By Suzanne Sprague
DALLAS – [Ambient sound of countdown, then a cannon fires and the crowd cheers.]
Suzanne Sprague, KERA 90.1 Reporter: It's just after 5 a.m. at Cedar Hill State Park. Hundreds of runners, tied together in teams of three, storm through the rough dark terrain. For Kathy Duryea of highland village, this was the most difficult part of "Dallas at Dawn."
Kathy Duryea, Adventure Racer: Holding onto the rope where you were right behind the person in front of you and you couldn't see your footing. I mean, I must have fallen down ten times flat on my face. We got covered in cockleburrs because we had to go off the trail; you had to go to the side so you could see how you were going. It was hard.
Sprague: All the teams raced along the uneven trail for six miles. They biked the same path - twice - and kayaked for another two miles, all while the temperature climbed to 95 degrees and the humidity closed in. This is adventure racing, Texas style.
[Ambient sound of bikers and runners on a dirt trail.]
Darren Wood, Adventure Racer: We were just roasting. We're used to the running and the biking and all the hard work but yeah, that humidity and that's the unknown factor for us West Coasters.
Sprague: Darren Wood of Irvine, California, was part of the winning team in Cedar Hill, which finished the race in 2:40. This competition is part of the national Hi-Tec Adventure Racing Series. It's different than, say, a triathalon, because the racers also face almost absurd challenges, like the belly crawl, in which they slink across the rocky ground under a net of coarse ropes that trap their hair, their gear and various body parts.
[Someone yells, "Get on your belly and roll. Now go!"]
Sprague: Adventure racing started in France about 15 years ago, but it really caught on in the United States in the mid-1990s. Organizers say it's just as much about brains as braun. But it's also about money. Matt Lucas is president of Luke's Locker, a running and fitness company in Dallas, which has seen sales of adventure racing equipment soar in the last two years.
Matt Lucas, President, Luke's Locker: If you had not any of the equipment that you needed, you could easily spend $1000 just getting the basic stuff. A good mountain bike, a helmet, bike accessories, running shoes or adventure shoes to wear, shorts, and a shirt.
Sprague: Then there's the entry fee, almost $250, plus the cost of traveling to the events. So, that may be why some folks call this the new yuppie sport.
Andy Patranek, Adventure Racer: Well, it's marketed that way. The car companies, the Nissan Xterra.
Sprague: Andy Patranek competed with Darren Wood. But neither he, nor race producer Michael Epstein, is crazy about the yuppie label.
Michael Epstein, Adventure Race Producer: Hopefully, yuppies don't exist anymore. I think honestly one of the reasons for the growth of this, it's not the kind of self-centered yuppie approach. It's more people working together, which is more a sign of the times. You see that a lot more around the country and around the world. [Someone yells, "Get up and over, get behind her, there you go!"]
Sprague: So then, who would spend the money and take the time to scale a 12-foot wall and expose themselves to heatstroke, twisted ankles, poison ivy and exhaustion? Lawyers, architects, and computer consultants, among others.
Epstein: They're tired of the rat race and they just want to relax and hang out. So it's been a big change from the '80s. - [Sprague] But this is not relaxing. - [Epstein] All right, this is not relaxing. I'll give you that.
Sprague: But it is popular. So next year, Epstein will add a national tour of 24-hour adventure races. For KERA 90.1, I'm Suzanne Sprague.