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Marlin woman enters extreme race
By Denise Schoppe
Staff Writer
The Marlin Democrat
June 29, 2004
Looks can be deceiving, and they certainly are when Gale Torbett walks in a room. At first glance, it may be hard to imagine that this small-statured, middle-age woman completed a three day non-stop adventure race through varying types of terrain and modes of transportation, but, Torbett recently competed in the 7th Annual Rock, Roll and Rattlesnake Challenge (RRRC) in Haskell, Texas, which is north of Abilene, at the Krooked River Ranch. This was her third year to compete in RRRC, an event that even some of the most athletic young men find to be too much to handle.
Torbett and her team, "Pushing Up Daisies", ran in third place until the end when they found they'd dropped the map and had to go back for it. They ended the race in fifth place.
"I cried," Torbett said, "but it's okay. It was a great journey."
The journey began with 10 miles of in-line skating around the town before heading off on bikes. Recent rainfall had caused the course to be muddy, and Torbett said it took four and a half hours to go 15 miles, slipping, sliding and pulling.
The race ended after 72 hours of battling various terrains and temperature extremes. She said she saw 11 snakes, seven of which were poisonous, and two wild boars during the race.
The Krooked River Ranch, where the race was held, is owned by the Hendrick Home for Children Trust. Torbett said there were miles of cactus that punctured everything.
According to the race's website, the ranch is "typical of rough breaks and mesquite rangelands in the Rolling Limestone Prairie, broken draws lined with bumelia, hackberry, aromatic sumac, elbowbush, greenbriar and lotebush, and features mature turkey roost timber along the Clear Fork of the Brazos River."
There was a 22-hour leg on foot, 15 miles of biking and 12 hours kayaking. The adventure included swimming across a river (because it was shorter than going around), and it required doing everything carrying their packs, which were loaded down with their food, water and a long list of other necessary gear.
Sleep was in short supply during the race, and during the three days Torbett said she got three and a half hours of sleep total. The team was always on the move.
The heat of the day and the cold of the night were also a challenge, and the team's dynamics were essential to the finishing the race.
Torbett was the team captain of her group of four. Required to be co-ed, she, at 56, was the leader of three 34-year-old men from all over the state of Texas.
Her team members included Doc Fletcher, a computer tech from Red Oak, who had raced in the RRRC two years before. However, his team quit, so he approached Torbett to race again. She agreed to do it.
Her second team mate was Scott Warren, a SWAT officer from Houston. Torbett said he had raced with her husband, Lee, the previous year.
Chuck Thompson, a Sales Manager from Dallas, was what Torbett called a "great mistake." After asking Thompson to be on the team, Torbett found out that he had never raced a 72-hour race before. The longest he had gone was 12-hours. She said he turned out to be "a wonder," and that she couldn't ask for a better teammate.
"All three left their egos at home," Torbett said. "They worked well together. They always helped each other. Their personalities worked well. They were nice boys."
She said the team always found something to laugh about and that she felt it was good to have a woman as captain. It was up to her to make the final decisions, and she said that it seemed to give the men motivation to keep going. If she could do it, they could do it.
There were 13 teams competing in the race, but only 11 finished. While each team had four members, it also required having a crew.
"We couldn't do it without them doing their work," Torbett said.
The team's crew, comprised of Torbett's husband, Lee, and Dusty Fletcher, were in charge of making sure the team's gear was in place when they made it to each leg of the race. They transported the boats and bikes cross-country so the team could keep moving.
Lee got Torbett into racing five years ago with a sprint race in Dallas. She won it and was hooked. Since then she has raced in 40 states and in China two years ago.
Being her third year to compete in RRRC, she said this year was easiest, since she had an idea of what was going to happen. Her first year, she said, had been all about survival.
Torbett trained around Marlin by carrying her pack everywhere. She said the competition was stiff, and she was still tired days after the race. However, she described it as a great journey and was glad she'd done it.
The race was a benefit for the Haskell County Friends of the Library. A portion of the registration fee benefits their new library building fund.
By Denise Schoppe
Staff Writer
The Marlin Democrat
June 29, 2004
Looks can be deceiving, and they certainly are when Gale Torbett walks in a room. At first glance, it may be hard to imagine that this small-statured, middle-age woman completed a three day non-stop adventure race through varying types of terrain and modes of transportation, but, Torbett recently competed in the 7th Annual Rock, Roll and Rattlesnake Challenge (RRRC) in Haskell, Texas, which is north of Abilene, at the Krooked River Ranch. This was her third year to compete in RRRC, an event that even some of the most athletic young men find to be too much to handle.
Torbett and her team, "Pushing Up Daisies", ran in third place until the end when they found they'd dropped the map and had to go back for it. They ended the race in fifth place.
"I cried," Torbett said, "but it's okay. It was a great journey."
The journey began with 10 miles of in-line skating around the town before heading off on bikes. Recent rainfall had caused the course to be muddy, and Torbett said it took four and a half hours to go 15 miles, slipping, sliding and pulling.
The race ended after 72 hours of battling various terrains and temperature extremes. She said she saw 11 snakes, seven of which were poisonous, and two wild boars during the race.
The Krooked River Ranch, where the race was held, is owned by the Hendrick Home for Children Trust. Torbett said there were miles of cactus that punctured everything.
According to the race's website, the ranch is "typical of rough breaks and mesquite rangelands in the Rolling Limestone Prairie, broken draws lined with bumelia, hackberry, aromatic sumac, elbowbush, greenbriar and lotebush, and features mature turkey roost timber along the Clear Fork of the Brazos River."
There was a 22-hour leg on foot, 15 miles of biking and 12 hours kayaking. The adventure included swimming across a river (because it was shorter than going around), and it required doing everything carrying their packs, which were loaded down with their food, water and a long list of other necessary gear.
Sleep was in short supply during the race, and during the three days Torbett said she got three and a half hours of sleep total. The team was always on the move.
The heat of the day and the cold of the night were also a challenge, and the team's dynamics were essential to the finishing the race.
Torbett was the team captain of her group of four. Required to be co-ed, she, at 56, was the leader of three 34-year-old men from all over the state of Texas.
Her team members included Doc Fletcher, a computer tech from Red Oak, who had raced in the RRRC two years before. However, his team quit, so he approached Torbett to race again. She agreed to do it.
Her second team mate was Scott Warren, a SWAT officer from Houston. Torbett said he had raced with her husband, Lee, the previous year.
Chuck Thompson, a Sales Manager from Dallas, was what Torbett called a "great mistake." After asking Thompson to be on the team, Torbett found out that he had never raced a 72-hour race before. The longest he had gone was 12-hours. She said he turned out to be "a wonder," and that she couldn't ask for a better teammate.
"All three left their egos at home," Torbett said. "They worked well together. They always helped each other. Their personalities worked well. They were nice boys."
She said the team always found something to laugh about and that she felt it was good to have a woman as captain. It was up to her to make the final decisions, and she said that it seemed to give the men motivation to keep going. If she could do it, they could do it.
There were 13 teams competing in the race, but only 11 finished. While each team had four members, it also required having a crew.
"We couldn't do it without them doing their work," Torbett said.
The team's crew, comprised of Torbett's husband, Lee, and Dusty Fletcher, were in charge of making sure the team's gear was in place when they made it to each leg of the race. They transported the boats and bikes cross-country so the team could keep moving.
Lee got Torbett into racing five years ago with a sprint race in Dallas. She won it and was hooked. Since then she has raced in 40 states and in China two years ago.
Being her third year to compete in RRRC, she said this year was easiest, since she had an idea of what was going to happen. Her first year, she said, had been all about survival.
Torbett trained around Marlin by carrying her pack everywhere. She said the competition was stiff, and she was still tired days after the race. However, she described it as a great journey and was glad she'd done it.
The race was a benefit for the Haskell County Friends of the Library. A portion of the registration fee benefits their new library building fund.
