Wisconsin Adventure Racing Driftless Zone Results Page

Well below are some comments from the teams that have participated in past years Driftless Zone Races,, Enjoy!
Joe & Linda

Dear Joe and Linda,

My name is Chris Behnke and I was the slower part of the Stevens Pointers and I have to say that your course and this experience were outstanding! I had a great time, had never competed in a competition like this and from beginning to end was pleased with the day.

Thank you for putting together such an event.

With warm regards,

Chris Behnke

JOE!!!!!

Great race! I have plenty of constructive suggestions, but overall the race rocked! literally! We anticipated the caving (us reading into the website again), so it wasn't a surprise. And we anticipated the finish at Don Q, but otherwise you threw us some great curves! One teammate is a professor of Geology at Lawrence University. He can read the ground and terrain like nobody's business, and you got him lost! (for a short time anyway) :)

Joe,

This race was my 4th AR and by far the most fun. Thanks for creating such an amazing event. It truly brought the best in our team. I really appreciate your creativity and work you put into the race. Thanks again,
Jill (Adventure Heads)

Joe,

I just wanted to thank you and Linda for a great race. I've done about 8 adventure races (all sprints) over the past two years and this was the most "extreme" of them and the closest to Eco-Challenge type conditions that I've seen. No other race director sends you to a floating checkpoint on the edge of a swamp in the dark. I'm thankful that it took us until daylight to get in the general area otherwise we probably would have missed it and then would have been forced to eat one of the other lost teams.

Now for what other teams had to say! About the first two Races.

Nice effort everyone... The community, the volunteers the event organizers all did an outstanding job. We hope to see you all next year!! Good effort Joe & Linda! The excitement never ends....

Hello Joe, Linda, and fellow Racers, I just wanted to say "Thank You" to Joe & Linda for staging a great race. It was a lot of fun. After twenty months of planning it's time for a well-deserved rest, wouldn't you agree? ;-) You and your staff should be proud for staging a great first-time race. I also wanted to say "Thank You" to the other racers for participating in this inaugural race and making it such a competitive event. And most of all, I want to thank all the volunteers for their time and energy. Without them this race could not have happened. I hope to see everyone again next year. Sorry I had to leave Reedsburg before the post-race party started, but I had a prior commitment back in Chicago. I'm sure the post-race party was fun.

JOE & LINDA: WOW..great race...I must say you put on one helluva adventure...highly organized.
Great volunteers...We had a super time..you really wore us out!!!! And that half hour penalty..oh oh..your too organized..I have to laugh..you MADE US WORK HARD!!! The nice thing about your race is we learned alot..which will make us better racers in the future..we learned about using fins..we learned about being organized..ect ect..so thank you and your crew... Also..your rappel section was THE BOMB!!!! Great site We are sorry we missed the awards banquet..we had such a long drive..and we had to get our spunky support crew home. We will let other AR racers know what a good race you put on to spread the word for next year...we can hardly wait thanks again!!!

I too want to say that this was one of the more fun(?)adventure races our team has experienced and I have the raw legs to show for it...next time GATORS! It was well put together and it had a lot of variety for all AWESOME rappel!!!. so, TO Everyone... you were all awesome.....just think what everyone else you know was doing on that day!....once again, everyone did soooooooooooo great and should feel really pleased at the accomplishment!.....onto our next adventures together!......train on...

Can there be enough thanks? Thanks Joe & Linda for a great and fun race. A big thanks to Team Nouveau (sp?) for helping pass the time on that paddle-"Hi guys!" We all had a great time at the post race, too. Thanks again everybody, see you next time...

Joe & Linda, Just wanted to thank you for the great time! A big OOHRAH goes out to you, your wife and all the volunteers who made that race possible. We had fun, which was our goal and challenged ourselves while we were at it. Keep up the great work!

Hi Joe and Linda--
First of all, what a great race because of a great course. Well thought out and planned. We absolutely loved the orienteering/bushwacking -- that part of any race adds the "adventure" to adventure racing. And I'm sure some of the jocks are going to bitch about the tough locations of some of the points, but without that aspect it just becomes another race for speed. Let the whiners go sign up for triathlons.

Anyhow, absolutely loved the course--probably the best I have been on (out of a dozen or so adventure races I have done). Thoroughly enjoyed going from marker 6 to 7--felt like Humphrey Bogart in African Queen. And for a course of this length and duration was definitely a good physical workout. It made us exhausted enough that we started getting spacey--which started affecting our decision making--and fortunately our experience kicked in and got us through.

I would definitely say this was not an entry level course, and I'm sure that many of the novice teams were very intimidated by the start plunging into a swamp in the dark. Nice timing on the phase of the moon also--no help there. Fronm all the shouting and splashing around, major mass confusion. Loved it. Good time not to panic.The canoe leg was a bit of a challenge because of the low water, but I think the low water also helped to equalize the canoes with the kayaks, because of all the debris and navigating. I know in my canoe we had to portage 3 or 4 times, and get out an push maybe 15 or 20 times- but hey, thats why its adventure racing.
All in all, great race. See you next year.

This was my first time doing such an event...definately didn't know what to think at first....it was something along the lines of what the hell did i get myself into! however, now after going through it once...i know i'd like to do it again (and i'll be more prepared next time - maybe even bring some pants...it might be another week before the scratches on my legs go away!) Overall, i thought the race was very cool. definitely an experience i'm glad to have been a part of & hope to do again, being able to have a better strategy along the way. Thank you so much for all your hard work getting this together. I had a blast & look forward to gathering more people to do it with next year.

Hi Joe,& Linda
Over all the race was great. I liked the first part of the race not like one of my team mates. We will be back next year with proper gear and a much faster race. Thanks for doing a great job.

Joe & Linda
One week later and at 4:00a when I woke up in my warm bed I realized that I would have rather been on the starting line. Yes we will be back next year. The start - and course through the first 8 CP - were great. The terrain and the distance were exactly how I would have planned it myself. I felt the CP were located fair and at the right intervals. I would prefer that for next year it remain the same style - no trails.

The CPs ware support crews met us were very good as well - organized and plenty of room. Our support person said that the instruction from one place to the next were good and that she met some neat people wile waiting.
The maps that you provided were also very good - it was all right there.
The camp and restaurant were also very good. We got in late on Friday and left after the dinner on Saturday (back to Mpls -almost 24 w/o sleep) but next year I would stay the weekend. Overall I would give it an A. For our first race the experience was positive and will keep us motivated for A/R next summer. I will be sending Linda some pictures later this weekend. Thanks for the good time.

Joe Just a quick note, I am leaving shortly for primal Quest. Overall a good race. I supported last year and raced this year. For a new race you do a better job overall than some veteran race directors. Again joe it was a good experience THANK YOU

Joe and Linda,
Wanted to thank you and all the course support crew for a great time. Our team is still talking about how much fun we had. For "first timers" I've got to say the 4am start in that Jungle we had to traverse was a blast, I can still smell the swamp water on my legs. We will be back next year without a doubt and believe we will have additional teams from our department.See you then, and thanks again!

Joe & Linda
I would first like to take a second to thank you for a great job.
This being my first race (my teammates as well) we have already decided to broaden our horizons and do two next year. Of course, there were times (the trek through the river, for instance) when I was not too pleased with the course design, but after having completed I feel like I have really accomplished something and am proud to have done something most people would not dare do. I am really glad now that the trek was included because it challenged us mentally and physically and we got to see what we are all really made of. So, once again, thanks for your time and effort. Look forward to next year.

Joe & Linda
I just wanted to say thank you for the adventure race. Although I was sore, I really had fun. Need some work on the orienteering skills. It was, in every sense of the word, an adventure. . All the support personnel were fantastic. The only thing that would have been a little nicer would've been more water in the Baraboo River. BUT that is probably not within your span of control. I hope that you will have it again next year. I would like to participate again. Take care and hope to see you next year.

Joe & Linda