well as REI and the Soffer Organization for making the TURFF such a success. Congratulations to everyone for completing the course and congratulations to our series racers who have managed to improve their standings while supporting Grass Roots Racing and the TURFF. See you all at the Nemacolin Season Finale on September 22nd! Things are getting interesting as we now have three teams within (3) points of each other...

TURFF Overall

TURFF Categories

Series Standing After TURFF