Teton Ogre 24hr Adventure Race
Ogre-riffic Suffering and a 24 Hour Race Win for the Junior Racers on Team Get Psyched
Press Release / 06.07.2022
Taking place in beautiful Teton Valley, Idaho, the 2022 Teton Ogre saw racers from all over the region and country tackle both an 8hr and 24hr course over the June 25-26th weekend. From high alpine travel and sweeping views of the Teton range, to chest-deep mud, the race offered a little of everything—including all the highs and lows of adventure racing that we know and love.
Just over 100 8hr racers took on the course, which may have appeared unassuming on the map, but packed quite the punch in terms of navigation and elevation gain.
The race started on Saturday morning with some surprise UTM plotting of a couple prologue points, which put beginner racers to the test right off the bat. After that, racers could decide to either start with the bike leg or trekking leg, both of which included lots of elevation gain and breathtaking vistas of the Tetons and valley below.
Most of the trek took place above 8000ft, in a high alpine basin scattered with wildflowers and some tricky navigation. The bike leg included some flowy single track and lots of route choices.
Of roughly 60 teams, only 5 cleared the course. Most importantly, racers finished with smiles on their faces and an eagerness to practice their navigation for next year!
Congrats to our winning team, Kathryn and Jackson of team Ornery Bear from Logan, UT. This is not the first time they have annihilated The Ogre course for the 8hr win!
Meanwhile, the 24hr racers gathered in the town of Driggs, ID for only two hours of map time and gear prep. With a huge showing of those not only new to 24hr racing, but new to AR altogether, check-in was quite hectic and left us hoping the race itself was going to go much more smoothly! (Luckily, it did).
After a fun group bike ride several miles south of town, teams sprinted off on their bikes only to be met with their first major adventure within twenty minutes of the start.
Racers had to carry their bikes not only across the chilly Teton River, but also through an extremely swampy, muddy slough, which by the time everyone trudged through was chest-deep for some racers.
Once across, it was a quick ride to TA1, then a short but stout trek that would offer some of the best views as well as some of the toughest navigation of the race. In particular, an optional point in a small “lake” just off a broad, bushy high point, led even experienced teams in circles, (drawing interesting patterns on the online tracking map)! It was at this point when team Get Psyched and Orienteering Utah pulled ahead of the pack and began a back-and-forth battle that would persist all through the night and into the next day.
After the trek, racers set off on a paddle on the pristine Teton River. As the sun went down, so did the temperature. To say teams were cold would be an understatement. After dodging many moose on the river as temps plummeted to below freezing, most of the shivering teams could not resist the lure of the fire at the end of the paddle.
Many spent 2+ hours warming up and gathering the courage to move on to the biking leg ahead. With a 3,000ft climb back up into the mountains, followed by a high mountain O-course, all that elevation gain was rewarded with a stunning sunrise over the Teton Peaks - (carefully orchestrated by the race directors, of course ;).
To finish, teams hopped back on the bikes and got to enjoy some fun single track and just a little more elevation gain for fun, then a grind down to the valley floor and on to the finish line back in Driggs. In a surprise move by Orienteering Utah, they opted to skip the final optional point on the course, afraid they may run out of time.
This ended the battle and allowed Get Psyched to secure the win, as they nabbed the last point and still finished with over an hour to spare. Big congratulations to Shane, Sara (age 16), and Taylor (age 14), for being the only team to clear this big and rugged mountainous course.
A huge thanks to all our racers, from the beginners who decided to give AR a try, to the veterans who came out to see what Ogre-riffic suffering we had in store for them. We are proud of every racer who got out there and tested their limits, and hope everyone was able to take in the views as they did so.
SleepMonsters
