Extreme adventurist

Family man of five spends time as adventure racing guru

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

Glenn Rogers has lived on both ends of the fitness spectrum. If you flash back to his days in New York, when he worked in the Wall Street Financial District more than a decade ago, the 43-year-old Gig Harbor resident would tell you he was overweight and smoked a pack of cigarettes a day.

“I just needed my life back,” Rogers said.

Working in the Big Apple was catching up to him. Rogers saw his lifestyle as unhealthy and unfulfilled.

So he returned to his Pacific Northwest Roots. After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in business administration in 1990, he put his business career aside to be a stay-at-home father for five children.

Rogers isn’t your average father, though. When he moved to Gig Harbor 11 years ago, he envisioned getting back into shape. That path indelibly led him to extreme land and water competitions, something called adventure racing.

“I was sort of bred to be an outdoorsman,” Rogers said. “What I didn’t know is there was this whole community of crazy nuts.”

Rogers grew up hiking in the mountains and was experienced in a number of Xterra trips. What he hadn’t done is team up with others to compete in adventure racing.

He was hooked about five years ago after his first race in Cle Elum.

“It just seemed like a fun thing to do,” Rogers said. “It’s fantastic. You get to see beautiful locations.”

His team, dubbed DART-nuun, was invited to compete in the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge from Dec. 12-17. It was one of the biggest international adventure races in the world, with the winner earning $40,000.

Abu Dhabi adventure

The multi-sport adventure race included teams of four racing in six consecutive days in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Teams raced during the day and rested at night. The disciplines included sea kayaking, camel hiking, cross orienteering, mountain biking, adventure running, rope activities and in-line skating.

DART-nuun took four of its teammates, including one woman, and finished 13th out of 30 teams with a time of 45 hours, 14 minutes, four seconds. They were three minutes from placing 11th.

Desert Islands of New Zealand won in 39:18.20. Team NIKE had the best American finish in 40:06.20.

“It was absolutely beautiful over there,” Rogers said. “There were 1,000-foot-high sand mountains. We went up and down sand for 24 hours at one point.”

The race was staged, meaning teams completed the different disciplines during the day and prepared for the next phase at night.

“You raced really hard in the day and ate well at night,” Rogers said. “It was a lot like a vacation.”

DART-nuun has been a team for about seven years. Last November was the team’s most successful month since its inception. They won the national championship in Georgia and placed sixth at the World Championships in northeastern Brazil.

Rogers said the Abu Dhabi race earlier this month was a physical fitness race.

“The lead team had their nose in the GPS, and everyone else followed the tracks in the sand,” Rogers said. “There was no navigation.”

In other adventure races DART-nuun has competed, problem solving had been key, because some kind of dilemma would arise and the team had to figure it out.

That’s what Rogers likes so much about adventure racing. In most events, teams are given a map and a compass with established checkpoints.

The fever pitch is getting there in the shortest amount of time with the given instruments and transportation.

“Everyone brings their own strengths and skills,” Rogers said. “Invariably, something always goes wrong.”

Rogers said that, in order to have a successful team, they must always move forward. DART-nuun’s strength is paddling and running.

For now, the team plans to take a couple months off before conducting some base training prior to their 2009 schedule.

The life of an adventure racer

Rogers, who has raced all around the world, has been on the DART-nuun adventure racing team for four years.

Races range from four hours to seven or eight days. He’s run across the Baja Peninsula and paddled in the Pacific Ocean, competed in the Middle East, Appalachian and Rocky Mountains. And during a race in Canada, he heard the growling of a grizzly bear in the forest.

Since individuals on teams sometimes get injured or are simply too tired, Rogers said he’s been towed on many occasions and has done the towing as well with bungee cords tied to his hips or bicycle.

On one occasion, he had to forfeit a race in Maine because of hypothermia, which was caused by paddling in 30-degree waters for four days.

A mandatory gear list usually includes first-aid kits, Ibuprofen and ace bandages. The most prevalent injury is a sprained ankle due to the varying landscapes of rocky mountains and hills.

Rogers has competed in about 40 adventure races, not including different types of extreme competitions, like Rogaine, where he is a U.S. champion.

At the end of the day, though, Rogers is a family man. He’s a full-time father and husband to his wife, Cheryl. The activity that keeps it all together is adventure racing.

Glenn Rogers’ extreme racing highlights

2008

Adventure racing

First place, Adventure Extreme Moab Expedition

First place, Blue Blue Kit Carson 24-hour race

First place, Gorge Games 24-hour race

First place, Desert Winds 24-hour race

First place, World Championship Qualifier — Baja Travesia expedition race

Orienteering

U.S. Rogaine Champion

2007

Adventure racing

Third place, USARA National Championship

First place, Tahoe Big Blue 12-hour race

First place, Big Blue Kit Carson

Second place, Big Blue Oakridge

Second place, Desert Winds

Second place, Sea Otter Classic

First place, 4th Dimension Winter AR

Running

Third place, Bridal Trails 50K

Fourth place, Capital Peak Mega Fat Ass 55K

Plain 100 finisher

Orienteering

Third place, Winter O’ Series

2006

Adventure racing

First Place, Wicked Adventure Racing Series

Third place, Wicked 24-hour Adventure race

Second place, Raid the North 36-hour Adventure Race

First place, Wicked Urban Adventure Race

Fourth place, Mighty Mo Adventure Race

Running

First place, Lord Hills 55K, 5:20

Third place, Bridal Trails 50K, 4:44

Second place, AG Solstice Xterra

First place, AG Vashon Island Off-Road Triathlon

First place, AG Moonlight Basin Xterra (Pacific Northwest Regional Off-Road Championship)

Pacific Crest half Ironman second age Group/Masters

TRI NW Long Course Masters Triathlon Champion

Orienteering

U.S. Rogaine Champion

First place, Winter O’ Series Championships

2005

Adventure racing

First place, 2005 Pacific Northwest Adventure Racing Championship

First place, 2005 Wicked Adventure Racing Series

First place, 2005 Explore California Adventure Racing Series

First place, Wicked Ocean Adventure race

Second place, Trioba 24-hour Adventure Race

Third place, Raid the North 36-hour Adventure Race

Second place, Explore California Adventure Race

First place, Wicked Urban Adventure Race

Second place, Appalachian Extreme

First place, Trioba Sprint adventure Race

First place, BEAST Sprint Races

First place, Inaugural Winteroba

Running

Fifth place, Lord Hills 55K, 5:38

Fifth place, Capital Peak Mega Fat Ass 55K, 5:48

Triathlons

Fourth place, AG Solstice Xterra

Fifth place, AG Moonlight Basin Xterra

Fourth place, AG Lake Sonoma Xterra

Ninth place, AG Pacific Crest half Ironman

2004

Adventure racing

Ranked 10th best team in North America by Adventure Sport Magazine, October 2004

Third place, Northwest Series Championship

Third place, Trioba 24-hour Team Follow the Bleeder

11th place, Subaru Primal Quest

Third place, Trioba 24-hour Team Follow the Bleeder

Sixth place, Trioba 24-hour Team Follow the Bleeder

X-adventure Raid Series, Bend Oregon, Team Washington Adventure Racing

Running

Fourth place, AG Vashon Island Off-Road Triathlon (Pacific Northwest Regional Off-Road Championship)

2003

Adventure racing

Primal Quest finisher

Third place, Raid the North, Kimberly Team Washington Adventure Racing

Seventh place, Trioba 24-hour, Team Warthogs

Fifth place, Trioba 24-hour, Team Warthogs

2002

Adventure racing

Third place, Northwest Adventures Endurance Race

Wuhoo Adventure Race finisher

Want to know more?

For more information about team DART-nuun, visit www.dartadventure.com.

Reach sports reporter Marques Hunter at 253-853-9246 or by e-mail at marques.hunter@gateline.com.