Wulong Quest 2015 - More fun & games than you could shake a stick at...

Prologue: Open expectations….

I can’t say the prologue is my favourite section of Wulong. Plenty of frantic chaos combined with typically average weather doesn’t exactly appeal. I’m much more at home once the main stages begin and there’s less chaos.

This year the prologue had been lengthened by about 30minutes and was a different course. Following a lengthy opening ceremony in heavy rain the racing kicked off with a 7km run. It was a tough welcome to racing in China with several teams hot off the gun and the pace frantic. We chose to do our own thing and soon settled into position in about 5^th spot.

Next up was the bamboo chair carry. A must have component of the prologue and a great way to quickly tire us out. Rich took the brunt at the front while Stu & I took a side each at the back (Elina on top). Sucking up the awkwardness we made good ground and overtook a fast running Chinese team into 3^rd. A quick run saw us at the biathlon where the 4 of us shared 2 bikes for 3.2km. Two run and two bike, swapping over until the allotted distance is covered.

I paired with Elina running initially while the boys took the bikes. Tactics make a big difference in the biathlon and slowly but surely ours paid dividends. By the end of the section we had levelled with Thule (with Sam Clark, Jacob Roberts of NZ) overtaking them in transition. 8km of mountain biking remained. Mud, puddles, and slippery rocks made for a challenging time especially given our choice to ride with running shoes. Thule having chosen to change shoes quickly overtook us and established a small lead but didn’t extend it.

Torpedo 7 however (Sam Manson, Marcel Hagener, Hamish Flemming & Simone Maer) were making good ground behind us and pushed us right to the line.

So good close racing without incident. Can’t ask for anything more really. We were 2^nd by 12secs and a handful of seconds in front of Torpedo 7. With such a strong field I was stoked to find that we could keep up!

Stage 1: Climb, climb, and climb…

Course (roughly by memory): 2km run, 9km paddle, 4km run, 8km biathlon, 32km Mtb, 6km run, 11km orienteering.

On paper this stage looked brutal. In practice it was brutal. The result was a good one for us but I definitely burnt a few matches I couldn’t replace on stage 2.

From a mass start in Wulong town the course took us down to the river and a busy transition into the boats. Despite recent rain the river was low with plenty of waves and the usual boils trying to throw you off course. Unscathed and in the lead pack we headed off on a testing uphill 4km hill slog to the start of the biathlon. Slippery steps and no respite in the terrain kept us on the limit until we topped out some 700m vertical later hanging in there with Torpedo 7 who were setting the early pace.

I again teamed with Elina on the Biathlon which took us undulating for 8km high above the river finishing with an uphill grunt into the Mtb transition. We’d lost some spots on the biathlon this time but weren’t too far behind. Thule had shot off up the road closely followed by Torpedo 7. We got onto the bikes and quickly set about business as usual. I’m not 100% on the details of the ride but there was plenty of action and team shuffling going on making for good racing. I know we were caught and overtaken by team NZ adventure (Dougal Allan, Jess Simpson, Glen Currie & Jared Kohlar) but soon passed them with a puncture. We were also caught by Raw adventure (French-Aussie combo) but managed to latch onto the back of them. At one point I remember just hanging on the back of Raw adventure and being concerned at how hard I was working (towing at the time). Luckily that passed and I had what for me was a really good ride helping Stu who was having a tough day and keeping us in touch.

In a quick chain of events late in the ride we not only caught and passed a slowing Torpedo 7 but found Thule at an intersection confused after some ambiguous trail marking. We were back in touch and remained just behind Thule into a very timely transition.

After such a tough ride I suffered like a dog for sections of the next 6km run to the orienteering but as a team we suffered intrinsically each vowing to stay with Thule. The orienteering was 5 check points with GPS coordinates. All bar 1 were pretty straight forward but between Rich & Stu at the helm we made some ground on Thule and crossed the line First. I never saw that coming!

It had been a day of relentless climbing and I was spent. Knackered and feeling the effects of climbing from 300 to 2100m we thought about how we’d all fair up tomorrow. Great day though and a very satisfying result.

Stage 2: Hanging in there

Course: 1km swim, 31km Mountain bike, 15km Gorge run?, 16km paddle, 4km run with cave.

I know swimming isn’t my strongest discipline by any stretch but it didn’t really sink in until after about 200m. I looked up and disappointingly the flag we needed to swim around didn’t look any closer. Mild panic ensued. I yelled at Stu several times trying to alert him that I was falling behind but he was off in the zone. It wasn’t until I looked left that I laid eyes on Elina being towed by Rich. With Elina a non-swimmer this was the best way of getting her through and seeing that I could comfortably keep up with them was a welcome wave of calm.

Exiting the swim was a combination of relief and a harsh feeling that today was going to involve lots of suffering. There’s suffering when you’re strong and there’s suffering when you’re weak. I had a feeling this was going to be the latter. But what can you do? So the optimist in me self-talked that better times were ahead. Unfortunately that would be a while away. I knew this ride. Like most rides in Wulong it would have over 1000m of climbing with little respite. After not feeling 100% on stage 1 Stu was going great and took the reins towing Elina for much of the climb. Knowing I wasn’t on form Rich sat behind me for much of the climb. It’s a great way to ensure I don’t drop off behind and slow the team down even if it sucks at the time!

Initially we made good time up the hill but a combination of tiredness & Stu’s free hub seizing up caused a slight drop in pace allowing Thule, Torpedo 7, Raw Adventure & Team NZ Adventure to extend the 3min gap they had from the swim. Torpedo 7 went into the canyon run 7 mins ahead and going strong.

Into the canyon ourselves it was quickly apparent the there was significantly more water than normal making for pushy flow and murky water. With several 2-4m rock jumps it’s ideal to see where you are jumping, but not today. In faith we leapt. The canyon was an exciting part of the day and I certainly improved as we went through but my legs simply had no energy requiring more concentration than usual to run the rocks.

So if our day wasn’t already challenging enough 2 x 6-8m abseils in the canyon created a bottleneck backing up 2-3 teams at a time. By the time we got through we’d been waiting at the top idle for 10 mins. Advantage definitely favours the leaders. That said we were moving consistently and kept Raw adventure in sight catching them as the gorge concluded.

Now for a paddle. With legs like mine I was actually looking forward to getting into the boat….or could I? Raw adventures presence added a hint of frantic to the transition. Having launched Rich & Elina Stu & I had to swim to a boat that wasn’t full of water, scramble onto a slippery rock then get into our boat. To make it a little harder Raw adventure had launched just in front making a turbulent few minutes as we paddled up to Rich & Elina. Raw Adventure initially sat on our wash and I thought we may drag them through the whole 16km but we were paddling well, dropping them after 20 minutes. Ah, now we can concentrate on our own race again!

We all felt pretty good in the boats so the paddle went by without too much suffering. Finishing the day we completed a trademark Wulong finish. 150-200m vertical of steps then a loop of a tourist cave. For me and my empty legs it was again time to hang tough. Rich & Stu did a great job keeping Elina moving well.

Finishing the stage was a mixture of relief and disappointment. Significant time had been lost to Torpedo 7 (the days winners) and Thule (20mins + to Torpedo7) most of it in the gorge but steadily all day. Now out of the running for top spot overall tomorrow would be about defending 3^rd overall. 13 minutes behind overall was Raw adventure and they would be laying down the challenge.

Stage 3, defending 3^rd

Course: 31km Mtb, 14km run, 7km paddle, 6km run

Day 3 is always greeted with mixed emotions. Battle weary bodies look forward to the end of a tough few days but generally there’s unfinished business to deal with. Either you’re defending a position from a fighting opponent or you’re attacking to gain the spot above. I’d love to have a steady final stage but the reality is it’ll never happen!

So I don’t think anyone was particularly disappointed when today’s initial cave section was cancelled due to high water. It was just more climbing on mashed legs. Instead we had a staggered start on the bikes. Being 3^rd overall we set off in that order 30secs behind Thule who were 2^nd. The plan today? Don’t lose more than 13minutes to Raw Adventure. So when they passed us after 10 minutes going like the clappers I was a little concerned. They were riding strong and soon were out of sight. All we could do was race as fast as possible. If it wasn’t enough then that’s disappointing but the reality of racing.

The upside was that I was feeling much stronger than yesterday and was able to share towing duties with Rich & Stu to get Elina up yet another 1000+m of climbing as quick as possible.

Starting the run we’d lost 5minutes on Raw adventure who were leading the stage. Thule were within sight but had no influence on the final result so I ignored what they were up to. Feeling pretty good on the run we all shared the role of helping Elina through what was a pretty brutal 90 minute run. Adding to the challenge, Elina had bruised ribs after yesterday and couldn’t breath properly. Good times!

Time to paddle. Brilliant. An out & back course gave good feedback that we’d conceded 9mins to Raw adventure and only had 4 up our sleeve. Nothing changed on the paddle but they were going hard and we needed a solid final run to hold 3^rd overall.

The final run was slippery & technical in places making progress seem slower than it was. Ah well, its only pressure. Yet again the day finished with 150m of vertical steps out of a limestone gorge. The Chinese love to make these races tough – and right to the end. We did well on the stairs and crossed the line 10 minutes behind Raw Adventure, who also won the stage. 3^rd overall but only just!

It had been a turbulent race. There was a different winner for every stage including the prologue and a new team had been on the podium for every stage showing the depth of the field. It would have been great to back up our first two days and win overall but Wulong is a tough nut to crack. You can’t have any weaknesses.

That said it was great to take 3^rd and as always we raced well as a cohesive unit.

A big thanks to Toread for sponsoring our team and to my personal sponsors who help it all happen. Torpedo 7, Legend Paddles, Rasdex, Thermatech.

Speights Coast to Coast doco

Worth a watch if you are interested in C2C.....

Kinetic media Speights Coast to Coast 2015

Gibbs Hill Challenge 2015: Using toddlers to break a record

The Gibbs Hill Challenge is an awesome race centred in Takaka. It's a great excuse to visit Golden Bay and temporarily escape life as a townie. We decided to make a weekend of it, hiring a Bach in Pohara. Nothing beats a morning paddle across Wainui Bay followed by an afternoon in front of the fire.

Zack likes me to be well prepared for my races these days so despite a 9am start he was insistent on a 5am wake up. Three year olds can be so thoughtful.



Cutting a long story short we woke to a big freeze. Overnight rain and a frost had made for cool conditions for the first ride. Soon enough Walter started us off onto the first 23km bike to Wainui Bay. My cold legs suffered with the pace but a brisk 41minutes had the first 3 of us in transition. Dismounting the bike I was prepared for a slick transition on the fly hoping to start running on my own. A quick loop of the transition revealed that Rach had not yet arrived. Bugger! So my wish to run out of TA solo was granted albeit in the wrong direction. I now began a search for Rach and my running shoes guided by the noise of two irate toddlers. Transitioning out of the stroller I began the run with an extra dose of aggression and time to make up. Character building one could say.



The 21km run goes out of Wainui bay uphill to a saddle below Gibbs Hill then down to Wharewharangi, undulating its way to Totaranui.  From here it rises steeply to the top of Gibbs Hill before dropping back to the fore mentioned saddle and Wainui Bay then the bikes. Knowing time was lost I ran harder than planned to the saddle hoping to catch a glimpse of those in front. Not seeing a sole I asked a SAR volunteer what the gap was to the next runner. "Oh not too far" he said. Internally disagreeing with his feedback (The gap appeared much more to me) I pushed the same intensity down to Wharewharangi where more volunteers were stationed hoping to make some time up. Feeling considerably worse for wear I again asked the burning question  this time rephrasing "how far  ahead is the leader". "You are the leader" she said. Un f@!kingbelievable I thought to myself. Anyhow, it had set me up for a good run provided I didn't blow.

Which I didn't....but plenty of suffering went down climbing up Gibbs Hill from Totaranui. Soon enough I was back on the bike and feeling as good as can be expected on the ride back to Takaka. With such a beautiful course this was the time I managed to soak some of it in and enjoy feeling warm on the bike.

Finishing strong and without any further mishaps I had managed a win and also managed to take a couple of minutes of the record. This was great news for Rach after our transition whoopsie earlier and shows that a bit of aggression can occasionally help fuel a decent performance! Crewing with Toddlers however is highly "not recommended"!.

Many thanks to Rach & Shirley for organising 3 boys for the race and to my trusty sponsors for helping my race happen. Thermatech, Torpedo7, Rasdex, Legend paddles & Migym Nelson.

3D Rotorua, Queens Birthday 2015

I've now completed four out of the five 3D Rotorua events. Its always been a good weekend to catch up with family, enjoy the Rotorua bike trails and enjoy one of the most relaxed races regarding logitics I've experienced. It really is an easy race to get organised for.

My previous 6 weeks of training had gone really well. Erring on the side of less training to better balance work and kids had paid off. I'd raced well in the Crazyman as well as the St Clair half Marathon. Last weeks defeat to Rich Ussher in our local duathlon had been a timely trip back to earth ahead of 3D. Going into the race I felt strong and confident of a good hard race.

Starting at a leisurely 10:45 the race start was far from leisurely. Dan Busch, Travis Mitchell and Sam Clark set the early pace leaving Rich, myself and Aaron Cox fighting amongst the slop. Setting into a good rhythm we completed the two laps almost 90secs behind Dan and Travis and about a minute behind Sam who had been sliced off the wash on a buoy.

Hitting the beach I shifted my focus to a slick transition and with help from my brother in Law Mark we did just that.The bike course from Blue Lake follows the edge of the road before ducking into the Whakarewarewa Forest trails. Its an uphill 2km section that I've previously experienced cold legs (paddling a ski) and felt fairly rubbish while riding. This time was a different story. The legs felt good so I pushed hard for the first few k's catching my first glimpse of Dan Busch and Sam Clark as I neared the highest point of the ride. Next up was the "corners" trail and so much fun I forgot I was racing for a few moments. On this section I managed to pass Dan Busch and caught another glimpse of Sam who I hadn't made any further progress on. Sticking to the plan I shifted the focus back to my riding and rode alone for another 10minutes. At this stage I caught a glimpse of Rich chasing me down. Nothing like being hunted to fuel the motivation!

A further 10 minutes went by before Rich inevitably caught me and set about hunting down Sam. I concentrated on holding his wheel with Sam now only 15secs ahead. Several minutes ticked by with no change in the gap, until a couple of changes swung the race slightly in my direction. Rich succumbed to an awkward root giving me a chance to get past and seizing the opportunity to reestablish a gap I picked up the pace. The lift in speed dropped the gap to Sam in a matter of minutes. For the next 15 or so minutes I let Sam set the pace and concentrated on staying in touch, riding into transition right on his wheel. This transition can be a little chaotic as duathletes ahead create disturbance to gear, shoes are shifted etc. I had Mark in transition with the sole purpose of ensuring my shoes were where I left them and it paid off. Another slick shoe change and I ran out 1st, Sam trailing by a couple of seconds.

The run was a race of two halves, a short half and a long half. Mentally the short half was more taxing than the long one.
Half One: Out of TA I ran as fast and smooth as possible. I didn't look back, instead listening for breathing. By the top of the hill (quite a grunt for those uninitiated) feeling quite happy with myself I allowed a brief look back. Disappointingly Sam was only 50m back. Ah shit....another one of these races. Its going to hurt. After such disappointing feedback I took the option least tempting for my legs. Increase the pace again for the downhill.

 Compliments, Dscribe Media

Half two: By the bottom of the hill I had a sense there was a gap but was not in the headspace to look back. If I ran as fast as I could looking back was of no benefit. As I ran through for lap 1 feedback confirmed there was indeed a gap but I wasn't taking any chances and pushed right to the end.

Compliments, Dscribe Media

It was a great finish and awesome to finally win 3D after a four year apprenticeship. Stoked!

A big thanks to my loyal family/ support crew for motivating me all the way, and to my awesome sponsors: Topedo7, Thermatech, Rasdex and Legend Paddles. Without amazing support its impossible to have an amazing race!




Nelson Mail report:
Nelson Multisport Dominance reinforced in Rotorua

Hutt City Crazyman, May 3rd 2015

For a couple of reasons I'd been looking forward to this race for a while. The combination of catching up with some good mates in Wellington and several traveling from Nelson made for an attractive draw card. Couple this with a course I hadn't raced before and I was excited about the race.

We woke on Sunday to a cracker day. Stuff all wind, mild temperature and clear skies. With the boys in the van along with Rach and my good mate Simon we headed to the start.

The Race....

The Le Mans start involved a brief 300m run to our boats and comprehensive feedback as to why I haven't pursued sprinting as a sport. Once at the boats though the combination of Simon holding my boat and having a surfski saw me 2nd off the beach. My start couldn't have gone any better. Soon into my rhythm and heading around the bays to the Hutt river mouth I had two kayaks on my wash, one of whom was Glen Muirhead. Slightly ahead was up & coming k1 racer Kurtis Imrie. After a couple of k's Kurtis seemed to be waiting for us so I took the opportunity to get onto his wash. By this time I was a little confused as to where Dan Busch was but chose not to dwell on it for too long. As it happened Dan had rudder trouble on the start and paddled out of his skin (just a normal day for Dan) to catch up about 5km into the paddle. From here the course did an out and back to the Petone wharf before heading up the Hutt river to Sladden park. Kurtis put a decent burst in close to the river mouth separating the group leaving me on my own in 3rd. Shortly after I entered TA 40 seconds back on Dan and a minute behind Kurtis.

I was quickly through TA and onto my bike.....or was I. I'd been having trouble with my gears for the last few days and thought I had them sorted but after 2-3 pedal strokes my chain snapped under not much load. Damn. Running back into TA Rich Ussher had seen my predicament and offered to help. Yes please. With me being too pumped on adrenaline Rich calmly threaded the chain through the rear derailer while I found my quick link. What I found wasn't pretty and a tad embarrassing. In all my multisport days I've never broken a chain and had never been diligent enough to replace the link. It was so rusted that I had to pry the 2 pieces apart. Anyway, we managed to rejoin the chain and carefully then hastily I set off only to arrive at obstacle number 2 for the day. Michael had just released onto the Hutt river trail 100+ duathlon entrants setting the scene for what was to be a 5km overtaking maneuver. I have never shouted "on your right" so many times ever.
By the time I reached the climb up Boulder Hill I was more tired than I wanted to be but with no sign of Busch there was plenty of work to do. The climb went well until shortly before the top when my rusty link gave way. Now I really was up against it. I started running uphill thinking I'd glide the downhills, run the uphills and all would be well. Fuzzy thinking. There was too much undulation and flat riding to get any speed without a chain so I began asking duathletes if they had a link I could have. No one did. After a few of these I stopped asking and settled into a run but was shortly caught bSy a friendly chap (who I've since forgotten his name) who offered me a link. What a legend. So with link in hand I slowly and carefully threaded the chain and connected it. A quick check of the gears without load and I shot off on my way. Luke Osbourne had passed me recently so my new objective was to catch him before the end of the race. The chance of catching Buschy I thought was long gone....until that is at the base of the last climb I looked up and could make out both Buschy and Luke close together. Game on.

With the last km of the mountain bike sharing the same track as the first of the run I got a decent idea of how far behind I was. Simon and Rach confirmed in TA that I was about a minute behind. Onto the run I controlled my pace so I didn't burn out too quickly coming off the bike. The first climb came up quick and looking up I could see the boys up ahead. I figured if I was to catch them at all it would be going up as they are both decent flat/ downhill runners. With a couple of hard bursts I caught them at the top and headed off in the lead. Immediately I felt better and got into a good rhythm for the remaining 45minutes to Petone Wharf for the finish. It had been an eventful day for all and a more than honest course. I was stoked to have turned my mechanical disadvantages around and finish in the right spot.

A big thanks to my mate Simon and wife Rach for awesome work as support crew. Thanks to Rich Ussher for his mechanical help in transition and my unnamed chainlink donor. Without them the day would have been much different.

Thanks also to my loyal sponsors: Thermatech, Torpedo7, Rasdex and Legend Paddles who make my racing possible. 

Coast to Coast 2015

Well....it was only a few months ago! Time has flown and I've been particularly slack on my Blogs due to plenty going on. Given that several people have asked why I haven't written about the race I'll put a quick retrospective report in here. Its brief and to the point.

My build up for this years race was solid. My training weeks were concise but I felt there was enough quality in there for a good race. I'd had some great company on the course with Dan Busch and Nathan Fa'avae recently and hadn't overcooked myself on any given week. Mentally I was pretty relaxed.

Race Day: The start line was more of a comedy festival than the start of a serious race. In the short space of 2 minutes Nath had taken the micky out of several contenders and we were all enjoying a bit of a laugh. Rich Ussher announced "2 minutes to go". Nath quickly corrected "No, there's actually more like 12 hours to go" and more laughter erupted.

Before long Juddy sounded the hooter and we were off. A slightly shorter run than usual saw us at the bikes in a lung bursting 7 minutes and enjoying the bliss of a transition under lights. Onto the bikes a 1st bunch quickly formed including Braden Currie, Sam Clark, Dan Busch, Hamish Flemming, Pete Smallfield and a few others making 11 altogether. No Nathan Fa'avae.......must still be cracking jokes I thought to myself. The ride went well for me but there was always the question of how much sting a cold headwind will take out of you.

Aitkens transition was again much improved and well organised. I was fast through TA and into my stride. I've never felt great on these first few kilometers with today being no exception. Ahead of me were Braden,  Sam Clark and Sam Manson. Close behind was Flavio. Finding my Rhythm I quickly passed Sam Manson and started looking ahead to Sam Clark who was about 30seconds ahead. At the time I thought Sam & I were running the same speed and that with some effort I'd catch him as I've done before on this course. What ensued was the opposite. Sam gradually pulled away and after 30minutes I couldn't see him. I wasn't feeling on form and the head wind was eating away at me. By Doreen Creek I knew I wasn't having my usual run and felt wobbly and off form. Flavio was on my tail with Sam not far back. I stopped worrying about speed and focused more on eating, drinking and keeping smooth. Unfortunately I couldn't manage the latter and stumbled my way to Goat Pass. I had a long run down with Sam and Flavio getting ahead after the pass. They were on a mission....my legs missed the memo! Into Klondyke however fortunes changed yet again. Flavio was limping into TA and Sam had broken his chain getting on the bike.

Onto the bike I had no interest whatsoever in going fast and invested my time in eating solid food and drinking. Hamish Flemming passed me on a mission.

The run down to Mt White bridge was the first time I'd felt hot all day and I made a decision that I believe changed the course of my day. I stripped off my arm warmers opting to paddle in a short sleeve top. We had a great transition onto the water and I set off in 3rd spot. Sam and Braden were 15-20mins ahead with Hamish just behind. Within 10 minutes the Southerly cut deep and I cursed myself about ditching the arm warmers. My arms were cold. Still I paddled well to Gooseberry Stream and felt strong.

After Gooseberry Stream however I started getting cold. Not just the arms but the legs. I knew that if my legs were getting cold that my body temp in general was cooling off. With no one near behind or close in front I drifted into a state of plod. I was paddling at tempo but I certainly wasn't paddling like someone who wanted to tear the river to pieces. The worst thing about this state is that you rarely realise that you are in it...you just are. Valuable seconds dripped by and I didn't realise the paddling potential that I know I have. At the time however though I thought I was doing well......that was until Nath caught me up 25minutes from the end---and passed me. Shit Trev, you're paddling like a f@#king muppet I said to myself. Harden the f#@k up and paddle like a man. So I kind of woke up and padded with conviction for the remaining 25 minutes. Nath was just in front and I used him like a yardstick until at one braid junction we took different chutes. I lost sight of him and figured his chute was faster. Damn. So I paddled faster.

Two corners from the end he caught me again cursing in the process something about gravel rash on his bum. So we entered the Gorge Bridge TA together and ran to the bikes. I knew if I was to have any chance here I'd need to hit the bike first, and that's what I did opening a small gap of 40 seconds.

The final ride was a bit of a blur but the equation was simple. Ride 70km as quickly as possible and you can have a beer. I knew Nath was back there somewhere and was confident of holding my position until the last 10km where the real hurt began. I didn't have the confidence to look back. Like Luke Skywalker I didn't need to look. I could feel his presence. Bastard.

Anyway, cutting to the end I held on and only lost a few seconds in the final 20km. The mind can do cruel things to a tired body. I was stoked to have made the podium. Braden and Sam were miles ahead in a league of their own but given my body's lack of fire that day it was a more than satisfying outcome.

A big thanks to my Support crew: Pete (Dad), Mark, Patrick & Ian. We had a great day. Big thanks also to my loyal sponsors: Torpedo7, Thermatech, Legend Paddles and Rasdex.