Living life to fullest, soldier goes…Where few men have gone
Every morning while soldiers are pushing the snooze button their alarm clocks or perhaps still dead asleep, MAJ Blain Reeves, Plans and Operations officer, 4th Brigade 78th Division (Training Support), rises from his bed, goes to Callahan Physical Fitness Center and subjects his body to an intense work out of running, cycling and lifting free weights, sometimes he even runs around with a 40 pound ruck sack on his back. When at last he is done, Reeves joins his unit for the daily morning Physical Training. In the evening after a long day of work, Reeves likes to relax with a little bike riding. At last the weekend comes and while the rest of the post is relaxing, Reeves trains six to seven hours each day.
"Of course, I do try to take off one day
during the week to rest," said Reeves.
Actually, Reeves is part of a phenomenon that has begun to sweep the whole world over, adventure racing.
Adventure racing began in 1982 in New Zealand with a race called the Coast to Coast Race. The race began with men and women from all over the world coming together in teams and vying for the right to be the toughest of the tough and the best of the best.
In 1989 a Frenchman instituted the Raid Gauloises which has taken place in Madagascar, Borneo, Patagonia, and South Africa.
The sport took off in 1985 when the first international race was done on U.S. soil, the Eco-Challenge Adventure Race. In the years following, the number of races has almost tripled.
These races can range anywhere from three to four hours to 10 days in duration. A beginner can start with single day sprint races testing out his or her individual talents with triathlon like aspects, Reeves said. The sprints include mountain biking, running, paddling, swimming and limited navigation. Once conquering these elements over single day, duration and endurance become the next objective. Still a single entity, the racer spends two – three days accomplishing much the same tasks but now faces sleep depravation and mental awareness, Reeves said.
For the indomitable spirit who can brave these pains only the gauntlet remains to be run, the long race. These races are anywhere between six and 10 days in duration. These races put mixed (male and female) teams against one another in a trek across 300-400 miles. In order to accomplish this journey, racers require well honed skills in canoeing, mountain climbing and biking, canyoneering, white water rafting, ocean kayaking, horseback riding and sometimes parachuting. The only food to eat is whatever they can carry. Sleep comes only when the body succumbs. If they fall, they pick themselves up and carry on. With bloody knees and feet, swollen ankles and joints they learn the true strength of the human body and spirit.
Reeves has been testing his body and spirit long before adventure racing became a part of his life. After attending Texas A and M University as a cadet, Reeves went on active duty status in 1988 and pursued the life of an Airborne Ranger. In 1992, he entered the Best Ranger Competition, a grueling test of strength and stamina, encompassing a six-hour, 26-mile hike carrying 70 pounds, parachuting, assembling explosives and enduring simulated weapon fire. Reeves won the competition his second time around in 1993. It was not long after this accomplishment that Reeves saw an adventure race on television.
"I saw the (race) and I knew it was for me," Reeves said. "From that point on, I decided that I would keep doing this crazy stuff. I wanted to train my body to surpass the physical level and take it to the mental level."
Since his 1993 win and his glimpse of adventure racing on television, Reeves has participated in the Hi-Tech Adventure Race Series, Eco-Challenges 1995 Utah, 1996 British Columbia, and 1997 Australia, and the Beast of the East 1998 and 1999.
In the 1998 Beast of the East race, Reeves won third place as part of a team. But in 1999 when Reeves decided to strike out on his own, he won first place and set a new record with the fastest world time of three days, 13 hours and 13 minutes.
There are times when Reeves asks himself why he does the ludicrous things he does.
"Well, it’s sure not about the prize or the money that’s being offered, Reeves said. "Usually, the money is barely enough to cover the expense of the entry fee, let alone all the equipment that is necessary to be successful. It’s about the struggle of self and pushing your body beyond what you thought it could do."
"I know if I die tomorrow, so be it. I got the T-shirt; I’ve run the race. I have done it all, and when it’s my time, I will know I really lived," Reeves said with a nod, in dead certainty.
Still living life to its fullest, Reeves left Wednesday for New Zealand to participate in yet another adventure race, the Southern Traverse, a 350-400 mile race, lasting anywhere from five to six days. Reeves will be a part of Team Hastings, that will set out Monday to once more ‘become one with Mother Nature’ as he says.
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PFC Kiandra E. Kaiser
Paraglide Newspaper
November 18, 1999