I'm not sure if it is a testament to how popular adventure racing is in North America or how disorganized it is, but there are two different National Championships each year. This can create some confusion and debate over who exactly is the "true" champ in any given year, with some deferring to the Checkpoint Tracker National Championships and others giving the nod to the United States Adventure Racing Association Championship. Both events are great and they both attract excellent teams, but this year there can be no debate over which event produced the best team as their champion. That's because the same team won both events.The 2012 undisputed North American adventure racing champion is clearly Team GearJunkie/WEDALI. The team, which is based out of Minneapolis, MN, is made up of a number of excellent endurance and adventure athletes. The winning squad at the USARA race consisted of Captain Justin Bakken, Scott Erlandson and Molly Moilanen. Bakken also raced in the Checkpoint Tracker Championship where he was joined by Stephen Regenold, Kelly Brinkman and Thomas Puzak. All told, the team is made up of about 10 athletes who rotate on and off the roster based on the type of race they are competing in.
This is the first time that a team has won both of these autumn events, each of which falls into the 24+ hour category. Congratulations to the entire team on not only wrapping up the year by winning these two championships, but for putting together a great season overall. Well done!
