Members of Team Paycor run along the Newport flood wall in a steady rain. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        In pouring rain, punctuated by occasional flashes of lightning, 15 fearless teams set out in rafts on the Ohio River Sunday morning to compete in the region's first multi-sport eco challenge.

        The Freedom Challenge included a round-trip rafting race from Newport to the Public Landing, a 3.1-mile foot race to Mount Adams and a Marine-style obstacle course in which teams had to clear an eight-foot vertical wall, along with negotiating a tire-run and a low-crawl.

        “I'm trying to generate some positive publicity for our region through a river-oriented event, which is my forte,” said Gary Morgan, event organizer and general manager of Morgan's Canoe and Outdoor Centers. “This is an expression and celebration of the American spirit.”

        That spirit was bountiful Sunday.

        Before the event, Mr. Morgan allowed the teams to decide if they should go on, despite the weather.

        There was a resounding roar of “Let's go for it.”

        About 75 friends and family stood under umbrellas, cheering on the teams as they paddled away from James Taylor Park in Newport to the Public Landing for the first leg of the race. Each six-person team included an equal number of men and women.

        Cheering Mike Thompson of Crescent Springs were his wife, Beth, and two children, Abby, 5, and Jack, 3. Mr. Thompson, a chiropractor, and two chiropractor friends from St. Bernard and Madeira were members of Team Chiropractic.

        Mr. Thompson has competed in the Flying Pig Marathon and is training for the Disney Team in Training to fight leukemia. For this race, he and other team members practiced rafting on the river.

        “I was thinking I would never get up and run in this,” Mrs. Thompson said as she and her children huddled under umbrellas. “But, I thought "Oh well, we'll root him on.”'

        Back from Mount Adams, the teams struggled to grip and clear a slippery vertical wall. Some team members slid through the slippery grass under the low-crawl, hurrying to get to their rafts and back across the river.

        Perhaps inspired by their name, the City Dash team won the competition with a time of 52:19. The team included marathon runners, cyclists and rafters who pooled their collective skills.

        Troy Burt, the only City Dash employee on the team, said he entered the race just to have fun. “And to win,” the 36-year-old Oakley man said with a smile.

        Team members were awarded a five-day stay at Morgan's Jungle Lodge in Costa Rica, but the team hadn't decided whether to take the option. “I'll have to talk to my wife,” Mr. Burt said.

        Cori Fawcett, a 27-year-old eighth grade history teacher at Liberty Junior High in the Lakota School District, was on a team with an assistant principal and a counselor from the school. “We actually ran the course once,” Ms. Fawcett said. “It was a lot easier in the sun.”

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