LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
More than fifty teams, from all branches of the armed forces, competed in the 9th Annual Wilderness Challenge Oct. 8-10 on the New and Gauley rivers, which are nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, W.Va.
Representing the Air Force and Langley was Team Raptor 'Round the Axle, which included Lt. Col. Clay Seale, 1st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander and team leader, Maj. Dale Robertson, 1st AMXS squadron operations officer, 1st Lt. Karen Mostellar, 1st Maintenance Group quality assurance officer, and Master Sgt. Mike Kilgore, 1st AMXS first sergeant.
In an effort to promote camaraderie and esprit de corps across the board, challenge participants competed in six outdoor adventure races for the opportunity to reign as the "best of the best," said Michael Bond, event coordinator.
"We had a great mix of strengths on our team," said Colonel Seale. Lieutenant Mostellar has whitewater rafting experience, Major Robertson has the cross country experience and Sergeant Kilgore's strength was biking.
Challenge elements consisted of an eight-kilometer mountain run, 14-mile mountain bike race, 14-mile forced hike through the mountains, 13-mile whitewater raft race on the Gauley River, half mile swim in the swift moving waters of the Gauley River and a seven-mile kayak race on the New River.
The different events combined with rainy, cold conditions increased the difficulty of the race on the second day. Competitors found the biking and hiking trails to be very slick and muddy, said Colonel Seale.
"This was a grueling event for all the competitors ...the hike was the toughest event with over 6,000 feet of vertical elevation change - we ran most of the flats and down hills and had to walk the steep uphill sections," said Colonel Seale.
Despite the mountainous terrain and raging river waters, Team Raptor 'Round the Axle finished the challenge in nine hours, 28 minutes and 26 seconds; the team placed fourth in the Air Force division and 17th place overall.
"Everyone recognized who was the strongest for each event, and we used those strengths to help the team," said Colonel Seale.