About Us
Topo Adventure Sports (formerly the CMAART.org Message Board) was created to help promote and expand the adventure racing community in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and nearby states. Our main focus is adventure racing, but we're happy to see involvement in any outdoor endurance-based activity. This can include a LOT of possibilities, including mountain biking, orienteering, paddling (canoe, kayak, raft), rappelling, ascending, inline skating, etc.
If you're already involved with these activities, that's great! If not, then maybe you're interested in learning more about them or having someone "show you the ropes". In either case, check out our Message Board. The message board is the heart of the website and is a great place to find local training events, ask questions, find teammates, read race reviews, learn about gear, etc.
Topo Adventure Sports also hosts a couple of adventure races: The Toad/Tadpole and The Mad Cow. These are both great ways to test your skills and have some fun as a solo racer or on a team with some friends.
For general questions, you can contact us at info@topoadventuresports.org. If you need to contact one of the Topo staff directly, you can use his/her e-mail address below:
Gary Dunham (gdunham@topoadventuresports.org)
Gary has been adventure racing since 2001. Like many Ohio natives, he got his start in the HFP (Hi-Tec) adventure racing series. He talked his brother and a couple of friends into tackling the “12 hour Benchmark Appalachian Adventure”, where he limped across the line for a first in the four person male category. After that, he was hooked. After doing the first 3 or 4 races without a compass he finally bought one and tried to learn how to use it. He was awfully glad to finally find a “Compass”...and going in the right direction has improved his results. :-) Gary now calls Marion, Ohio, home and is constantly trying to find creative ways to exercise with four children and a lovely “warden”. His teammates would affectionately call him the team mule (ass) and would say that he is quite loud while racing and often has more courage than sense.
 | Some memorable races from Gary's past:
|
Aaron Hill (ahill@topoadventuresports.org)
A native of Massachusetts, Aaron has been active and running wild since birth. Extremely competitive, some of the outlets for all that energy have included: Baseball, Soccer, ITF Taekwon-do, Weight-lifting, Mountain Biking and of course - Adventure Racing! He currently lives/works in the Columbus area with his beautiful wife and children, running with the dogs and pushing or towing the Burley whenever possible.
 | Some of Aaron's past races include:
|
Mimi Ruwe (mruwe@topoadventuresports.org)
Mimi is an IT Quality Assurance professional who balances her time in front of a computer by spending as much time as possible with dirt under her feet. Like many people, Mimi started adventure racing after watching the Eco-Challenge. Her first race was a Hi-Tek Sprint in Pennsylvania in 1998 and she hasn't looked back. Since that time she has participated and volunteered in races in the United States, Canada and Costa Rica ranging from 3 hours to 4 days. Lately Mimi has turned towards bringing others into the sport and greatly enjoys course setting.
 | Some of Mimi's Past Races:
|
Jason Schaefer (jasons@topoadventuresports.org)
Affectionately known as “Compass” to his race partners, Jason caught the adventure racing "bug" in 2001 and has since completed more than forty adventure races and volunteered at over a dozen. An optical engineer by day, Jason enjoys the mixture of athletic and mental aspects of adventure racing, although he sometimes feels that adventure races are exercises in organized chaos. Originally from Wisconsin, he now calls Indianapolis home with his wife and newborn son and can't wait for his son to get big enough to ride in the jogger/bike trailer!
 | Some favorite races from Jason's history include:
|