Over the riverbed and through the prickly pear to the finish line they go. The snakes hide away and the racers have their day under the bright hot sun.

Twenty teams of three people converged on San Angelo State Park on October 16 to participate in the Sidewinder Challenge. The Challenge, hosted by Rattlesnake Racing of Haskell, TX, consisted of trekking, kayaking, basic land navigation, mountain biking, and team challenges.

Teams from as far away as Houston, Albuquerque, NM, and Oklahoma City, OK, joined local racers in the twilight of early morning for the race start. San Angelo State Park, the site chosen for this race, provided racers with a variety of terrain to run, peddle, and paddle over.

Racers began with a short jog to their first team challenge. There they were given written instructions that read:

"The Emperor of all Rattlesnakes has just found out that there is a race on top of his palace. Fighting mad for not being invited, the Emperor has issued an edict that states: "all individuals found on the race course should be captured." The only way you can escape capture and continue the race is to outsmart the Emperor. The Emperor has warned all Sentries to be on the lookout for teams with five or six legs. A sly mouse gives your team two toe-sacks. Using the toe-sacks, you will travel to safety (from point A to point B) with at least four legs in the toe-sacks. That leaves only four "legs" for the Sentries to see. The Emperor has also placed weight scales under the ground. Should a scale read more than on body weight in a given point, the Sentries will be alerted (i.e., no piggy back rides!). Should you have less than four legs in the sacks, you must stop your forward movement less the Sentries find you. Once there are four legs in the sacks, you may continue. Once you reach safety (point B), check with the race official before continuing on your way."

Running with awkward coordination, teams traveled to safety without alerting the "Emperor". Racers then had another jog to the first trekking checkpoint and the second team challenge. When they arrived at this team challenge, another race volunteer handed them a sheet of paper with the instructions that read:

"Halloween is approaching and with it comes the witches. A witch has just crossed your path and detained your team. The witch has decided that only through teamwork will you be allowed to continue. She presents your team with a baggie containing a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle. You must correctly assemble this puzzle and present it to the race official at the Giant Pecan Tree. Once the race official checks the puzzle, you must return the puzzle to its baggie to complete the team challenge. When the challenge is complete, you will receive your navigation packet and be on your way. You may not assemble your puzzle on the witch’s table! However, should some pieces shift during movement, you may shift them back to their proper place. Breaking this rule would put you in disfavor with the witch!"

From this point on, teams had to navigate their way to the additional six trekking checkpoints, and four kayaking checkpoints. Racers skipping checkpoints received a two-hour time penalty. To document that each team had in fact been to that checkpoint, Rattlesnake Racing placed code words at each checkpoint along with a checkpoint sign-in sheet for teams. Some checkpoints also had race volunteers posted to help racers with whatever questions they may have had.

"I think the code words with the sign-in sheet worked well for this race. Some teams forgot to sign-in or get the code word. This way we still had some way to show that they had been at that checkpoint," said Rattlesnake Racing Race Director, Leiza N. Morales.

Teams were given three topographical maps with checkpoints plotted out, a state park trail map, information sheet with declination and distance, and markers. To assist teams with navigation questions, Rattlesnake Racing Land Navigation Expert and Advisor, Jason Falk, was on hand. However, once teams left the first trekking checkpoint, they were on their own. Some teams chose to stay and ask questions while others immediately headed off for checkpoint two.Some teams had difficulty with the land navigation and as a result, it took them a little bit longer to complete the kayak and trekking legs.

"This wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It was an eye opener for me to have this much difficulty with land navigation. However, after this race, I am confident that I have a handle on land navigation," said one racer.

After reaching trekking checkpoint number seven, teams headed straight for the transition area where they would switch to mountain bikes. Awaiting racers at the transition area was the third team challenge. Teams were challenged to find their way back to Earth

"Your team has just fallen through a black hole and landed on the planet Glue. As a result of your fall, one team member has gone mute and another team member has gone blind. All other body parts and senses are intact. Working with these "injuries" you must make your way back to Earth (point B). This planet is a bit peculiar in that it only allows forward movement. The sticky gooey surface of this planet does not allow you to walk on its ground. However, you have been presented with 2 magic shoes (the two 2x4s), and magic lariats (the six pieces of rope). Using these items, and any that you carry with you, you must travel the distance between planet Glue (point A) and Earth (point B). There’s a catch. The sticky surface does not allow forward movement when any parts of your team’s bodies are touching the ground. Should a hand, foot or other body part touch the ground, you will stop all forward movement immediately. At this point, you may collect the offending body part and begin forward movement once more. Once you reach point B, you have safely traveled back to Earth. Check with the race official and continue the race."

Teams finished the race with a 14-mile mountain bike leg. At the first mountain bike checkpoint, racers encountered their final team challenge, the memory game. Teams were instructed that they had 15 seconds to memorize all of the items on a 11x17 card. When the 15 seconds were up, teams were asked to list all the items on the card and the amount of each item. Teams were then asked what color the crayons on the card were. Those teams answering all the questions correctly were allowed to continue the race. Teams answering the questions incorrectly were instructed to wait three minutes before repeating the challenge.

"Team Los Lobos missed the number of thumbtacks by one. When I told them they had to wait three minutes, they began to barter good-naturedly with me. At that point they were close to catching the first place team," said Rattlesnake Racing Coordinator Corey Franken. Team Los Lobos finished second overall and first in the men’s division.

Out of the 20 teams that registered and began the race, 16 teams completed all aspects of and finished the race. Teams that finished the race but did not rank in the top three finishing teams in either division still received an award. Some racers had mixed views of this "gift".

"I saw more than my share of prickly pear today. The pots are cool, but I think I’ll leave the cactus here," commented one racer after seeing the cactus pots that were meant as an award.

The pots, decorated with such mottoes as "I survived my first Sidewinder" or "I survived the cacti, snakes, and the Sidewinder Challenge", held small pieces of prickly pear cactus.

"I wanted to give each team a momentoe. Something they’ll look at and remember the race by," explained Morales with a smile.

The top three finishing teams in the coed division received gift certificates from Robert Tucker, while the men’s division received various outerwear from Nashbar.

"All in all I would say the race was a success. We brought attention to the park and helped raise some money. Hopefully some of the participants will return for recreation," commented Franken.

Rattlesnake Racing would like to thank the San Angelo State Park, San Angelo Chamber of Commerce and all the people who volunteered their time to make the race a success.