The 48 Hour Challenge, Crawl for a Cause

The 48 Hour Challenge, Crawl for a Cause presented by: Radio Controlled East Coast

Words by: Trevor Rushford @vermont_scale_rc IG

Photos by: Anthony Kaplon – @torktastic IG

On Memorial Day Weekend, May 23rd – 25th, four people set out on an adventure, a cause, and a record. The Green Mountain State aka Vermont, held court for a 48 hour straight remote control endurance that would raise money for a local RC friend affected by cancer and at the same time, attempt to set a new Guinness World Record. The men that stepped up for the challenge are; Robert Kuck III (38), Kolton Rushford(15), Randy Berteau(38), and Trevor Rushford(40). The 48 Hour Challenge, Crawl for a Cause challenged the drivers mentally, physically, and emotionally, and they pushed through with grit and purpose.

Of course they couldn’t have done this biblical sized event without the help of Axial Racing!! Axial donated four solid SCX10™ 2012 Jeep® Wrangler Unlimited C/R Edition platforms! These Jeeps had a tall order ahead of them, an ‘unrealistic goal,’ some thought, ‘not possible,’ others said, but the the 48 Hour Team believed in Axial’s products, and knew that these Jeeps were not only going to make history, but they were going to do so in STOCK RTR format.

The terrain was not some flat ground, race track, beach, or street… There was only one terrain that seemed right and fitting to hold this challenge; a ski resort. Bolton Valley Ski Resort actually. Bolton is home for a lot of people and companies like The 4X4 Center’s Michelin Winter Driving School. Bolton Valley is a place that cares about their community of Vermonters, so it was the perfect location to introduce the cancer community to the RC community. The plan was simple…To RC up and down the Mountain for 48 Hours straight. All the while picking the hardest lines, roughest trails, exploring the mountain like never before, and at the same time raising money for their friend Marc Breer! All of this was going to be true scale, the 48 Hour Team was not allowed to touch their Jeeps other than to fix brokn parts, or change batteries. If they got stuck, rolled over, the team had to winch, use their Bull Rope RC tow straps to tug, or flop over with no use of hands.

The beginning was easy and exciting as the boys started off the official 48 hours at 9:15am May 23rd 2015. Everyone that came for the first morning to support and wheel were ready to roll out with the 48 Hour team. The Axial SCX10’s were primed with their 10000mah Venom Battery packs, and were hitting the ground hard with their Pitbull tires. These Jeeps were climbing around the mountain with ease. The SCX10’s held their ground on the mountainous terrain the mountain offered. The 48 Hour Team started their first two hikes on what they call “The Fire Road.” It’s about a two-mile hike straight to the top where there is a windmill and watch tower. With over 5,000 acres to RC on, the 48 Hour Team were not going to run out of places to explore.

After a few battery packs through the SCX10’s the crowd started to whither down with the sunset. That’s when the 48 Hour team got to work. They suffered a little set back when Kolton Rushford rolled his ankle and could no longer walk the mountain. Upset, and derermind, Kolton asked The 48 Hour Team to set him up in a chair at base camp, where he wheeled the rest of the 48 hours on some rocks. Later, The team snacked on some dinner while changing batteries, turning the lights on, then rolled back up the mountain for the first night run of the 48 Hours.

“The first night was the hardest night,” said  48 Hour Team member Trevor, who nodded off while walking up the mountain. During the late night hours, Rob suffered, from what he called “old man knee syndrome,” and decided to hold up at base camp with Kolton. Rob wanted to last until the very end, so he took a few laps off from walking, and wheeled at base camp as well.  Which really helped the team with battery charging and food. With all that going on, Randy and Trevor continued the first night trek up and down Bolton Valley resort. The night was lit by Phoenix Design LED’s, and Axial pods. Randy and Trevor ran one trip up the mountain with just the lights on the Jeeps, no head lamps. “One of the coolest things I have ever done with an RC,” said Randy.

After the first night, the rest of the 48 Hour Challenge went by like a breeze. Rob rejoined the trek up and down the mountain as well as a lot of different people supporting the cause and team. The Axial SCX10 Jeeps held their own, and held it in true Axial fashion. They blasted through mud, water, rain, SNOW, temperature fluctuation, and extreme elevation changes. The stock 27t Axial Brushed motor pulled these Jeeps up and down the mountain with stock gearing and all for the full 48 hours. The beast AE-2 didn’t fade once as it pulled power from the Venom batteries all day and all night without breaking a sweat.

Not to drag-out the full 48 hours out here, we ‘ll say that the 48 Hour Challenge was a huge success!! With all four Team drivers hiking the mountain the last couple of hours with the SCX10’s, which was the icing on the proverbial cake. With approximately 96 miles on the Axial SCX10’s, Pitbull tires, Venom Batteries, CKRC Hobbies accessories,Team KNK Hardware, and Bull Rope Rc tow straps, the 48 Hour team was ready for the ultimate ending. With a pause at the top of the mountain to reflect on the full 48 hours, the boys took one last look around at the mountain. All the emotions caught up with them, all the reasons this was bigger than anything they have ever done individually came rushing to each of them. With some tears in their eyes, for their own reasons, the 48 Hour Team headed down the mountain one last time, soaking up the first real warm sunshine in three days. Even with sore muscles, swollen ankles, blisters, chapped lips and cracked skin, you couldn’t wipe their smiles off as they crossed that final line at 48 hours and 3 minutes; 9:18am May 25th 2015

In the end, the event raised a lot of money for the cause, and that was their main goal in the 48 Hour Challenge, Crawl for a Cause. The 48 Hour team received a lot of support from their local community as well as these sponsors which include: Pitbull Tires, Axial Racing, CKRC Crawlers, Venom Batteries, Team KNK Hardware, Bull Rope RC, Soul Crusher Graphics, JCM RC Customs, Woodchuck Designs, and Torktastic Media. These companies helped the entire 48 Hour Team throughout the process which started seven months prior to the Memorial Day Weekend event. The entire team wants to say thank you to every single person involved with making this dream become a reality. Cancer sucks, and if we all have a chance to help in anyway possible, what’s stopping us?

A huge thank you goes to Bolton Valley Resort for letting the 48 Hour Challenge achieve the goals, and to use their mountain for a play ground! Thank you to Axial Racing for being there to support the 48 Hour Team with these fine SCX10 C/R JK’s. The 48 Hour team is very pumped to have been apart of RC history while wheeling the FINEST RC’s on the market today!