| On
a recent weekend, Ross Capdeville was thinking about a workout for himself
and a group of buddies. There were 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons and triathlons
being offered across the region, but Capdeville has a personal policy:
"I don't do sprints." So he put together a little Saturday schedule that went like this: -- 2 a.m.: Meet at the English Turn bridge in Algiers. Warm up."That was a good workout. But I didn't earn any ice cream," Capdeville said, "because I didn't improve." OK, you're wondering if Capdeville is an escapee from a mental ward or a transplant from one of those Rocky Mountain states. No to both. He's just a 22-year-old native son who's found himself addicted to adventure racing, events that combine running with outdoor skills such as paddling, cycling, climbing and wilderness navigation. The sport originated in the West, but it's slowly claiming a growing number of local participants. None is more enthusiastic or hopelessly hooked than Capdeville. Just look at his summer schedule: -- Last weekend: 50-mile run-hike in 50 hours through the Kisatchie National Forest.A year ago, none of this was on Capdeville's agenda, much less his imagination. He was just a recent Tulane graduate starting a career in Internet technology and taking a beginner's canoe course with local outfitter Byron Almquist. That's when fate intervened. "I was talking to some of the other people on the trip, and one of them talked about this Atchafalaya Basin Adventure Race," Capdeville recalled. "They told me what was involved: Paddling, running, biking and tying it all together by having to navigate and make decisions. "It sounded interesting, so I said, ‘sign me up.' " Three months later, Capdeville found himself in the great swamp with his sister Emily, then 18, and two other friends. He was confused, covered in mud and mosquitoes, wracked by exhaustion -- and thoroughly enjoying himself. "I had no idea what I was getting into, so we really weren't very well prepared," he said, "but I liked it, and I knew I wanted to do more of it. So I started putting together a team." What he liked about adventure racing was the sport's emphasis on the mental as well as physical skills. A typical adventure race runs through a challenging natural landscape, and while racers usually are given a map, the course is seldom marked on it. Instead, competitors must plot their way to checkpoints using coordinates handed out in the race kit just before the start. Additionally, most events include "mystery challenges" at many checkpoints, usually decision-making games that require the entire team to cooperate to solve some type of puzzle or chore. 'Loves a challenge' Capdeville had always been involved in sports, playing soccer and tennis at Ben Franklin High School. But at 5-foot-5, 165 pounds and a plodding runner, he was never a star athlete. His greatest achievements had been in karate, a sport that requires as much mental discipline as physical prowess. So adventure racing -- with its heavy emphasis on navigation, decision-making skills and planning -- appealed to him immediately. "I hate running because I'm not fast, and most (recreation) sports put a big emphasis on speed," Capdeville said. "Adventure racing is different because what you learn is the winning team isn't the team that's the fastest or the strongest. It's the team that has endurance, that does the best planning and makes the best decisions during the race that wins." |
By
all accounts Capdeville has tons of those attributes -- maybe several
tons over the limit. "Ross loves a challenge, and he loves things that require discipline, like karate," Emily said. "Even though he's a very slow runner and he hates it, he'll do it every day just so he can get better at it, to be better at adventure racing. "That's the whole thing about adventure racing. You have to be very dedicated mentally. You have to keep going and going, with your mind focused on the whole challenge, which is what really appeals to Ross. I like it because it's so extreme, and when you go home and tell your friends the stuff you do, they're like ‘Whoa!' Just to see the different looks on their faces is pretty cool. But for Ross, it's the whole thing: the planning, the training, the entire project. It's the organization -- and no one is more organized than Ross, organized to a fault." For example, the dozen racers who showed up for the training event to Jean Lafitte Park received a complete race package, including map, plotter and mystery-event envelopes. And team members receive reports from Captain Capdeville on daily training, on their performances during races and on preparation for races. "He figures out how many calories we'll need per day and per hour," said teammate Rick Thompson, a 27-year-old chiropractor who has been adventure racing in other states for several years. "He'll plan how many calories per ounce of food to bring. He'll plan how many hours of rest or sleep we should have. He'll know how many calories per hours and day used." Capdeville has even applied his organizational skills to the challenge of decision-making. "Ross has given us a decision-making system, where you can input your opinion in six different (values), measuring your like or dislike for each question," Emily said. "That way we arrive at a decision that suits the consensus. "And, of course, he writes a report on everything." The report on the Western Diamondback Adventure Race, held in Texas last October, ran seven typed pages, double-spaced. "Ross is the most amazing organizer I've ever seen," Thompson said. "He may not be the most naturally gifted athlete, but he keeps everything going because he's so into this and so organized." Capdeville doesn't deny any of it. Most days he will commute to his Harahan office by cycling 16 miles each way on the levee trail. He spends an average of two to four hours a day, five days a week in some other form of training, including the hated running. Then he spends his weekends on practice events. Last weekend was a perfect example: He led team members on a 50-mile tour on the most famous trails in Louisiana's Kisatchie National Forest in just 50 hours. Most hikers and backpackers would take a week to cover that much ground. That way, they'd actually get to see and smell the landscape they're traveling through. "Oh, I experience it, too," Capdeville said. "I'm out there in nature, in these beautiful hills or swamps, loving it. "I just love it quicker." Wanting to use his wits Capdeville really loves the forces that prompt his visits in the first place. "I like the mental challenge of it, of seeing how far I can convince myself I can go," he said. "I have an idea of what my limits are, then I place myself in a position to try to go farther. Each time I run a race the limits change, and I know I can do more, and that raises the bar." Many athletes find the same challenge in simply running marathons or ultramarathons. But single-sport, single-venue events don't interest Capdeville. Like other endurance athletes, he wants to compete for 36, 48 and 50 hours at a time -- and he wants his mind working as well as his arms, legs, lungs and heart. "In adventure racing, you have to have your wits about you at all times, because you're constantly making decisions. You have to be able to plot a course on the map, and you have to understand how far to go and in which direction." Most physical problems in these 24- to 50-hour events revolve around exhaustion, but training and planning can conquer even that. Capdeville, who a year ago had never entered an adventure race, now looks for events that go at least 36 hours. "I'm at the point now where 24 hours seems like a sprint to me," he said. "I can't improve in a 24-hour race." No improvement, no ice cream. |