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Adventure X-tream team takes on the Canyonlands in Moab adventure race
The admission requirements to join the Fort Lewis College Adventure X-tream team say it all:
Previous experience: NONE. We make athletes!
Welcome to the Adventure X-tream team, where all are welcome to join together to push themselves training and challenging their endurance and skills in adventure racing competitions of all kinds.
It's also the newest club sport, started by the student athletes themselves who saw an unmet need here at FLC, a campus surrounded by some of the most spectacular, varied, and rugged landscapes in the world – and located in Durango, home of champion outdoor athletes of all types, from cycling and kayaking to running and climbing.
“The mission of the Fort Lewis College Adventure X-tream team,” says club president Connor Cafferty, “is to provide a camaraderie within the Fort Lewis College community where elite athletes can support and train together, in order to compete to the best of our abilities and push the human body to its limits in the spirit of competition.”
Challenging the FLC Adventure X-tream team in April was the canyon country around Moab, Utah, at the2014 Gravity Play Adventure Xstream Series. The competition involved tackling a 50-mile course that included trail running, mountain biking, rappelling, and paddling the Colorado River.
Kelsey Eans, a senior Adventure Education major, took 4th place at the event. “I would say my love for adventure and challenge got me through the race,” says Eans. “The race didn't seem like a slog because I enjoyed every part of it.”
“Plus,” Eans adds, “the cherry on top was seeing my teammates cross that finish line with huge grins on their muddy, sweat-streaked faces. And that's what is all comes down to: adventure racing is about the team, not yourself.”