In work and play, Robert Nagle exhibits an instinct for fierce competition

By Shawn Zeller

Special to the Gazette

Robert Nagle likes to explore. As a researcher in the Department of Chemistry at Harvard since 1993, Nagle has worked under Professor Martin Karplus studying molecular modeling, a process that uses computer simulations to predict the behavior of molecules. But for Nagle, chemistry research and all the exploring that goes along with it is really just a side job.

As a world-class competitor in the sport of adventure racing, the 38-year-old Nagle spends more time preparing for races and competing in them than he does in the lab. But both activities, for all their differences, fit into a single life philosophy. "In both cases, I am exploring limits, pushing back physical boundaries or boundaries of knowledge," he said.

Though adventure racing is a relatively new sport, it has already received a lot of attention in the national media. ESPN, for example, has televised an adventure race of its own, The Extreme Games, for two years now. Nagle's team finished third in year one of the competition but -- as if to make up for that performance -- in year two his team finished second, and another team that he helped to organize finished first.

Most recently, Nagle competed in the Eco-Challenge, a grueling 10-day team competition that required participants to run, ride horses, canoe, whitewater raft, climb glaciers, and mountain bike for a total distance of 300 miles through the mountains of British Columbia.

Of the 70 teams to begin the race, only 14 finished. Nagle's Team Eco-Internet/Reebok finished first in a time of six days, 17 hours, 44 minutes. Coverage of the Challenge will be broadcast in one-hour nightly episodes beginning Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. on the Discovery Channel, the event's sponsor.

No Stranger to Danger

Adventure races typically consist of multiple sports that can include such varied activities as climbing through caves and running through the desert on rationed water. Races go nonstop through wilderness regions for a period of time that ranges from 1 to 10 days. Along the course of each race there are checkpoints where racers must check in, but there is no predetermined route.

Racers are left to make their way from checkpoint to checkpoint on their own. For example, if you want to run around a glacier you are welcome to do it, but in the meanwhile other racers might take a faster route by climbing directly over it.

In any such race, Nagle explained, there are physical risks. At a race in New Zealand 15 months ago, for example, Nagle fell off a cliff into a river below, barely missing the boulders that lined the river's banks.

In that case, the water saved him. In another, it almost did him in. At the Eco-Challenge, the river that Nagle's team was navigating had just risen six feet, fueled by freezing cold glacier run-off. The high water had eroded the river banks, sending trees hurtling past the rafters as they tried to reach the finish line.

Among the Best in the World

While adventure races like the Eco-Challenge pit teams of five against one another, others are individual competitions. Nagle started out purely as an individual competitor but, shortly thereafter, he organized his team. Whether by himself or with a group, Nagle has proved a champion.

"I had always been a competitive athlete," he said. "But I only got started with adventure racing when a friend of mine suggested doing the 1994 Sea-to-Summit Triathlon here in New England. I won that race and I've been racing ever since."

All in all, Nagle has competed in -- and finished among the top competitors -- in events ranging from the 1995 Atlantic City 24-hour race, which involved running around a parking lot as many times as possible in 24 hours, to a February 1996 race in Minnesota that consisted entirely of running on snowshoes. What would seem like masochism to most, is, in Nagle's mind, "an opportunity to push one's limits and not just finish, but be among the best in the world."

Driven to Succeed

Since the age of 10, when he first began to run competitively, Nagle has exhibited an instinct for fierce competition. Nowadays, that instinct informs a clearly thought-out and uncompromising approach to athletics.

"I feel that maximizing one's potential is vital," Nagle explained. "If you have the talent, it is incumbent on you to develop it. For me, it turns out to be a good complement for my work at Harvard and the sort of work I have done my whole life, which is essentially 'mind' work. By doing both activities, I refresh both my mind and my body."

Driven by this desire to be the among the best, he trains relentlessly -- 35 to 40 hours in a typical week. Ten of those hours he spends running with a full backpack. He bikes for 15 hours, paddles for 10, and fills out the balance of the time by climbing, lifting weights, or preparing for particularized events such as horseback riding or whitewater rafting.

But the most challenging aspect of such competitions is not athletic. "Sleep and nutritional strategy during the race are the keys to winning," Nagle said. "You always know that someone is moving while you are sleeping."

"On the other hand, you have to balance moving quickly with getting sufficient rest. As far as nutrition goes, we typically burn between 8,000 and 12,000 calories per day of competition [the average daily requirement for an adult male is 2,000-2,500]. You have to stay energized in order to be successful."

Teamwork Is Key

As grueling as individual competitions are, team competitions are not meant to be any easier. In team competitions, all members must stay together at all times. As a result, Nagle said, "You are only as fast as your slowest teammate."

But the team competitions are also personally rewarding. "Team races like the Eco-Challenge pose more challenges than individual races," Nagle said. "With all the physical risks involved, you have to look out for teammates and allow them to look out for you. The team races teach you a lot in terms of how to gauge yourself and how to gauge other people."

And Nagle's success as a team organizer and as a team competitor may owe some debt to his work at Harvard. As Nagle explained: "I find my work here interesting because it is interdisciplinary. It brings together experts in chemistry, computer science, biology, and physics all working together toward a common goal. In both my work and my athletics, teamwork is a key factor for success."

For anyone interested in learning more about adventure racing, check out Robert Nagle's home page at http://yuri.harvard.edu/~nagle/