Ethereal. They only had to say it once, but it was their safe word if things ever started going down the wrong path. Literally, the wrong path. That’s what was at stake during the inaugural Teton Ogre Adventure Race for the husband and wife team of Cory and Amy Hatch. But, the race went so well, the couple only had to use their code word once and won the 13-hour division race on Saturday, where they had to trek, bike and paddle their way around the Big Hole Mountains and Teton River collecting checkpoints along the way.

“My goal going into the race was to have a happy marriage at the end,” said Amy Hatch, of Victor. “That was my stated goal. And, you know, we’re a good team in life and a good team out there adventure racing.”

While she doesn’t know where the code word came from, saying it was totally random. Ethereal is defined as “resembling heaven,” or “seeming to belong to another world.” So, it’s fitting that Amy said the best part of the day was getting to spend 13 hours hanging out with her husband in the woods. With a two-year-old daughter at home, Amy said it was like an extended date.

The checkpoints took them to different spots along the Horseshoe Canyon bike trails to Packsaddle Lake and Rainey Bridge on the Teton River and lots of places in between. There were a certain amount of mandatory checkpoints that each team had to find and would send them in a general direction. Then, there were multiple optional checkpoints that teams could choose to collect for points.

Hatch said their strategy was to go for a lot of checkpoints.

“I think for good or worse, I enjoy a good bushwhack, and my husband does too,” she said, adding that their strategy on how to link those checkpoints, and a little luck, paid off, but during the race they had no idea how they were doing compared to other teams.

This was the second adventure race ever for the Hatches. They did their first just a week earlier in Colorado with Teton Ogre race organizers Abby Broughton and Jason Poplisky.

“We’re both hooked,” said Hatch. “I love the multisport aspect of it.”

She said it favors people who like to dabble in a lot of different sports. The other part she loved was that it was as much a mental and intellectual challenge as it was a physical challenge.

“You have to be very aware of navigation and strategy and how to move through the landscape and where to go next,” she said.

In the six-hour category, the team of Aaron Christensen and Smith Maddrey took first place. The top two teams were tied in points so it came down to time. Maddrey and Christensen won by just 30 seconds.

Broughton said overall, the race was a success.

“Our whole goal was to generate more excitement around the sport of adventure racing and introducing people to what it is,” she said.

There were about 40 racers with 12 teams in the 6-hour race and eight teams in the 13-hour race. Most teams completed the entire race successfully. Two teams were disqualified for missing the time cutoff.

Broughton said teams all had different strategies. Some went more off trail, while some stayed more on trails. Others collected more checkpoints, while some went for checkpoints with high point values.

The checkpoints, Hatch said, were really thoughtful.

“They were in the coolest most obscure locations that you would overlook or never find on your own,” she said.

One highlight was a checkpoint placed at the end of a log jutting out into Packsaddle Lake. Competitors had to either shimmy out on the log or swim.

There were also riddles along the way. At the beginning, they had to count birdhouses then identify the corresponding word on a sign. At one transition area, they had to solve a “Lord of the Rings”-style riddle then bring coins to people managing the transitio area before they were given the next race booklet.

“It was such an excellent race,” said Hatch. “It was a great mix of being challenging and also done in a way that was really accessible to anyone of different abilities.”

That was the goal for Broughton and Poplisky.

“It’s obvious we have a lot of talented multi-sport athletes here,” said Broughton. “We’d love to have even more people next year.”

They definitely plan to do another race next year, but in a totally new location. She said they are thinking of eliminating the short race and just having a 13-hour, and maybe a 20-hour, race.

This article appeared in the Teton Valley News on July 3, 2014.