Jen Segger didn't leave herself a lot of time to dwell on the first DNF of her career at the Tour des Geants in Italy on Sept. 16.
The endurance athlete crossed the pond and headed directly to Nevada to take part in the Desert Winds Adventure Race, which took place from Sept. 19 to 24.
Racing directly in the Mojave Desert, racers met in Boulder City, Nevada to kick off the race on Saturday (Sept. 25) evening. After succumbing to illness in Italy, Segger said she felt much better heading into this race.
"I arrived into Nevada feeling pretty good," she said. "My lungs were still flemmy and I had the cough but overall, the leg swelling was controlled and energy levels were increasing rapidly."
Unlike her solo race in Italy, Segger rejoined her regular DART nuun Multi-Sport team for the Desert Winds race, among their biggest competitors would be Team Bones.
"Team Bones was in attendance and we knew this would be our biggest competition," she said. "They're a great crew of people who were going to make us work. And sure enough, that is exactly what happened."
The race began on Saturday (Sept. 18) at 8 p.m. with a 100-kilometre run/trek. Segger said it was a challenging way to start things off.
"There was a crazy foot section that involved slot canyons, rappelling and pack rafting," she said, adding that the run/trek portion took almost 24 hours to complete.
A 160-kilometre biking section was next, lasting around six hours. Segger said it was perhaps the most gruelling portion of the race.
"It was epic," she said. "It was super hot to start with loads of climbing and at the end of it I wanted to die. Night came and temperatures cooled and we went into like a six hour climb moving at approximately two kilometre per hour."
Another run followed, which Segger described as "hilly and hot." The route, which was 38 kilometres, included a canyon descent from the open desert, leading into a six-kilometre pack raft section.
The final leg of the race was an 80-kilometre canoe race throughout the canyons.
According to Segger, the ending to this race was a memorable one.
"We were back and forth with Team Bones the entire race," she said. "We saw them lots, we passed them, they passed us but after a mandatory stop and some unusual race situations, it came down to a sprint to the wire in the canoe after 4 days of racing. This was the most intense finish that we have ever had in an expedition adventure race. Hard to believe but we crossed the line 48 seconds ahead of them, it was awesome!"
But in a show of sportsmanship and fair play, the team decided to share first with their rivals.
"There were just too many things that happened on the race course which is why we agreed on this," she said. "It was great to have that team out there, it kept us all moving forward, focused and competitive."
Segger said she felt about 75 per cent during the race, struggling a little in the heat but her lungs felt considerably better than the race in Italy.
For more information on Segger, visit www.challengebychoice.ca.
