Team Tecnu is 2013 USARA National Champs!
“We are the number-one team in North America, ranked fifth in the world, just won our Nationals, have never been worse than second place in any race we did in the world this year. It’s been a fun ride with a great team, and we’re having fun going fast and pushing the envelope of human endurance.”
– Earring Doug Judson – Tecnu Adventure Racing
Team Tecnu Extreme Adventure Racing continues their dominating year with a tremendous win against 55 of the best adventure racing (AR) teams in Indiana at the USARA National Championships in October.
Tecnu dominated the race early on and won by the biggest margin in AR history, finishing early Saturday morning in 1920 – a full 2:05 over the second-place finishers (also from the west coast in Dart/Nuun). Kyle Peter, Bob Miller and Karen Lundgren of Tecnu were excited and relieved to have won the race; Tecnu experienced three close second-place finishes the past three years, and they were glad to finally get the win.
“This win means a lot to our team. It is the culmination of poetry in motion, and watching the best three team members we have work in unison to not only win the USARA Nationals, but to dominate and win it by over two hours. Winning was a big weight off our back because we were no longer wasted potential, and our goal we had each year had finally come to fruition,” said Peter, team captain.
Team Tecnu has been racing at the USARA National Championships for the past four years, only to be disappointed with the runner’s-up position every time until this past month.
“We have traveled from the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania, to the Cumberland Falls of eastern Kentucky, to the hills of New Paltz, New York, and finally found victory in the rolling hills of southern Indiana,” Peter said.
The USARA Championship race has attracted the most competitive AR squads from around the country for the past 13 years, and it’s not just another 24-hour adventure race; it is the one race every year where teams put their strongest squad forward in the quest to be crowned the best team in US adventure racing. This title makes all those early-morning wakeups, cold bike rides, wet kayak paddles, and hours of travelling to races worth it. Team Tecnu did all of that and more for four years to reach this goal. It was an extreme effort, which paid off.
“We know the bull’s-eye is on our back going into 2014, but we relish the idea of working hard, and defending our hard-earned title, and not allowing the perpetual trophy to leave our sponsor’s hands. With our last goal of 2013 being getting on the podium at the World Championships next month in Costa Rica, the team will board the plane with the confidence that we are peaking at the right time. And with a little luck, and some stellar navigation, this year’s hard work will have paid off,” Peter said.
Note: Team Tecnu is leaving for the Adventure Racing World Championships in Costa Rica on November 27 as a co-favorite to podium, ranked Number Five in the world and tops in North America. The Championships are held December 2-12; the winner is expected to take approximately 5.5 days.
