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One of the major reasons teams don't do as well in a multi-day race as they'd hope is poor team dynamics. The longer your race is, the more important this intangible piece of the puzzle becomes. This doesn't mean you don't have to worry about who your teammates are in a Hi-Tec race, because I've seen teams blow up in that race too.
There is no science as to choosing your teammates, just common sense, lots of communication and tackling the issue earlier rather than an hour before a five day race. In an effort to provide some guidance on the subject, we at NYARA have developed a list of questions and topics you should discuss with each of your potential teammates for every race you do. By no means is this list meant to be exhaustive, but it is meant to at least get you started in the right direction. As you will see, there aren't really any "right" or "wrong" answers to these questions/topics. What you are looking for is to see how each person compares with you and the other teammates on the major issues you'll face in a race. These questions/topics are applicable, in concept, for a 3 hour race and a 10 day race. In addition, these questions/topics may come up during the race and having already established an agreed upon group answer is better than making your minds up on the spot when the elements have beaten you down and it's tougher to reach the "right" answer.
- Do you know how to mtn bike, paddle, hike, jumar/rappel, use a compass and map, etc? How much experience do you have with each?
- Who will be the lead navigator? Do you know how to plot UTM coordinates on a map?
- What is your objective for the race; just finish, finish in the middle, win, etc.?
- What will you do in the race if your team will not reach its race objective?
- What will you do in the race if your team is about to miss a cut-off time and be DQ'd but will be allowed to continue?
- What will you do in the race if you twist an ankle/knee, or in other words, how much pain are you willing to endure?
- What will you do in the race if your team is 8 hours from the finish of a 2 day race, but you won't finish officially and a race van comes by and offers to take you to the finish?
- What will you do in the race if your feet look and feel like hamburger meat?
- What will you do if teammates you never trained or raced with, and who told you they were in great shape, end up on race day being in pathetic shape?
- What will you do in the race if your team makes a very time consuming navigational error?
- Do you plan on running during any of the hiking sections?
- What will you do in the race if there is bad team chemistry?
- How much sleep are you expecting per 24 hour period?
- Do you expect to sleep at all during the first 24, 36,48, etc. hours of the race?
- Will you want to sleep at the TA's or in the field?
- Do you want to sleep for 1 long period or several shorter periods each day?
- How much time do you anticipate spending in the TA's and CP's?
- Are you capable and willing to carry your teammate's gear for extended periods of time if it is necessary?
- What is your most recent time for a marathon or other longer race?
- Have you hiked/rode with a 20-30lb pack? How long and far?
- What is your max heart rate and anaerobic threshold heart rate?
- What ultra events have you competed in?
- How many hrs per week do you spend on training?
- What events are you weakest in?
- Are you currently injured?
- Do you have any lingering injuries that only pop up after a few hours or a few days of racing?
- What is the team's stance on losing a teammate before the race? Does the team pay him/her back? Does the team only try to find a replacement who can pay for the vacant spot? Does the team look hard for a paying replacement but will ultimately accept a non-paying (freeloading) racer? What if the team can't find a replacement and can't do the race and it loses part of the race fee b/c the race will only give you credit to the same race next year? Who takes the financial bath?
Don't be naïve in thinking that even if you've covered all the topics above and had general agreement on things with your teammates, that there would be no team dynamic issues during the race. Races are physically demanding and mentally stressful; that's why we love them. But you are never quite sure as to how someone will handle the ups and downs of a race. Physical exertion combined with sleep deprivation can cause peculiar behavior, even from people who you've known for a long time. The best that you could shoot for is to make sure you did your homework and everyone has a clear idea of where each teammate stands. Just having taken the time to focus on these issues will put you way ahead of the other teams and also give you a better chance of having a great race experience.
By Steve Fleisig
Teammates
- Selecting the right teammates will be the 2nd most important factor to having a fun and successful race
- The most important characteristics of a good teammate and adventure racer are the following: similar race goals, ability to train correctly on their own, a real team player, no attitude/ego, can handle adversity, good fitness/athletic skill base, has equipment (or is willing to spend money on it) and, most importantly, fun to be with
- Discuss with your teammates all potential race situations (willingness to suffer, reaction to DQ, reaction to not reaching pre-race goal, dealing with a lame teammate, dealing with a screwed up race organization, etc.) to make sure you are in agreement as to how the team will deal with each
- If possible, find an experienced racer to do your first race with
- First place to look for potential teammates is your current circle of active buddies
- Another good place to look is the Internet - there are many sites that have team-finder applications
- You can also go to a race and get to know people who live in your area - most of them will always appreciate a training buddy or future teammate
- When you find someone, commit to common goal - a race - and stay in touch
- Train with that person as often as possible before the race; no one wants surprises
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