GOING TO EXTREMES : Oldest Team Remains Ready For Challenge

Last seen, the five members of Team Endeavour were jubilantly crossing the finish line of the Eco-Challenge somewhere in the wind-swept moonscape of backcountry Utah.

With the average age of its members over 40, it was the oldest team of the 50 that competed, yet astonishingly Team Endeavour finished eighth, braving thunderstorms, rattlesnakes and drinking water contaminated by cattle urine.

But who knew?

The eight days of running, rappelling, horseback riding, climbing and canoeing in April was witnessed by only a handful of loyal friends and the competing teams.

Next seen, Team Endeavour will compete against 11 other Eco-Challenge teams this month in the inaugural Extreme Games.

The question this time might be, who won’t know?

More than 65 million households in 124 countries carry ESPN, which will televise portions of the Eco-Challenge live.

“Cameras will be popping up everywhere but we won’t be paying attention to the media,” said Louise Lovelace, 41, a Team Endeavour member along with her husband Bill, 48.

The composition of the team has changed slightly since the Utah Eco-Challenge. Instead of four men and a woman, there are three men, a woman and a baby. Doug Wilde, who dropped off in order to prepare for his wedding this summer, was replaced by 22-year-old Kevin Medford, a sailor based in Coronado, Calif.

To the others, Medford qualifies as the baby.

“He’s a wonderful kid, he fits in with the team so well, but I guess I need to stop calling him the kid,” said Louise Lovelace, adding that her husband was a college graduate when Medford was born.

The other team members are Kirk Boylston, 37, of Calabasas and Duane McDowell, 36, of Van Nuys. Once again, Team Endeavour will be the oldest quintet, but in some ways they all are wide-eyed children.

“The whole thing is such an adventure that I feel like a kid,” Louise said. “In Utah, I felt like I was in Disneyland.”

The endurance race certainly does not compare with a trip to theme park. About 250 miles will be traversed by canoeing, Whitewater rafting, mountain climbing and mountain biking.

Seventy-five percent of the race will take place in the inland north country of Maine. The final leg will be ocean kayaking off the coast of Massachusetts. The race ends July 1 in Newport, R.I.

As was the case in Utah, teams will not be given precise details of the course until 24 hours before the race. Instructions on how to proceed after the race are equally inexplicit.

“When we came back from Utah we were all very restless,” said Louise, a special education teacher. “We had been in the wild and completely free. The decisions we had to make were so different than in real life that settling down into a normal routine was difficult.”

That is understandable. The racers hold everyday jobs and normally they reveal few clues of their adventurous spirit and toned bodies. Bill Lovelace sells insurance, for goodness sake.

“I don’t feel 48, not for a split second,” he said. “We’ve been on a high ever since Utah, and we certainly don’t plan on slowing down now.”