On November 17, at 7:37am, the gun went off, sending 124 athletes scrambling for their kayaks on the shores of Lake Isabella. "Paddling these inflatable boats is like swimming with a parachute on," said Charlie Kharsa of Team GlobalStar USA, as the team dragged its boats along the shore toward the water's edge.

Dan Barger of California Sports Marketing, Inc (CSM) events, and race director for the first ever USARA (United States Adventure Racing Association) National Championship, promised the race would be tough. But even he could not have planned for the bitter cold the teams would face as they battled the elements in search of a national title. Teams from all over the US congregated for what would turn out to be a survival of the hardiest and best equipped. Thirty-one teams qualified through regional races held throughout the US during the 2001 racing season, in series like the Cal Eco, Terra Firma, and the Odyssey races.

Each four-person team was given one two-man boat to start the kayaking leg, while an additional kayak lay on an island 200 yards offshore. Teams sent their strongest paddler to get the other boat while the remaining team members waited anxiously on the beach. Team GlobalStar USA was the first team to load up all four members and head out into a headwind for what would be a four-and-a-half hour paddling section to various checkpoints around the lake.

At checkpoint 1, teams went ashore and portaged along the road to cut off part of the paddling course. At this point, the Sevylor kayaks took a beating as teams dragged them over rocks, along gravel, and through fields in an effort to close the gap on the frontrunners. Team Traveler, from Arkansas, assumed the lead followed closely by Team Radioactive Beagles. Early leaders Team GlobalStar USA had made a wrong turn, falling back to 9th place but still very much in the hunt for the title.

Exiting the water in 1st place after the 15-mile kayak was Team Bones of California, trailed by Team Traveler and Radioactive Beagles. Team GlobalStar USA had gained ground on the lead teams assuming 4th place only 18 minutes back from the leaders.

Flying through the transition only a minute apart and heading out onto the 36-mile mountain bike course were Team Bones and Team Traveler. Radioactive Beagles left eight minutes later followed by GlobalStar USA. Team HotJobs.com from San Diego, in 13th place, vowed to crush the bike course and put pressure on the lead teams, which were now over 40 minutes ahead. Heading out of the transition area, HotJobs.com looked fresh and extremely happy to be off the water, which the team admitted was its worst discipline.

At the top of Greenhorn Summit, at over 6100 feet, assistance crews anxiously awaited the arrival of their teams. Dan Barger warned of snow on the ground and icy patches on the road as teams pushed toward the summit, and cautioned assistance crews to prepare teams for the cold that awaited them as the sun went down and the infamous Kern Valley winds kicked in. Teams would also have to climb over 7,000 feet during the ride — 2,000 feet in just one two-mile section.

Teams Bones and Traveler arrived at the top of Greenhorn Summit together, with Traveler looking the warmer of the two. HotJobs.com did as promised, hammering out the first half of the bike leg, moving into 4th place just ahead of Team GlobalStar USA. Leaving the checkpoint in 1st place was Team Traveler after having picked up fleece clothing and wind-proof gear. Team member Kris Mougeot jumped up and down trying to warm herself up, and yelled at her teammates to get moving fast out of the transition ahead of Bones, whose members were in vehicles warming themselves and trying to recover from minor hypothermia.

As the sun went down, the temperature plunged, making the summit a very uncomfortable climate for teams in the back of the pack. Team Tide/Aphrodite was last to reach the summit at 8:32pm when temperatures were well below freezing, and team members were suffering from the cold and injuries. Team member Toni Mounts pulled herself from the race citing a back injury. The team trudged on unranked, vowing to finish but saddened to leave Toni behind.

"Teams will be surprised at how much snow is on the second half of the mountain bike ride. Teams will be pushing their bikes for a substantial amount of the time, and the bike-whack will take a lot out of them. The windchill factor will have an effect, teams will have a hard time keeping track of the trail, and they will be suffering when they get to the bike to run transition," said Race Director Dan Barger.

Assistance crews huddled around a camp fire for warmth at checkpoint 12, nervously glancing at their watches wondering which team would enter the transition first. At 11:28pm, almost 16 hours into the race, Team Traveler stumbled into the transition area looking spent but still clinging to 1st place. Traveler's assistance crew went to work on the team, trying to warm members up and get them headed out on the hilly, 15-mile running section. Minutes ticked by and still no sign of 2nd place Team Bones.

After 41 minutes in the transition area, Team Traveler headed out for the run through the mountains. Team HotJobs.com came in minutes later. Team Bones came in pushing its bikes. Team Bones' Ann Moutekaitis lost a pedal bushwhacking with her bike through the shrubs many miles earlier and the team was slowed to a crawl, dropping from 2nd place to 4th. Transitioning quickly, Bones set out after frontrunners Traveler and leapfrogged past teams still in transition, eventually moving back into 2nd place, followed by Team Walkabout and HotJobs.com.

The temperature continued to drop and the wind chill was brutally cold as teams struggled to get off the ridgeline and drop into the next transition area. One team pulled off the trail to start a fire in hopes of warming a frozen teammate, and word came down that other teams were struggling to deal with the cold and lack of appropriate clothing. Early frontrunner Team GlobalStar USA stumbled into the transition in 10th place with several team members suffering badly from both the cold and dehydration. Team member Tony Cotten mumbled something about doing a race next time in the hot, tropical climate of the Bahamas, and Charlie Kharsa was soaked from head to toe from a fall in the creek just one hour out from checkpoint 9.

"You could take a chainsaw and cut my feet off and I wouldn't feel a thing. I haven't felt my feet for over five hours," Kharsa said. Assistance crew members were in awe that Kharsa was able to fight off the effects of hypothermia having been wet for so long in such conditions.

Teams pushed hard with visions of being crowned first ever National Champions of the fastest growing sport in the world. A little over a mile from the finish line loomed a deep canyon where a 155-foot Tyrolean traverse across the expanse of rock was rigged. Teams slid across the traverse, over a waterfall, and then rappelled down a 165-foot cliff face with the roar of the waterfall in the background. The temperature in the canyon was 20 degrees colder than on top, and the wind howled through the canyon with the force of a freight train, making it bitter cold and forcing teams to move quickly out of the canyon.

At 4:40am, just over 21 hours into the race, Team Traveler crossed the finish line the victors. Team members Greg Eason, Curtis Nunn, Kris Mougeot, and Nathan Siria had dreamed of this moment and were elated by their win. "We were very motivated to win. This was a tough course, the cold hurt us, but we just kept moving and we prevailed in the end. National Champions ain't bad!" said Eason.

Finishing just 35 minutes later was Team Bones, looking tired but happy with their 2nd place finish. Third place went to Team Walkabout, followed 24 minutes later by speed demons on the bike Team HotJobs.com. Coming off the rappel, Team GlobalStar USA was followed closely by Team Flatlanders and it became a footrace to the finish line that GlobalStar USA won with two minutes to spare, in 9th place.

Many teams have vowed to come back for another shot at taking the trophy away from now defending National Champion's Team Traveler. If the team's tenacity once given the lead was any indication, that will not be an easy task.

— Doug Judson, Team GlobalStar USA, MountainZone.com Correspondent