Debra Moore: Chasing Adventure

By Kim Brohm

It's 4 a.m. as the first leg of the race begins in the isolated southwestern Virginia terrain. Debra Moore and her three-person team set out paddling a canoe in the dark, ready to embark on a six-day adventure filled with repelling down 350-foot cliffs, mountain biking along self-made paths and navigating through the dark frontier. All with no shower, no warm campfires, and definitely not much rest - not if you want to win that is.

The first team that is able to endure the obstacles of the wilderness and direct themselves to the finish with only the use of a map, compass and instinct, wins the race. Six days, no sleep and 300 miles - take that for an episode of "Survivor."

The race is the Beast of East and is exactly the type of adventure race - mixed with physical and mental challenges - that drives 51-year-old Moore . Since she was a young girl growing up near Lake Michigan, Moore has been active in a variety of outdoor activities, everything from swimming, canoeing, skiing and even a little adventure.

Once at age 11 Moore twisted her ankle skiing, but continued on the slopes after considering that she had already paid for the entire day.

"I had to call my parents and tell them they would have to come in and get me because I couldn't walk out to the car. My ankle was so swollen I couldn't get my boot off. My dad had to cut it off," she said.

It was that type of endurance that led Moore to discover a love for running and eventually adventure. Upon receiving a master's degree in chemistry, Moore landed a job for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati , Ohio . It was then that some women at work talked her into running for exercise in the parking lot after work. She eventually was convinced to run a novice 5K race.

"Competitively I got hooked. I had to keep running," said Moore . "I found out I was a pretty good runner naturally and that I could run further than most people."

After only 10 weeks of running three miles a day and long runs on the weekend, Moore ran her first marathon in Kansas City . She finished only 45 seconds from placing in the race.

"Until that race the furthest I had run was seven miles. Afterwards, I was told that I needed to take another 10 minutes off my time to qualify for Boston so I began working on my time."

Moore ran Boston and six weeks later accepted a challenge to run the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin , her first 50-mile race, and won an award.

"I'm fortunate in that I think I have the right muscle mix and good knees. I think I just have a natural talent for endurance," she said.

Moore didn't stop there. She has won the Kentucky 50-Miler three times, with a personal best time of 7:20:33. She has run up to 121 miles in 24 hours at the 24-hour running national championships at Olander Park near Toledo , Ohio and competed in a multi-day race in the Czech Republic , running 10 marathons in 10 days. In the summer of 1994, she was featured in Runner's World Magazine for being the first woman selected to run the five-day 254-mile race from Cincinnati to Cleveland while raising money for Habitat for Humanity.

Moore did all of this while working from home for an upstart company, Interleukin Genetics, and starting her own bed and breakfast. However, it wasn't until Moore went to watch a friend compete in the second-ever ESPN X-treme games Eco-Challenge event that she discovered her true calling.

"People started to know who I was and were looking for people who had shown a lot of endurance to go out into the wilderness and test their skills in a multi-day competition," she said. "As I watched the finish someone asked me if I had ever thought about a race like this. I said I would love to do it."

In 1996, Moore competed in the third Eco-Challenge in British Columbia , a six-day race consisting of a series of challenges Moore and her five-person team would face. Some stretches included riding horses, canoeing and even climbing glaciers while at times going two days between each transition point.

That led her to another passion - orienteering, a sport that deals with reading and navigating through maps and compasses.

"In adventure racing you have to be able to navigate. It doesn't matter how fast you go if you don't know your way. I felt after the challenge that I didn't have much to contribute in terms of navigation and I wanted to get good. I loved it. The longer and harder the competition then the better."

Moore and good friend Liz Jennison began competing in 24-hour women's orienteering competitions. They recently finished 8 th in the World Rogaine Championship this May and have won the North American Open Championships twice, both in 2000 and 2001.

Those skills prepared her for what is known as the premier multi-day adventure race in the United States pioneered by Don Mann and Odyssey Adventure Racing, the Beast of the East. As Moore , along with Jennison and son, Christopher, set out on the six-day adventure, they became the only team with two women to finish the race.

"Just before the race I had told a close friend that I was going to cut back because of work. I was frustrated that I was not able to do the training I wanted to. But I had such a great time," she said.

So she started training and competing more, and even began teaching at the Odyssey Adventure Racing Academy, a camp designed to teach the skills needed for such a race, a couple of times a year.

In 2000, Moore married Pete Schuler and moved to Louisville . Two weeks later she was asked to be an assistant coach for the Manual High School boys and girls cross country teams. This fall she is entering her fifth year at Manual, fourth as a head coach.

"I love coaching. Instead of an adventure every month there's an adventure everyday," she said.

Moore also coaches the long-distance runners on the track team. Between coaching and teaching fitness classes and Pilates at the Jewish Community Center, she fits in as much racing as she can. Last season, both the boys and girls cross country teams finished in the top ten in the state.

"I choose to coach because it's tremendous. The kids I coach have so much potential and energy. I love to see them set a goal and work towards it and see how they do. I love to help them discover how great running is for them and teach them how to get fit, have fun, and learn about goals all at the same time," she said.

"It makes me appreciate more the events I do get to do and keeps me from getting mentally burnt out. Adventure racing is so fun and exciting but the flip side is that it's important to do more to take care of yourself and feel that you are really ready for a race. You can't be unprepared but you also have to keep a balance in life."

Overall, Moore 's competitive spirit and love of a challenge are what motivates her through such adventures. She claims you don't sleep if you want to win and you have to be able to take care of yourself. Ask her why she would ever want to do such races and she'll simply respond, "Why not?"

Races such as the 100-mile Iditisport Run in 1999 and 2000 are testament to how serious Moore takes preparing for such events. In two degrees below zero Fahrenheit Moore set out on foot for the almost 40-hour race fastened with a harness that pulled along a sled carrying survival gear such as food, a stove and fuel.

"There are never people standing on the shore watching you. You have to go in with a feeling of being self sufficient. You not only have to be physically fit but be mentally disciplined," she said. "The races are so mentally challenging that you don't have time to think about anything other than what you are doing. I like to do different things. I like a variety and a challenge."

Different. Variety. A challenge. That's just to say the least. For Moore , the race continues as she juggles being a coach, teacher and athlete. In the future she plans to compete in more orienteering Rogaines and wants to break a fast 100-mile time in her age group. She is even considering doing more short-distance running.

"I've been getting into the shorter distance because it's in sequence with when I'm coaching. I got into distance very early and never put to much focus on 5Ks. It's been fun to come full circle."

From climbing glaciers and canoeing upstream to 100-mile runs throughout the night, who knows what could be next for Debra Moore? What you can count is that there will always be some new challenge. Until then, it's on to the next adventure.

Kim Brohm is a graduate of Spalding University with a B.A. in English where she was a three-sport athlete. E-mail address is kimbrohm@hotmail.com.