Wildside Travel are proud to call the Adventure Sport team 'locals' and enjoy supporting them to their race events.  

The guys are well focused on their upcoming 2011 - 2012 events :

• Wulong Moutnain Quest
• Mainpeak Multisport
• Motu challenge
• Xterra World Championships
• Anaconda - Perth
• Lakes to Lighthouse
• Anaconda - Lorne
• Coast to Coast 12  (Elina)

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

Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 2010

The Mission
It’s amazing how fast time goes – already the end of another year and time for the 4th instalment of the Abu Dhabi adventure challenge, now a regular on our December calendar.

This year we were heading back to Abu Dhabi with the same team as last year, Nathan and Marcel, Elina and I, but with the team racing as the Thule Adventure Team.

Travel is almost without exception the worst part of the whole process and so we were relieved not to get too much of a mauling on the excess baggage thanks to a very generous manager at Singapore Airlines. Maybe it was a good omen for the race?

The usual pre race activities ensued over the following two days – a mega food shop, gear checks, and media. It was nice to finally hit the sack the night before the race knowing in the morning we’d be into the racing.

This year the format for the race was quite different than previous editions. Each day had either multiple sections or for the first time outside of the prologue, sections with multiple disciplines. The course had also essentially been reversed with the mammoth Desert and Kayak sections now at the end of the race rather than at the beginning. It was going to be interesting to see how it affected the racing.

Day One: Prologue (morning)
The prologue this year started with a mass Le Man’s start. Fifty teams of four sprinted across the beach on the Abu Dhabi waterfront to their inflatable canoes for a short blast around a short course and back to the beach. It was the first time canoeing had been included in the race and many teams found keeping the boats on course a challenge. Our team had the largest run to the boats and so we were swamped by the pack as we neared the first buoy. We managed to move through the field steadily though and by the first CP we were well placed as we raced out onto the run. We were quickly into the lead and building a buffer and hit the swim portion with a good gap to second. The swim was our weakest leg as a team but it was my lack of a hair cut that had unexpected ramifications, when on sighting for the next buoy my goggles were covered by my rather long hair (note to self – have a hair cut next time or wear a cap!). We were still leading out of the water and raced back to the canoes for a longer leg in the canoes across to Lulu Island and a short orienteering section. By the time we returned via canoe to the finish there were still teams heading out to the island making it hard to judge who was behind us. Waiting on the beach Team Thule Europe came through in second, over six and a half minutes down, leading a large procession of teams.

The Prologue had again served up some surprises and we’d managed to gain some valuable distance on the completion. This would give us a bit of flexibility in our strategy but more importantly it gave us a buffer for the afternoon run section where we anticipated being under fire from the known runners in the field.

Day One: Bike - Run Section (afternoon)
After a two hour transfer to Al Ain we had some preparation time on the bikes. The main concern though was finding some shade as it was a very hot day.
We decided on the bike section to try and stay near the front but not exert ourselves too much as once the bike was finished we were straight into a six km run over a small Mountain section which promised to be far more challenging than six kilometres sounds on paper.
As soon as we started Elina went flying off the front and strung the bunch out immediately, the supposedly neutral start was at a swift pace and the bunch was not only strung out but completely fractured by the time the flag dropped and we were racing for proper. There were still about twenty teams with us but apart from the Abu Dhabi tri team no one seemed particularly keen to do any work. We were quite happy controlling the front and just riding tempo but as we approached the final few kilometres we started to wind it up to see how the other teams were feeling. The final three kilometres were rougher as we headed off road and gradually the group was whittled down to only a few teams.

We hit the transition with a few seconds in hand and after a quick transition headed out for our final section of the day. We were surprised a little as our advantage seemed to be stretching reasonably quickly as we ran up the ever increasing slope of the valley until we hit the main climb of the day. We could see the other teams reaching the base as we climbed, we now had almost a minutes lead. We climbed for almost half an hour over steep rocky terrain with a mixture of scrambling and running before we started descending to an abseil site. From here we could see the finish not far from the base and as once through the abseil we sprinted the final kilometre across the plain to the finish of the day and the camp for the night.

Again we’d made valuable time on our competition and more importantly we’d done it on a section where we’d been expecting a massive struggle with other teams to gain any time so confidence was definitely high.

Day two: Run – Bike – Run
The Jabel Hafeet is a Mountain on the edge of Al Ain that rises close to a thousand metres straight up. Our mission today was to ride to the highest point of the access road then descend on foot to the base and back to the top again. By far the most difficult day we’d faced on the Mountain before in this race.
Before we could even contemplate the ride though we faced a run back to where we’d left the bikes the previous day. The mass start was a slightly more measured affair this morning. No doubt the effects of the day before, paired with the knowledge today was going to be extremely testing and this was only the beginning.

We arrived at the bikes at the head of small group of teams but again managed to jump away from them with a speedy transition. We’d targeted the ride up the Jabel Hafeet as another potential strength and worked hard to keep clear of the chasing teams on the six kilometres to the base of the climb. Once we hit the climb it was hurt time and the whole team worked to keep the pace high. On the lower slopes we could see a team several minutes back but we appeared to be making good time over the field. The climb is almost fifteen kilometres long and it was a relief to see the transition finally come into view after almost an hour of climbing.

Quickly into our running gear, a top up on the fluid and we were off into the rocky terrain for a section that promised to extremely hard. At almost one thousand metres in elevation the temperature in the early morning was still quite mild but the shimmering sun rising in the distanced promised that some brutal heat was on its way.
The first portion of the run we were able to move well with running still an option in many places. We were pacing ourselves and were all feeling good when we reached the start of the long rope section. This was probably the highlight of the whole race for me. The organisation had fixed ropes essentially top to bottom through a canyon and then back up an adjacent canyon. The ropes meant we were able to race safely through an area with lots of exposure and that would have usually required a large amount of care and skill just to descend and ascend through, let alone race through. The ropes slowed every ones progress though and the constant on and off with carabineers to the fixed lines plus several tricky areas where extra care was required concertinaed the field. Being at the front had the obvious advantage of avoiding the bottle neck behind. We could see the occasional team behind us but although sometimes they were only a hundred metres behind the reality was our lead was probably very similar to what it had been at the start of the section due to the difficulty of moving through some of the areas.
The final portion of the descent was easier thanks to a large abseil which delivered us to the bottom of the canyon and meant we only had the return journey back to the top to make. It was now getting really hot and we were already into rationing our water knowing it was still going to be at least two hours back to the finish by our best guess. The ascent seemed easier in many ways, going up always seems to be a more natural way to progress through the canyons and the foot and hand holds were easier to find. The canyon was also still often in the shadows keeping the temperature down. The teams further back wouldn’t be so fortunate and as is often the case the lead teams would benefit from the more favourable conditions.

As we approached the top of the canyon I think we’d all used the last of our water but the temperature was only climbing too and as it always seems to be in these races it was a relief when the finish came into sight, only ten minutes or so away.

The small shop at the top of the road again profited hugely from the racers as cold drinks, ice creams and anything else edible was quickly snapped up by the teams as they arrived. We’d again stretched our lead out, now to around twenty five minutes with Thule Europe in second and Wenger from Switzerland in third.

After a small break we were back on the bus for a transfer towards the Liwa desert and the start of what would surely be the most Epic section ever undertaken at the challenge, a ninety four kilometre mountain bike and then straight into one hundred and twenty kilometres of desert running, with a twist. This year we would be going the opposite way to the prevailing wind, meaning instead of climbing the shallower faces of the dunes on harder sand and descending on the softer steep faces we’d be going up the steep soft faces. Only time would tell as too how much of a difference it would make.

Day three and four: MTB – desert run
It was rude awakening for most at two in the morning to prepare for the following sections. We would have thirty eight hours from the start to complete the section. The finish of today was too far away for anyone to really contemplate adding to the tension in the field.
At four in the morning we set off on the Mountain bikes, loaded up with food and gear for the best part of two days, we had to be totally self sufficient except for water that would be supplied at designated points along the route. The start was chaos as teams struggled through the first sand drift crossing the road only metres from the start. Soon after the field had started to sort its self out and we headed into the darkness in a group of around fifteen teams. The road was good to start but after twenty kilometres we were diverted onto a rougher temporary road as the main road had been ripped up for repairs.
The paced stayed relatively moderate to the first CP where we managed to avoid much of the congestion and headed out with Thule Europe and Wenger and clear space behind us. Soon after we started the climb off the main route and onto the route we had biked on in previous years, but in the other direction. The dawn was finally breaking as the climbs started and more and more sand drifts blocked our progress. Our team was all riding 29er MTB’s and the extra wheel size mean we could get through more of the sandy sections without walking and soon we’d dropped Wenger. Thule Europe was fighting hard to stay with us and we were content just to keep the pressure constant. Often they would have to bridge back up to us after the sand drifts taking extra effort and not far from the transition at Qsar Al Sarab we gained a small advantage that we would keep to the end of the section.

With thirty minutes compulsory change time we readied ourselves for the desert with plenty of fluid, made sure our gaiters were secured well to keep the sand out and plenty of food. In no time it seemed it was time to go and so loaded with as much water as we could carry it was off into the dunes with Thule Europe tracking us a couple of minutes back.
We reached CP’s two and three with no dramas and at the third had a tactical decision to make. We wanted to make as much progress in the day to take advantage of the daylight for navigating but this would mean running through the hottest part of the day and also judging how much we would be slowed buy the fatigue of the almost five hours on the MTB. Every team had to take eight hours of compulsory rest time during the desert at a maximum of two stops. These stops had to be taken at CP’s but in another tactical consideration there was only water at the mandatory CP’s. Thule and Wenger decided to stop but we loaded up our entire water ration and headed out for the first option CP. It was eleven in the morning by now and it was getting really hot but we also knew the hottest part of the day was in the afternoon and that whoever stopped would also have longer to run before they could afford to take their second break.

We made it through the first optional CP with no issues but it was now very hot and with eleven kilometres to our proposed rest point it was going to be a test of the teams will to keep the motivation, and to keep the pace high all the way. The terrain had now changed and we were finding out firsthand how difficult the direction of travel was going to make the desert this year. The sand was so hot now that when climbing the steep slopes it would burn your hands if you put them into the sand to help climb, further adding to the situation. Two and a half hours later we finally struggled into CP4, glad to see our ration of water and some jeeps behind which we could escape the direct glare of the sun.

It is extremely hard when you have a limited ration of water, each person had only four and a half litres for about twenty kilometres of travel which was right on the limit of requirements. It would have been easy I’m sure for the team to drink half our ration at the rest stop. We decided to wait and see what was happening behind us before committing to a plan of action for the following sections. At a minimum we knew we needed about two hours to recover enough to push on through another optional and on to CP5 where we planned to have the remainder of our rest.

Closing in on two hours rest and only Adidas Terex had arrived, apparently the only other team on a similar strategy to us. We packed up and with forty five minutes of light remaining set off at a run towards the next optional. This section flew by and we were soon on our way to the next compulsory point, contemplating continuing to the following point before resting. It didn’t take long for those thoughts to be banished though as in the darkness we hit an area of seemingly impassable dunes and after an hour we had progressed little more than two kilometres on the GPS. Drastic action was needed with the map showing no respite until the CP and we deviated into some salt flats and then got our first taste of climbing directly up the massive steep and soft dune faces. In reality this first one was only a small climb, maybe one hundred vertical metres but where every step up resulted in sliding at least half way back down. It was a frustrating and tiring experience. Once on top though our travel did improve and we managed to avoid any other detours on the remainder of the trip to our final ret stop. We arrived having covered around seventy five kilometres leaving forty five to knock off after a well deserved sleep.

By the time we woke up and were preparing to leave the CP was full of teams, most of them asleep, some just arriving and a few also preparing to leave. This was where we would see whose strategy had worked the best. We were the second team to leave but the team in front sounded like they had missed the optional CP’s meaning we were effectively leading the section once again. With darkness for another two and a half hour the navigation wasn’t about to get any easier and it was a massive lift for everyone as the dawn started to creep across the sky. As it lightened up we were just topping out on one of the largest dunes and had spectacular view across the desert, the early morning light accentuating the vast array of different colours in the sand.
Our packs were really heavy as we’d taken our entire ration of water with us, even though in the cool of the night we didn’t need as much. We’d calculated that we’d be finishing the last section in the hottest part of the day and that was going to stretch our last ration beyond what it would probably last so we decided to take an extra bottle each to supplement it. Running out of water in the desert was not an appealing thought.

Heading for the final optional CP it was apparent that it was going to be a real sting in the tail of the section. Straight out of the CP a major steep face had to be climbed and by the look of the map there would be multiple other climbs if we wanted to take a direct course. We’d been travelling alone for the entire desert section and apart from the first two controls had barely seen another team. It was a huge shock then when climbing another large sand dune face we looked back across the salt pan and saw two teams running towards us. The adrenaline started to kick in once again and we set off at double speed. The dune we had just climbed had taken us almost twenty minutes so we knew that our gap was still reasonable but not quite as safe as we’d been thinking just minutes earlier. Now close to the middle of the day and the desert once again resembled a furnace; the faster pace forced us through the fluids quicker, lightening the loads we were carrying but adding a small voice of caution over the possibility of running out too early.

The final CP came into view from the top of the dunes and we raced down through the waves and bowls carved out of the sand by the wind, no time to stop as we started stop watches and raced off toward the finish twelve kilometres away. By the time we were out of sight there had still be no sign of the other teams but we were back into full race mode and hungry for the finish. The last section of our satellite map was very hard to distinguish, and we were left with a little guess work. We chose to follow the lay of the land through a series of valleys in the direction of the finish where we decided to stay on a straight course rather than head south to several large salt pans that went directly to the finish - once you reached them. At the speed we were travelling we thought it would be hard to make up for the extra ground covered to reach the flats and that the penalty of climbing one more set of dunes should prove at least equal, if not quicker.

Seeing the finish come into view was magic, after so long fighting to get there and the promise of unlimited drinks the teams step lightened as we headed down to the last flat and across to the tents. We got confirmation that we were the first team to appear on the full course from the announcer as we approached and all that remained was to see how close the teams had got to us.
We’d been at the finish quite a while when reports started to come through about the next two team being in some difficulty with lack of water and it was almost an hour before they finally made it into the finish where the relief of some water was evident even from a distance. The desert had been substantially harder than previous years and only seven teams had made it to every optional CP.
Another bus transfer followed to the coastal town of Mirfa where the following day we would start the final section, a two day kayak back to Abu Dhabi and a finish on the beach where we’d started the prologue six days earlier.

Day five and six: Kayak
We awoke early to load the kayaks but it was evident that the kayak was going to be a real challenge as a really strong wind had blown in overnight. White caps littered the bay and with the course heading almost fifteen kilometres off shore it was evident the weaker kayaking teams were going to be in for an epic day. Shortly after, while we were having breakfast there was an announcement that the start was to be delayed and not long after the cancellation of the day was announced with the day to be spent in Mirfa, before a bus transfer to Abu Dhabi the following morning and an alternate course. While it was disappointing for not to be paddling the reality of the situation was very few of the teams would have been able to complete the course safely and the right call was made.

The day was spent getting sand blasted on the beach and by the transfer the next morning most people looked worse than after the desert section.

After the transfer everyone prepared their boats for a thirty three kilometre loop course around the protected waters of the Abu Dhabi waterfront. We’d been waiting all race for the kayaking section and wasted no time in getting away from the rest of the field. Thule Europe was also going well and behind them the field was strung out over several legs. By the final loop the effort was taking its toll but we had a good buffer and were able to enjoy the final portion and run up to the finish with clear water behind us.


It had been an emphatic victory for the team, nine stages, nine wins and a margin of victory approaching an hour and a half. The whole team had supported one another the whole race, racing hard but smart and the result was beyond anything we could have hoped for.

Thule Europe finished second and Wenger held onto a well deserved third spot. Competitors agreed it had been the toughest of the four editions of the race but also the most exciting format.

Thanks to Thule for their support of the team for the race
Thanks also to all of our regular sponsors who enable us to continue racing and training at the highest level and to 2C Solar caps for the caps for the race.

Richard added another title to his COAST collection after sitting out the last year to support Elina in win in 2010.

A return stronger and fitter than previous attempts, and more relaxed he tells us.... Richard takes the 2011 title in a record time.  He shares his race report with us....

Coast to Coast 2011

I’d been contemplating a return to the Coast to Coast race for a while and with a little pushing from our major sponsor Subway and a realization that I just simply didn’t have the motivation for an Ironman race this summer everything fell into place for a return to the event that started my career in endurance sports.

The build up over the start of summer had gone well but I found myself in a very different headspace than previous attempts at the Coast, no longer was the anxiety reaching fever pitch levels over the result and about the biggest excess was in the consumption of ice cream.

Race day dawned fine and not too chilly, I was changing my mind every few minutes it seemed as to how many layers to wear to start as I knew whatever I was wearing under the bib had no chance to come off until after the kayak.

At the hooter it was utter chaos as we scrambled up the beach onto the road for the first 3 km down to the bike stands. I was aware that the best chance for getting a break away early would be to stretch the run out and then put the pressure on straight away on the bike. This seemed to be a common train of thought and by the bike stands we had already established a small split in the field and once on the bikes there was quickly a group of around twelve guys lapping it out and steadily increasing our margin over the main field.

The pace was pretty easy, especially with lots of people sharing the work and it was much more efficient than is usual in the main pack, so our lead built quickly and without any stress. By the transition to the run it was nearing ten minutes back to the rest of the field and a healthy margin for us to head into one of the more decisive sections.

Carl Bevin shot away to an early lead in the run having cycled in his running shoes and was running well, I quickly passed two others who’d had similar tactics to Carl and I could see several others chasing not far behind.

It took the best part of five kilometers to overtake Carl and then he dropped in behind keeping pace easily and at times in the rough stuff accelerating ahead as I blundered my way through the rougher sections.

By Goat pass Carl had dropped off and I had no idea as to the state of play behind me. I was considerably behind my planned schedule but the high rivers were definitely slowing the pace down as well as my lack of co-ordination, which saw me take more than one tumble.

By finish of the run I glad to have made it through the section and to have a small lead, I didn’t know how much but no one else had apparently come into sight yet so that was at least five minutes. The legs were feeling good and the bike ride flew by as the tail wind swept us down to the Mount White Bridge and the start of the kayak.

Once in the boat and I seemed to immediately lose my bearings – the river had dropped significantly over night and now the section I’d paddled only two days before seemed almost foreign. It sounds as though a few people had issues picking up the correct channels and although I never ran out of water I am far from certain it was the quickest line.

Huge clouds of dust swept across the river flats in the bigger gusts of wind and made gripping the paddle a little harder to avoid it being blown out of your hands a necessity.

Not long after I started into the gorge section I came across several people that looked like they were in the two-day race, quite a shock I can tell you, as normally it would have been another hour before I even contemplated seeing anyone. Soon it became clear there had been carnage in the two-day event due to the wind. Jet boats appeared ever more frequently ferrying people out of the river and more than a few boats had been left on the riverbank for retrieval later.

There were definitely a few moments where I was forced to put out a brace and just wait for the wind to subside as the whole top deck of my kayak flexed in the wind. Apart from this the kayak section was enjoyable but the time away from the boat for the last few years saw the endurance a bit lacking and I could feel the protest in the arms and back over the last hour.

Gorge Bridge is always a relief to get to – a good mental recharge with all of the support there and the knowledge the finish is only one section away. I got a split for the crew who said Dougal was in second now but apparently twenty-seven minutes back. Something drastic must have happened and planted a small seed of doubt in my mind as to the accuracy of the split.

Onto the bike and there was a huge tail wind to push us into town. I decided to cut back my target wattage a touch given the lead seemed safe and save a bit of energy for the final thirty kilometers where we would surely strike the usual head wind as we closed in on the finish.

I was amazed once up to speed how fast the kilometers were ticking by and the speed seemed to rarely drop under fifty kph. It occurred to me that a sub eleven hour time was a real possibility but that even ten hours, forty five minutes would not be out of the question so I set about trying to do the math’s on it. I get a bit slow mentally when racing and so it took me a while to figure out how fast I would need to go. The math’s got easier when an hour ticked over and I’d covered forty-seven kilometers. Twenty kilometers to go and with an average of forty I would sneak under ten hours forty five minutes.

I got onto my target watts and felt comfortable, the wind was now more of a cross head wind but not so strong and being in town meant a lot more shelter as well. The support on the streets was great as usual and as I dug it in for the final ten kilometers it gave me a lift as I went past each group of people.

Running onto the beach was enormously satisfying, it’d been a great day and a good feeling to returned to the race and done well. I stopped the clock at 10:41 and a handful of seconds. The conditions had been freakish, maybe once in a lifetime, and helped me to go faster than I would have though possible.

Fifteen minutes later Dougal Allen claimed second. It was a bit of shock as to how close he was give the time split out of the river which turned out to be incorrect and we’d been very similar on the final ride.
Dougal will definitely claim a Coast title for himself sooner rather than later and behind him a wave of new talent filled the remaining podium spots.

In the women’s race Sophie Hart had a great race and went within a minute of breaking Andrea Murray’s record. Elina came home second to cap a good day for us. She was philosophical about not winning and it sounds like there is a good chance I will be back in the support crew to see if she can step up one more place next year.

We’ve got a number of races over the rest of the summer including Nathan Fa’avae’s new race the K-Bar which also doubles as the NZ Multisport champs in Kiateriteri and has a great format for races and spectators.

Thanks to our great support crew for both Elina and I, and also to all the people who gave us great support in the build up and during the race, especially Forrest Estate wines for the entries and Reid for giving up a whole week to drive for us on last minute training missions.

KBar NZ Multisport Championships

The last couple of years have seen some hard work behind the scenes in the setting up of the NZ Multisport association and with the first edition of the Kaiteriteri Beach Adventure race (KBar) it saw the fruition of one of the many objectives with a fully sanctioned race for national titles.
The race was the brainchild of former (well kind of current semi retired but often still kicking every bodies ass) professional AR and Multisport racer Nathan Fa’avae. After looking at the current state of racing around NZ and the rest of the world Nathan saw the potential to bring an updated form of the sport to New Zealand’s shore.
The format with a centralized transition area, multi-lap format and no support crew is akin to triathlon’s off road format Xterra and similar to the hugely popular Anaconda Series in Australia minus the swimming.
Personally I feel this is the future of Multi-sport, while there will always be a place for the iconic longer races like Coast to Coast the shorter format has a host of benefits from racing and support logistics, media coverage and spectator accessibility to name just a few.
The shorter form should also encourage closer more exciting racing and will mean that the young guns should start challenging the established athletes sooner with their natural speed and youthful exuberance.

With all the events in Christchurch in the week prior racing definitely didn’t feel particularly high on the agenda. It resulted in a few understandable withdrawals and everybody’s thoughts were with people in Christchurch, in particular family and friends who’d been affected.

The racing was split throughout the weekend with Saturday being devoted to the age group races while Sunday would see the Elite titles decided and a selection of other races held throughout the day.

The age group racing was super exciting and the kayak leg even more so for me as I got to hoon, I mean responsibly, make my way around the field making sure there were no issues in my official capacity as water safety….on a jet ski – not a bad start to the weekend. The merits of the loop format though became quickly apparent as once the last kayakers had reached land all the water safety crew were off to the central transition area to catch up on the racing and cheer on the athletes. There were some great performances and despite a slightly less than Kaiteriteri day with a bit of morning rain everybody seemed to really enjoy the occasion.

Sunday dawned fine and warm and with the Elite race not starting until 1pm there was plenty of time to watch the other racing and make sure everything was working smoothly.

THE RACE

The race was one lap of the run course, just under 3km before we headed out on the paddle course for two laps of about 6 kilometers. From there it would be onto the Mountain bikes for 2 laps of a simply unbelievably fun course before the final run consisting of 3 laps.

The plan for me was to try and break away early and get a buffer heading into the MTB and run as I’d been taking it reasonably easy since Coast two weeks earlier but was confident in putting in a good paddle.
I had company though as we came round to complete the lap and head into the paddle with Dan Moore hot on my heels and the others only a few seconds back.
Onto the paddle and I was quickly joined by Nathan Fa’avae who was temporarily swapping his race directors hat for a chance to give me a good thrashing in the ski paddle where he was racing with one of teams intent of making sure I wasn’t first to the finish.
Nathan and I were able to quickly gain some advantage on the chasing pack and on the way back I too found myself drifting back from Nathan. Unfortunately there wasn’t much swell from the sea breeze meaning we had to actually paddle the whole course. The pattern remained the same until the end of the paddle where I’d built up a good gap over Marcel Hagener in 2nd and Trevor Voyce in 3rd.
Onto the MTB and by the time I had transitioned I left with a deficit to the front team of about a minute, which was a great carrot heading into almost 8km of climbing. After the climb you reach the top of the MTB Park, which is full of incredible riding. The opening segment is a track called Velocity where some steep sections certainly mean it lives up to its name regardless of brakes. I’m sure a few people felt terminal should have been added to the name too.
The next 8km of track is just one great track after another from tight and twisting to fast flowing track there is a bit of everything.
By the end of the second lap I would have been quite happy to head back around for a 3rd lap but plenty of time for that another time.
Off on the run and I really had no idea of what sort of gap I may have had and so it wasn’t until I started on the 2nd lap I got word I had a comfortable gap to second. I was feeling pretty good but each time up the hill on the lap was tough and then trying to co-ordinate the legs for the fast descent meant I was grateful to complete the final lap. Behind me Trevor had had a great MTB to catch Marcel and then put in the fastest run of the day to secure 2nd with Marcel rounding out the podium.

As I finished my attention was directed to two figures striding around the first part of the run course. It was the leading women Elina and Fleur heading out for the first of their 3 laps. Ten minutes later they emerged back into view, still inseparable and by the third lap the crowd was going wild as they headed out for the final time. There was plenty of anticipation as we waited to see who would emerge onto the beach first for the final 200m to the finish line.
It was Fleur who had the bit of extra gas in the tank this particular day and crossed the line for the national title after a super close race with Elina wrapping up second.

The comments at the finish seemed to be universally supportive of the race format and it was noticeable how many of the general public had made their way across to follow the race.
Congratulations to everyone who picked up a national title and thanks to everyone for supporting the race – I certainly hope it will gain more support next year as Nathan and his crew did a great job with the event and he is also thinking of pushing it back into March to allow people to recover and refocus after Coast to Coast.
Also a huge thanks to the Kaiteriteri recreation board, that put up the prize money for the Elite field. For all of those athletes who want to see the elite level of the sport prosper it’s important that you make that clear by attending the races that are putting back into the sport by supporting the top end with cash prize pools.

Red Bull Wulong Mountain Quest

We headed to China for the fifth year in a row for the race in Wulong. This year we had the support from Champion System and APA.co – based in Hong Kong. Joining Elina and I were Nathan Fa’avae and Trevor Voyce, both from our hometown Nelson in NZ.

Our summer in Europe has been different this year with a break for a few weeks and then a great block of training. The change of focus meant we arrived in China feeling much fresher than in the past and ready to begin what will be a super busy 3 months of racing.

Prologue

A few teams were already suffering the effects of food poisoning or something similar - among them Dougal and Jacob from Team Toread. The Prologue this year was in a new venue and so no one knew what to expect. After the usual fanfare, speeches and displays it was down to business.
Our race almost came unstuck seconds after the start when Elina was trampled to the ground along with several other members from leading teams.
We were dead last by the time we'd picked her up off the ground and started chasing hard.

By the end of the 2km uphill run we had fort back to mid pack and jumped many of the teams in the transition to the rickshaw carry. This involved three team members carrying the lightest team member who got to enjoy the ride in a local chair with long poles for the others to hoist on their shoulders. This was a good leg for us and we emerged at the start of the Biathlon in second place behind one of the fleet footed Chinese teams. Their girls are also very light to carry!
The biathlon enabled us to gain more time and despite being a little undone by a shorter than expected course we headed into the MTB portion in first equal place.

We decided to use just running shoes on the bike given it was only six kilometers and save the time it would take to change into and out of our MTB shoes. The course was actually quite rough in places making it a bit tougher than expected, especially in running shoes on our small clip in pedals. We seemed to be coping better than the other teams though and managed to build a good lead. After safely negotiating some pretty loose down hills we raced back through the outskirts of the town and into the final transition.
Just under 1500 meters later it was all over for the day.
We managed to build just over a minute over the second place team, Out there USA and team Toread came through for third despite the sickness issues around 4 1/2 minutes back.
The Australian team Peak Adventure actually crossed the line in third but were penalized two minutes for riding in transition and ended up out of the top five. Thule who were also involved in the crash at the start came home in fourth, only 10 seconds behind Toread but with their girl Mimi with a injured arm.

Up tomorrow is the longest day - some swimming to shake things up and apparently a big uphill on the bikes along with a canyon section and a long kayak.

Wulong Day 1

Was super hot at start and looking like one of the hottest days that we've ever raced in Wulong in.

The start was a biathlon (2 bikes per team, only one person per bike at a time) and everyone set off with their different strategies, we seemed to choose a good one and after a couple of bike to run swaps we were out in the lead.
It was already heating up and by the start of the swim it was a welcome relief to hit the water. We made good time across, all be it very slow due to the shoes and lifejackets required for the return with 2 bikes and a raft.
Once we were all safely on dry land it was up to pick up the bikes and then while Nath and Trev strapped them on the tiny 2 man raft I started swimming while Elina was tucked down on the floor of the boat. As they caught up I got a towrope and tried to avoid being keel hauled.
Onto the bike section and after some fun undulating riding we hit a monster climb that we were on for well over an hour and topped out almost 800 meters higher. A fast descent followed and led us into the 15 min rest area.
We'd been there 10 mins before ‘Out There’ arrived after some mechanicals on route, but we'd left for the next section before any others arrived. We all agreed it was a super tough ride and that all of the teams that had sick members would be really feeling it.
Trev and Nath got to abseil off the bridge as the weight of the ropes meant it was more practical for the heavier members of the team to do it. Elina and I got to run down a road that for a couple of kilometers appeared to be heading in the opposite direction - not that much fun on tired legs. We all met up at the bottom for a really fun hour of canyoneering.

The water to start was so refreshing but as we made our way down the temperature became like a warm bath and did nothing to cool us.
I was starting to feel a bit low on energy but nothing seemed to be helping. Just before the kayaks we had to progress through some very deep sticky mud as the lake was super low meaning an extra kilometer of running and the last portion literally crawling trying to stay on top of the mud.
Into the kayaks and I was going downhill so we switched boats and I tried to help Trev as much as possible to keep up with Nath and Elina.
It was relief to get to the only CP on the lake meaning we'd covered at least 65% of the paddle but it wasn't so nice to then run out of drink. Luckily between the team we had a little and we made it the final few kilometers to the last stage, a run and caving sections.
The hike up from the lake is hundreds of steep stairs and Trev kindly gave me a tow and Elina helped out with a push.
We also finally got to gauge where the next team was and it looked like we might have around 20 minutes lead although my speed on the final section was probably meaning they were cutting into it. The cool of the cave was a welcome relief and so was the finish. It was a super tough day, very hot and possibly the hardest course we've ever done in Wulong.

Out There arrived about 16 minutes later and then it was another good gap back to Swedish team AXA who took a very good 3rd for the day.
Thule and Toread arrived close together about 40 minutes down before teams started arriving at more regular intervals.
The prize giving was held in conditions that resembled an oven and my body showed its displeasure and I had to make a hasty trip behind the podium to throw up what seemed like about 5 liters of fluid and a smattering of this mornings breakfast.
I almost instantly felt better and a few ice blocks later the pain of the day was slowly fading away.
I'm pretty sure it was a case of too many gels and sport drink and not enough water to dilute it mixed with the vicious heat. I’m usually fine and enjoy racing in hot climates but it can bite anyone quickly if you get things just a little wrong. I don’t think this case was the food here luckily but it does feel a bit like Russian roulette going to eat at the hotel

Day 2

A good day for us considering, about 10pm last night Elina started throwing up and joined the ranks of the sick, by 1am it was only getting worse so we got the doctor which was a weird and frustrating experience trying to get some medicine and being told she was sick because of the weather and too much Red Bull plus a host of other suggestions which firmly smacked of a large dose of denial.
Finally we managed to get some stuff to help, we have no idea exactly what it was but at least she stopped throwing up every 30 minutes.
By the morning she was feeling worse although thankfully the vomiting and diarrhea abated long enough to get down the hill on the bus to the start.
Given the circumstances we were firmly focused on just getting through the day and trying not to surrender too much of our lead if possible, only time would tell.
Getting under way with the kayak we were probably fortunate that it was a staggered start and we were able to make it to the kayaks still first and get underway without any hassle. Nath was with Elina and flogging himself to help take some of the load for her.
By the end we had a small buffer and during the next MTB stage we managed to cling to some advantage up another long hill climb before we missed a turn off on the course and ‘Out There’ slipped by.
We backtracked and shortly after arrived at the rest TA. This broke things up well and once we restarted we surprisingly caught ‘Out There’ during the cave and Abseil section. Nath had a scary moment when the webbing on his harness broke right at the top of the rope and although on later inspection it didn't seem a complete failure was eminent he wasted no time in getting to the bottom of the ropes.
Onto the last ride and we could see ‘Out There’ for most of the ride and final run and we finished just under 3 minutes down to preserve a good chunk of our lead and leave ourselves well in the fight for the top spot tomorrow.
The racing was far closer today and teams were pouring in soon after we got back. There were a lot of extra sick people today including staff of the race so it sounds as though it is finally being taken seriously.
AXA were 3rd again continuing there impressive race and after that it wasn’t long before Thule and Toread arrived - Dougal still looking terrible but the rest looking a little more alive than yesterday.
Tomorrow is looking like a hard day - a lot of running so we will be looking to race for the overall rather than the top spot on the day. Hopefully Elina recovers a bit, she was pretty amazing today given she hadn't eaten anything that had stayed down in almost 24 hours by race start.
It was a great team effort though and everyone did everything that they could to make the whole team move as quickly as possible.

Wulong final day

Elina was thankfully feeling a lot better but still very wary of any food and Nath has had the flu all trip so our game plan for the final day was to be more conservative and just try to make sure we were in font of ‘Out There USA’, our closest competition.
Toread's sick team members were all starting to improve and keen to prove a point as were several other teams who'd had issues with sickness.
The start was a lot cooler as we started at almost 2000m elevation which in turn had some of the athletes more worried about the height than the heat.
The race started with a relay where each member had to run to a point, pick up a type of vegetable and carry it back in a traditional wicker basket. After this initial scramble Toread showed their intentions and pushed the pace.
We already had a small buffer on ‘Out There’ and were content to track Toread and Thule who were also keen to push the pace.
By the end of the first run we'd dropped almost 800 vertical meters to a small lake and started on short paddle section. We quickly pulled away from Thule and closed surprisingly fast on Toread so that by the end of the paddle we were on a few seconds back.
The next bike looked like it would be difficult and the final run at over 20km was consuming our thoughts though and we decided to stick to our plan of covering the other teams and racing for the overall rather than put it on the line for the daily top spot. The ride started with a big climb and we were able to see Toread for most of the ride, the gap stayed almost identical but for the extra minute we had taken in transition getting a bit of extra hydration. The pace was very easy though and with no teams catching us from behind it was just more of a buffer we had for the final stage. Once the climb topped out we had a fast and long descent that we were all mind full was dropping us further and further from the finish elevation, now almost 1km above us.
The ride proved to be a bit shorter than expected and so the 15 min mandatory TA was reached with everyone still well prepared for plenty more climbing.
As teams arrived we were able to gauge our buffer to ‘Out There’ which now had an additional 6 minutes and over 20 minutes in hand for the overall.
A spectacular abseil followed our short break, down through an amazing set of natural arches and we then set off on the final run.
One of the hardest things about the race sometimes is trying to decipher exactly what we are in for - the last run was predicted to be 1 hour 45 minutes but was listed as 22km. With over 800m of vertical to gain it was obvious one or both of the predictions was out.
We climbed surprisingly quickly and we would occasionally see Toread a couple of minutes up a head, we were more than content to take it a touch easier with two further running races immediately after the conclusion of Wulong and so we weren't taking any stress about keeping it close.
Once we topped out onto the flatlands at the top of the mountain we assumed that the time must have been right and it wouldn't be long - maybe 30 minutes to the finish.
This proved to be wrong as the course seemed to wander along forever, often past points we were sure would lead to the finish. After almost 20km and 2.5 hours of running we finally spied the finish line only a short distance away. All that was left was a quick shooting challenge. With high-powered Paint Ball guns we each had to hit a target within 5 shots or run a short penalty loop. No one was that keen for even a small extra run and provided the necessary focus for us all to be successful with the shots.

Toread took the day and also did enough to secure third overall after AXA had a nightmare day and dropped over 40 minutes with mechanicals and other issues. Surprise of the day was Champion System Adventure team from Hong Kong taking 3rd on the day for there best ever finish in Wulong.



It's always a great feeling to cross the line of any race in first but especially a big one like the Red Bull Cup Wulong Mountain Quest. We felt like we had dodged a bullet with Elina's sickness not proving costly as well as the remainder of the team avoiding any issues from the food. It is was obviously tougher on a lot of the other top teams but in the past two years we've also encounter the same problems, unfortunately it has become part of the race for these few years. The organization has already announced though that the race hotel will be moved next year and that should hopefully solve the sickness issues and create a more level playing field and add more depth to the top tier of racing, as at the hotel prior to this one there never seemed to be any issues surrounding the food and illness.

I can't say enough of our team, It's always great to race with Nath, he was a bit sick this year but is so good at managing himself and adds so much to any team, Trevor was a rock, super strong all race and I'm sure he will be on many more winning teams in the next few years. Elina went to Wulong so focused and even a night of throwing up and no food for 24 hours in the middle of the race barely seemed to faze her.

Also massive thanks to Champion Systems and APA.co for there sponsorship of the team for Wulong.

Epilogue

The day after the finish of Wulong we headed for two more races, this time in the very north of China along the border with Mongolia. The races were both running only and set in different portions of the Gobi desert.
We’d been told varying things of the races but they all proved to be widely inaccurate and the trip descended into a bit of chaos and at times felt like a bad dream you just can’t wake up from.
The main issue was getting there – our travel itinerary was like this – 4 hours Bus, 4 hours flight, 1 hour bus, 8 hours train plus all the waiting time and with tired and sore bodies from the Wulong race it was hard to see ourselves getting great results in the runs!
The first run was a 25 km desert run, the first 10 kms were quite pretty with some dry canyons and interesting features before we headed out onto what seemed like a never ending flat gravel plain and into the teeth of a howling wind.
Elina and I raced side by side with Marcel and Fleur and Jacky and Mimi but lost out on the sprint to the line by virtue of our towline being too long. We had the strange situation of being first and last in a group of six!
None of us however we any match for the Chinese with the first 3 places all going to them. The leading mixed team had some pedigree though with them being from the Chinese national marathon team and PB’s of 2:12 for the guy and 2:29 for the girl.
See how they go in a kayak though!

Another monster transfer – this time 7 hours on a bus to the hotel and then another 90 minutes to the start meant weary bodies and subsequently quite a few people didn’t start the last days 30km individual run, Elina among them after deciding she needed to focus on recovering from some injuries and the racing in NZ and Australia coming up.
I set off feeling pretty good but lacking much zip in the legs. The quickest of the Chinese runners disappeared quite fast and I ended up pacing off the second group of Chinese runners.
The route was very flat but covered in spiky bushes and so there was a lot fo weaving in and out between them. The lighter runners were able to stay on top of the crusty sand it seemed but in places I was breaking through with every step – oh to be 50 kg!
I was actually feeling pretty good for most of the run and ended up coming in 10th overall and first westerner, the same Chinese guy 2:12 marathoner won easily by about 6 minutes and I was only about 4 minutes off 2nd so that was positive plus some great training.

With the run done, it was time for the epic transfer in reverse to begin, unfortunately there were no showers either so it was a rather ripe bus heading back to Hami.
All in all it was an interesting trip – very different than expected but unique and a place very few westerners apparently get to see. Now all any of us wanted was some normal food and some proper rest in a bed and not on a bus!
We would almost literally have spent more time on buses and trains than at hotels or race venues on the trip.

We’re now heading back to NZ, will be great to be home after 3 months away. We’ve got plenty of racing planned in the next few months so should be a few more regular updates.

You can also follow me on Twitter for regular news on what we’re up too

A massive thanks to all our regular sponsors as well, they are an integral part of what we do and wouldn’t be possible without them

MAINPEAK race – Perth WA

After arriving back in NZ after 3 months in the European summer and racing in China on the way home Elina and I had only 8 days in which to recover before heading to Western Australia for the inaugural Mainpeak Multisport race in Perth.
Unfortunately Elina was carrying a few injuries from China courtesy of some crashes and was still also in recovery mode from the bout of food poisoning she received there. I was feeling great until a couple of days before we left when I succumbed to the dreaded man flu.
You know something is wrong when you are wearing all your warm clothes but still freezing cold on the plane, but everyone else seems quite happy in t-shirts.
By the time we arrived in Perth I was severely worried that I would be just a spectator on race day.


The format for the race was a 7.5km run, followed by a 55 km Road bike, a 24km run, back onto the bike for 33km, then the option of paddling 7.5km of whitewater or running a further 12km and finishing off with two further paddling sections, the first 16km and the last 12km.

The day before the race we got our first look at the whitewater section of the river, which was quite different to most of the rivers in NZ that we paddle in Multisport competitions. The Avon river holds one of Australia’s biggest paddle races each year – The Avon descent and the challenge varies wildly depending on the water level. It sounded as though the flow was unusually high for this time of year – not meaning that the water was massive – more just that there was enough water to make paddling the top section feasible.

It was characterized by slow moving water, often through Ti-Tree groves which required some nimble turning skills and then 3 larger rapids which were mainly pour overs with no chance to avoid a bit of rock bashing. We were paddling plastic surf skis for the section meaning the rocks weren’t much of an issue but it was a different mindset to be attacking rapids in plastic compared to the care usually required to get a composite boat through unscathed – which would have been a big ask!
On the largest of the rapids, Bell’s – which has a fearsome reputation Elina had a swim in the main chute and bashed her knee pretty badly. Luckily the pool at the bottom provided a place for her to clamber up on the rocks while Ken our guide and I searched in vain for her paddle. After scouting the pool and several downstream we finally discovered her paddle in a strainer only metres behind her when we walked backup to collect her.
That evening Elina’s knee was super sore putting a start in doubt and my flu although marginally better still had me hacking up what looked like yellow porridge.

Race day dawned fine and clear – and far cooler than I had anticipated Perth would ever get too, not that nice on a raw throat and sensitive lungs! The pace was quick right off the start with a group of about 6 runners forming our lead group including Sean O’Neil who I expected would be my main competition. Sean really put on the pace as we reached the uphill and I decided to just keep him in view rather than push too much right at the start. I was very aware that a week of doing nothing but being sick was going to leave my energy levels vulnerable and a more cautious approach was needed.
I had my first bit of good fortune when Sean and another lead runner took the wrong track, and the rest of us passed through as they were quickly back tracking.
We all hit the transition close together and out onto the bike I quickly set about reeling in the one team guy in front of us. Sean jumped on my wheel and looked comfortable.

Once we joined the front there was quite a bit of jostling to try and unseat us from the draft but after a while we all started rolling through and it seemed as though we’d be riding as a group to the end.
Almost immediately after this thought though the team rider again attacked and this time got a gap on Sean, I was able to jump across and all of a sudden I was in a two up time trial to try and get as much time as I could on Sean.
He was quickly out of sight behind us and we seemed to be moving well, I figured any time would be a bonus and allow me to take the run a bit easier.

Nearing the transition the team guy attacked again to get the stage prize while I was far more interested in saving any energy I could for the 24km run coming up so it was an easy decision to leave him to it.
Onto the run and it was straight into a decent hill. My feet were feeling a bit like blocks of ice after the ride and it made running a lot more comfortable once they had thawed several kilometers later.
Once the hill topped out it was a long gradual descent before the track steepened sharply and dropped to the far point of the course by a river.
It’s always nice to be over halfway on a run and despite a decent hill in the second half I was pretty happy with how I felt. I keep a regular watch over my shoulder for the impeding sight of Sean tearing into my lead but by the time I reached the TA and the start of the next ride I still hadn’t seen any sign of him or anyone else.

Climbing back on the TT bike I was glad to stop running but it always seems to be that much harder to bike after a long run. I’d been anticipating a predominantly downhill ride but with a rising head wind it felt more like a false flat uphill for much of it. Ken my support crew came past halfway through the ride and let me know I had about 13 minutes of Sean in second, which kept the stress levels down.

Onto the first of the paddling sections and I knew now all I had to do was keep it ticking over and stay in the boat through the upper section. The river was a busy place with loads of people out in slalom boats and Canadian canoes enjoying the day. I found my way through the Ti Trees OK and had a load of fun shooting the rapids. Once out the bottom and onto the flat water it was nice to have a few more groves of Ti Tree to break things up. I stopped at the next TA and got the news that the lead was over 15 minutes getting on the water so I enjoyed a bit more food before setting off!

I’d also managed to overtake the lead team as they had elected to run the section instead of paddling it and had conceded over 14 minutes. Their paddler appeared 20 minutes later and steamed on by. They were in a composite racing ski customized with an over-slung rudder and given I was still in a plastic ski I stood no chance of keeping up, not to mention the 6 hours of racing already completed.

The remainder of the section was uneventful except for the extreme discomfort from the seat. I had to lie back on the deck and lift my behind up almost every kilometer to alleviate the pain.
At the final TA I was able to swap to nice light a carbon ski now that the river would be deep enough for the under stern rudder. I had a bit more food and then headed off for the final hour on the river.

The Perth airport is reasonably close to the finish of the race and several times planes flew straight down over the river and looked like they were almost going to land in it which provided some spectacular views
Arriving at the finish was a relief; I’d definitely pushed my body harder than it would have liked with not being well but luckily it didn’t seem to be any worse except for my voice.

Elina’s day also went well given her sore knee especially. She’d had the measure of all the girls and most of the guys as well but was pretty sore when she finished and her knee was really swollen. She also did the run instead of the top section of the river which she said was a killer run, there were all sorts of horror stories coming out about that run!

Overall it was a great course and as always super well organized by Rapid Ascent. There were plenty of weary people at the end and plenty of stories of how tough it was.

We were treated super well by all the locals and had amazing help from Mainpeak to help make it possible for us to race. A huge thanks to everyone from there who also helped us out, particularly Dave, Ken, Katie, Richard and John.

Up next we have the Motu Challenge in Opotiki in 2 weeks so the focus is on getting healthy again and enjoying some more time at home at last!

Thanks to all our sponsors and supporters

Motu Challenge 2011

It had already been a hectic return to NZ with only a few days actually at home before we hit the road for Opotiki and the Motu Challenge.

It was looking like a minor miracle with fine weather predicted but in a not usual situation it quickly appeared to be incorrect as torrential run fell all night. By morning it cleared just long enough for us to start before we all got a good soaking on the MTB. There were still positives though – no snow and light wind, which definitely was a first.

The first MTB trundled along at a pretty amicable pace on the road, everyone waiting for the first major climb to show their hand. When we got there, national MTB champion Carl Jones dropped the hammer and the rest of us scrambled to get on his wheel, there was still a much bigger group of riders than normal halfway up the climb and when Carl and Mark Leishman stretched it out a bit they slowly disappeared up the road. I was quite surprised not to see Dougal Allen try and jump across and so decided to keep a little bit in the bank incase he took up the attack later on.

The pace in our group remained pretty steady and gradually the number of riders whittled down to about five or six. The other big surprise was Sam Clark from Whakatane still with us, which showed he had made some big steps since last summer.

Heading into Motu for the change to running shoes my feet felt like icicles, which is normally par for the course at this race, and it took several kilometers to get them warmed up. Dougal was right on my tail still but after about 4km I noticed he’d just started to fade a bit and gradually I was able to stretch away from him.

Heading back for round two on the bike I was feeling pretty good, the legs were working well and once aboard the TT bike I was still able to put some good power in which is always a good thing to find on this particular ride, especially when Dougal Allen is right behind.

I caught up with the two leading teams, one of whom was Courtney Lowe who I seem to ride with every year. She was riding really strong and rode away from me up the hill but luckily I have a few more pies on board and I was able to catch back up on the descent.

Arriving at the Kayak I was surprised that Dougal hadn’t caught me on this ride so I was in bonus territory as had fully expected we’d be battling it out right to the river.

The river was running at a good level with all the rain and I settled into a good rhythm. About halfway I heard from some supporters that Dougal was closing in, which was mildly concerning, so I upped the rating a bit and stole a few looks over the shoulder on the longer straights to see if I could spot him. I never did see him but at one of the corners near the end some of the spectators reckoned I had taken back the time so I arrived at transition feeling pretty happy.

My gluts weren’t so happy being made to jog up tot the waiting bike but it was good to be back on dry land and I cruised through the 8 kilometers to the final run of the day.
Some of the races I’ve had at Motu the last 3km have felt more like 10km but today it seemed to fly by.

Finishing a 7 hour race is always nice and it was especially rewarding as I’d sacrificed any taper to train right through Motu in pursuit of a top result in Maui at the Xterra World Championships just 2 weeks after Motu. It is always hard to know how the body will cope when it is a bit tired but apart from early in the MTB I’d probably felt the best I ever had at this race. Thanks to some favorable conditions I also managed to sneak under the race record and also get the road bike record for the individuals which was a real bonus

Dougal came home second just over 5 minutes down, he’ll only get stronger at this race as the first time up it is hard to know what to expect, especially pacing wise for the second bike. And in what can only really be described as a break out performance Sam Clark came home only 5 more minutes down for another 3rd place but about 45 minutes faster than his previous best effort.

In the women’s race Elina had a great tussle with NZ MTB rep Karen Hanlen on the first ride and managed to come out on top of that battle, while also lowering her MTB record by another few minutes. Her time was just 7 minutes slower than my time – I will have to watch out soon!

She had a little drama at the end of the run with some gear but was on her way again quickly. By the time she reached the river nothing short of a disaster was going to derail title number 5 but she still put in a good paddle with only Rachel Cashin bettering her on the river by 2 minutes.

Elina stopped the clock in 7 hours 58 minutes to become the first woman to complete the course in under 8 hours which was a great effort.

Thanks to Mum and Al for their help with the crewing and also to all the people involved with the race for putting on another great event.

And finally to our brilliant sponsors thank you

Xterra World Championships – Maui USA

For the first time in its history the Xterra World Champs changed location this year from Makena on the southwestern side of Maui to Kapalua on the northwestern side. It was evident immediately on arrival that the course was going to be a vastly different challenge.

Another unique change was the course being open for practice prior to the race meaning everyone knew come race day what we were in for.

By the time race day rolled around I’d had several excursions around various parts of the course and several excursions off it too. Having broken my seat post my first year and last year almost breaking myself I was keen to find where the limits were, especially on the bike and so after several practices I was already minus a few layers of skin off one knee especially as I pushed the limit just that bit too much.

This year there was a super deep field in the men’s race and several stars from the ITU racing. One of the really cool things about Xterra is even though everyone is ultra focused on producing the best result possible there is still a really relaxed attitude amongst all the competitors. On the start line I ended up having a chat with Jan Frodeno the current Olympic champion, who admittedly was on holiday but which goes a long way to showing what a cool atmosphere there is there. The race was also playing host to one of the biggest names in sport, Lance Armstrong. He is certainly a polarizing figure but love or hate him there is no doubting his pulling power with not only the media but also the general public. Having come from a triathlon background and recently showing he still had it over the multiple disciplines at the USA nationals everyone was keen to see how he would fair this time around.

Race time

The swim leg was held off DT Flemings beach, where for a while the forecast looked like we’d have some quite major surf to contend with. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you prefer your swim it was dead flat for the start and with the sound of the start canon we were off.

I seemed to get a bit swamped at the start but was able to get a little space just on the side of the pack and was soon into a good rhythm and moving through the field. A group of the quickest swimmers was off the front including Jan Frodeno, Ivan Rana, and Armstrong who was showing he’d lost none of his swimming skills.
By lap two I was in a smaller group and seemingly a bit further up in field than usual. I exited the water with Michael Weiss who had been on the podium the past two years, usually courtesy of a super fast MTB. What was surprising for me was how full the bike racks were heading into the transition, even in the pro grouping, a new experience for me! Still I was 3 minutes down on the front of the race, 2 ½ on Armstrong and 1 ½ - 2 on most of the guys I anticipated would be in the running for the win.

I exited the TA with Weiss and a small group, it was obvious it wasn’t going to be an easy task to stay with him and although I lasted the first climb, as did a couple of others the rubber band was already starting to stretch. A bit of flat and some single track allowed me to keep close but as we headed up again I couldn’t hold the wheel and slowly drifted back.
No one else could hang on either and we all found our own rhythms.
There were still two competitors I was expecting to see at some stage, Josiah Middaugh and Nico Lebrun. I’d beaten them both out of the swim but they’re both excellent riders. Near the start of the final climb to the high point Josiah caught up and again I dug deep to hold the wheel. I succeeded for a while but again I was just a half a gear off and he slowly climbed away.
Near the top you could see a fair way up the trail and although I didn’t realize it at the time I could actually see the front of the race just a couple of minutes up the road.
I had some pressure coming from some riders behind but once we hit the top I went for it on the down hill and when I looked back on the next rise there was clear road behind me. The training on the skills over the past 6 months was paying dividends.
The downhill off the highpoint of the course drops almost right back to sea level and it happens amazingly fast with some great opportunities for some airtime – it was almost like the old skiing days.
At the bottom with about 10km to go I got a time split to the front of around 3 minutes and when several more people all gave similar times it was encouraging that it might be reasonably accurate and that I was still in with a shot.

The final portion of the ride I kept moving through the field, I passed Jan Frodeno on this section and as we closed on the finish I had Ivan Rana in my sights but the racing was incredibly close compared to the years and I still hadn’t cracked the top 10 yet.

As I headed into the transition I passed the first guys heading out on the run, which highlighted how close it still was. Depending on how the guys in front and myself coped with the run it was still possible for some major shake-ups in the placings.

Heading out about 10 seconds down on Ivan Rana, I got into a good rhythm and was able to keep him in sight until we hit the twisty single-track sections. The run course was basically up for the first 3½ miles with mainly narrow twisty trail and the odd sharp downhill to test the leg speed.

A couple of miles in I passed defending champion Conrad Stolz who was down to a walk and a mile later on the steepest part of the climb Lance Armstrong who was also down to a walk. Lance had apparently crashed right near the end of the bike that may have also been hampering him further than just the heat and intensity alone. He would end up losing more than 7 more minutes in the final 4 miles.
Once on the downhill there was less than 3 miles to the finish and when the trail opened out I could see 4 athletes up front probably within about 90 secs of each other. I kept pushing and by the top of the final short uphill I had closed the gap even more.

Hurtling down the final part of the trail and onto the beach we were all running desperately to maintain or improve our positions and with only a short section of beach and the final grassy climb to the finish we were all running out of time. The gaps were still coming down – quite fast again now, as we headed off the beach for the final 200m. I was still gaining fast but ran out of course, it was so frustrating being able to see 4 athletes right in front, the closest only 7 seconds away and 3 more within 40 seconds.

Michael Weiss who I’d started the MTB with had ridden through the field and held on during the run for a win by just 33 seconds. Dan Hugo had a solid all round day for 2nd and multiple Xterra World Champion Eneko Ilanos was 3rd.

It was an odd feeling, I was one place worse than last year but more than 6 minutes closer to the win, only 2:54 back from Weiss, the placing I was disappointed in but the performance result had a lot of positives to take away.
For me Xterra was a big goal this year, most of my training had been geared towards a top performance here and although nothing is ever perfect I definitely felt I’d given myself a good chance on the day, The swim was a big improvement and so was the bike.

It is sometimes hard for people to understand a result like this, they see wins in so many other events but the reality of most of these events is there is no where near the level of competition I faced here, and as an athlete that is the one thing you want to do – to test yourself against the very best in a given sport. In the only race where the financial calculations are set against us but it is still in many ways the most rewarding of all the pursuits all year.
I now know definitively I can be a true contender in Maui and with the knowledge from this year’s race it will enable an even better build up if I return. It will be the same for the competition as well but that will be part of the challenge.

A big congrats also has to go to the the large group of Kiwi age groupers who raced in Maui with some excellent results including several 1st places and plenty of top 10’s, well done

Thanks to everyone for their support and to our sponsors, without whom it wouldn’t be possible to follow our dreams

Anaconda WA – Tranz Tasman Challenge

Heading off again on what is starting to seem like a merry-go-round that just won’t stop - this time it was the 3rd round of the Anaconda series in Australia. This round was in Augusta, 3 hours drive south of Perth and was also doubling as the Tranz Tasman Challenge.

Joining me for the battle against the Aussies were Trevor Voyce and Fleur Lattimore, meaning not only did we have a NZ team, it was also an all Nelson team.

Trev arrived the day before us and along with his mate Matty – who would prove invaluable over the weekend, headed down to Augusta to organize the digs and get things sorted prior to Fleur and my eventual late night arrival. They did manage to find out mistakenly that everyone in Augusta obviously leaves their keys hidden in the same places as they accidentally ended up in the wrong house. They were only alerted to their mistake by the copious quantities of liquor in the cupboards and thought it may just be too good to be true – they were right!

After a bit of scouting the course out, numerous dolphin sightings (they are so abundant there it is unusual to go to the beach and not see any) and plenty of interviews we also had to partake in a sprint up the Iconic lighthouse at Leewun Point. The race was a relay – one person at a time up to the top and back down via the stairs. The Aussies took it very seriously, perhaps realizing there only chance for a win lay here and promptly took a narrow win. The main event though was still to come.

Race day dawned fine, which had been somewhat in doubt and we all piled on buses out to the now infamous lighthouse and the start line. The race had 1700 people participating as both individuals and teams so there was a real buzz at the start line.

The start was crazy as everyone sprinted down the large rock slabs towards the first marker; there was definitely some Kodak courage on display as people hurtled through the rocks at an insane place.

After a minute I think I was 30 seconds down and began to make my way through the field. Out front Braden Currie was stretching away from everyone with Sean O’Neil in hot pursuit. Soon I’d made it into 3rd but was only just holding the two guys in front and they soon started to pull away. After all the racing in the past few months it’s fair to say I wondered whether this was just not going to be my day, after all there is only so much you can do but as the run went on I slowly got into a better rhythm and by the transition to the Swim I was feeling much better.

After struggling into my wetsuit I was off in pursuit of the front two who were around 2 minutes up. If the motivation to catch the front two wasn’t enough to keep the speed up the thought of being nibbled by a large shark certainly was. The swim seemed to go pretty well although I did have a couple of close encounters with various reefs that were only just submerged. Approaching the finish I caught Braden, which gave me a good lift although I still couldn’t see Sean.

There was about 500m of running through to the kayak transition and as I changed I could see Sean just hitting the water in his surf ski. As I was launching the media helicopter did their best to make this impossible by hovering just in front of the launching spot, which made it very, very difficult to hang onto it – let alone getting it to the waters edge. After an expletive laden tirade at the helicopter pilot, which luckily no one would have heard over the noise of the rotors I finally managed to launch and set off after Sean.

The paddle started with a few kilometers on the lower reaches of a river before we headed out through the river mouth and across the bay. By the river mouth I’d already closed to within 30 seconds of Sean and soon after took the lead for the first time in the race. As I passed I gave it everything I had to put in an extra burst of speed to make sure Sean couldn’t jump on my wash. I kept a regular check over the shoulder and I was soon well clear of him and concentrated on gaining as much advantage as possible before the final ride.

Approaching the transition to the MTB there were huge amounts of spectators at the TA and I got a great reception. Once on the bike I just focused on keeping as smooth as possible and the legs still felt OK. There was a fun little section of downhill after a few kilometers then it was a grind into the wind and up a super loose sandy hill. I managed to completely stuff up the climb and then had a bit of mechanical as my chain jumped over the top of the cluster and into the wheel. After a few moments of panic I just managed to free it and continued on aware that I should keep out of the easier gears for fear of a repeat of the problem. The rest of the ride saw no dramas but I did get a bit of fright as one of media quads forced its way down a single track behind me which sounded like I was being chased by a herd of Elephants, I had to sneak a look over the shoulder to work out what it was which could have easily ended in tears as I was probably doing 50kph on a track only half a meter wide with loads of foliage spreading across the trail.

Onto the final run and a look over the shoulder halfway through the 2.5km run confirmed that I had a good lead. The temptation to ease off was off set by the knowledge that the Tranz Tasman Challenge would be decided on the cumulative times from the whole team. With the Kiwis never having won the trophy we were all hopeful this year would prove to be the one we finally prevailed.

Crossing the finish line was great, was also great, as my Father had made it across to see the race, now there was just the wait to see how the race had unfolded behind me. Sean O’Neil arrived 5 minutes later with early leader Braden Currie (also a Kiwi but living in Byron Bay) coming home in 3rd. Trev had been chasing him hard and crossed the line in 4th with final male Aussie team member Grant Suckling rounding out the top 5 and the male Tranz Tasman competitors. The Kiwis were looking good so far with male results but what was happening in the women’s race? Fleur and leading Aussie woman Deanna Blegg had started the last MTB just 2 minutes apart.

In the mean time there was also the added excitement as the top teams came in. Having started 30 minutes behind the individuals it was getting close as to who would get overall line honors. With the times tied by minutes the first team appeared, it was soon announced that I’d piped them for the overall fastest time by just 12 seconds, which was very satisfying as it is few and far between that I’ve done that at this series.

Back to the important stuff though and Fleur had managed to shake off Deanna and came home strongly to take the win in the female race and secured the Tranz Tasman Trophy for us.

All in all it was a great weekend, as usual Rapid Ascent put on a fantastic race and the atmosphere with so many people inundating the small town of Augusta was awesome. Our team had a great time and we’ll all look forward to trying to defend the title next year.

A big that’s also to Mat for all his help over the weekend, ferrying us back and forth from transitions, on the training missions plus the countless loads of dishes, and to Mainpeak who supplied my ski plus Libby and the other girls who carted it down from Perth for me and then back again.

To my regular sponsors you guys rock – thanks for all the support

Lake to Lighthouse 2011

Well it’s no secret it has been a busy few months of racing and the Lake to Lighthouse was a bit of change of scene after mainly 2-4 hour races.

I’ve also been super busy launching a new company called Flow kayaks, which I formed with Andrew Martin. Andrew has made my race boats for years and has also been one of the major contributors to improving my paddling since moving to Nelson nearly 7 years ago. In the past few weeks we finally saw the plans go from the computer to the water but it definitely took a major toll on the training leading into this particular race.
We literally finished the first boat, which Elina would be paddling, on the Thursday morning about an hour before we had to leave for the ferry. Elina got 5 minutes in it to make sure it floated before we had to scarper to make the ferry. We were in Picton not more than 5 minutes before we drove onto the ferry – good timing!

Day 1 – Waikaremoana

If there was a single day of racing on our calendar this year which I was dreading it was this one. It isn’t that it is a bad course, far from it, but after racing and training for events no longer than 4 hours to be faced with a 5+ hour run as just one section of the day I knew there was the potential for disaster.
The day started with a grind on the MTB’s up the gravel road from Tuai to the main lake, before we followed the undulating track around to transition 1 at Home Bay.
I had company this year with Trevor Voyce and team cyclist John Gray and we all raced into the TA together.
Onto the paddle and I quickly tried to get the jump on Trev, I figured any extra time I had at the start of the run would be a good thing and as I chased down Sam Clark from the first team I managed a small gap. Sam and I battled it out throughout the kayak leg and arrived with a couple of minutes over Trevor.
It sounds as though we got through before the wind started coming up but further back in the field there was apparently plenty of action including a few swimming lessons.
Onto the run and I was freezing cold for the first 30 or 40 minutes, the southerly was certainly keeping the temperature down.
I was feeling pretty comfortable, I could see Sam Clark close behind for the first hour or so before he gradually slipped back. It wasn’t long though before I caught sight of Trev not far behind. It was almost exactly 2 hours in and although I had hoped I’d make it to the hill before he caught up we weren’t too far from the transition.
I picked up the pace a bit or Trev slowed up and we ran stride for stride to the end of the first section of the run.
Once loaded up with more drink, food we set off again, stride for stride. John Gray from the lead team had swapped his MTB for his running shoes and came flying past us both, oh to have fresh legs at that point!
I managed to up it a little and I was surprised to gap Trevor slightly. My dabble off the front ended soon after when I stepped out of my shoe running through some mud and Trev, who’d only be a few meters back anyway cruised on past.
We soon hit the climb and I was thankful that the pace wasn’t any harder than it was as I struggled up onto the top of the Panakeri range with Trev cruising along behind me. The body was definitely starting to suffer. It appeared that muscle memory was lacking for a run of this length and the 90-minute runs I’d been surviving on between races just weren’t enough to have me firing for so long on the feet.
As we passed Panakeri Hut I grabbed some water from the aid station and as I did Trev bolted. I gulped down some water and bolted after him. I wasn’t making much of an impression on his lead and he gradually slipped further and further ahead while I became aware my body was starting to have a pretty serious meltdown. There was less than 10km to go but the track was broken and covered in drops and roots requiring far more co-ordination than I was able muster by this stage and as a result I did several ungainly face plants.
The weather had also taken a turn for the worse with a massive hailstorm passing through and the temperature plummeted.
It was all I could do really to put one foot in front of the other for the remainder of the run, which for me was more like a painful hobble. I finally saw the transition below and mustered a jog the final flatter 500m to my waiting bike.

It was the greatest feeling once I got to the downhill and I could see the kilometers ticking off quickly with no effort on the part of my legs. I finally arrived back at the finish line in Tuai, utterly exhausted and defeated. When I arrived I was welcomed back by the most fearsome Haka I have ever seen, which I fully felt like I didn’t deserve.
Trev had put almost 18 minutes into me in the last 10km and I realistically felt my race for first was over.

Day 2 – Tuai to Wairoa

Over night I came to terms with the fact I was highly unlikely to win this race, after being so thoroughly destroyed yesterday it was easy to have lower expectations on myself but the closer it got to the race start the more I felt like to hell with it – lets see what I can do. More than anything I decided I had to go down swinging and to show all the people who showed so much support the first day and throughout each and every race we do just what I can do.
The race started and I went – from the gun as hard as I could. I looked back after 200m and I had a gap already. Team rider John Gray made it across the gap and the two of us disappeared up the road with a clear gap behind.
I was already getting pretty loose on the gravel downhill’s, the thought briefly flashed across my mind that I was probably going to die in a bike accident of my own making today – I quickly dismissed the idea and dug even deeper.
As we hit the first major climb I dropped John and it was comforting to be out on my own, egging myself on like some deranged soul. The climb gets really steep and by the top I couldn’t see anyone – I had already made up I guessed at least 2 minutes. The downhill’s that followed I truly scared myself, the road was rutted and washed out from rain, as well as being extremely slippery in places there were drops and holes that could easily break a bike, and a person it you plowed into them. Somehow I managed to keep the bike upright and was right back into hammering for every second I could.
The last climb is super steep, only just rideable and my legs were so thrashed by the top I thought maybe I’d overdone it, but I was in the right frame of mind well and truly now and it became a game to just see how much I could punish myself and keep pushing through.
Arriving at the TA I grabbed my TT bike and headed off up the hill, 400m up in 4km or thereabouts. My power meter was showing good numbers and the legs accustomed quickly to the change of position.
The downhill on the other side is a blast and I was regularly approaching 90kph. I still had no idea where Trev was in comparison to me so it was head down as I tried to blast my way to the next TA as fast as possible.
A few cars started passing me and some were yelling splits that I couldn’t really hear over the noise of the wind through the helmet but everyone was looking pretty excited, maybe I was pulling back enough time to at least make it exciting.
The other thing that was getting exciting was where was my support crew? I had only about 8km to go the kayak transition when they went whipping past – relief!
Into the kayak and more than half the day was done already. I was still feeling good but ultra aware that the kayak could be the make or break if it was getting close. I was disappointed to see there would be no assistance from the current today; the branches in the water indicating it must be nearly slack tide.
I keep concentrating on the process, ticking over, making sure the food was going in, checking the GPS for speed and digging for that little extra. It was empowering to be racing with such purpose instead of just going through the motions to get to t he finish. Sam Clark from the top team was eating into my lead and by the time we reached the final TA he was right behind me. John once again took off like a cut cat while I tried to cox the body into one last effort.
After about 10 minutes of running the road joins the river and runs parallel to it, I hoped I would see Trev, which would mean the race, would be getting close. Sure enough just as the river came into view so did Trevor. I’d been running 10 minutes 20 seconds, I figured he had about exactly that to the finish of the paddle meaning I now held a slim overall lead – it was all on

Knowing Trev would be at his best on the run gave me the determination to dig even a bit deeper. I made it up the main climb feeling good, the co-ordination on the rough tracks incomparably better than the previous day.
With 6 kilometers to go the track flattened a little and it was now a matter of letting loose until the finish.
The body was by now well and truly feeling the effects of the day off the front and yesterdays struggle added in for good measure. It became a struggle between the mind and body with the GPS the gauge on who was winning the battle. Before long I was breaking the final kilometers into 500m blocks just to make the task manageable.
Finally the finish came into view and this year there were no high 5’s or smiles, it was full gas right through the tape to an almost instant collapse.
Now all I had to do was wait. In many ways I would have been content whichever way the result went, I’d had a great day and could have done no more, it was a day I could be proud of and that was what I’d set out to do more than anything at the start of the day.
As the minutes ticked past 5 then 10 then 15 minutes the anticipation grew. Alan on the microphone started teasing the crowd, and me, that he could see the quad bike that would be filming Trevs last few steps, but still no one could see his imminent arrival. As the clock ticked past the 18-minute mark a weary satisfaction washed over me and a few short minutes Trev made it to the finish line. He’d obviously had a rough day and had left it all on the track also.

It was a great race from Trevor, it was by far the hardest I have been pushed in a Multisport race for a long time and made the racing that much more fun and the satisfaction was far greater as a result of such close competition.

In the women’s race Elina was unstoppable, again and was right in the race for the 3rd step on the men’s podium, just missing out by a few minutes on the final day. She gave the new “Rockstar” kayak a good workout and gave it the seal of approval (once she’d checked the kayak times!)

We had a fantastic weekend at the race again and with plenty of less extreme options becoming available as part of the weekend f racing hopefully the race will see greater numbers in 2012

A huge thanks to all our sponsors and supporters, there’s just one last race this coming weekend in Lorne near Melbourne to decide the series of the Anaconda races before a few weeks of proper recovery. I’ll be making some plans over that time on what the racing calendar will look like over the summer too.

Anaconda Adventure race finale 2011 Lorne

Finally the last race of this block had come around and I’d even managed to squeeze in some training in the two weeks between races this time. I was ultra motivated to end the year on a high note, despite the inevitable decline in form in the last month I was hopeful I would be able to put on a winning performance for one final race this year.

The weather near Melbourne was anything but warm with the forecast for only 14 degrees and high winds, more what I’d expect from Wellington in May.

The wind had swung around into the main bay at Lorne forcing a change to the paddle course, which would now be two laps within the bay rather than a long out and back around the point. Looking at the swells already rolling past the point it was still certain we’d still be getting some good downwind runs.

The swim was the usual chaos off the start line and I got a bit swamped - which was not how I’d hoped to start the race. . I probably shouldn’t have been surprised when someone absolutely hammered be from behind with what felt like a closed fist. By the first buoy things had started to spread out and I was able to find some rhythm. The swim felt as though it was going reasonably well though and the only issue was the girl I was swimming next to seemed determined to swim to the left when the next buoy was getting further and further to our right. I ended up having to stop, duck around to the right and I was then able to head straight to the turning point.
The final stretch into the beach saw some good waves coming through; I managed to miss almost all of them unfortunately.

As I ran down the beach towards transition I was with Grant Suckling, the 2010 series champion. I’d expected to out swim Grant so it was hard to know if I’d had an off swim or he’d had a good one.

Once onto the skis we had to get out through the shore break which was starting to pitch up a bit more with the out going tide. I got through cleanly and headed off to find where Sean O’Neil and the other quicker swimmers had got too.

It was evident there was going to be plenty of issues for the weaker paddlers today as there was already a number of people who had fallen off and where trying to remount their skis. I passed Sean near the first buoy to put myself into the lead of the contenders for the individual race and set about trying to get on as many good runs as possible and to put as much time between myself and the others prior to the run.

I was having a heap of fun, the waves were great and I was steadily making my way through the teams who’d had the benefit of faster swimmers. As we approached the area where the turn was suppose to be the guys in front all straightened their line and headed further down the coast. I couldn’t see a buoy where it had been suppose to be so followed them down. I soon caught sight of the buoy, which had been ripped off its spot and was now probably a further kilometer further away washed up on the rocks.

We finally turned around a jet ski, which water safety had sent down but it was obvious that he wasn’t going to be in the same position for long as they tried to get people back closer to the original course.
It was a battle going back into the wind that seemed to have increased again.

Separating the two laps was a turn around a flag in the surf and as I came in a good sized wave broke right on the back of the ski and shot me forward and sideways, I managed to keep upright but got washed out of the seat while bouncing in sideways and had to quickly remount and head back out towards the break.

There was abut 4 of us together at this stage but we all had to slam the breaks on as a larger wave pitched up right in front of us and dumped just in front of us. Apparently from the beach we all disappeared completely in the whitewater before emerging on the other side, upright but water logged.

The second time around there were almost more people in the water than on their skis in some places. The turn-a-round was again around a jet ski, which seemed to be working its way up wind slowly and turning people earlier and earlier. There were certainly plenty of people out of their comfort zone.

Arriving back at the beach it was chaos with people struggling to get back out through the break as those on the second lap came in for the transition. I got a good ride in and headed up the beach fairly confident I would have a cushion over my main rivals heading onto the run.

I felt good out on the run and steadily passed some of the remaining teams ahead. I was soon in turn passed by a couple of teams and was still fairly relaxed about the pace I was keeping, especially when I was able to pass them back on the more technical downhill sections. It was certainly a fright then when I looked over my shoulder to see Braden Currie flying down behind me and all of a sudden I wasn’t so relaxed. I was able to up the pace and go with him but I was now at max speed. We hit the last rocky section and with almost 3km left I knew I had to stay with him all the way to the transition. I think I was fortunate that he’d been going max for the previous 12 km as his pace over the rougher sections wasn’t as crisp as usual giving me some hope for the remainder of the run and MTB.

Into transition and I changed as quick as possible – hoping to get a small gap as we headed onto the bike but Braden was right on my wheel. I gave it everything across a small grass section and got 20 meters, so at least he couldn’t just sit on now.
I’d ridden with Braden around the course on the Friday and he’d been riding really strong on the hills, and with the first half of this course all steep uphill I was more than a little worried as to how my legs would respond.

We hit the first climb and I again dug in deep, making sure he couldn’t bridge across and for a while it seemed the gap would jut stay the same. Nearing the top of the asphalt I had a quick look back and noticed the gap was just widening a little and I again tried to put a little bit extra into the pedals. For the whole climb it was a matter of concentrating, switching to a bigger gear as soon as the terrain allowed, keeping as much pressure on as I could and all the while the gap just kept growing at a frustratingly slow pace.
It was somewhat of a relief when I could look back down a climb and Braden was not in view, but I knew he wouldn’t be far behind and one mistake could let him right back in.

Reaching the top of the climb I knew it was all downhill to the transition and I let it all hang out, after all the struggling to get up there it seemed unfair that the downhill was over so quickly.

The final few hundred meters of the ride were along the beach and the bedrock, and at the final TA I was able to survey the beach behind and see no bike insight.

Running down the last 1500m to the finish there were loads of people out supporting the race and with one last check to make sure Braden or anyone else wasn’t about to spoil the party I was able to jog it in and enjoy my 3rd win in as many races and with it wrap up the overall series title.

Braden came home 2nd and Sean O’Neil continued his consistent showing with 3rd. There was more than a little controversy later on though, not so much in our race but in many of the other categories there had been discrepancies in the distances paddled due to the buoy washing away and the subsequent issues people were having with the conditions. Many people ended up being turned early for safety reasons but there was no way of know just what distance anyone had paddled. In the end the results stood across all categories with people accepting the call had to be made on safety grounds but there was certainly plenty of placing’s that were open to discussion.

I’m now enjoying a few weeks of down time – at least as far as racing and training goes before getting back into the swing of things before Christmas. I’ll be confirming a race schedule for 2012 shortly as well.
A big thanks to Andrew for running me around and the use of the car which was certainly an image changer (photo attached), to Naant and Sam for putting me up in Melbourne and Jarad for helping out with the Ski.

To all my and Elina’s sponsors thanks for all your support this year, it has been a good one for us and hopefully for you as well. We look forward to sharing some more adventures with you in 2012. Merry Christmas

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!

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!

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!!

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).

SPRING CHALLENGE 2010

The All Girl Adventure Race, staged in Tapawera on Saturday 24 September  had some great surprises in store for the 'green-team'!

The same line up - Donna Bower, Julie Turner and Andrea Livingston decided our Kaikoura race and 4th Vet finish meant we had some potential but the bar had been raised over 2 years.  To be contenders again, we had to apply some purposeful training this time!

Employing the guiding skills of Emma Bawtree and some key Mt Bike workshops in the katieri Mt Bike Park, we mastered hairpins, creek crossings and mud plugs.  Every other weekend there were rainy blustery missions up Mt Campbell, Mt Arthur, and Holyoakes clearing got a fair few visits.

On race day it all paid off.  From the gun, we secured a front bike bunch to the river, a well thought out gear change meant we were the first 6hr team out of T1, a testing forestry map slowed us down as did copious amounts of mud-plugging through to the orienteering.  Our 11pm mapping the night before paid off and we nailed the course efficiently and exited in 5th place.  Staying that way through the next bike section and T3.  Onward to the hill climb, maybe one of the first teams not to make any naviagtional mistakes ...launched us into first, only to be pipped at the trigg station by a Golden Bay team....  Both of us promptly got lost in the scrub..but thanks to Donna's keen directional sense, we were clear and back on track with the other team hot on our heels and running us down in the final 500 meters to the finish.

Bugga.  But thats how Adventure Racing gets you hooked...redemption!.



The Wildside team celebrated a 2nd overall in the Vets section...and 2nd overall from 136 teams, as Vets proved to be 20 mins faster than our younger 'Open team' racers.

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