MYSTERY TOUR; HI-TEC ADVENTURE RACING SERIES EMPLOYS ELEMENT OF SURPRISE.

Byline: Brett Pauly Daily News Outdoors Editor

Dispersed throughout Saturday's 10- to 15-mile mountain bike course, 6- to 8-mile trail run and a one-hour kayak at Castaic Lake will be several ``mystery'' events.

The special disciplines race officials create to cull the cream of teams from the crop have come to define the Hi-Tec Adventure Racing Series, one in a new order of ``extreme'' races that are becoming increasingly popular.

Kept strictly hush-hush by race officials until participants stumble onto them during their three- to five-hour run through the course, the mystery events serve as the series' great equalizers.

``You can be in top physical shape, but some of the special events can stump you and set you back. They're full of mental surprises,'' said Tim Foy, 28, of Agoura Hills, who will be competing in his first series event with the men's division team Toe Jam.

Friends who competed at the Castaic event last year recounted to Foy the horrors of a memory-recall stage, in which teammates had a few seconds to memorize items on a board and could not proceed without successfully naming them off to overseers.

Many of the mystery events revolve around mud pits, and those who fail the memory segment at some race sites have had to jump in. ``If you don't get it right, you are going to sit there for a while,'' Foy said. At Castaic, the 4:30 p.m. start means some of the race will take place in darkness, which also means the mud could get pretty chilly. Put on your thinking cap.

Other mysteries in the theater:

Completing the running portion with one shoelace.

Carrying a teammate across a wooden beam without the suspended person touching the beam.

Pulling hay bales or railroad ties.

Making a shoulder-high river crossing in the middle of the mountain-biking stage.

Rappelling.

Climbing oversized Lincoln logs, and scaling a 15-foot wall with the aid of only 2-1/2 feet of rope dangling from the top.

Traversing bodies of water while suspended by pulleys.

Competitors hedge their bets by watching televised portions of the series or scouring the Internet to learn what mystery events have been employed. But one never knows what's going to pop up.

``It's just stressful because you don't know what they are,'' said Diann Fried, 44, of Woodland Hills, who competed at Castaic last year and will return Saturday in the masters' division with the team Nu-Rad On Fire. ``You can't really prepare for it.''

There are no time penalties; racers must finish each task or risk disqualification.

``The rules are very simple,'' said race spokeswoman Lori Hall. ``Complete the courses. Wear a helmet during the mountain bike course. Wear a life preserver in the kayak.''

Throwing monkey wrenches into the competition seems to be drawing more teams, as evidenced in the rise in popularity of the Castaic race. The inaugural race in 1996 attracted 40 teams; as of Monday, 271 were registered for Saturday's contest, which is billed as the world's largest adventure race.

``Triathlons are too commercialized,'' said first-time adventure racer Bob Doyle of Saugus. ``They are clean-cut and dry, from starting point to finishing point. They don't have the element of surprise. I can get dirty and still do it.''

HIGH ADVENTURE

Billed as the world's largest extreme-racing event, Saturday's Hi-Tec Adventure Racing Series' National Championship at Castaic Lake had attracted 271 teams as of Monday. The team allotment is 300.

That means it's not too late to sign up.

To enter, download an Internet entry form from www.mesp.com and bring it to the race site for registration between noon and 3 p.m. Cost, including late fees, is $200 (cash or check only) per three-member team. Recorded information: [phone].

While team categories include coed, male, female, corporate and masters (coed with a combined age of more than 120), prize money is awarded only in the coed division - $1,000 first place, $600 second and $400 third.

The race starts at 4:30 p.m. and, for most competitors, will take three to five hours to complete; a headlamp is required.

While the series has included eight previous events across the country and in British Columbia since May, the Castaic Lake contest is the third annual national championship.

Two-time defending coed champion Team Red Sand of Carlsbad - Bob Scholz, Corky Ewing and Lynn Albrow - will again be in the field.

Spectators are welcome and most of the special, or ``mystery'' events - providing the race's best action - will be staged within close range of visitors. Parking is $6 at Castaic Lake Recreation Area, [phone].

To reach the race site, drive north on the Golden State Freeway (5), exit at Lake Hughes Road in Castaic, turn right and follow the signs.

- Daily News

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO (Color) Jamie Viezbicke of St. Petersburg, Fla., takes an unexpected plunge during a mountain-bike course in the Hi-Tec Adventure Racing Series in May.

Nathan Bilow/Special to the Daily News

BOX: HIGH ADVENTURE (see text)