Rootstock Racing Race Team
The members of the two-time national champion Rootstock Racing race team have been competing around the world for nearly twenty years. Serious amateur athletes, all with full-time jobs, we love adventure, travel, and the great outdoors. We balance busy professional and family lives with our passion for sports and competition, and we value giving back to our local communities by fostering adventure sports and active-living in the outdoors.
Core team members Abby Perkiss, Brent Freedland, Brian Reiss, Jim Driscoll, Jesse Tubb, Joel Ford, Karyn Dulaney, and Nicki Driscoll have raced in hundreds of adventure races and endurance and ultra-endurance events, ranging from local sprint events to the ARWS World Championship.
Core team members Abby Perkiss, Brent Freedland, Brian Reiss, Jim Driscoll, Jesse Tubb, Joel Ford, Karyn Dulaney, and Nicki Driscoll have raced in hundreds of adventure races and endurance and ultra-endurance events, ranging from local sprint events to the ARWS World Championship.
Team Bios
Abby
When Abby Perkiss volunteered at her first adventure race, the NYARA twelve-hour Longest Day, in 2007, she was certain she would never undertake such an epic challenge. Four months later, she lined up at the start of the GOALS ARA six-hour Edge with her new husband (and future teammate), Brent Freedland. The one-time competitive swimmer has since competed in dozens of events ranging from a few hours to several days. Her favorite races generally involve a high level of strategy and route choice and a healthy dose of off-trail travel, and she’s always up for good animal sightings (as long as they’re from a comfortable distance). Above all else, she believes that successful adventure racers are able to come together as a team, creating a unit that’s better than the sum of its individual parts.
Abby spends her time off the race-course teaching college history and writing about post-WWII American cities. She and Brent live in Philadelphia with their two kids; when not in the woods, the four of them are often found adventuring around the city.
Abby spends her time off the race-course teaching college history and writing about post-WWII American cities. She and Brent live in Philadelphia with their two kids; when not in the woods, the four of them are often found adventuring around the city.
Brent
Brent Freedland has been adventure racing for almost fifteen years, beginning as a weekend warrior with various friends before joining the GOALS ARA race team in 2007. Inspired as a teenager while watching the annual Eco-Challenge, Brent began with six-hour events, convinced he would never do anything longer. A decade and some later, he has competed in over 100 adventure races and rogaines including 11 expedition races ranging from 3-7 days. As a lead navigator, orienteering is his favorite aspect of adventure racing, and he enjoys listening to his teammates chatter, especially when they think he isn’t listening.
He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and teammate, Abby Perkiss, and their two kids. When not focused on adventure racing, Brent is a high school history teacher and world traveler who secretly (or not so secretly) loves watching nerdy TV while running on his treadmill.
He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and teammate, Abby Perkiss, and their two kids. When not focused on adventure racing, Brent is a high school history teacher and world traveler who secretly (or not so secretly) loves watching nerdy TV while running on his treadmill.
Brian
Brian Reiss started out trail running and mountain biking before finding his way to adventure racing. His first AR, with Team Adventure Pocono, was the Endorphin Fix two-day in 2000. In his early years in the sport, when Brian was rich, he dragged his family to expedition races around the world, claiming that they were vacations. These “vacations” included World Championship events in Newfoundland (2004), New Zealand (2005), and Scotland (2007). He also competed in the 2002 Raid the North Extreme in the Yukon Territory, the 2003 Adrenaline Rush in Scotland, Appalachian Extreme Maine in 2005, and Primal Quest Utah in 2006.
In recent years, Brian’s adventure racing budget has been redirected toward sending his daughter, Madison, to college, and he now prefers shorter events, including eight trips to the USARA National Championships. He also has multiple finishes at the General Clinton 70-mile canoe race in New York, the longest flat-water, single-day canoe race in the world.
Brian lives in Quakertown, PA with his wife, Kelly, and works at Carson Helicopters in Perkasie, PA. He is the owner and paddle builder for Jolly Roger Paddles, specializing in carbon canoe bent shaft and SUP paddles. Brian claims that he likes the Adventure more than the Race, but he’ll push, pull, drag, and crawl with the best of them to get his team across the finish line.
In recent years, Brian’s adventure racing budget has been redirected toward sending his daughter, Madison, to college, and he now prefers shorter events, including eight trips to the USARA National Championships. He also has multiple finishes at the General Clinton 70-mile canoe race in New York, the longest flat-water, single-day canoe race in the world.
Brian lives in Quakertown, PA with his wife, Kelly, and works at Carson Helicopters in Perkasie, PA. He is the owner and paddle builder for Jolly Roger Paddles, specializing in carbon canoe bent shaft and SUP paddles. Brian claims that he likes the Adventure more than the Race, but he’ll push, pull, drag, and crawl with the best of them to get his team across the finish line.
Jesse
After a few years of successfully racing mountain bikes and triathlons, Jesse Tubb jumped into his first adventure race, the 26-hour Epic in 2013. Along with his equally ignorant teammate, he was excited to try something new and see what it was like to spend a full day of racing in the woods. Confident that they had not placed, they drove home as soon as they finished only to realize a day later they finished third. That experience was enough to inspire Jesse to join the Rev3 Adventure team and head first into the sport. Since then he has raced with several teams as a freelancer of sorts and has done numerous adventure races with his kids. In 2019, Jesse competed in World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji with a US military team. They finished in 29th place.
Jesse grew up in Lake Tahoe, CA and spent many of his youthful days playing in the forests and lakes that surrounded his house. Like a second home, the woods call him to spend as much time there as possible. What he loves most about adventure racing is spending long days wandering in nature, experiencing the mental challenge of navigating through a course, suffering with exposure to the elements, finding the delicate balance of team dynamics, and gaining a heavy dose of perspective on life each time he returns from a race. Racing feeds both the competitive and spiritual part of his life and he is grateful to find a welcome home with the Rootstock family. Jesse lives in Maryland with his mostly supportive wife and two teenagers and has the great fortune to make his living as a trumpet player in the U.S. Army Band, Pershing’s Own in Washington D.C.
Jesse grew up in Lake Tahoe, CA and spent many of his youthful days playing in the forests and lakes that surrounded his house. Like a second home, the woods call him to spend as much time there as possible. What he loves most about adventure racing is spending long days wandering in nature, experiencing the mental challenge of navigating through a course, suffering with exposure to the elements, finding the delicate balance of team dynamics, and gaining a heavy dose of perspective on life each time he returns from a race. Racing feeds both the competitive and spiritual part of his life and he is grateful to find a welcome home with the Rootstock family. Jesse lives in Maryland with his mostly supportive wife and two teenagers and has the great fortune to make his living as a trumpet player in the U.S. Army Band, Pershing’s Own in Washington D.C.
Jim
Jim Driscoll began adventure racing in 2012 and raced with GOALS ARA in 2014 and 2015, following his impressive win in the inaugural Meltdown Adventure Race. He didn’t stop there, taking on his first 24-hour event in his first season… a week after his first expedition race, Untamed New England! He hasn’t looked back since, and he has quickly established himself as a jack-of-all-trades, navigating, carrying extra gear, towing, winning Blazing Saddles contests, often all at the same time.
Jim lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Mira, and son, Kilian, and works as a structural engineer. His athletic career started with road running, but over the last several years he has made the transition to adventure racing, trail running, and mountain biking and he’s loving every minute of it.
Jim lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Mira, and son, Kilian, and works as a structural engineer. His athletic career started with road running, but over the last several years he has made the transition to adventure racing, trail running, and mountain biking and he’s loving every minute of it.
Joel
After years as a lacrosse goalie, Joel Ford followed his father into mountain biking. From there, adventure racing became his passion. He joined Team ARMD in 2009, starting with six-hour events and building to the four-day Untamed New England in 2012. Not one to shy away from challenge and adventure, he also spent much of the spring and summer of 2011 thru-hiking the AT. In 2013, Joel took a break from AR and spent the next years serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cambodia and touring the National Parks in his converted Nissan van. This year, he’s excited to settle back down in his home state of Maryland and return to adventure racing with new perspective and great stories to share with teammates in the middle of overnight bushwhacks. Joel lives in Perry Hall, MD and works as a warehouse manager for Miller Refrigeration. Outside of racing, he enjoys board games, wood working, camping, and taking advantage of as many new experiences as he can.
Karyn
Like many other adventure racers, Karyn Dulaney first learned of the sport by watching the Eco Challenge on TV. Busy with school and other sports (marathon running, triathlons, and crew), intimidated by the gear lists, and inability to navigate, it took Karyn until 2011 to convince other newbies to try a 6 hour race with her. She was hooked after this race and went on to learn enough navigation to finish her first 24 hour race, even if she still did not know what an altimeter was. Karyn then started racing with Team ARMD, completing numerous 12 and 24 hour races over the years. Her first race with Rootstock Racing was in 2018. She is pretty positive, since she lacks the race experience of the others, as well as their exceptional yakking abilities, that it was her homemade potato cakes in the middle of the night on that first race that convinced the team to let her stick around!
Karyn lives in Columbia, Maryland with her boyfriend and dog, Kaya. She works as an orthopedic/sports medicine physical therapist, specializing in working with runners and cyclists. While dabbling in numerous outdoor activities and sports, Karyn spends most of her time trail running, rock climbing, and finding creative places to do handstands. She lovers adventure racing as she gets to play outside often with the excuse that she is “training.” She enjoys races with pretty scenery, as well as ones with unique, unpredictable courses. Her favorite part is the post- race laughter at the adversities the team overcame and the confidence these experiences bring for future adventures. She is still waiting to find an adventure race where she can bring pup along with her.
Karyn lives in Columbia, Maryland with her boyfriend and dog, Kaya. She works as an orthopedic/sports medicine physical therapist, specializing in working with runners and cyclists. While dabbling in numerous outdoor activities and sports, Karyn spends most of her time trail running, rock climbing, and finding creative places to do handstands. She lovers adventure racing as she gets to play outside often with the excuse that she is “training.” She enjoys races with pretty scenery, as well as ones with unique, unpredictable courses. Her favorite part is the post- race laughter at the adversities the team overcame and the confidence these experiences bring for future adventures. She is still waiting to find an adventure race where she can bring pup along with her.
Nicki
Nicki Driscoll entered the world of adventure racing in 2016, following an illustrious career as a collegiate rower. At the time, she was looking for a new outlet to channel her competitiveness, so she followed her adventure-addicted (and equally competitive) mom and brother over to AR. In her first season, she proved to be a successful adventure racer in her own right, with 1st place finishes at the Jolly Roger Paddle and Two Rivers Adventure Race, and several other chances to stand on the podium. Nicki is drawn to the teamwork aspect of adventure racing, especially coming from a sport where she and her teammates literally had to pull each other across the finish line. Nicki lives in Boston and works as a postdoctoral fellow at MIT. When she’s not racing or studying, she fills her time with ice hockey and climbing.
Paul
Paul Miller grew up exploring his local woods. After college he spent fifteen years guiding wilderness trips that found him exploring lakes, rivers, oceans, and mountains. He knew that when these fantastic experiences became predictable, he would need to make a change. He competed in his first 12-hour race in 2014 with two other outdoor instructors, placing third in the premier division. More importantly, he and his teammates had a blast together, and Paul was hooked. Paul lives in Gettysburg, PA and works as a professional group facilitator and leadership coach – both skills that come in handy in our sport. He loves whitewater, singletrack, and navigating at night. When not working or racing, he is likely tending to animals on his family's emerging homestead, inviting his three kids to adventure, or starting another DIY project that should have been left to professionals.
