WildSide are proud to call the Adventure Sport team 'locals' and enjoy supporting them to their race events.   The 2010 Adventure Race Team consists of Richard, Elina, Marcel Haganer & Jacob Roberts.

The guys are well focused on their upcoming 2010 events :

• Challenge Wanaka
  
• Coast to Coast (Elina)
• Ironman - Taupo (Richard)
• Roth Ironman - Germany
  
• Wulong Outdoor Quest – China
• Xterra World's - Hawaii
  
• Abu Dhabi Adventure race – Abu Dhabi

Outside of these you may well see the team at individual races such as the Xtera NZ, Motu Challenge, Lakes to Lighhouse.

Adventure Sport NZ - aka Team ' Qasr Al Sarab'

Richard & Elina completed a trifecta at Abu Dhabi last week, along with team members  Marcel Hargener  & Nathan Fa'avae....taking out their 3rd title and remain the defending champions in one of the worlds riches races.


Full Report from Richard follows:....

Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 2009
Our last race for the year got off to an auspicious start when our team mate Jacob Roberts called to say he’d come off second best with a car while out biking and had a broken shoulder. Luckily for Jacob he didn’t look as bad as his bike or we’d have been at his funeral.
Ramadan was also about to start in Abu Dhabi so the whole country was about to head into a 2 week holiday and so a replacement needed to found ASAP so the flights could be organised.
Step in super sub Nathan Fa’avae who’d as luck would have it in pretty good shape having just raced in New Caledonia.

Prologue
This is where we were seriously worried about the skill level in our team with 2 swimmers and 2 almost non swimmers. We’d been up to some testing at the local pool in Nelson though and reckoned we’d minimised our weakness as much as possible with the aid of some flotation, a snorkel and some tow lines.

The opening MTB ride was just as scary as anticipated with the tension and nerves finally being released as over 160 athletes set off on the start of the 6 day race.
Off the bike and the pace was hot for the ensuing run through the grounds of the Emirates Palace hotel and out to the launching point for the swim. The swim had been in doubt earlier as several large barges had been blocking the course even as we’d set off on the MTB but even the weaker swimmers we relieved a gap had been cleared as the day was already heating up and the prospect of a further 5km of running didn’t seem appealing to anyone.
Into the water we were slightly in the lead but now it was just a matter of when we would get past, not if. Surprisingly it took a while but then as we got closer to the beach opposite more and more people came past.

It should be pointed out that Adventure racers are not renowned for their swimming abilities – in fact most of them avoid it at almost any cost, a mere survival tool as opposed to anything even slightly resembling speed. Add to that the fact there were several teams comprising top triathlete’s including Hawaii Ironman World Champion Faris Al Sultan and it seemed evident to most of us we were on a hiding to nothing.
Elina and I were going a long OK but I was intrigued as to these occasional bursts of speed we were having, I made a mental note to ask Elina as whatever it was it was making a massive difference to the pressure on the tow rope and therefore our pace, if only she could replicate it more often now!

We arrived at the beach and Marcel and Nathan had already grabbed our gear and were setting our boats up. We were off in no time but almost immediately became concerned that there appeared to be no one ahead of us and no one following either. We had very nearly decided to turn back when a second team launched and then teams started pouring out of the transition in pursuit. It turned out we weren’t the only team with mixed abilities in the swim and the only complete team on the beach had been Faris’s but they’d been making a slower transition to the boats than us.
After a quick run on the island we were back in the boats for the sprint to the finish. We had managed to gain almost 5 minutes on the closest team Vibram Sport from France in the part of the race we’d expected to struggle in the most.

I finally also got a chance to ask Elina what she’d been doing so differently when we’d been having the bursts of speed in the swim and the answer was that must have been when she had used her arms! The rest of the time she’d been staying as straight as possible and just kicking as her lifejacket had been pulling to high over her head when she tried to do an arm stroke.

Kayaking
So after a more successful than hoped for start to the race we had a great feeling within the team heading in to 2 kayaking stages where we were hopeful of putting some more time on our rivals.
Heading off from the Le Mans start it was complete chaos until we got clear of the main pack. There was a navigation choice whether to head inside a prominent boulder bank and get flatter water but a slightly longer course or take the short option and risk the rougher water.

We chose the outside and rougher water and were rewarded with some good runs down the wave faces as we raced neck and neck with the other NZ team ADCO. We had taken our sails completely down by now to try and save on wind resistance as we were heading mainly into the wind and slowly we managed to build up a small lead over the others and as we passed the end of the boulder bank we could see our route choice had paid off as we had a healthy lead on the teams who’d chosen the inside route.
A slight bit of confusion did ensue after the following CP when the satellite map and the actual coast didn’t seem to match up at all for a while. We made a detour around the conflicting headland which appeared to be under construction - and in fact was. Since the time the satellite map had been taken they’d managed to add a peninsula close to 500 metres long straight across our intended course. Sanity was restored as we detoured around and found several islands which were correctly on the map.
We arrived at the final CP for the day and our overnight camp, a tiny anchor shaped island which had a good tide rushing out making the final few hundred metres a slow struggle to get to our landing point. We could still see ADCO pushing hard about 5 minutes away but we still couldn’t see 3rd on the horizon meaning we’d succeeded in creating some considerable gaps.
By the time the majority of the teams started pouring into view the tide was at a full run past the island and the final 500 metres must have seemed like an eternity for them as they inched forward.

A relaxed evening on the island and the next morning we headed out with a 1 minute interval to ADCO. Today’s paddling had plenty of shallow looking areas where navigating channels from the satellite photos would be critical to getting away again.
ADCO shadowed us for the first part of the paddle taking advantage of any small mistake we made in finding the channels and being able to paddle directly to the deeper water by following our lines. We had one critical channel to find where we were unsure if we would even find any water at such a low tide. It turned out to be only about 20-30cm deep so we had a short run towing the boats until we hit the main channel again and headed off under paddle power again.
By the end of the paddle we’d gain only managed to put a few minutes into ADCO but more importantly we now had almost 40 minutes of 3rd placed Vibram Sport who we knew would come back strong in the remainder of the race.

The Desert
A bus transfer in the afternoon saw us in the middle of the Liwa desert preparing for what most assumed would be the physically hardest stage of the race, a 120km run through the dunes of the Empty Quarter.

It was noticeable how much warmer it was in the evenings than in previous years and the prospect of a very hot day for the run made planning water all the more important. We knew it would start out at a good pace, but with all our food for over 24 hours, mandatory gear and a large amount of water our packs didn’t make the prospect of running all that inviting.
As predicted we all set off at a good clip and it wasn’t long before the group of teams at the front was whittled down to the front runners. With about 30 km to the first water station many teams found the fast pace and already soaring temperatures had depleted their water quicker than expected and by the time we made it to CP3 and the first water there was plenty of relief at being able to restock on the fluid.

The top group was now down to 4 teams and quickly headed on to the optional CP 3+ and then to CP4 before the real heat of the day came. By CP 4 the lead group was also strung out and the temperature was making life extremely uncomfortable. We made the call to take a portion of our 8 hours mandatory rest here and to try and sit out the worst of the heat, which was easier said than done with little shade except for our tents available.
All 4 leading teams had similar tactics it seemed as we left together but almost immediately Vibram attacked and the next 2 hours were at a ferocious pace as ADCO and ourselves chased. For us our only goal for the whole section was to not lose any time so once we caught back up we eased into containment mode and gradually the 4 teams came back together.

In the desert the following teams have the advantage of not only being able to see all the previous teams tracks but they are also easier to walk in than breaking a new trail in the soft sand and so as soon as the pace slackens or there is some navigation choices the gaps behind seem to close quite quickly.

By CP5 it was now dark and realising that ADCO and Vibram were going to take the remainder of their rest we followed suit. It was still amazingly warm in the evening in contrast to the freezing cold we’d experienced in earlier years at night in the desert so everyone was able to sleep in relative comfort and enjoy some good food before the final push to the end of the section – still some 50 kilometres away.
There was something of a resignation between the top teams now it seemed that it was going to be very hard to get away, especially now at night and so with the racing almost at a stalemate for the section we were able to move through at a comfortable pace, although the kilometres ticked by at an agonisingly slow pace as our route keep us high in the dunes and away from any of the salt pans where the travel was flat and firm underfoot.

By sunrise we were close to the final CP before the finish and we’d been joined by several other teams who’d been able to take advantage of our tracks and the cooler conditions to push up to the group.
It was a bit of shock to the system when several teams started to ramp the pace up with about 5km to go. It’ been a long time on the feet already but the competitive urges took hold and for the last hour we ran through the final kilometres like we’d just started out and ended in a group sprint to the finish just over 27 hours after we’d started.
For us it was mission completed for this stage, we’d been able to keep a good cover on our competition and avoid any losses. The whole team had come through well with no major issues and many of the teams looked to have exerted themselves far more in getting through than we had. With still 2 days of racing to go we all knew that recovery was going to be critical.

The day was spent in Bedouin shelters out of the worst of the heat, watching other teams come in and reflecting on the previous 24 hours in the desert. This year we’d also seen conclusive proof that camels are in fact pretty fast through the desert as we’d crossed paths with several groups during the run that we’d seen thundering across the plains and then slipping through the dunes at a pace we could only dream of matching, despite our best efforts and memories of the extremely slow and rather un-co-ordinated camels we’d used two years previously.

Mountain biking
Day 5 already and it started with a 33 km sprint to our sponsor Qasr Al Sarab – a new resort in the middle of the desert.
We made a break from the gun, taking advantage of some top teams starting further back in the pack and by the time we made it to the first CP we held around a minute advantage. There was a strong headwind whipping up and sand was starting to drift on the roads just like snow does. It was incredible how much of it gets blown around and how much the sand mimics the movements of snow.

Vibram Sport had chosen to run very narrow cyclo cross tyres in the hope of getting away from the other teams and at the finish they’d moved into 2nd behind us and were now putting some serious pressure on ADCO for 2nd overall.
We relaxed and looked around the resort before the second bike stage to finish the day. We also received some added incentive to maintain our lead overall with the offer of a few nights stay at the resort straight after the race – if we won.
The second stage looked like being a copy of the first stage as we managed to get away early before I punctured allowing almost the whole field to pass. We didn’t do a great job of the change but before long we were on the charge through the field again. The wind was really blowing now and the road was covered in many places.

We’d covered the same piece of road 2 years ago and it’d been just over 2 hours for the section but this year far more sand appeared to be on the road and the wind was also not making life easier for anyone.
We finally caught up with the main pack of teams at the front of the race; it seemed no one was willing to push the pace at the front for fear of giving their competition an advantage so we’d been lucky they hadn’t got too far ahead.

Back at the front we put the pressure on again and slowly pulled away with one of the German teams. There was a lot of pushing as deep soft sand was now all but covering the road and our progress was slowed to a crawl. Everyone on our team was also now nearly out of water and with about 15 kilometres still to go it was looking like it’d be a very dry end to the section.
Nathan spotted an old bottle of water lying on the road and picked it up, gave it a try and declared it good to drink so we divided it up amongst the bottles and it gave us some respite from the thirst that was only accentuated by the amount of sand we were inadvertently eating as we biked though the sand storm.
It was definitely a relief to finally see the finish banner come into sight and bring to an end one of the shorter but for our team one of the most challenging sections of the race so far. Vibram’s skinny tyres had proved to be a real mistake and they conceded nearly 25 minutes to ADCO to give some large time gaps between the top 3 and make any changes on the last day difficult to comprehend.

Al Ain and Jabel Hafeet
It was an early start to the last day with a night orienteering section to start before climbing the mountain Jabel Hafeet via a canyon.
We were once again the chased as teams were set off in rank at 1 minutes intervals and it by the second control we had ADCO for company. We ran the remainder of the section shadowing them, knowing that this was the last navigational challenge before the finish and therefore we were just aiming to not lose any time.
Surprisingly our teams put further time on Vibram and after a short break to allow daylight to finally arrive we set off with ADCO to climb almost 750 vertical metres up to the top of the Jabel Hafeet which overlooks Al Ain. The canyon was one of the highlights with fixed ropes, ladders, climbing and a fair bit of exposure all involved in getting us to the top.

When we reached the final stop before the finish on top of the mountain we were treated to the extremely rare site of rain, all be it light as we all did our best to clean out the cafe situated at the top of the road. It’s also not often you have to worry about being cold in that part of the world but we were all very glad for the jackets and thermals we’d had to carry.

Finally we set off on the final ride to the finish. It started with a neutralised ride down the 12 kilometre descent to the base of the mountain before we were set free to fight for the final segment of the race. With a flat road and only 20 kilometres to the finish the majority of the results were already a formality but a few teams gave themselves a bit of extra work with unexpected punctures making for slightly more work to catch back up to the pack.
Off the bikes and it was a short run through a palm plantation and to the finish line.

After 6 days we’d achieved our 3rd win in succession at the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge. The whole team performed each and every day and it was certainly far less stressful than the past two editions where going into the final days we’d been nursing leads of only a minute or two.



It was great to finally relax and the next few days at the Qasr Al Sarab resort now beckoned.

Thanks to Qasr Alk Sarab, the ADTA and TDIC for their support in helping us get to the race again this year and all of our regular sponsors who make it possible to stay at the top of our game.

R&R Sport, Kia Motors, Leppin Sport, Thule, Nike, Tineli, Vittoria & Geax tyres, Em’s Power Cookies, Speedplay pedals, Blue Seventy wetsuits,
Pearl Izumi cycling shoes, Osprey packs, Andrew Martin Kayaks, Legend Paddles, Wildside Travel

Elina gives us an insight into how her day unfolded....


Coast to Coast 2010
I don’t know if this will be very interesting as it really did work out quite simply this year for me – Finally!!!

Well, that is before the rain on Saturday morning and the mad panic to change things only 10 hours before the start when around at 8pm we started receiving calls about the course being changed to the alternative one. Big thanks to our Aussie friend Andrew who seemed to receive all the rumours at least half an hour ahead of everyone else.
What made it harder to comprehend was that we were basking in a glorious West Coast day and all the locals were saying the rain definitely wouldn’t be arriving.
So even though we made plans to change everything I was still thinking maybe it was all a big hoax.

In the mean time Richard had sawed my rudder in half with a Leatherman and shaped it using the asphalt as a file – to try and avoid some of the weed notorious for collecting on rudders in the Avon River and we set about changing nutrition plans and strategies.
The next morning at 3am I woke up to the sound of torrential rain thundering down on the roof and immediately had second thoughts about using my Time Trial bike in the first ride. Luckily it didn’t take too many elbows to wake Richard up and send him out to swap everything over to the road bike to make the first ride a bit safer in the first bunch ride.

At 4:30am we set off for the start and the rain was so heavy that at times it was hard to see out the front window and added to that the wind was threatening to blow the kayaks off the car roof.
It wasn’t too cold but with so much rain and wind I was sent to the start bundled up in a ridiculous amount of clothes to be start a race, but once down at the beach and sheltering from the elements behind a row of port-a-loos I was pretty happy to have the warm gear.
Judkins gave a short race briefing which I couldn’t hear over the flap of rubbish bags (that people were wearing prior to the race in an effort to stay dry) and the fact the rain seemed to be affecting the microphone rather badly.
After the briefing it was literally 1, 2, 3 GO! And we were off.

My plan was to have a good run and to be in the first bunch for the opening ride and after the initial sprint had stopped I was able to move slowly up the field in the 3km heading to the bikes.
Luckily I found my bike with no problem this time and set off in the draft of some guy giving in the full beans. He hammered it for about 20 min as we just missed the fastest guys breaking away off the front and as our pace slowed slightly a bunch slowly formed around us – first mission accomplished, in a good bunch.
The rest of the ride was pretty scary with so much rain that at times it was hard to see and especially to start it was made worse by the darkness. The bunch was really good though with everyone taking extra care not to cause an accident. The pace as usual was up and down but eventually we got to the transition and the chaos started all over again.

Coming off the bike I found Richard pretty easily even though he’d done his best to camouflage himself in a big black wet suit jacket. He and Dan swapped my bike gear for running gear and I headed out on the revised run course – over the Arthurs pass road.
My plan for the run was to be a bit conservative as following the run was a monster ride of almost 140km with some brutal looking hills in it.

I found I was still moving through the field quite well but kept reminding myself to keep it easy and it was obvious many of the guys had started a bit ambitiously as they had slowed to a walk in the steep sections heading up towards the viaduct and the top of the pass.
Once over the top the sun was starting to shine and it gave me a bit of a boost as I thought the bike ride would be much nicer in the sun.
The run might have been a bit shorter but it definitely wasn’t any easier than the normal run over Goat Pass and by all accounts many of the competitors were looking a bit worse for wear come the transition at Klondyke Corner.

It was great to get a drink and also to change the running shoes for the bike and as I set off Rich yelled that there would be drafting on the section which was obviously one of the things I hadn’t been able to hear at the briefing on the beach that morning.
I wasn’t very happy about the drafting as it meant if the girls chasing me were able to get a draft off a fast guy then they could’ve caught up a lot of time. I tried to relax though and think that hopefully all the fast riders were also the faster runners and with any luck already up ahead.
It was a strange feeling to ride past the turn off to Mt White where we usually head down to start the kayaking section – even more so as it was now brilliant sun shine and getting hotter all the time.

I kept riding and trying to keep my wattage at a good level and just before a really steep hill I managed to catch up to a bunch of about 6 guys who’d I’d been slowly catching over the first hour.
I was getting worried about not having enough to drink as it was now really hot and with all the hills I found I was nearly out of drink and still a long way to go towards transition (which I actually didn’t really know exactly where it was either)
The worst part was that most of the guys in the bunch were getting new bottles the whole way even though it was against the rules and my crew was already waiting for me at the transition where we were suppose to resupply.
It was pretty hard at first but then I decided I had better save my energy and not worry about it and focus on getting to the aid station. That’s where the Adventure racing experiences came in handy – at least it wasn’t 40 degrees and in the middle of a sand storm, really not so bad at all.

Finally at the transition and I had a formula one stop for new drinks and gels and just managed to keep contact with the rest of the bunch as we headed out for the final 50km towards Christchurch and the amended paddle down the mighty Avon.
It almost seemed like a bad joke at the start of the paddle and I was just waiting for us to join the main flow as it was so shallow and slow. There were plenty of ducks, families playing the shallows and people punting gently along.
It wasn’t looking likely that it was going to change though and so I just tried to paddle as hard as I could. I’d been told I was roughly 10 min ahead of second going into the river and so I knew I just had to keep fighting to maintain that as best I could.
There were lots of people shouting from the banks and a little girl who said she liked my pink kayak.
As the river got a bit bigger there was a really strong headwind so it seemed like I wasn’t going anywhere when Dan Busch from Nelson passed me. He picked off a bit of weed on my rudder and said I had a really good lead and only a few kilometres to go which gave me a bit of a lift.

It was still hard to believe any info about where any of the other girls were, so I just kept paddling as hard as I could but I felt like I must be getting closer as the Sportzhub guys were there filming and I could see the estuary getting closer.

When I saw the bridge and heard the finish was just on the other side it was a great feeling – until Richard tried to rip me out of the boat a bit quickly and I thought I might break. My legs didn’t want to work and I was a having a few cramps as Danial and him got me onto the bike.
Once I finally got the biking shoes on properly there was no problem with the legs though and my only problem was the amount of traffic on the road to Sumner.

So the final few kilometres were slightly slower due to a large amount of respect for how I’d fare compared to the cars in a crash. I think it was actually the lead vehicle that was causing the big line but it was a great feeling to come round the corner into Sumner and see the finish line.

I was still thinking on the final sandy bend it all seemed a bit unreal – surely someone was going to shoot past me right at the end? The day had gone really smoothly and the feeling running the final few metres to the finish line was fantastic to finally have tamed this particular race, all be it on a slightly amended course.

For me I was really focused on racing and winning on the original course, as all the girls were, but having to do such a long gruelling day on a course I was totally mentally and physically unprepared for still made the victory very sweet and very special and after all we still went Coast to Coast.

The talent was hot at the top end of the Rollo's Lineup and made for a great challenge for the contending field.

Richards Race report below and some wicked race pics too.....!

Rollo’s 24 hour Adventure race 2010

This year’s Rollo’s race doubled as the NZ AR 24 hour champs as well and was base doubt of Collingwood in Golden Bay. It’s an area I haven’t explored too much and so along with the invite from Nathan Fa’avae to join him and Fleur Lattimore and the promise of a stunning course it persuaded Elina and I to delay our travel to the northern summer and join the start list.

There were definitely a few moments in the lead up to the race where it seemed we should have split to the warmer climates as planned as the cold weather made training that much more of a challenge.
With 35 teams on the start line across several divisions we headed off on the first bike section which quickly turned into a team TT as we tried to get a small jump on the other teams before the river and first kayak stage.

On making the river I then squandered our minute lead by forgetting my spray skirt (too much K1) and then the map (too much tri) so by the time we were finally underway we had the company of Andrew Martin’s team ITM. The first part of the river had some pretty shallow rapids and while bumping down one of the rapids our first ever properly brought and attached Kayak flag decided it preferred a home at the bottom of the river and ejected itself, fitting and all into the river leaving a hole in the top of our deck.

Nathan had a good laugh at this as his flag stayed firm despite what was thrown at it – it was slightly smaller than regulation at 5cm high though! But with no dimensions given prior to the race he was in the clear. Watch out for the waves he cautioned as we tried to keep the water away from the hole moments before being engulfed in a bunch of unavoidable standing waves inciting yet more laughter from Nath’s boat.

ITM was fair hammering the paddle and with the help of an ingenious tow system were putting the pressure on and once out of the river and into the sea we decided to leave them too it while we had a well deserved snack.

Arriving at the end of the Kayak after what seemed like an hour of bottom suck from the shallow water we were greeted by some seals that had taken fright before dragging our boats up towards the TA and discovering Nath’s boat also had a hole, only theirs was in the bottom and explained the large amount of water in their boat.

A quick TA and off on the first orienteering section we caught up with ITM quickly and soon after were out on our own. The area looked out on the Farewell spit which was a stunning backdrop and the many cliffs, arches and pillars made for a visual feast. The final CP had us running along one of wildest and beautiful beaches in the country that we’ll definitely be heading back to for a chill out at some stage (name withheld to avoid congestion in the future).

Our bike back towards the kayaks was only halted by Nathan having a puncture which was fixed much more efficiently than our last attempt in Abu Dhabi! TTT positions were reformed and it was soon back in the boats.

We now had a replacement flag, much the same size as Nathan’s monster flag but with a little pink ribbon fluttering in the breeze – Elina must have put in a request at the finish of the 1st kayak stage!
Kayaking finished for the day and some dry clothes were the order of the day as we set off for the 2nd orienteering stage. Towards the end of some fun little trails we spotted ITM again but with the controls Rogaine style it was hard to tell what the gap might have been.

We’d now used about 8 hours and with less than 2 hours before darkness it was full lights set up for the MTB stage which took us up into some historic gold fields and an area full of caves. Our fine day was now fast disappearing and replaced with light rain which made for some muddy, slippery riding as we headed to the high point on the ride. With the last of the light we were able to find the turn off to the final remote CP’s without incident and after a short loop we headed for the end of the section. The one issue we were having though was Elina’s light kept turning off and it wasn’t until this had happened several times that we were able to work out what was going on. This meant some anxious moments for Elina as she raced down hill at high speed and suddenly lost all light.

A short ride led us to undoubtedly the highlight of the TA’s. The Naked Possum cafe was base for the crew and as we hurriedly changed for the final trek we also managed to stuff in several pieces of hot pizza each, GOLD!

The trek took us through the Kiatuna track which was looking pretty easy as the first 3 km disappeared in not much more than 15 minutes. The sign did warn us though that the track was about to get a whole load rougher and with a time estimate of 5-7 hours for the trek. Sure enough after a quick ford it was into a mass of twisted, slippery roots and a steep uphill. Our estimates were quickly recalculated as it seemed even our worst estimates might be out as the going so slow and it didn’t seem out of the question that it would take us 5 hours. Our early night was slipping away.

About an hour in I came up a rise and just about bumped smack into a very large Kiwi, it ambled away up the track and stopped about 10 metres away while I was able to get a great view. As the others arrived the kiwi decided it’d had enough attention and shuffled off through the bush. Kiwi sighting 3 of all time for me – still very cool.

Soon after our progress started to improve as we topped out onto the ridge line and the forest became sparser and more sub alpine. I’m sure it would have been a beautiful view in the day but we were restricted to a thin beam of light with some cloud and rain mixed in. After what seemed like an age the final CP reflectors came into view and with only a 3km downhill remaining till the final ride it seemed we could still be home by midnight.

The final bike section flew by as we wound it out in formation all the way back to Collingwood 30 km away. With only minutes to go the heaven’s opened and the nagging rain became a torrential downpour.
As is often the case the fastest teams got the best of the conditions with the bulk of the field getting slammed by the rain during the whole trek and final ride.

ITM finished second an hour behind with the Golden Bay Goats just holding out team Fire and ice for 3rd.

Former All Black Ian Jones and his NZ Rugby players Association team were the final team to finish, 25 hours and 37 minutes after the start in still torrential rain. They were also raising money for St John’s in their 125th anniversary year helping New Zealander’s and was a great effort for their first outing in an AR race – for more info on their charity efforts sees http://www.infonews.co.nz/news.cfm?l=14&t=0&id=52218
Was a great day out with a stunning course and some great racing. Elina and I head for Europe and our northern hemisphere racing season tomorrow so see you all when it starts warming up here.

For full results check out www.adventurenelson.co.nz

Bonjour from Nice (France) – it’s definitely nice in Nice!

We are finally here having a little holiday after 3 months of racing and travelling around Europe.
My last race was the Powerman Duathlon in Weyer, Austria which was my main focus for the individual racing this European season.
My program training wise was a bit different than what I usually train for the Multisport or Adventure races as I wanted to use my time over here to improve my running speed. It was all looking good and I was recording some excellent times for me in training so I was quite excited to put it to the test over the course which was a 15 km run, 80 km ride and 7 km run.

While I was busy putting the final touches on my training Rich was busy putting the final touches on our packing. To make the trip to Austria we had 3 bikes (2 x MTB and my TT bike) and 2 massive bags as we are slowly heading back to NZ stage by stage.
Finally we managed to get to Austria after Rich finished 3 good bye chocolate cakes my Mum just didn’t seem to be able to stop baking but luckily the only excess was for each of the 3 bikes, otherwise it would have been really expensive.
The location for the race, Weyer, was beautiful and part of a national park. I always forget how big the mountains seem in the Alps and we were only on the edge. It was a stunning area though. It looks like the sun just doesn’t stop shining in Europe this summer – except for Rich’s Xterra which was washed away the week prior buy record floods!
So race day was another super hot day, the temperature was already over 30 by the time we started at 11am. It was a little shock though when we started and I quickly realised my legs were feeling really heavy. I had a few little stomach cramps the night before but I was hoping I would be fine for the race but it was clear straight away I wasn’t going to be having a 100% day.

The run was tougher than expected...
So I was really just trying to keep any sort of pace going on the run and hope that I would be better on the bike, but it was really hard that they were running away from me at a pace I’d been doing consistently in training.
By the transition to the bike Victoria Beck from NZ after her trade mark strong run and I’d lost almost 4 min already.
Onto the bike and I had my little Red Bull Shot which I was suppose to have for the final run, in the hope it would kick start my race. The ride goes straight into 10km of climbing with the course climbing almost 600m, most of it over the second 5km. I was surprised that I was riding a good speed and starting to catch the girls in front of me, but I was still having stomach problems and anything other than water was not going down well.

So I still had some big worries that I wouldn’t be able to get through the whole race so I was trying to keep the speed under control and just pace it through. I pretty quickly moved through to 4th place and briefly into 3rd but the lack of nutrition soon meant I was trying to keep 4th rather than attack for the podium.

By the end of the ride I was still in 4th and I knew that Victoria wouldn’t be far behind me. Knowing that she is a good runner I was ready to suffer to try and stay as high up the field as possible. By the turnaround I could see her closing in and I was feeling really bad but I wanted to try and hold her off or collapse trying so I just kept digging it in and every time I looked back I still couldn’t see her.
I didn’t manage to get any fluids down in the last 3km and I was totally spent but really happy when I could see the final few turns and made it across the finish still in 4th. I was about 10 minutes down on Erika Csomor who won after a great tussle with Jacquline Uberhault and Michelle Parson’s came in 3rd. Victoria came in less than 30 sec behind for 5th in what was a really competitive field.
Then the real race started to get to the airport on the time as Richard had booked the flights rather too close to the end of the race and so after a frantic pack it was off to the airport where we arrived in time to check in and walk straight onto the plane, after encountering every slow driver in the whole of Austria on the way.

So now we are in Nice, and I really love it here. We took a trip to Monaco yesterday and I’m certain I could turn into a French Diva quite easily! We have 5 days left before hitting the road for our final race before heading back to Nelson, the Wulong Mountain Quest in China (which will be somewhat of a contrast with Monaco!) where we are racing with Team Thule again and joining us and Swede Martin Flinta is our good mate Nathan Fa’avae, who we’ve managed to persuade out of retirement once again.

A big thanks to all of our sponsors and to our friend Mark for putting us up in Nice. I’m looking forward to some good racing back in NZ this summer. Look forward to seeing you at the races.

Elina

We would like to warmly welcome Britta to our family of athletes currently under Wildside care.  This little lady has a HUGE future, and we are likely to see her on many a podium throughout 2010/11.  It's going to be very exciting to follow Britta through her challenges this year.  Here's a snippet of what she is up to.....



"Hi I'm Britta.
I am originally from Germany, but now live in Nelson.
I have been involved with Triathlon since 2004, and always balanced this with a full-time job. I loved the sport right from the beginning and with each competition I became more committed and more passionate about it.

In 2007, I  decided to take the risk and follow my dream to be a Professional Athlete.  I joined a Pro Road Cycling Team for a year in Germany and have not looked back!

In 2009, I came to realise my passion for training and competing in the Ironman Distance.  Taupo 2009 was my first Ironman and it really got me hooked!  Now I want to become as good as I can be in this sport"

Now check Britta's CV out...!

2007
1st Tour of Islamabad, Pakistan (Road Cycling)
1st Tour of Himalaya, Pakistan (Mountain bike)
4th Tour of Festina, Austria (Road Cycling)
14th Elite Nationals, Germany (Road Cycling)
Riding the German League and International Races as Pro Rider for “Team Stuttgart

2008
1st Half-Ironman Taupo, New Zealand
5th Elite Nationals Time Trial, New Zealand
8th Xterra Pro National Mountain Championships Ogden/USA
1st Triathlon Kuehbach, Germany
1st Mt Isobel Challenge, New Zealand (Duathlon)
1st Spring Challenge, New Zealand (Multisport)

2009
8th Ironman New Zealand, Debut
2nd Tour de Femme overall
4th Elite Nationals Time Trial, New Zealand
10th Elite National Road Race
3rd Buller Half Marathon

2010
6th Port of Tauranga Half Ironman
5th Ironman New Zealand

Photo courtesy of David Letsche-www.CylingPhotos.co.nz

Goals for 2010/11
2010:
Top 5 Ironman Nice/ France in June 2010

2011:
Qualifying for the Ironman World Championships in October in Hawaii


We'll be havng a WILD party for our Iron-Girl when one of these goals is acheived...we promise you, you'll hear about it!

Richard's account of how TEAM THULE came to place second on a testing   foreign adventure.....

Le Grand Raid – 2010

After a rather cool arrival in Finland where the weather seemed closer to NZ’s winter than the summer weather expected it was a welcome relief to head to northern France for the 1st edition of Le Grand Raid organised by top French AR racer Karine Ballet.
For this race Martin, Elina and I were joined by current world and European Winter triathlete Andreas Svanebo who I knew from several tight tussles at the Scandinavian Multisport Champs in the past couple of years.

PROLOGUE
25 teams took to the start line and with the official language being French we were quickly on the outer with the information of proceedings – something that would prove to be crucial later on.
The Prologue saw us in a mad 5km dash on foot, kitted out in PFD’s, bike helmets and backpacks as we tried for an advantage in the transition to the second stage paddling. Running into transition 2nd we caught French team Wilsa Sport as we entered the water and quickly managed to get a small gap as we paddle around an ancient fortified village in the moat. Out of the kayaks and onto the bikes we didn’t stop to change and jumped on for the 12 km bikes still in PFD’s, running shoes etc. The course was flat and fast luckily and the discomfort from no bike shoes was offset by our extended gap we now had over the field.

DAY 1
Next morning day one and the race proper started. A short run before it was in to the kayaks for a short loop where we again managed to get a small gap on the chasers before it was onto a trekking stage. Wilsa and ourselves arrived at the first CP together before we elected to take the beach and they headed for the trails. Our selection proved to be a good one and we entered the TA a minute up on Wilsa who’d been joined by Nike.

We lost a few seconds searching for a trail that didn’t exist so it was out onto the beach for the MTB and our decision to wear runners for the short 10 km section paid dividends as we ended up running a large portion of the bike due to the soft sand.

After a quick inline section we were onto a major run along the coast and crossed directly over the channel tunnel to the UK. Here we again were with Wilsa and as they asked several of the fisherman regarding the best way (I assumed) we raced along the rocks and sand towards an area shadowed with large sea cliffs. There was definitely a choice to be made but it seemed the French were pretty confident of getting through below so we committed to the line and it was seeming fine until a couple of kilometres before the CP when we were reduced to wading and swimming underneath the cliffs for large periods.
We eventually made it through but many teams behind would be forced to turn back as the tide came in turning the wade to a very long swim.
At the CP we arrived to the news Nike had taken the dry route and had punched in 5 minutes earlier.

Up next was a 20 km car transfer to the start of a long MTB section. The transfers seemed to involve an equally technical amount of orienteering to locate the TA and Nikes lead was short lived as they got off course and arrived after we’d already left and with their transfer time out and the clock running again.

The MTB course was highlighted and with CP’s along the route that were not marked it so it was imperative not to get off course due to the chance of missing these CP’s. The riding and route were really interesting and required a lot of concentration to stay on route. The highlighting over the intended route mean it was often hard to tell if we were looking for a single track or a main road so there was a lot of trusting in counting the turnoffs and following the compass.
We passed through the ropes section and another MTB stage gradually building a small lead before a kayak stage where we’d been told it was extremely difficult navigation and that we’d have to take some tiny channels in order to get thought to the end. As it turned out all the channels we had to take were all the major ones and we wasted several minutes investigating channels that appeared to be in the right place but lead nowhere.

I would have loved to hear what the French version of the briefing was!

We still had a lead heading to the final section of orienteering but it was now a lot closer again. With marking through to the start of the section the confusion started almost immediately. I checked the map and the first map had the scale 1:10,000 written on it twice, in bold – so I made an assumption that this was the map scale (everything else was in French). Unfortunately after travelling the assumed distance to the first CP there was no features even vaguely resembling the area we were supposed to be in – not a good feeling. We continued on and after a bit of deduction finally found the CP. Hopefully our dramas were over as we set off for the next CP. Running down the road it showed it curving off after 300 metres but this road we were on was heading away into the distance for a lot longer than that. So we assumed we must be on the next road over which continued on straight for a lot longer. It quickly became obvious that something was again not right as we ended up at some features on the map but way bigger than we were expecting. After some deduction we followed the features and arrived at the CP which was a long way away and after studying the map I found a 3rd scale of 1:25,000 in faint blue also on the map explaining the distance discrepancies.

Our troubles with the orienteering weren’t quite over when I drifted off course on a bearing and we ended up on a wrong road requiring some relocation and when we finally got to the right spot we had trouble finding the Cp which was down in a depression.

Unfortunately worse was still to come as we finally made it to the finish to discover the French rules stated we had to finish the section before 7pm whereas had interpreted the rules as you had to start the section by 7pm. It seemed ridiculous that we’d been racing for 10 hours, had finished 20 minutes behind the first team and were one of only two teams to complete the whole course and now we were being told we were potentially out of the race. Needless to say the mood in our camp was not a happy one.

The organisers still hadn’t come to any decision on our fate by the time we headed for bed but it seemed likely we be still in the race but with a massive penalty.

DAY 2
We were prepared for the penalty the next morning, we’d been given 3 hours but unbelievably we were still in second place although the chance for the win was now well gone. The format had been set up to allow teams to skip sections to finish the race and take penalties along the way so with us finishing all the other sections we had accrued less penalties than all but Wilsa.

The day started with a short inline to a kayak where we were unable to shake Wilsa or Nike and started the car transfer together. Thankfully the time was a little less tight this time and so no driving heroics were required.

We set off on the following MTB section with OT USA and Wilsa and it stayed that way to the start of the orienteering section where Wilsa were a touch quicker plotting their Orienteering points, OT USA elected to follow with a partially completed map as Sebastian from Wilsa is a very good orienteer. We just missed the back of them so had to go solo which after the previous days effort on the orienteering course was rather worrying! Arriving at the finish of the section was a relief, I’d had a really clean run but we’d still given up some time to Wilsa and the Americans and set off chasing on the bikes.
There wasn’t a lot of opportunities to catch time on the bike and while we took a little time back on the kayak we finished the day in 3rd overall with Wilsa taking the win

DAY 3
Our promises of short days and good rest were definitely not eventuating with late dinners and briefings and early morning transfers to the starts. Luckily our crew of Peter and Santtu now had a good handle on whose gear was whose and despite looking less and less organised and the start of each day we never missed a piece of gear.
We started with a run and bike combo and quickly managed to gap the field with good strategy and some fast running before jumping on the bikes for what looked like a straight forward bike.
Unfortunately for Out there USA Monique Merrill had a very nasty crash breaking some ribs, a wrist and collapsing a lung putting her in hospital and them out of the race.
Things were not so dramatic but slightly confusing when on the intended route from the organisers we encountered large fences blocking our progress. We open several gates, climbed some more but our progress was eventually halted by razor wire which was to us a pretty obvious sign we weren’t suppose to be entering the area.
A quick detour and a small mistake saw us back in the main pack where everyone had been able to follow the teams in front and catch up time as teams saw where others had gone previously. We finished the bike surrounded by loads of teams for a short run out and back before another road transfer to a fortified village.

A short ropes section was followed by a fast ride and very fast run which we constantly had a team to chase as many teams had taken shorter transfer times than us before we started to see the front of the race again in the kayak.

The final ride was hampered by a puncture but we were able to catch back on to Wilsa and finished the day marginally in front of them. Confusion again ensued that evening when we found ourselves well down the order along with Wilsa due to a computer glitch. We were eventually promoted to the stage win and then somehow demoted to second behind Wilsa without explanation but with the win impossible it wasn’t worth the breath to question it.

DAY 4
The final day and a mass 12 km run set us in motion for the shortest of the days. Team China showed their speed on the run by being first into transition with us and Buff just behind.
Onto the kayak and we quickly made the lead but with a massive draft effect again we couldn’t get rid of Buff and ended the section together.
A rally note style ride was up next where we had no map but directions on where to turn which was more than a little unnerving. Luckily we stayed on course which included some pave sections from the famous cycling race Paris – Roubaix which were more than rough enough on a MTB let along a road bike.

A final car transfer and we arrived to the final orienteering section. At only 3km long it shouldn’t have held too many fears and likely we stormed around it for one of the best times of the day and a solid win for the day.

The race finished with a group inline skate through the town and to the finish line.

So our Le Grand Raid finished with us in second place. Wilsa Sport finished 1st and Buff Coolmax from Spain were 3rd. It was disappointing that the penalty on the first ay essentially ended the race for 1st and the time gaps were such through the top few teams that there wasn’t a lot of close racing on the overall results but a lot of good rivalries were had each day.

We saw a very different side of France than I’d seen previously in the more Alpine regions and definitely showcased some very historic areas. And most importantly it was hot for the whole week so I’m now fully back in summer mode!

Huge thanks to Thule for their support and also to our crew Peter and Santtu who were coerced into crewing with promises of short easy days and ended up slaving for about 18 hours a day and never lost their humour and only occasionally their way – great job guys.
Thanks to all our other sponsors and supporters too

Wildside are starting a fan-base for FLEUR PAWSEY, (she said we could!) This girl has talent AND titles! Including the prestigious woman's longest day 2007 Coast to Coast title.

In 2008, a stolen second at Coast to Coast , a win at Porirua Traverse 2008, a win at the St James UltraMarathon 2008. Later int he year Fleur took up with some Swedish Boys, and raced in Chongqing Province, China. Competing in the Wulong Mountain Quest and the Zunyi International Mountainous Open Air Sporting Challenge. To add to the international flavour, Fleur was racing as the only non-Swedish member of Team Buff Sweden. Finishing a credible 9th place nursing a broken finger!

"The ten days in China, six days of racing, some very tired legs, a broken finger, more bruises than I’ve ever had – but also the most amazing time that I wont forget in a hurry!"

2008 finished on a real high in the wonderful locale of Abu Dhabi, Fleur raced for the Kiwi team captained by Gordon Walker ...and stood second on the podium after 3 days of desert heat, sand & sea.  Fleur commented this was one of the most brilliant races she has expeirenced so far.

 
2009 has had a mixed start, with a 4th placing at Coast to Coast which was to be a sever battle of female strength - outwit/outplay/outlast... before heading back to China for the Baise Outdoor Quest, where her and Swedish friends re-unite for a week of surprise race legs and locations to takeout the bridesmaid second once again.

Fleur and her TEAM SWEDEN had a blinder at the recent Baise Outdoor Quest - taking out SECOND PODIUM spot after 3 days of racing.  Enjoy Fleur's take on the ceremony and pageantry of all things Chinese....

Baise Outdoor Quest

Things were looking quiet on the multisport scene when I got an email out of the blue asking if I’d like to race in China in April as part of Team Sweden. Details included the name and location of the race. A quick bit of research (aka Google) gave no indication that either actually existed, but trips to China don’t come along everyday so I signed on and set off with a vague idea of where I was going.

After a mission of a trip to Le Ye Town in Baise County, Southern China, I met my teammates. Next tasks were getting to know them (I’d raced with Martin, the captain, before but didn’t know the other two), adjusting to Chinese time, weather and food, and getting all my gear ready for racing. Hmmm, lucky I arrived with one spare day before racing started…

I’d assumed the race – the Baise Outdoor Quest – was fairly small, as there were only a handful of international teams competing. But it turned out to be quite a big deal on the Chinese sporting calendar, to the point where guests at the opening ceremony included the Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee, and the local television station had live coverage throughout the race. The opening ceremony was an event in itself, Olympian in style, with Richard Ussher solemnly (well, as solemnly as possible) taking an oath of fair play on behalf of all the athletes.

Racing began with a biathlon – two bikes, four team members, 12 kilometres of road and no dubbing. One pair would take off on the bikes, ride for a kilometre or so, dump the bikes and run, while the other pair would run to the bikes, pick them up and take their turn, and so on. The pace was intense from the start, with added stress for some athletes when they saw locals eying up bikes that had been left on the roadside. I’m pretty confident it was fascination that caused this, rather than any intent to souvenir a bike... I don’t think you see high spec mountain bikes that often in Le Ye town!

Off the biathlon and into transition, we grabbed the other two bikes for a mountain bike stage. We’d been warned about the downhill section of track on the first 10km. In fact, we were told in serious tones, it was so dangerous due to its gradient, twists and turns that we shouldn’t race it, and it would be untimed. It’s fair to say we were a little confused to get to this part and be confronted with a wide tar seal road in good condition. More so when, later on in the race, there was plenty of actual downhill riding. I suspect it was the kamikaze drivers we were likely to meet on the road that posed the risk, rather than our mountain bike skills.

The highlight of day one was definitely the final run, which began with a lengthy cave section. The Baise area is renowned for its karst formations, sinkholes and caves, and this must have been one of the best. We ran, scrambled, climbed and shuffled through 3km of eery open caverns linked by tight passages and the occasional narrow squeeze. Officials had been anxious to tell is that there were large gaps between race markers and they weren’t kidding. There were quite a few intersections in the cave and we had to retrace steps several times. Safety requirements really are different there – the organisers were scared to let us ride our bikes downhill but more than happy to let us loose in a cave system!

By the end of the day Team Vibram Sport 2000 (from France, joined by Jacob Roberts from NZ) had already established their dominance over the race. My team crossed the line in second, and a Chinese team filled the third spot.

The first true test of survival came early on Day Two… on the way to the start line. Apparently our bus driver though this drive was part of the race, and by the time we’d overtaken the trucks carrying all the equipment, been thrown from our seats several times, and had to check that one athlete didn’t have concussion after hitting her head on the bus roof, we were pretty much ready to get off the bus and never get back on. It was a good thing we go there so quickly; we had at least 40 minutes to stand around swapping war stories before even the start line banner arrived, and even longer while kayaks were inflated and gear distributed.

Teams started by rank at thirty second intervals, paddling inflatable two person kayaks. When I paddle in Wellington Harbour and stir up a green glow in the water it’s usually the effect of phosphorescence on a beautifully calm evening and I slow down to admire it. The feeling is not quite the same when you’re paddling across a half empty dam in China and the water around you turns a fluorescent green…

My team enjoyed a fast start to the paddle and we were making good ground on Vibram Sport 2000 when things started to go awry. At first I thought I was just getting tired, but when our kayak took on a definite lean I knew there was an actual problem. One side of the boat had sprung a leak, and with no pump or repair equipment we were a little concerned. Luckily (or so we thought) a safety boat was tracking our progress. But the more we yelled for help, waved paddles and tried to act out a sinking boat, the more smiles, thumbs up and waves we got in return. Eventually, when the boat was almost disabled, Chinese officials came to investigate, produced a pump, and we were back on track. An inflatable kayak has never felt like such a racing machine as ours did once it had air in it again.

The rest of the day was spent climbing and descending, mountain biking and running; being painfully aware that the course designers had taken advantage of the natural features of the area and the most predominant of these was stupidly steep hills. But the best feature was saved until last, with one person from each team taking on a 180 metre abseil into a deep chasm. As we left Martin at the abseil platform my teammates shrugged off disappointment at having to miss out. I shrugged off feelings of nausea just from looking out toward the edge.

Again, we finished the day 2nd to Vibram Sport 2000, but we had put a good gap on the rest of the field. The kayak section had shaken things up and there was a real race on for the lower placings.

The final day dawned murky, grey and drizzly and the first mountain bike was a challenge, with teams either blinded by flying mud or stationary with chain suck. The ride included a slow and muddy 10km climb, but we were rewarded with a 19km run that was almost all downhill. We passed by the occasional farmhouse, scattering roosters, pigs and dogs in all directions, and providing entertainment for the locals. They’d cheer us on enthusiastically, and then break into fits of laughter when they realised there was a tow line between me and one of my teammates.

The running was broken up by a slightly off beat activity two thirds of the way through; a scramble across a rope net strung between a riverbank and bridge. From there it was a quick dash to the final stage of the race, a river paddle. This time round we were careful to check our kayaks were well inflated, and we set off on the river 6 minutes down on Vibram Sport 2000 and determined to make up time. There was no chance of making a difference to the outcome of the race, but there was still some pride at stake. It was difficult to concentrate on paddling hard though, as the scenery was truly magical. Although the gradient was gradual and the rapids tame we were making our way down a deep river gorge, with towering hills and cliffs reaching into the mist on either side.

Just before the end of the paddle, the water disappeared into a short cave, while above us the rock formed a natural arched bridge. I was so busy staring at the cave I almost missed the rock arch. Martin pointed it out, and with impeccable timing I turned to look just as he reached forward with his paddle stroke. I was rewarded not only with the breathtaking scenery but also with a breathtaking smack on the head. Luckily we were wearing helmets…

The paddle was a fantastic way to end the race, and we were pleased to finish the final day just 4 minutes behind Vibram Sport 2000. They had easily taken out the overall race, finishing around 40 minutes ahead of us, but we in turn were over an hour ahead or The North Face Greater China who finished third.



A few thanks are definitely due:
*to my teammates who were fantastic to race with,
*to Wildside Travel (www.wildsidetravel.co.nz) for their assistance with travel arrangements,
*to iRULE (www.irule.co.nz) for as always supplying me with the best race wear around,
*and to Penny Farthings here in Wellington (www.pennyfarthings.co.nz) for making sure my bike was up to scratch.

Thanks all!

Congratulations Fleur and Team ADCO!!

Fleur's account of the Adventure...

Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 2009

As racers lined up for the start of the 2009 Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge, it wasn’t the two days of kayaking that instilled the most fear, nor the 120km desert run. It wasn’t the technical ropes section on the final day, or the thought of mountainbiking through sand drifts in a desert storm. No, it was the 38km prologue. Or more specifically, the 900 metre swim.

That’s not to belittle any other parts of the race, with organisers taking on the mantra ‘the tougher you get, the tougher we will make it’ and ramping up the total distance of the course from previous years.

I was racing in Abu Dhabi as part of Team ADCO (Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations) with Gordon Blythen, Stuart Lynch and Nathan Peterson. We were up against a field of 40 teams from 20 different nations, and there were some serious athletes there! The day before the race I was invited to a photo shoot with some of the other team captains. M y presence was based on the fact that Gordon and I had been in the second placed team the previous year, and we were rated as contenders. As we travelled to the location I began to feel out of my depth. I was sitting next to Richard Ussher, who at least I knew by person rather than reputation, and a couple of captains of long established and successful adventure racing teams. Then there were two unfamiliar faces. One turned out to be a former World Ironman Champion; when I asked the other what he did he replied that he was a professional adventurer with two polar expedition world records to his name. And I was just normal Fleur from Hawarden, and ready to make a bolt from the photo shoot right there and then!

The ironman champion (Faris Al Sultan, Kona winner 2005) was part of a classy local team called Abu Dhabi Triathlon, made up of professional triathletes. Triathlon and adventure racing are very different sports so we suspected they might find the desert and kayaking sections challenging, but everyone expected them to be the stars of the prologue. After all, it was mainly a run bike and swim race, with a token kayak that didn’t seem that much longer than the swim. But to our surprise they didn’t make a significant break, and the kayak stage was long enough to have an impact on the race. Kiwi team Qasr Al Sarab took out the stage, and we survived the swim to cross the line in fifth place. Immature as it sounds, there was some satisfaction in beating a world ironman champion in what could very loosely be described as a triathlon!



The remainder of day one, and all of day two, were all about kayaking. On both days we paddled strongly to stay ahead of everyone bar Qasr Al Sarab, and to edge away from third placed French team Vibram Sport 2000. As if navigating a tidal channel system wasn’t enough, there was the added challenge of planned routes being blocked by islands that didn’t appear on our maps. The explanation? They’d only just been built! That’s not something we have to deal with at home. We also had to negotiate other boat traffic. Athletes are incredibly well looked after at the adventure challenge, but so are the media. So when cameramen commented that calm seas meant the kayak footage was looking a little tame, a jetskier was dispatched to literally run rings around the kayaks. His wake created waves, the kayaking looked more challenging on camera, and almost everyone was happy…




The kayak stage was followed by a lengthy bus trip inland to the desert, and Team ADCO had a few ups and downs to reflect on. We were happy to be in a solid second place, but we’d made life slightly more stressful than it needed to be by picking up two five minute penalties along the way. One was definitely our fault as I’d lost my timing plug during the swim section, but the circumstances around the second were a little hazy. Apparently we hadn’t properly displayed the race logo on our sail as we paddled away from Abu Dhabi city on day one. If we wanted to appeal the penalty, we’d somehow have to prove otherwise. Short of somehow getting access to and poring through film or camera footage, that would be a bit difficult.

So instead of having a 25 minute buffer over the French for second place, our penalties took us down to a 15 minute lead. And just to up the ante even more, we managed to lose another timing plug about a third of the way into the 120 kilometre desert leg. Trying to find one of them on a desert salt flat is probably harder than searching for a needle in a haystack, so we decided to suck up yet another 5 minute penalty rather than wasting too much time looking. By now the race was becoming stressful. The first two thirds of the trek were taken at a run, with a series of interval efforts as teams attempted to break away and the pack was forced to chase them down. Thankfully in the final 40km things settled down, and without saying as much the lead group of teams seemed to agree to a stalemate. We slowed to a steady trek and eventually eight teams finished the stage together.

Before the race I hadn’t really thought much about what it’d be like to mountainbike in the desert. Now that it’s over I don’t want to ever think about it again! We spent most of day five on our bikes, and as the temperature increased so did the wind. Riding a bike through blowing sand is a bit like skiing past a snowmaking machine and getting a blast of snow in your face, only instead of cold snow it’s hot sand and it’s a whole lot less pleasant. The other problem with blowing sand is, again like snow, it forms drifts which are almost impossible to bike through. Add to that the fact that we ran out of water when we were still about an hour from the finish, and you get the idea of what sort of day we had. Stu, Nathan and Gordon did a fantastic job giving me a crash course on sand riding, and at times physically dragging me through the drifts, and we were relieved to be the fourth team home and never out of sight of the leaders. Even better was the fact that, as much as we’d struggled, the French had had a worse time. We made 15 minutes on them, effectively earning back the time we’d thrown away in penalties.




Even so, the pressure was still on for the final day of the race. It began before the sun came up with ‘night orienteering,’ followed by a climb up a canyon to the top of Jabeel Hafeet, a craggy mountain by the border of Oman and overlooking the oasis town of Al Ain. The climb included a long ropes section where we knew the French had the potential to be very fast. Here some kiwi solidarity came into play, and with a win looking certain for Qasr Al Sarab they were good enough to work with us in the orienteering to ensure that we were the first team onto the ropes section. This meant there was no chance of getting caught behind other teams as we made our way up the 750m vertical ascent, much of which was hauling ourselves up handropes and trying to effect speedy carabineer changes as we negotiated corners and ledges. Last year we’d descended the same canyon, and not being great with heights my heart had been racing the whole way. Going up my heart was still racing, but this time with the effort of the climb, and I kept my eyes fixed on the rock and rope in front of me. Sometimes it’s better not to know what’s below (or not below, when you’re going up a cliff!)

A steady but safe ropes section virtually secured our second place overall, with a only a 35km bikeride and 3km run left till the finish line. We did get a harsh reminder that a race isn’t really over until it’s over though, when Gordon got a puncture halfway through the ride. What should’ve been a cruisey bunch ride turned into a frantic team time-trial as we worked to catch back up to the bunch after a quick repair job. Nathan had one of the media crew’s film cameras on the back of his bike during the ride, and I spent most of my time directly behind him and almost in tears as I struggled to keep up. I dread seeing the footage!

It was a proud Kiwi moment when we reached the finish line. Qasr Al Sarab had led the race from start to finish, but we’d never been too far behind and had held onto second despite our collection of penalties. And the French were assisted to third spot by their Kiwi ring-in, Dwarne Farley, meaning the NZ contingent dominated the podium. Here’s hoping we see the same again in 2010!


A huge thanks to my teammates Stuart, Gordon and Nathan for their contribution to what turned out to be an awesome team to be part of and a privilege to captain.

Thanks also to ADCO, the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Etihad Airlines and R&R Sport.

Fleur survived the latest edition of Australian XPD.  This year based in Tropical North Queensland....an environment which has its own set of trials, as Fleur was to find out.....

RACE REPORT on behalf of Team Orian Health

 by Fleur Pawsey

This has been a bit of a slow race report to get finished. I think the time it’s taken to write it is proportionate to the amount of my mind that was left somewhere in the Australian rainforest.

XPD is always promoted as ‘as much an expedition as a race’ and given that we spent almost seven days on the move but didn’t cross the finish line, that’s truly what we got. And there ends the short version of the Orion Adventure race report! But that would really be selling the team short: for around 730km of the approximately 750km course we either out in front or battling for the lead with eventual winners Blackheart , and if not for medical problems the outcome would have been completely different.

In tradition with adventure racing the XPD course was kept secret until the day before the race began, but the race briefing gave a few strong hints at what teams would be up against. I’m used to New Zealand race briefings, which pretty much run to a formula. A lengthy thanks to the sponsors, maybe an outline of the course or quick weather forecast, and then the obligatory safety warning: the roads are not closed; stay on the left hand side of the road.

The XPD briefing was a little different. There were just a few things we’d need to watch out for and know how to react to: crocodiles, jellyfish, snakes, spiders, stinging tree, spear grass, sea snakes, sharks, dingoes, leeches, dehydration, dodgy water, big birds that charge (or cassowary), wild horses, ‘wait a while’ vines, feral cattle, kangaroos. Oh, and just like in New Zealand, we had to keep to the left of the road. But cars weren’t the problem: in Australia they have road trains.

Eventually pre race preparation was complete and it was time for the journey to begin. We set off from Dunk Island, a couple of hours drive south of Cairns, for a day of running, snorkeling, kayaking and mountain biking. As the day would end with a dark zone followed by an early morning re-start, it was really just a prologue before the real racing began. Still, there was pride and psychological advantage at stake, as well as the fact that the quicker we got to transition, the more rest time we would have that night. With this in mind we maintained a good pace, leading the field at the end of the first day and banking several hours of sleep.

Day two began with action - a white water rafting trip down the Grade Four rapids of the Tully river – before a 47km rainforest trek into the Misty Mountains. Again we headed out at the front of the field, and our spirits were high as we entered the rainforest. Little did we know what was in store!


As the path became more overgrown and the forest denser I began to wonder who would be silly enough to go tramping there for fun. Soon the answer became obvious: no one. At least that’s what you’d have to conclude from the state of the track we were following. Our race lead was short-lived: being up front we had to do a lot of bush bashing, and as we battled our way through vines and came under attack from stinging tree our pace slowed. Several other teams caught us and we took turns to share the lead and do the hard work at the front. Every few minutes conversation would be interrupted by yelling and cursing as the stinging trees unleashed more poison.

The transition at the end of the trek couldn’t come soon enough and was like nothing I’ve seen before. Medics were on hand to deal with stinging tree problems, and treatment meant dressing stings with a hydrochloric acid solution before waxing the affected areas of skin. Maybe this was effective, but it was also one way to cause excruciating pain, and I’ve never seen so many grown men screaming and crying! As if that wasn’t enough, there were new horrors when I pulled off my socks and discovered a gathering of happy, fat, and blood-filled leeches. Really, who would go walking in the Australian bush for fun?!

I wasn’t at all sorry to begin the next stage, a 120km bike ride interrupted with ten kilometers of orienteering on foot. It took a while to move efficiently on the bikes, as for the first hour or two we were still suffering from stinging tree induced pain and nausea. Eventually the pain eased, our sprits picked up, and we chewed through the kilometers and made our way to ‘mid camp’ in third place.

This meant a compulsory six hour stop, providing a chance to get cleaned up and have a hot meal and decent sleep. The name ‘mid-camp’ was somewhat misleading though, as we were really only a third of the way through the race with the most difficult stages still to come.

The six hours passed all too quickly, and soon it was time to hit the road again. In recognition of some sort of local tradition, we set off from mid camp with all our packs plus two deflated kayaks loaded onto a wheelbarrow, which we had to take twenty kilometers down the road to the kayak get in. It turned out we had a secret weapon: Marcel announced that he had been wheelbarrowing since he was four years old. And yes, he responded in all seriousness to our questions, sometimes he did have to wheelbarrow in the snow and in bare feet. He seized the handles and barrowed off down the road with superb technique, and I was pretty embarrassed that even without a pack to carry I could barely keep up with him.



When you’ve been on the go for several days, food becomes pretty important. And food that’s not wrapped or vacuum packed or so processed its likely to keep its present form without deteriorating for the next 40 or so years is like gold. So wheel barrowing past an orchard of ruby red grapefruit was simply too tempting, and Marcel and I were in and out and armed with a grapefruit feast as quickly as our legs would let us. It wasn’t until I had grapefruit in both hands and guilt all over my face that I realised we were in full view of a verandah of people at a nearby farmhouse.

The wheelbarrowing was followed by 70km of kayaking down the Walsh River. We quickly realised that ‘kayaking’ was a euphemism; there was as much walking and boat dragging as there was paddling, and sometimes the water would simply run out and we’d have to go on a water-scouting trip. As night fell it became clear we were not alone on the river. Every fifty metres or so there’d be a pair of red crocodile eyes lurking just above the waterline. Thankfully they were the friendly freshwater kind, and we were much bigger than them. Marcel is a staunch vegetarian, but judging by the way he took to crocodile beating when they were in his way, this has nothing to do with animal rights!

There was a bit of a walk up the riverbank to find the first kayak checkpoint, and it was a morale boost when we reached the get-out point and saw that Blackheart’s boats were still there. We tied our boats next to theirs, and Brent led us to the CP very efficiently. The problem was we weren’t so efficient at finding our way back to our boats. This was pretty frustrating but it could’ve been worse… soon we bumped into Blackheart, who had not only failed to find the CP, but had also misplaced their boats. We all had to admit this was quite comical, and in a two team effort we eventually found the missing kayaks (yes, exactly where we’d left them…)

Prior to the race we’d calculated an estimated shortest and longest time for each stage of the race, and used these estimates to pack food and supplies. We’d thought we were pretty conservative when we packed 16 hours worth of food each for the 70m kayak, and if anyone had told me that 23 hours after launching our boats we’d still be on the water, I would’ve laughed at them. But that’s how long it took, and when we finally pulled into transition we were tired, soggy, and starving. On the positive side we were also leading the race with a twenty minute gap on second placed McCain.

By this point we were well into what the race directors had described as the truly expeditionary part of the race. We’d paddled our way into the middle of nowhere and now we had to walk our way back out. The 60 km trekking stage had had some navigators in tears when maps were released: the area between checkpoints spanned three maps and there was not a single manmade feature to be seen.

Brent’s navigation on this stage was superb, he didn’t seem to be at all intimidated by the task ahead and we made steady progress through ‘tiger country.’ It was a fairly lonely 24 hours; we spent an hour or two travelling with Blackheart before veering off on a different route and crossing our fingers it would prove to be the quickest. It was, but only by twenty minutes or so, and after five days of racing there was still no let-up in the battle for first place.

We didn’t get far on the next stage, the final mountainbike of the race, before giving in to the sleepmonster and pulling up on the roadside for a two hour nap. This was definitely worthwhile, as yet again the navigation was getting difficult and concentration was important. The tracks shown on our map didn’t bear much relation to those on the ground in front of us, and Brent used an unorthodox but effective strategy to get us through a maze of paths and roads. By the time daylight broke we were through the tricky section and things should’ve gotten easier, but we’d also run short of food for the third day in a row. I’d coped with this on the previous two days, but this time my body seemed to give up and Marcel and Carl both put in a huge effort to tow me along on the bike. The highlight of this stage was without a doubt passing through a town with a bakery; we stopped to refuel and stock up on supplies and food has never tasted so good!

Now there were just two stages to go, and we were still practically neck and neck with Blackheart. The second to last stage definitely wasn’t going to change things, there was no time to be gained or lost on the straightforward 10km lake paddle, so it looked like the race was going to come down to the final trek. We’d be heading back into the dreaded rainforest, climbing over a hill range before dropping down into the outskirts of Cairns and following roads into the city centre.

We set off on the trek in a buoyant mood, hoping and expecting that the stage would be straightforward and that in less than a day we’d be back at our apartment in Cairns, fed, showered and looking back on a good race. How wrong we were!

The first few hours passed without drama, but when we bumped into Blackheart heading in the opposite direction from us we knew things were about to change. They were lost and we were about to be, and so began a long and frustrating night walking in circles looking for a way through the rainforest and onto the right track. Before long we were joined by a third team, The Trundlers, who had been short coursed and suddenly found themselves at the front of the field. They had the advantage of following two of the best navigators in the race: we had the advantage of listening in on them when they unashamedly phoned the race director to say they were lost and ask for advice!

I think Blackheart would agree that this was one of the more dysfunctional points of the race, even more so than the time we spent together looking for our missing kayaks. Sleep deprivation was really kicking in, and it was hard to know whether we were making progress or just walking on the spot. But eventually and thankfully we were able to separate ourselves from the other teams and push on through the forest, finally making progress and moving with some purpose.

By now sleep had become pretty essential, so we found a dry and leech free spot and curled up for a 45 minute nap. We assumed this would refresh us enough for one final effort, but our race was about to change dramatically. When we woke, Brent stood up to find one of his ankles was about the size of his calf (and his calves are pretty big!) and had absolutely no movement. He made an impressive attempt to walk on it, but the pain was obviously intense and there wasn’t much option but to stop, elevate the ankle, and hope the swelling would ease. We pitched our tent and settled in for the rest of the night, briefly waking sometime in the early hours of the morning to say hello to Blackheart and wish them well as they walked past the tent. That was the last we’d see of them in the race. By sunrise Brent’s ankle was no better and walking for another 10 hours was out of the question. Fortunately we were near a road-end, so we shuffled our way there, hit the ‘help’ button on our spot tracking device, and waited to be picked up from the course. Just like that our race was over.

As it turned out we’d made the right decision. Brent was suffering from a pretty vicious infection, and it took a couple of hospital visits and some heavy duty antibiotics to bring it under control. He wasn’t the only one – my leech bits had turned into festering wounds and I also spent a morning in hospital receiving IV antibiotics. When I got there the bed next to me was occupied by one of the racers from Team McCain, receiving the same treatment, and as soon as he left Nick from the Kiwi team of Alpine Epic turned up for his dose of drugs. XPD racers definitely kept the A&E department busy for a few days!

While it was disappointing to race so hard for such a long time and not get to the finish, I think as a team we can be proud of our effort. We set the pace for much of the way, and stayed in positive spirits through plenty of less than ideal situations. We’ll certainly be keeping that in mind for the next race – In July we’re heading to the Northern Hemisphere for Explore Sweden, getting some more practice as a team ahead of the World Championships in September. As always huge thanks must go to all our sponsors who make it possible for us to get to these races – we’ll be out there doing our best for you!

New Caledonia Marathon
23 August 2009

Anna Pelesikoti packed up her running shoes, bikini, and best friend Cheryl Carroll and headed to the glorious Island of New Caledonia to run the 26th annual Marathon on 23 August 09. An event that attracts a high calibre of International and local athletes.

This wasn’t just a last minute thought – but a well planned holiday! Anna was scouring the web for a pacific adventure. Wildside were advertising packages to the Samoa Marathon, which subsequently got cancelled. But Anna was already hooked on the idea of running a Marathon in the Pacific and quickly refocused on the New Caledonia Marathon. From here there was no stopping Anna, who had the foresight to book early in January on a ”2 for 1” package special (airfares and hotel). This locked her into her mission – and gave her 7 months to prepare.

The New Caledonia Marathon was founded in 1983, an ever-growing band of regulars plus an increasing number of world-class runners from Europe, Africa, the South Pacific and Japan return year after year to take part in this prestigious sporting event. Competitor numbers are regularly up around 150.

With a lagoon-style setting, a superb seaview route, temperate climate, enthusiastic crowds and world-class runners ensures this event is one to relish. The atmosphere is enlivened by a colourful cheering crowd, plenty of sideshows, music and dancing - all adding to the marathon’s popular success.


Anna’s wonderful planning meant she could cover achieving a great sporting and physical goal, enjoy some international retail therapy, have a glorious South Pacific holiday (in the middle of winter) and share the whole holiday and experience with her good mate Cheryl.
RUN, CELEBRATE, SHOP & SHARE. There has got to be some girls out there identifying with that!!!

Here’s’ Anna’s take on her Half Marathon Holiday ....

“I ran the first 10km in about 54 minutes, the next 5km in about 30 minutes and promptly hit the wall (as I usually do) once I hit the 15km mark. It was at this stage where my desire to abandon all marathon running efforts in favour of stepping off the course and jogging into the sea (to hell with taking my shoes off) was an attractive prospect. Despite the early hour the conditions were sunny, hot and sheltered with a mild breeze. I reminded myself that I had come all this way to do this event, so at the very least the dip into the ocean could wait until I had crossed the finish line. This pep-talk did the trick and two hours, two minutes and 48 seconds later I was running along the race track (probably resembling something closer to a hippo than a graceful athlete) where a crowd had amassed in the grandstand to cheer us runners on. After being ushered through the finishers stand by event officials in cheerful yellow T-shirts saying “bravo, tres bien, bravo!” I found myself being handed an event T-shirt (woohoo! Free stuff!) and was promptly met by Cheryl waving her hands and taking photos. The organisers had set up a tent with massage tables to accommodate post-race athletes with sports massages at no charge. I was secretly hoping to get the gorgeous French man as my masseuse but I admit the woman who worked on my calves sent me into a state of bliss and happiness I don’t recall having experienced before. Of course all this happened after the initial agony subsided.

The city has many boutiques showcasing beautiful Tahitian pearl jewellery of which I partook by spoiling myself with a pearl and diamond ring. I hit the patisseries almost daily to feast on the moorish savoury and sweet pastries and together Cheryl and I abandoned all original intentions of balanced nutrition in favour of enjoying the chocolate and champagne on offer (I celebrated my 9th half marathon in style with Moet). Girls will be girls!

For anyone who is looking to combine a holiday with a marathon, I absolutely recommend doing the Noumea Marathon. One of its advantages for New Zealanders is that you don’t have to spend big money on long-haul international air fares, nor are there huge discrepancies between time zones. It’s a great event to train towards for a mid-winter tropical getaway, and despite it being “winter” over there I spent many hours in my bikini and returned with a glowing tan of which I am rather fond of showing off.”

Congratulations Anna!

Meet the happy, personable and totally focused Cherry Downing our latest Wild Athlete who has podium finishes on her mind.  After a solid year of achievements in 2008 culminated in an 11th placing at the World Duathlon Championships in Rimini Italy, there is much to aspire to in 2009.   Cherry is the tall number 76 on the left !



"I arrived in New Zealand three and a half years ago, with one of my main motivations for moving here to be able to do more sport…..I have definitely accomplished that!  I arrived as a runner with several 10ks, a few half marathons & one marathon under my belt. I’ve now competed in numerous triathlons, duathlons, 10ks and half marathon races, this includes four half ironman, one full ironman race and the World Duathlon Championship race 2008 which was held in Rimini, Italy."

Acheivements:
2007
3rd (30-34 age group) Rotorua half Ironman December 07
2008
6th (30 -34 age group) Tauranga half Ironman (NZ long course champs) Jan 08
10th (30-34 age group) Ironman New Zealand March 08
3rd (30-34 age group) National Duathlon Championships June 08
11th (30-34 age group) World Duathlon Champiionships September 08

Whats the best thing about this sport?
"Being able to travel and race – you’ve gotta love that!"
(..you've come to the right place for that Cherry!!)



What is your focus for 2009??
"I’m probably better suited to endurance events (despite doing reasonably well at world duathlon champs!), so this triathlon season I am focusing on Ironman New Zealand again, using Tauranga Half Ironman as a build up race. Tauranga also doubles as the long course triathlon national champs, so I will see if I can qualify for the World long course triathlon champs that are being held in Perth in September 2009. But really the focus this season is to try to better my time at Ironman New Zealand. Last year was my first year & I did 12hrs 24mins, so I’m hoping to do a little bit better than that on the 7th March 2009.

After Ironman I think I’ll have a go at a marathon. After completing the Abel Tasman Coastal Classic last year in 3hrs 30mins (thanks for the encouragement along the way Wildside!) I’m inspired to see what time I’d do for just 42.2ks, without having done a 3.8k swim and a 180k bike beforehand!"



2009 Results:
Tauranga Half Ironman -
3rd place womens 30/34,  20th Overall and fastest feamle amateur run split on the day.      An awesome start to the year!
    



    

Race Report: World Duathlon Champs 2008: Rimini, Italy

I actually picked this race because I’d never been to Italy & had always wanted to go (typical Brit – lived on the doorstep to Europe all my life & then when I live on the other side of the world I decide to travel more!), so after 44 hours of travelling non stop I arrived in Rimini (a small seaside town that’s really popular with Italians in Summer).

I’d opted for a few nights in a local backpackers to ease the strain of financing the trip, before moving into the team accommodation before the race. Arriving at the backpackers with a bike, backpack & day pack at 6.30pm I found a note on the door telling me (in Italian!) that they had closed the accommodation & if we would be kind enough to get on a local bus & go to the other backpackers they owned, just a few bus stops away……..fab – that was exactly what I wanted to do with a bike etc!....Lucky for me a friend who was also competing, was with me & he took me back to the team accommodation & after a little juggling I was able to find a space in a room with some of the other competitors.
Not a great start – but I was there…and my bike hadn’t been damaged on the Wellington-Auckland, Auckland- LA, LA-Frankfurt, Frankfurt-Bologna flights & finally the Bologna-Rimini train journey!

Over the next few days the team (43 kiwi’s were racing) got stuck into familiarising themselves with the course, some light training and nervous chatter.
The weather was a bit of an enigma, most of us had expected it to be fairly warm with it being late summer / early autumn in Italy but it was actually not great, with overcast but humid days, rain and wind (which quietly had us Wellington athletes quite excited!).

The race for the age group women was at 4.15pm, an unusual race time for most athletes, so we had to do a bit of work in the week building up to the race to find out what worked best nutritionally. The day arrived and it was really hard to stay focused with so many other races going on throughout the day – we were torn...we wanted to support the other kiwi’s racing on the day but we also knew that we shouldn’t be spending too much time on our feet.

By the afternoon of the race the wind had dropped slightly, it was a cross wind and the course was based around the beach front. The 10k run was four laps of 2.5k, it was pretty technical with around twenty 90degree bends in each lap, I was pleased that my coach had encouraged me to train on a similar course back in New Zealand to allow for the extra strain on all of your auxiliary muscles. I’m a strength runner, so I don’t hurtle off at the start of the race, I like to find my pace and build into it, so the first 10ks was just about pacing myself. Then it was into transition & onto the bike (my least favourite part!) – at this point I was the first kiwi woman onto the bike.

The bike course was an out and back along the waterfront, but I felt really good, usually the bike is the weakest, but for some reason that day I felt great, I kept expecting a few of my friends to pass me as I knew they were better cyclists than me but I was having an awesome ride (my coach had suggested the term ‘hurricane legs’ & that’s all I kept thinking!) one of them only caught me on the last turnaround heading back to transition.

Getting off the bike and getting out of transition was a bit of a blur, my strength in duathlon is running so I knew I had some work to do and only 5ks in which to do it. As I approached each athlete I kept checking their race number to see if they were my age group and I’d get spurred on with each 30-34 age grouper I passed. I soon caught up and passed the other kiwi who had caught me on the bike, which put me back into the first kiwi woman position but I had no idea how many people were in front of me, its difficult to tell with a multi lap course!

The support from the kiwi team on the sidelines was outstanding! Its so great to hear your name being called when you’re out there racing your heart out. On my last lap of the run one of the guys from the team yelled out ‘Leave it all out there’, so I pushed as hard as I could crossing the line in 2.20.47 to be the first kiwi woman back. I knew there were two kiwis just a few minutes behind me so I waited in the finish area to see them come through, one of which got herself a gold medal!

It was such an amazing feeling to be part of a race like that, having the support of the team behind you and wearing the silver fern is one of the proudest moments of my life.

After checking the race results on the Sunday I was stoked to find out that although I was only 11th in my age group, I’d actually come in at 19th overall out of all of the age group women (254 finishers). I’d had the race of my life, one of those times where everything just comes together perfectly – I’d heard athletes taking about this phenomena, but had never experienced it until that day - it really does happen!

One added bonus of hanging out with the New Zealand team that I never expected, was that I met my future boyfriend there too! He came in 141st fastest in the men’s age group race!

Tauranga Half Ironman 2009 – National Long Course Triathlon Champs

Tauranga is just a long training day…the words were still ringing in my ears as the horn sounded for the start of the race. My coach isn’t keen on his athletes doing the race in Tauranga as it’s really only 8 weeks away from Ironman and with that being the main race for my season its important not to go too hard & pick up an injury & to recover properly afterwards. But I was there - it’s a great race, the Mount is a great place to hang out anyway but over the weekend of the race it comes alive with athletes from all over New Zealand arriving, training on the course & hanging out in the many cafes.

It can be a pretty intimidating race. For a start you line up with the likes of Joanna Lawn, Cameron Brown, Kieran Doe and this year Sam Warriner was racing…its not everyday you’re in the same race as an Olympic athlete! And secondly, the bikes and kit that is around is amazing!

So as I mentioned, this was merely a build up race for Ironman New Zealand, but Tauranga also doubles as the national long course triathlon championships – the qualifying race for world long course triathlon champs (which are being held in Perth this year) so I wanted to do reasonably well so I could qualify to race in Perth.



I went into the race not feeling too confident, my running in my build up wasn’t feeling great and my swim times were down on last years, but I had put quite a lot of effort into my cycling this winter so was hoping for a better bike split than last year.

The swim is a deep water start off the wharf in Pilot Bay and this year the bay way full of big pink jelly fish! The race started and as well as sighting for the buoys on the course we had to avoid the jelly fish too!

I had a solid swim and was pleased to be away from the Jelly fish! Conditions were good, it was warm, but had rained early that morning which meant the potential for punctures was much higher than usual. It also meant it was slightly overcast – perfect for the race. The bike course consists of three laps, the first is a long lap and the second two are shorter, all of them go back to transition and cycling through the cheering crowds at transition and carnage corner (so called because people riding round there at speed often slip on the sand across the road & end up spilling off their bikes) is such an amazing feeling. I was feeling pretty good on the bike, but it’s not my strength so I was getting frustrated at the number of people passing me, it’s a real mental battle when your legs just don’t seem to create the power that you want them to!

I was nervous getting off the bike & moving through transition onto the run leg, traditionally this is my strength but as I mentioned earlier my legs had been heavy for weeks & I was concerned that the combination of pushing myself on the bike (willing myself to do a faster bike split than last year!) and the heat would get to me. As I started the run I felt pretty good, it’s a great feeling to catch up to people & overtake them, my legs felt great! Approaching the turn around at the Asics car the road was so hazy because the day was warming up and the earlier rain was turning to steam! I had decided to take the first lap of the run fairly easy, but as with most racing environments that’s not so easy in practise! I had seen a friend of mine just ahead of me & I wanted to catch him up – more because I thought we could run along together as we’re about the same pace.

As we went through lap one I knew how far ahead of me he was & when I looked at my split I was amazed to see that I’d run the first lap of the run in 46 minutes, this was odd because I had really struggled in the run at this race last year, but still feeling good I kept up the pace. I came up alongside one of the people who had been at World Duathlon Champs with me & I chatted to her as I ran past. Eventually I caught my other friend on the way back towards the mount, we chatted for a bit & I realised I was running a bit faster, so I told him to stick with me (I don’t know what I had in my legs that day!), as we started the track around the mount I was really pleased that I train on the hills here in Wellington! Training on the hills must’ve done me some good as I still had heaps of power.

By this stage I was looking out for other females with F30 on the back of their legs (my age group) & hunting them down! As we got to the last hill on the mount I dropped my friend and carried on, passing another F30 as we hit the tarmac of the finishing straight. Now last year at this stage Sarah Ulmer (who was doing the race as part of a team) came steaming passed me much to my annoyance – she’s a cyclist – I’m a runner – it just wasn’t right!! This year I kept checking over my shoulder in case anyone was about to creep up on me. They didn’t I for the very first time I did a sub 5hr half Ironman! My official time for the race was 4.54.04. I was 20th female overall, 3rd in my age group and had the fastest amateur female run split of the day of 1.34.16!

I’m now back into training for Ironman, which is just 5 weeks away, unfortunately I’ve aggravated a bursar near my achillies, so I’m trying to be very sensible about my training, but all being well I’ll be back to running as soon as I can so I can make sure I’m run fit for Ironman…roll on March 7th!!

Around these parts Chris is affectionately known as "The Sherriff".
If you are lucky enough to be out training while everyone else is at work, you better have yourself registered for an ADVENTURE NELSON EVENT (see our EVENTS page), or there could be consequences, and sentences served!!

Chris is a very competant and well respected Race Director (Rollos series, Musselman) and is no slouch when it comes to stepping up to compete.

His goal is to compete at the World Long Distance Traithlon in Perth this coming September09.

Here is Chris on his most recent outing at the Taupo Half Ironman, December 08 - where he took 6th in the 45-49 yr category.

The green shirt literally shaving seconds off every lap!!

Wearing the Black Singlet....

I had always wanted to represent New Zealand in something, however as I have a background in multisport & adventure racing I never thought that in would be in Triathlon as I’m not a natural swimmer. But my endurance background had seen me line at full and ½ ironman events around New Zealand and as I saw it I would be slow in the water, but once on the bike and run it’s game on.

Game on alright that after I completed the Wanaka Half Ironman in January my time made in eligible for selection for the World Long Course Triathlon team that would race in Immenstadt – Germany in August. So once selected my worlds campaign fitted around by day to day life and the pending winter. These were not easy times as how would I fit in organizing the Rollo’s Nelson Adventure Race, Work, Training and Day to Day life and commitments? But my passion keeps me moving forward, so what doesn’t kill yah makes yah stronger attitude, my road to Immenstadt started to gain momentum. There was heaps of time….wasn’t there?

Suddenly it’s Monday 26th July and I’m standing at the Emirates check in, in Christchurch 6 days out from race day with the lady saying you are over-weight! Ah, I was lighter that ever before, fit & lean, but she was meaning my luggage, 6kg over. At $90 per kg my back pack sudden became 6kg heavier while she looked the other way.

The long haul to Germany was about to start, Christchurch to Sydney 3 hours, wait for 3 hours in Sydney, Sydney to Dubai 13 hours, wait for another 3 hours then 5 hours onto Munich, hang out in customs waiting for bikes then a 3 hour bus trip to our home away from home in Immenstadt. So after 30 hours of traveling, 7 movies, 9 airplane and airport meals, 5 beers and 2 cokes later one was ready for bed and after a pizza and another coke we hit the sack about 8.00pm Tuesday night local time.

The next morning was spent putting the bike together and eyeing up the other competitors gear. I took my road bike while 35% had TT bikes. I was unsure why as you only have 2 positions on a TT bike but with the Roadie with areo bars you have 4. Once the bikes were working we rode to the swim start with our wet suits in our packs and had a swim. Then it was off to the supermarket because we stayed in a backpacker situation so we elected to buy and cook our own food, but there was one difference, you couldn’t read what you were buying. So what would have been a 25 minute shop at Fresh Choice became a 90 minute stumble at V Mart. Shopping completed it was a short ride to the big climb of the race, 3 km from the start the road rises, and rises and keeps going for 1500m. I would liken it to the base of the Takaka High at Riwaka, so there was no sitting down on the seat here. On race day this spot would be passed twice and the crowds would be 4 to 5 deep, like the Tour de France. Once summited we descended back to town and rode back to our Guesthouse which was 5km away and a 9% climb up the driveway! That evening we were taken around the run course of the event.

The next few days followed a similar format, swim, bike or run. We did do a drive around the complete ride course and we rode the 30km hilly section to get a feel for the climb. Getting a sighter is a great idea as you know where you are and it helps with pacing on race day.

The only downer was that the weather was not as hot as the European summer had been and that were doing a lead up work in a mild 18 degrees, not what we had expected. I think I had left Christchurch at 16 degrees in mid winter. As Race day drew nearer focus went on having enough food, checking and then re-checking gear, cleaning the bike.

When I awoke on race day I was wondering how long would the day be and if luck was on my side I could go to bed a World Champion or was that with one? We were going to battle and as I put the uniform on I was thinking about the long road I had taken to get to this moment and the sacrifices that had been made and those who had been left behind. We were men and women in Black. Nothing was said, we all knew why we were there and the job we had to do. I quietly rode alone to the bike transition talking in every second along the way, trying to stay relaxed and in my happy space (and Jonah Lomu scores in the corner, you have all seen the ad). I racked my bike, checked the tyre pressure and wandered off towards the swim start. After a few nervous one’s and two’s, I donned the wetsuit .There were people everywhere, music blared from speakers and as I entered the water U2’s Beautiful Day (was this a sign)was booming across the start-line, diving in and stoking out in the staging area I stopped to suck it all in, a lone Kiwi flag was being held by a supporter, relaxed and calm, I was as ready as would ever be.

Now with 800 bodies at the swim start, once the hooter when it was more like a grade 2 rapid and It took a while to fine anything like a gap or calm water. But after 300m of bash, push, hit, slap I muscled my way into a gap and got on with my knitting. While I’m not the fastest swimmer I was surprised to be passing others. Soon I’m rounding he far buoy and heading across the lake to the 2 km buoy and the drag race to the beach…2km away, yep the swim was 4km. The 3km buoy is passed on my right, time to think about the ride, while staying relaxed in the water. I stand up 100mm for the edge of the lake, took the time to look around and suck up the atmosphere, while weeing in my wetsuit. Out of the water and through transition to the bike. Now we have our wetsuits off spectators can tell which country that you are from. ‘Go Kiwi’ is yelled from the crowd (it’s not rented today) Dan Barry yells out, then someone from the crowd yells Go Kiwi, I smile back and wonder who is that women as I head into the changing tent. I ride out of the bike transition and start thinking about the ride ahead, 130km of hills, the climbing in total would be 2000m so as I hit the 3km descent into Immenstadt I’m checking the bike out, gears working, talking on water, the big climb is about to arrive for the first time. And there it is, the 8% 1.5km climb. This is as close to the Tour de France it gets, the crowds are going off, it hard not to let it get to you, ride steady, out of the seat, 127km to got, man this is amazing, noisy, a gob smacking moment, once over the hill its out into the country for the next 3 hours, up, up, up down, there are people all around the course with cow bells, big ones and small ones. The support makes you grow another leg. The Australian’s are easy to find, they are in yellow. I say sorry about the rugby as I pass them. The day is getting hotter, I remind myself to drink and eat. At the summit of each major climb the old 80’s classics were being belted out, funny how you can remember where you were when you heard that song for the first time.

The ride was a long lap and a short lap. On the long lap we had an out & back, which was good to sight the front of the field. After 80km we climbed the hill that would take use back into Immenstadt. Time for a wee, and this was a chance to stretch the back. And once over the summit there was a 6km descent back to the big climb again. I was on the rivet, no gears left, maybe at 75kph during the descent and was passed by these Germans like I was standing still, they must have been downhill skiers.

Back into town and up the hill again and the crowds were deeper that last time, the kiwi supporters were on the bottom corner, man what a lift, this guy starts running with me talking the whole way up, I’m catch one of those fast downhill Germans, he attacks and drops me on the hill the crowd goes wild, I can’t respond but ride rhythm, 100 m up the road the German dies and I click down 3 gears and ride past him, I don’t see him again, good-bye Fritz. There is a new word being used, up, up up, super??. What dose super mean…crazy, mental or mad? I start passing more people, and it’s hard catching and passing Kiwis. But you need to know how to pace yourself also. I start discarding my empty drink bottles to the kids on the side of the road and one lucky guy scored my gloves...with snot all over them. One man’s rubbish is another mans gold so they say. Finally I’m descending back into Immenstadt for the last time, my mind moves to the run and having a quick transition. Off the bike, pass it to the marshall, run across the grass to be handed my bag, sit on the bench, shoes on, helmet off, visor on, gone, lap 1 of 3 started. The day is now hot, very hot.

My legs know that they have just had a long hard ride in the sun, so I start off at a steady pace, one that I know I can hold for the next 30km. I start playing spot the kiwi, and within minutes we start high 5-ing each other and offering support, team mates are walking, so I say run with me, encourage them to not walk. The run takes you out and back through town along the cobble streets of Immenstadt, pass the cafes and bars. The crowd is manic, Go Kiwi is a common call. Once back out past transition the run course follow the river trails out and around a lake area and to the hurt locker a 3 km out and back beside the railway line, many people are suffering here, the day is taking its toll. I’m still running steady and passing people at a steady pace. The key is to keep hydrated and I have a wee to check on myself, bright yellow, a little dehydrated, so I decide to take 2 cups of Isotonic drink at each aid station and use the water to keep my body cool. This works, I back in town again for the second lap, our supporters have moved to one of the aid stations, this lifts yah, as they high 5 you on the way past. Then as soon as it started I reach the 28km mark on the run, 2 km to go, I grab a cup of coke, nectar for the sole, 1km to go the body wants to stop, I running on vapor now and make a deal with it that it will stop but there are a few people in Zimmer frames in front of me that we need to pass first. As I enter the stadium for the last time, relief is the feeling, there is an American in front of me, his team mates are yelling at him telling him that I’m coming, as I hit the finish shot he is suffering bad, the next guy is 200m behind me , I’m not going to be caught, I say I won’t run you down, and I have had all day to catch you and back off to suck up the moment (I didn’t want him in my finishing picture). As I finish I had to step over him anyway.

So 9hours 12minutes after I started to the sounds of U2’s Beautiful Day I finished on the grass of the sports stadium in Immenstadt thinking...man that was a rush and walked away to have a little lie down on the grass.

While my trip to the start-line had some unexpected issues, I’m proud to have worn the black singlet for New Zealand and this journey will stay with me for life. I meet the team as a total stranger and when I left them we had formed a bold of brothers & sisters. Hopefully they won’t want Christmas presents! They were an amazing group of people who all gather together to represent New Zealand in one or the toughest World Triathlon Events outside of an Ironman. Some said that this course was on a par with Ironman NZ. Now if you have been to both, then you world know.

I was able to live my Dream and I hope you can take some inspiration from what I achieved and put into your own life or goal….Anything is Possible if you have the Passion to follow your Dreams.

I also must thank you all for the support, my Mum, my family, my coach – Coach Cooper for the guidance, Grant Jones for leading me his gear and drinking beer with me, Lionel for the swim tips, the team at Rollo’s for the hot deal on the Salomon’s XT Wings 2 and socks, Sujon for the Black-current powder, Stoke Cycles for looking after my beast of a bike and all the others that helped and supported in other ways.

So what’s next….well I signed on for the Lake Wanaka Half again this week and the goal will be to head the World Long Course Triathlon Champs again in 2011…Las Vegas USA. So watch this spot.

Chris ‘the Sheriff’ James

..we'll be yelling for your Chris!!

WildSide would like to welcome Harry Peasron to our Hall-of-Wild, drum roll please.... Harry will be sporting our famous WildSide-strip throughout 2009, and will be instantly recognizable at all the major events.   Be sure to say Hi to our Wild-Guy!

Harry has a colourful history in Adventure Travel, having worked many years as a Tour Guide through Africa, Asia, Latin America, Canada and Alaska.  I'm sure Harry would be happy to empart some of his fantastic travel stories and ideas should you ever ask.     He is our perfect ambassador!!


Current achievements and Goals:
"In my first ever multisport event, the Queen Charlotte Classic which was held on November 08, I came 3rd in the veteran mens section. I am now more determined than ever to try and get a podium position in future events."      Way to go!!

 Speight’s Coast to Coast
"Ever since I first heard of the Coast to Coast race I have wanted to face the challenge of racing from one side of the South Island to the other. This is the world’s premier multi-sport event and covers 243kms from Kumara Beach on the Tasman Sea to Sumner Beach on the Pacific Ocean.  My goal is to complete this race in 14 hours, which based on last years results, would place me in the middle of the top 10 of the veteran men’s (40 to 49 age group) one day event."      Make us proud!!


2009 Event Line-up:
Philip Wareing Memorial Triathlon - 2nd 40+ & 6th overall
Coast to Coast - finished in 14 hours, 46 minutes...8th Vet Mens, 56th Overall  from 187 individual competitors.

Harry, you aimed for top 10 Vet mens and acheived that with brilliant style....CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Along with WildSide, Harry is 'powered' by GROVE Avacado Oil, check out this 100% quality New Zealand product.

After 4 months of training, I woke up at 0340 at the Riverview Cabins, near Hokitika, after a surprisingly good sleep. It was dark and cold but thankfully fine. Had a busy start to the day as I got into my race gear while having a quick breakfast of porridge with bananas and boysenberries, washed down with some electrolyte. The 11 !!! support crew that I had with me were also busy eating, packing and trying to get to the one toilet!

I’d been trying to drink as much as possible the previous couple of days to ensure that I was completely hydrated for the race. Now the plan was not to drink anything from 0500 until 10 minutes before the 0600 race start, so that I wouldn’t get any urges to pee during the early stages of the race and this worked really well.

Henry, Richard and I got away at 0430, and so we were at the bike stands in Kumara by 0500, which gave us plenty of time to give the bike a final check and to set it up. Originally I set the bike up facing away from the road like the other bikes nearby and then turned on my lights and had a good look at it so that I could remember what to look for. However, while walking to the beach, I noticed some of the other bikes were set up facing the road which seemed more practical for a quick transition and so I turned mine around. However, I didn’t take the time to have a good look at it again, which would later haunt me as I tried to find my bike after the run from the beach. I also counted the steps back to the start of the bikes so that I’d have a fair idea of where to stop running and start looking for my bike.

Chatting to some of the other competitors during the walk down to the beach gave me a chance to relax a bit. It was quite cold and so I was very thankful to have a lightweight wool blanket to keep me warm (a great idea, thanks to Richard U!). The toilets near the race start were a welcome sight and after a quick visit there, I was ready for my big day.

I went down and touched the Tasman Sea and then did a bit of light jogging and some stretches before joining the crowd at the start area, full of anticipation. The countdown started, the hooter sounded and then we were off. Had a great run up to the bikes, passing more people than were passing me, and was probably in with the front 50 competitors and all psyched for a quick transition onto the bike when I realized that I didn’t have a clue where my bike was! I asked someone else who was collecting their bike, for their number and was told 110. My number was 44. In the excitement I’d run straight past my bike (counting every 2nd step, rather than every step!). Now I had to run back 50m through all the people I was in front of and still find my bike (I’d forgotten that I’d turned it around, and so started looking for my flashing rear light rather than the front light – damn!!).
Fortunately when I did find my bike I had a pretty quick transition onto it thanks to some practice and ideas from Nige. Then it was a furious pedal to make up for lost time and get into as good a bunch as possible. I soon got into quite a large bunch and could sit back and relax a bit, and contemplate the ‘stuff up’ that I’d had at my first transition. I was determined to put this out of my mind though and to focus on more positive things and concentrate on the day ahead. It was going to be a long race and anything could happen.

In contrast to the front few bunches, no-one was really motivated to do any work in this bunch, and so it was a pretty slow ride as most people were trying to save their energy and get someone else to do all the work. I soon got fed up with this and a group of four of us managed to break away and make a push for the next bunch. We worked really well together, but once within about 400m of the next bunch, fellow Nelsonian Ken Page and one of the other guys got away from us and so there was just 2 of us left and we ended up working really hard for about 20 minutes, before we finally caught the bunch up, which seemed to slow down as we soon as we caught them!! That was a grueling start to the 55 km ride, but at least now we were in a more motivated bunch, with the likes of Elina Ussher, who unfortunately had missed the first couple of bunches.

Matt Ellery, also of Nelson, was doing heaps of work at the front, without much help from anyone else. Once recovered, Ken and I also took a few turns at the front, but unfortunately the majority of the 30 or so other riders didn’t want to do anything, which was pretty frustrating, especially for the likes of Elina, who was determined to catch up to the 4 girls in front of her.

It was just under 2 hours from the race start when we got to the transition for the mountain run, and I was feeling great, and well hydrated after drinking the 1.5 litres of electrolyte that I was carrying on the bike. We were only 4 minutes behind the race leaders.

Had a great transition thanks to a supremely organized support crew, who were really easy to spot in the crowd, with their bright green caps and white ‘Grove, Avocado Oil’ T-shirts. Then it was into the running. I had hoped that the mountain run would be one of my stronger stages in the race, but I’d severely sprained my ankle 2 weeks before the race while out on a training run and even though it was taped up, I was very cautious and didn’t want to roll it again. Still, I felt pretty good, but my legs just didn’t seem to want to agree, and they just felt tight and strained, and not relaxed at all throughout the next 4 ¼ hours. Then I just couldn’t believe it when the cramp started setting in on my first river crossing, but I didn’t feel too alone when on the second crossing, Elina, who was just 2 places ahead of me, screamed in pain and came to an abrupt halt with even more severe cramp than mine. The guy in front of me stopped to help her while the photographers swooped in like vultures to capture the suffering of one of the race favorites.

Meanwhile, I just kept going at a steady pace, while taking some ‘cramp stop’ spray every 10 minutes or so, though this didn’t seem to help much. I also got stuck into a tube of berry flavored ‘Peak Fuel’ gel which tastes great, especially when you’re having a tough time out there. Surprisingly, despite what felt like a slow pace, I wasn’t passed by many people and after about an hour into the run I found myself running with Matt and Ken. It was great being amongst friends from Nelson and to joke a bit as we started clambering over bigger and bigger rocks as we headed into the ‘big boulders’ section of the race. That’s where they left me though, as my legs still weren’t 100% and I didn’t want to push too hard with my dodgy ankle. Anyway, I figured if I just took it safe and steady, I’d be able to step up the pace on the down hill section once I got over Goat Pass, especially along the boardwalks.

I ended up spending the last half hour approach to Goat Pass in solitude along with the first half hour or so down the other side, which was really quite nice but it did feel kind of eerie, given that I was racing against 186 other competitors, none of whom I could see. Once I got onto the nice flat boardwalk, which is the start of the downhill section I tried to increase my pace a bit, but my legs just felt weak, tired and sore and really lacked any power – it was so frustrating. I can only put all this down to going too hard on the bike (and possibly the first run), which was definitely not in the original race plan, but seemed justified at the time (we got into the run transition 6 minutes before the next bunch, but how much time was I loosing now?!). At least I was warm enough, and I was very thankful that I’d decided to wear a shortsleeve ‘Icebreaker’ tee under my ‘Wildside’ cycle top along with my Icebreaker socks, as there was a cold breeze and the river water was very cold.

I was carrying 2 litres of High Five Xtreme electrolyte in my daypack so that I could take sips whenever I wanted and not have to mess with getting water out of the river. After a few hours into the run this really started to do it’s magic. I became much more focused and energized, so much so, that when a couple of guys did pass me down on the river flats about an hour before the end of the run, I managed to stay with them to have a much faster finish.

The mountain run ended up taking me just over 4 ¼ hours and by the end of it my legs were completely shot and I was really looking forward to getting the 15 km cycle stage out of the way so that I could sit down in the kayak – I’ve never looked forward to sitting down in a kayak seat for 6 hours, so much!

Once again I managed to come into the next transition well hydrated after I’d slugged back a 750 ml bottle of Xtreme in the last half hour of the run (I’d been carrying Xtreme powder in a bottle and filled it up in the river after the 2 ltr bladder had run out). My support crew did another amazing job of getting me onto my bike in no time at all, and I spent the next half hour swigging back a bottle of vanilla flavoured ‘Ensure’ (tastes like a thickshake), to maintain my bodies protein and nutrient levels, and a bottle of electrolyte.
Had a great 15km bike ride followed by a pretty slow 800m jog on run weary legs down to my 5.7m JKK Eclipse kayak. The day was warming up by now and so I decided to get rid of my Icebreaker thermal layer, which I was to regret for the rest of the race, as the combination of a strong cool headwind and the cold water soon took away any extra body heat that I had, and I’m sure I lost a lot of energy as my body tried to stay warm during the kayak and later on during the last cycle leg.

Once on the river I eased myself into a nice steady kayaking stroke, determined not to push too hard and end up cramping up. I followed another guy for a while and once warmed up decided to pick up the pace a bit and started passing a few people. Fortunately the paddlers in front of me all took a good route down the first shallow braided section of the river, and so I didn’t have to think where to go or portage anywhere. Once in the gorge, the wind started to pick up and became really gusty, and I saw at least 5 people tip upside down on the rapids and swim, with no apparent attempt to roll. It amazes me that so many multisporters can’t roll their kayaks. Meanwhile, I was concentrating on staying upright, as I knew that even if I did do a roll, if I got really wet, I’d probably have to stop and put on some warmer clothes

The Waimakariri gorge is a really spectacular place to paddle and despite the annoying wind, this was the most enjoyable part of the race (especially combined with the relief, and warmth, that you get from having a good long pee after busting to go for ages). Actually, peeing in the boat felt so good and relaxing, that I ended up doing it two more times before I got out of the kayak 5 ½ hours after first getting into it (definitely the longest time I’ve ever sat in a kayak for).

The kayak leg went pretty well. There were a few nervous brace strokes in the rapids but I managed to drink plenty and eat a few cold boiled potatoes, some banana cake and the one banana that survived the rapids. Once I got to Woodstock, I knew that there was only about an hour of kayaking left and so I really dug in and put the hammer down which enabled me to catch a few people and even get past Ken somewhere, though I didn’t recognize him. I’m sure that the High Five ‘Xtreme’ electrolyte I was drinking also helped me gain energy, focus and determination. By the time I got to the next transition, my arms and shoulders were really suffering, but that was fine as all I had to do now was run 400m or so up a hill, and cycle 70km to the finish at Sumner Beach, in Christchurch.

Henry had me hauled out of the kayak in no time and then it was run time again. I tried to run up that damn hill as fast as possible, but my legs just didn’t want to cooperate, as I watched other competitors and their crews pass me. Henry later told me that he was walking up the hill faster than I was ‘running’!
Had a bit of a slow transition as I was cold and tired and wanted dry socks to put on before the bike ride. I ended up borrowing some off Richard, but they were double layered and proved to be a mission to put on – at least they were warm and dry. I forgot to tell my support crew why my socks were so wet!

It took quite a while for my legs to warm up for the ride, and so I just took it easy for the first hour or so, because the last thing I wanted was to start getting any cramp. There was also a punishing headwind that made the going really tough. During this time Ken past me. However, by the time I got to the outskirts of Christchurch, I started feeling really good, once again I’m sure helped by 2 bottles of High Five Xtreme, that I was drinking my way through. So, I really picked up the pace and felt fantastic as I powered through Christchurch with my head down and my speed getting up to 45 km/hr.

I flew past Ken, to his amazement, and all he could say was, ‘Where did you come from? Last time I saw you, you looked stuffed!’ Ken and I leapfrogged each other for a bit, depending on how lucky we were at the numerous traffic lights and then he followed me down a wrong turn that I took – sorry mate.

At some of the roundabouts and junctions there were no signs telling you where to go or anyone to direct you, and so there were many anxious moments looking for signs to Sumner and hoping that you’re on the right road. This was definitely the most poorly organized part of the event and very frustrating. What race indication signs there were, were orange and I saw one off on a major side road and so decided that must be where we had to go, only to find out that it was a ‘Thank you’ sign, to thank motorists for taking care while driving along the course. That’s the little detour that Ken followed me down.

I eventually did get away from Ken, and using all the energy I had, powered my way to the finish. When I saw the ‘5 km to go’ sign, I really dug it in, but that 5 kms just seemed to go on for ever, and there was no way that I could slow down, as I knew that just around one of the bends, there would be the finish with crowds of people waiting to cheer me on. Finally that finish shute did come in sight and I somehow managed to get off my bike without falling over, and stumble across the finish line 14 hours and 46 minutes after leaving Kumara Beach on the other side of the South Island.

Matt had come in only 30 seconds before me and I’d beaten Ken by nearly 4 minutes (guess he wasn’t as lucky as I was with the last of the traffic lights).

What a huge day!! I was so pleased to have finished that I couldn’t help smiling – I felt on top of the world. It was such a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by my awesome support crew and various multisport friends from Nelson that came up and congratulated me on such a great race. I’d come in 56th overall out of 187 competitors, 43 of whom did not finish. That gave me 8th place in the Vet Mens (40 – 49 yrs) category and so fulfilled my goal of coming in the top 10.

I’d like to thank all the friends that I’ve made in the Nelson / Tasman multisport community for their advice and encouragement, and especially Nathan Fa’avae, Andrew Martin, Richard Ussher and Chris James (who gave me heaps of assistance to get me started). Also, special thanks must go to:

My 2 sponsors, which are small but fantastic companies, for their financial assistance:

Grove Avocado Oil

Wildside Travel

And lastly, but most importantly, my support crew, without whom I could not have done the race:

Fiona and Alison did an amazing job in organizing everyone into their various roles following our only transition practice, which was on the afternoon before race day.
Mum and Dad, as always, were very supportive and helped heaps before, during and after the race.
Henry was always there for me during the transitions, motivating me and ensuring I kept moving.
Maria took loads of great photos.
Pete took care of the kayak and kept the transition areas clear.
Alison (the provider of the fabulous green hats) ensured that I was fed and watered during the race.
Billy gave lots of enthusiastic support, despite being only 4 years old.
Freya was fabulous at the kayak transition, in ensuring my gear was put on in the right order.
Nige got the support crew T-shirts down to us in time and was invaluable in helping me with my run – bike – run transition training, prior to the race.
Richard and Henry did a fantastic job in fine tuning my bike and keeping it that way.

Of course there was a lot else that went on behind the scenes and I thank you all heaps for making the Coast to Coast race such an enjoyable and memorable day for me. Thank you!!!

SPRING CHALLENGE 2008

The All Girl Adventure Race, staged in Kaikoura on Saturday 27 September 08 was quite an outing for the 'green-team'!

Green we were, our first taste of Adventure Racing and enthusiasm and eagerness to get amongst it, had us peaking on all levels!
But having no idea what our 'level' was, we entered under the guise of 'lets just enjoy the day out'.   Only to find we were thrill seekers from way back, and let rip on the river enjoying as many overtaking manouvers as we could muster.  Being keen road cyclists we found  ourselves moving through the field at quite a strong pace.  The revised route suited our strength and begfore too long we were toying with the front 7 teams as we went into transition.  Mt Fife had us mumbling under our breathes, but we timed our exit from the hill before the rain set in.  The last sleeted head-wind cycle toward the finish, the fatigue setting in, the dog-legging joy-walk prior to the finish line became a mental torment...and we still dont know where the 'sprint finish' came from - deep deep within we figure!!

The WildSide team celebrated a 4th overall in the 40+ (9.00 am) section...and a very comendable 18th overall (from 150 teams).

XPD 2008 Thredbo NSW :: Team 33 – Securify.co.nz

By Colin Slater 

Why oh why oh why ?

Well another year, another expedition race. Given NZ’s lack of a multi-day race and a general lack of support for ExpeditionNZ which was supposed to happen about now our thoughts turned to XPD again. After last year’s race in the Whitsundays the lure of the Thredbo Alpine Resort played heavily on my mind. Sadly the team wasn’t playing so much this year – Barryn was off at the TransRockies MTB race in Canada and Fleur has escaped to ChCh and putting some focus into C2C so it didn’t look too hopeful.

After some general humming and hawing I put it to a couple of friends that maybe we should be out there this year and strangely, maybe it was the beer, they agreed. So we had a base of 3 and set about persuading our 4th member to come on board. Shortly after entries closed (a small detail) we had myself (Colin), Dave Rudge, Jo Holden and Jerry Sheppard – all we had to do was sell things to get the 8K entry fee!. With that done we started to think ahead. Jerry and I had both done last years race so know what is in store from a logistics perspective. Talk of having several pairs of shoes were shut down quite quickly and dreams of long candle light dinners were also replaced with the stark reality of cold Backcountry!. Saying that, we’re all mates and the idea was to be out there going hard and having a bit of high speed tourism. The area looks pretty cool and I am fortunate enough to have trekked through there many many moons ago (when I was young...).

“We have a piper down, a piper down.....”

So all was well – we had a team, we had paid, winter wasn’t as bad as it could have been, I managed to get a month of riding in the UK summer. We organised a 140K MTB ride round the Big Coast one Saturday in August. All went well for the first 40K, however, our shortcut through Tunnel Gully involved the first of several old train tunnels. As I rode in I went temporarily blind and collected the wall but managed to keep going. Behind me I heard a thump which was Jo hitting the deck very hard having suffered the same fate. Now, Jo’s a hardy wee beastie and her pitiful cries for help alerted me to the fact she probably was actually in some pain!. Upon closer inspection her shoulder was making a rapid escape round the front – Bleeeurgh. Long story short Hutt Hospital (via Jill Westerna driving the Jillbulance) managed to put it all back in and dispense comforting words and sugary Tea. We were told in no uncertain terms to carry on with the ride – and it hurt.

“We have a target in our sights Miss Moneypenny...”

After a few weeks of convalescence the team had to sit down and make the hard call on whether Jo would be able to make it through the race. Unfortunately it was pretty much unanimous that it would be a bad idea so the hunt was on for a new #4. Our criteria were extensive, expansive and extremely extreme. However as fate would have it we knew JoJo Forbes was sunning herself in the Bahamas and was not racing XPD. A few quick emails and JoJo enthusiastically sacrificed her holiday of Rum Swizzles for breakfast for long beach runs and paddling with sharks in the tepid(!) 32 degree sun. The cow. So now we are 4 again.

The plan by Dave Rudge AKA Mr Detail

So here we are 6 weeks out. ¾ of the team spent a long 4 days training in the Sounds last weekend. Based in beautiful Clova Bay we biked in from Picton via the QCT, trekked around some of the hills, did a circumnavigation of Crail Bay and then biked back out again (although only to Portage this time – the bar was open ;-) ) A fantastic 4 days visiting Jerry’s mum and doing farm things (like sitting in the spa) and good miles on the legs. Plans are afoot to do a complete run through of the Free24hr course we have put together for the race on Labour Weekend click here for details next weekend and then we’ll have a few other team missions before we finally head off on November 15th. Of course the logistics of an unsupported race are pretty immense not to mention the excess baggage bill – we are still sulking over Qantas taking us for $900 on the way out last year! But Andrea has sorted us out nicely. We’ve got some general bits and bobs to do but nothing massive – oh apart from finding a van to get us from Sydney to Thredbo of course.

So thats us, Team securify.co.nz is Colin Slater, Dave Rudge, Jerome Sheppard and Jo Forbes. More info on XPD can be had from XPD.com. More updates closer to D-Day.

Cheers

Team Securify.co.nz

WildSide wish to extend a HUGE CONGRATULAIONS to Team Securify for their  totally Epic race results at this years XPD Australia.  To finish is to win...but to finish in the top 6 is just mighty!!    We feel very proud and thrilled for you and your excellent finish.


A few notes from the team.....

Firstly thanks for all the messages of support and congratulations. I don’t really think its sunk in that we actually did something pretty special in this race and finished in a very respectable position. I’m very proud to say that as a team we worked incredibly well with no real dramas and just got on with business. Sometimes it was even fun although the weather was a major factor and it pushed us to the edge of comfort a few times.

When we finished on Tuesday night it was a whirlwind of emotions for us all, when you are pushing yourself like that for such a long time it’s hard to stop and get back to reality. A few beers helped of course but we were pretty whacked. We’re all suffering from a collective team cold so the last couple of days have been spent sifting around and cleaning gear. We had a BBQ last night with all the other kiwis and toasted our collective success.
We’re in Thredbo until Sunday AM and fly back to NZ Sunday night – we’re all looking forward to seeing our loved ones.

I think we can call 5th in Premier Mixed and 6th team to finish the ‘full’ course an overall success.

Indeed Guys!!

Team securify.co.nz

Colin Slater, Jo Forbes, Dave Rudge, Jerome Sheppard

XPD Edition 4 took place between 19th-27th November and comprised over 800km of non-stop adventure racing. Race start was Mt Buffalo with teams only having been given the course information and maps the day before. The course was a point-to-point race from Mt Buffalo to the SE of Thredbo heading generally in a NE direction.
Immediately we could see there were some killer legs on this race which we thought would be key points of the race. The first of these was Leg 3 a very testing 85km trek over some extremely high and rugged terrain. Added into this was the weather factor with the forecast becoming increasingly ominous before race start. The course was long, very very hilly and with few apparent shortcuts in case things went bad. The team though was happy with the general layout, liked the point-to-point aspect and was ready to start......with a 5 hour bus ride to the start


Day 1:
Up at 5am to get some breakfast and then jump on the buses to leave at 6am for the race start in Mt Buffalo. Race legs were Trek 25km onto a 60km MTB (with some BIG hills) and then the big 85km trek over Mt Feathertop and Mt Bogong (Vics 2nd highest peak). The start was clear however very shortly the rain came in and that set the tone. The trek/run was hard and the 1800m descent to the MTB start killed our legs. Out onto the MTB and we were all suffering from maybe going a bit hard, not much food could be taken and the hills were killing us. Things settled down and we got in the Harrietsville TA to the long trek literally seconds before it began to pour down.

Day 2:
Started curled up on the floor of a concrete pergola in TA1 as we grabbed 2 hrs sleep before hitting the trek. The rain was so hard it didn’t seem like a great idea to head out straight away. Up with the lark we got out there as the rain stopped. What a day though – mostly spent going up and down in clouds, cold rain, high winds etc. We made steady progress and each hid in our jackets (the benefit of good gear is apparent on legs like this) until we hit Falls Creek which was the halfway mark for the trek.
It’s fair to say we were mainly negative as we came in here – sore feet, extreme cold and knowledge we had another 12-14hours to go over Mt Bogong (Vics highest peak). Mustering up our team courage we bashed on and went for it – chasing to avoid the dark zone on the next river paddling leg. We monstered our way to the bottom of Mt Bogong in the wee hours and slept for 90 minutes in the tent by a creek in the moonlight.

Day 3:
Got up, prepped feet, clean dry socks, consulted map and proceeded to walk straight through the river! So much for dry socks. We hit the summit of Bogong at dawn and for the first time in the race had views and felt really positive. The drop down ‘Staircase’ took the sting out of our tails and put it firmly in our knees. A lovely 12km road trek saw us into the TA feeling good but with very sore feet. Arriving at the TA it was clear there were some omissions for the paddling leg – kayaks. High river levels due to the rain had us adding another 8-10km walk down to the next get in on the river – a cruel blow considering the pain of our feet. An ice block on the way lifted the spirits though. At this point we knew there had been big attrition on the long trek and there was only around 1/3 of the field left on the ‘full’ course – one of them being Team securify.co.nz – yee ha!.The temp range we were experiencing was incredible - top of Bogong we had everything on, at the river we were in shorts and tees and sweating.
The river was a 'Grade II' whitewater paddle but little did we know. Setting off was a relief to be off the feet at the very least and we also knew were a reasonably strong paddling team. The first couple of riffles came and went with no dramas, then we came to a large rapid with an island in the middle. We had been told to take the left channel but Jerry and Col decided to buck the trend and go right. The result will be long documented in the annuals of the 'crap kayaking technique' as they got smashed and then pinned on a rock. To be fair they were simply laughing as they tried to extract the boat while Cols blue bum-saving rubber ring made a break for freedom. After that slight mishap a quick detour was made to empty to the boat (and dry bags that bucked their name). Heading on with no major problems but lots of quizzical looks as the river was quite scary with metal waratahs in the middle of drops and flow under the willows on almost every corner.
Eventually the TA was in sight and we managed to get some stuff dried in the sun. Next leg - small matter of a 210km MTB leg with some savage hills. A leisurely transition saw us head off in the evening before dusk. Almost immediately we hit a 900m vertical bike push - a pattern that seemed to be becoming eerily familiar in this race. If we could ride a climb it was considered a minor miracle. Pushing to the top we were starting to have some fun - fun doesn't always have to be fun which was our team motto. A great downhill followed and we big-ringed it out to the town of Eskdale in the very early hours. Again, with pure luck as we hit town the rain came down in sheets. We made for the lights of the Eskdale primary school and found a brilliant covered area with taps and sheltered from the wind. An executive decision was made to log some sleep here, have some hot food and then bash on when the rain had abated slightly.

Day 4:
Some more team spooning and great backcountry hot porridge saw us pedal out as the rain stopped. We made good time from here passing 2 teams - Girls on Top and Nga Rakau. Heading into the newly added CP9a (put in for safety reasons) we all agreed that we were in 5th gear now and moving and managing ourselves really well. Sadly just as we made to bolt from CP9a a marshal appeared and told us the race was 'on hold' and we had to stay. At this point i should say that while the weather was bad we were quite used to being in it however it seems a few teams were having such a hard time they put a lot of pressure on the race organisers to shorten the course. This was then augmented with the fact that a lot of snow was falling and the Parks authority were also on the case about sending racers into the alpine environment. A no-win situation for everyone really but would have been happy to carry on as we had the right gear and skills to keep moving.
So with that blow we made for the marshals tent and had a brew and sleep. Nga Rakau turned up, then GoT so there was a party atmosphere with lots of stories and laughs. We were then told that the race was being moved to mid-camp and we'd be bussed there. Everyone grabbed some sleep before we eventually made it to mid-camp. The race was to be restarted at a time TBC and Jo Holden had thought ahead and got us tickets for the roast dinner at the local pub :-) A few beers, a roast dinner and even more stories and shared experiences saw us bunk down for the most ultra mega superb luxurious 10 hour sleep ever!

Day 5:
Waiting at mid-camp the forecast was not great with lots of snow falling and low temps in the areas we were heading for. Some course changes were forced as well with one trek having to be bypassed as it had more than 1m of snow across the whole thing!. We were also warned that the race MAY finish after these 3 legs (thereby missing a paddle, bike and final trek). So quite hard to plan for that - race really hard and pray that it does stop there or manage yourself with something in the tank to find you have too much leftover, hmmmm. We made good time on the MTB with some spectacular light and views, onto the rogaine the temps had dropped and were in the snow. Jerry and Col made a slight nav error and that took us a couple of hours to resolve - disappointing for all but part of what AR is all about, making decisions and managing risks. We nailed every other checkpoint and made good time through the night but we all suffered from the cold and some niggling injuries.

Day 6:
Out of the trek/rogaine we were back on the bikes and cursing lost time. All negative thoughts were banished with a good team talk on the way out and positive thoughts were re-established. The MTB started with a monster DH to a river where we all piled into one kayak and hand paddled across a beautiful river. Bearing in mind we had spent more than 12 hours in the snow the shock of the 35deg heat and a MONSTER climb had us back to reality very quickly. This is biggest climb any of us had ever done - 25km+, 1500m height gain. We started in a hot river valley and topped out in 3ft of snow on an alpine pass. This was brutal and were chewed as we had not slept since mid-camp. Getting into the TA at Denison we knew the next paddle was on as were the other legs to the finish so we had to make a mental readjustment. We knew we had made great time on the ride but were suffering from lack of sleep so had to quickly work out the best strategy. A team head scratch and we decided to head out on the paddle and sleep for a couple of hours out on the water somewhere. The paddle was, erm, interesting. It was Lake Eucumbene but the first 10kms went in a river with rapids - not somewhere we would wanted to have been at night!. Near the end we hit some flat water and an obvious campsite so stopped, flung the tent up and conjured up a fire.

Day 7:
Two hours of lovely sleep and were back on the water at 2am and making good time on the water. All those early morning paddles in Wellington had paid off and great Nav by Dave and Jerry had us into Eucumbene Cove TA very early in the AM. The next bike ride was another monster set of climbs, while the length wasn't huge it certainly hurt but we could smell the finish. A visit to the hidden coke machine in Perisher ski resort gave us enough fuel to get into Charlottes Pass. A quick transition and we were out on the final trekking leg over Mt Kosciusko and aiming for a 9pm finishing time. Col was suffering a bit from tendonitis so had to take some hard pills (as told by the team) and limp to the finish.
A great climb up to the top of OZ gave the team an amazing view and some much needed sun. Running down through the snow they were intercepted by Jo H who had come up and as the 5th team member was as much a part of the success as the other 4. The merry gang made their way along the metal walkway to the top of the Thredbo valley. Sadly with no chairlift running the painful descent had to be made into the valley to the finish but at that point no-one really cared how bad it was!. With the sun starting to hide behind the mountains we crossed the line at 8pm. Tired but very very happy with the result and the race in general.


Massive thanks to everyone that supported us through various means - all our families, partners, Eastern suburbs sports trust who supported us to XPD financially, Earth Sea Sky, securify.co.nz.

Team securify.co.nz

Colin Slater, Jo Forbes, Dave Rudge, Jerome Sheppard