Feral Merrell Squirrels Team Members prepare to find Me out on the Course

On October 24th about 70 teams met at the Country Music Hall of Fame in downtown Nashville to begin an urban adventure race called the Oyster. My team, The Feral Merrell Squirrels, were on hand to try out luck at this 6 hour sprint through many of the cities landmarks. We knew we were in for a good time when we saw other team names on the roster like Dixie Kickers, Friday Doughnut, Smokin Spandex, Gas Passers, and Still Drunk.

The early morning held ominous clouds for the Merrell Oyster Adventure Race. We all fixed our eyes above as they moved quickly over the skyscrapers wondering if we were in for a miserable ride. The temperatures where cold early, but when the race began the clouds moved out and the temps started to go up. As many of you know, adventure races are not only a physical test but a test of our mental capabilities as well. The race director announced that our strongest runner come to the front and the other two team members should prepare to be on their bikes. I was elected our "strong runner" and was herded onto a greyhound bus. Once on the bus all the runners were asked to put a Merrell backpack over their heads. We  were then driven several miles away from the transition area and dropped off. I had no clue where we were, but they gave us a laminated card telling us to go to the City Cemetery to meet our team mates. I know the danger of following other teams in a race like this, but literally everyone took off in the same direction. Who was I to argue.

This race differed from most I've been in. We were allowed to use maps, gps, public buses, and even use our cell phones to "phone a friend." Sounds like it should be a snap then huh? The problem here is that what seems like a huge advantage to the racers is diminished since many of the checkpoints are given to you in riddles. Figuring out what the clue actually meant was often the hard part.

Racer Grant Green and others reach in

After meeting my team mates we were together the remainder of the day. It was tough running the 2 miles back downtown with the other two on bikes.... "c'mon man, what's taking you so long."

Running 3 miles with a pool float in high winds is harder than it looks

Throughout the race we biked and ran approximately 27 miles. On top of those activities we also canoed, swam in the Cumberland River on a pool float, blind taste tested beers, in line skated, golfed, took pictures with graves, visited monuments, chipped golf balls, answered trivia questions, visited a VW bus hot dog stand, and generally freaked out the locals and tourists tooling around the downtown area.

The sponsors were great and included big dogs like Native Eyewear, Clif Bar, Dechutes Brewery, Moe's Southwest Grill, and of course the main sponsor and our team sponsor who makes this series happen, Merrell.We placed 6th in the Men's division, but the race is more of a "challenge" than a race for many of the participants. It was a blast calling our friends and screaming riddles into the phone... Us,  "Where is the asphalt beach?!... Where is it! Hurry! I'm in a race!"  (pause)  Friend, "What the F--- are you talking about?"

Feral Merrell Squirrels & our support crew chief

--Images  provided by RachelleMorvant.com. Rachelle is a professional photographer and a highly reccomended race photographer with a strong portfolio.

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