Bushwhacking and Tush Smacking

 If you want to get to know someone, you have a few options. You can invest loads of time meeting up casually for coffee, or playdates with your kids. Maybe have them over for dinner a few times. You could work alongside of them for a few years or go to the same gym for an extended period of time. Or you can race with them. Racing with someone strips away a whole lot of silly fluff we all like to prop up around ourselves. You can see how they deal with stress, pain, annoyances, and even glee, victory, and defeat. And while the longer you race with them, the better you get to know them, even a short little 10-hour race will get you pretty well acquainted.  Brittany and I had a crash course in each other's company this past weekend, and it was a hoot. Originally, we met last year at the 2025 Sea2Sea in Florida. Both in the 2-person coed division racing with our husbands, we were each other's competition. We chatted at the prerace dinner and ping ponged with each other over the 7...

      If I would have been able to see 15 years into the future when Annika was born, I don't think I could have imagined the relationship we share. Her being the oldest, and the only girl in our lineup, has helped forge an unspoken alliance between us in the household. Our shared love of the Lord has kept our hearts threaded on the same cord. Homeschooling has maintained a close connection (and caused many of the squabbles) between us.  But it's our mutual enjoyment in adventure racing that has provided us with some of our absolute best shared memories.                                          I first introduced Annika to the awesomeness of adventure racing 3 years ago at an event that was almost literally in our backyard. Our great friend and AR director, Jonathan Offen of Delmarva Adventure Sports, put on a 4-hour race at our beloved Trap Pond State Park, ...