Nelson Sports Awards - 28th November

After what I'd call a solid year of racing for team Seagate we manged to win Team of the Year and Sportsperson of the year for our efforts at the Adventure Racing World Champs in France. Life got pretty busy after France so it was great to spend a night celebrating the success.

 

Above: Nath and I with the sportsperson of the year award (Soph and Chris couldn't make it)


Click here for Nelson Mail article 

Waikaremoana Classic 2012

It was always my intention to make a late decision as to whether I’d do the Waikaremoana Classic this year. I really wasn’t sure if I’d recovered enough after an intense couple of months racing ending mid-October.  When push came to shove I decided ‘d give it a nudge anyway and use it as a training race. If it all went sour and things got really tough I’d still walk away with valuable race experience and a couple more hairs on my chest…….not that I need any. I was also intrigued about the new course changes and I love the atmosphere at Waikaremoana. There’s no place quite like it.

The first challenge with Waikaremoana is getting there. Theres no avoiding a long journey complete with windy roads but with a good road crew it can be fun travel too. Thanks to Dan Busch and his family complete with plenty of car cricket the trip went relatively quickly.

Day 1: 28km mountain bike, 18km kayak, 20km run, 5km bike

I figured I’d figure out pretty quickly as to how my body is faring up today. Correct. Unfortunately it wasn’t great news. As expected I was still in the depths of recovery. The initial ride involved a 2km steep 4wd section out of Tuai village joining the Waikaremoana road near the lake. Several minutes into the race the pace became too much, lactic acid became king and I was forced to push the bike for a while. I never really recovered from the start concluding that I simply aren’t ready for this kind of intensity. Once on the main road the course followed the Lake round to Mokau bay and the start of the paddle. With Rich starting later due to issues with Elina’s front tyre I managed to sit on his wheel for a while but I was in no form to keep the pace and I was soon solo riding. Into transition and I had lost 6 minutes to Dougal who lead off the bike.

Getting excited about feeling better in the boat I transitioned quickly and got to work. No joy. The arms were leaden. If this was a tempo paddle I’d be happy but for a race I was well off my game. That said I did manage to claw my way back from 5^th to third and again was getting excited about a change in discipline. The past 2 years had seen me do really well on this run, fingers crossed for a repeat.

Dan Busch who had just finished his section in the teams helped me transition smoothly and soon I was off on the track. Conditions were cool and wet underfoot normally my cup of tea. No rhythm was forthcoming, no power crept into my legs. Even small rises slowed me to a power walk. It quickly became apparent that I was in no state to race at this level. I would have no problems finishing but it was slow and painful. The key to this type of fatigue is rest. Sure thing…..but not until the day after tomorrow.

Dougal had completed a great day leading from start to finish taking a couple of minutes lead into day 2. He was now 17 minutes ahead of me. 12 of those minutes came from the run, my strong point!

Day 2: 15km mountain bike, 11km kayak, 23km run, 15km mountain bike

Yesterday was a reality check. It confirmed what I’ve known for weeks but wasn’t prepared to admit. I’m tired and off my game.

So my expectations changed a little. I still aimed to give day 2 a good go, I just wouldn’t contest from the start. Instead my plan was to do my own thing initially and see where it left me. As a result I didn’t contest Dougal or Rich and had a much more positive day. I rode on my own for a while and was gradually caught by Karen Hanlen and another unknown rider. Together we rode consistently coming into transition a couple of minutes behind Dougal and Rich. 

The paddle was cold. Luckily my crew (thanks Mum and Dad) forced me into a sharkskin top (very warm paddling top) because shortly after I fell off my ski. Bibs can be annoying things and with my drinking pipes tangled under my bib I stopped to get them out. All too quickly I was in the lake. Too cool for comfort I jumped back on and got back to work. It had cost me a minute and ad me a little worried I’d lose third spot to Luke Osbourne if he ran well. Rest assured short of a miracle I would not.

In transition I was only 30 secs behind Luke and thought if I could run with him 3^rd would be safe. But he disappeared off up the road out of sight. Slightly concerned I set my mind back on my race rather than those around me. Up hills clearly weren’t going well so instead I focussed on smooth efficient running on the flats and downs. Shock horror I even started enjoying things there for a while! 15km through the run I caught and passed Luke who was struggling a bit and by the time I hit transition I was 30 seconds behind Rich who was also struggling as a result of a hectic race calendar.

In transition Rich had figured both of us were both locked in our respective positions and had no hope of chasing Dougal. So in a strange finale Rich waited for me, we biked the final 15km together sparing the bodies any further punishment. Thanks Rich, it would have been a lonely ride otherwise!

So final thoughts….didn’t enjoy it, glad I did it, can’t wait for my upcoming holiday!

A big congrats must go to Dougal for a consistenltly awesome race. A long apprenticeship makes a victory all the more worth it. Good stuff mate.

 

Wulong Quest 2012

This year’s Wulong quest was always going to be a bit of an afterthought. It was situated at the end of a very busy race calendar taking in 3 expedition style races and 2 stage races. It was the 3^rd international race for Seagate in 6 weeks. Hind sight is a great thing and had we known what lay ahead it’s safe to say we wouldn’t have gone. But spirits were high. We hadn’t conceded a race this year and in the back of my mind there was that thought that if all went well we could make it 5 from 5. It didn’t. There’s only so much a body can take. I’m several weeks late putting this report up. I’d love to have had it up earlier but between a lack of time and energy I simply couldn’t be bothered!

Prologue, 10^th October 2012

Wulong province had been cold and wet for a month leading into this race. There was plenty of mud about and as usual in China visibility was poor. As with last year the prologue would be held in Fairy Town, down the hill from our accommodation but uphill from Wulong town. It would include a 2km run off the start, 500m of chair carry (where we carry Sophie in a bamboo carry chair), 4km of biathlon (2 bikes between the team) and 6km of mountain biking. Initially all went well. Even toward the end of the biathlon we were in the action but things went sour pretty quickly. Sophie hit a big wall early on the mountain bike. One can speculate as to why but it was most likely down to a combination of factors including fatigue, injury, nerves and a sudden change of intensity (in comparison with expedition racing).  The outcome was a messy ride. Soph had 2 nasty crashes and we limped into the finish. 9^th place and 4 minutes off the pace wasn’t all bad. The real damage was the realisation that we were not in form and the upcoming days were going to hurt!

Stage 1, 11^th Oct 2012

The first stage of racing is always interesting. It gives a good guide as to how the team will fare up against the competition. Today’s racing would consist of a 30km kayak, 5km run, 10km biathlon o(including a rope activity), finishing with 30 odd k’s of mountain biking. Top teams were expected to finish in 5-5.5hrs. All going well we would be a top team.

Setting off at 1 minute intervals (based on prologue results) we left in 9^th position, 8minutes after Rich and his team. The kayak presented a great chance to recoup some time on the teams in front but unfortunately things didn’t work out as planned. I steered a boat with Nick in the front on a down river section of the Wulong. A distinct lack of steering experience not to mention a serious lack of strength following France soon shone through hindering progress. Despite my best efforts I couldn’t steer our boat effectively steadily losing ground on Nath and Soph not to mention the teams in front. It was a disappointing start to say the least. Entering transition I was fired up from a weak paddle and ran well up the 500m climb to TA2 keeping things moving at a good rate. 

TA2 saw the start of a split biathlon. Nick and I would run together while Nath and Soph started on the bikes. With Sophie not feeling 100% it was an ideal chance to keep her off the feet. Before long we were at the ropes waiting for teams ahead to complete a 20m abseil and 20m swim. Four uneventful abseils and the remaining biathlon later brought us into TA3 and a compulsory 15minute rest stop. A chance to catch the breath, refuel and get the bikes ready for the final 30km stage.        

The final stage for me was a quick reality check as to how well recovered I was. Until now I had been feeling good but 45 minutes into the ride it soon became apparent I was going to struggle. Nick and Nath took care of Soph while I took care of myself. The conditions deteriorated to continuous mud and cold drizzle. Without enough warm gear on and being totally saturated made for a chilling combination making for an even more miserable ride. The misery did eventually end with a warm single track descent into Wulong town before a 1km run to the finish. The day had only taken 6 hours but had seemed like much longer. Given our bad start and the state of our recovery (or lack of) it had been a positive day and we now sat in 5^th position overall. If we could maintain this ranking for the next 2 stages it would be a very good outcome.

Stage 2, 12^th Oct 2012

The goal for today was basically to race as hard as we could and see what happens. It would be nice to think we could compete for top spot but the last 2 days made it very clear this is not a predicament you recover from overnight. That said Nick and especially I needed to up our game in the boat. Bottom line for me was that I needed to paddle harder and steer straighter. Piece of cake!

A massed start in the kayaks saw us paddling 8km to the end of a reservoir where we would transition onto the bikes for a 30km bike mainly uphill to TA3 and a compulsory 15 minute rest stop. Nath was concerned about Nick and I staying straight so he tied a rope with some knots in it to the back of our boat (drogue line). I’m a bit inconclusive as to how much it helped but psychologically it gave me a great hand out helping us finish the 8km about a minute back on the leaders. Still feeling weak on the bike I looked after myself on the ride while Nick and Nath assisted Soph. The bike passed quickly and before long the seconds ticked down on our rest stop. Originally this TA would see us head into a cave/ canyon section but cold temperatures forced a course change. The foot section now became a painful 10km concrete run over two laps. Excitement central. 

Back on the bikes for another 30km ride back to the kayaks and the mud took its toll. My back wheel hub started to seize causing a raft of other problems including faulty gears and rubbing brakes. The mud didn’t stop there. Flicking into every crack and crevasse possible our eyes were the next to falter. It became like looking through pin prick holes and made descents all the more entertaining. Luckily we all stayed on the bikes and rolled into transition visible only by the whites of our eyes and teeth. A wash awaited, for the imminent rope section abseiled off a bridge leaving us to free fall the final 2 metres into the reservoir and swim to the side. It was welcome relief for the body but bliss for the eyes. 

Before long we had transitioned and paddled the 8km of flat reservoir back to the stage 2 start line. Next up…..a stair climb gaining 200m to the road above and 1.5km of running through a tourist cave to the finish. It’s fair to say we grovelled our way along but had finished the day in fifth again. Not bad for a team in survival mode. 5^th was ours to defend tomorrow.

Stage 3, 13^th Oct 2012

If we didn’t already have enough of a handicap! Overnight Nick had succumbed to a violent tummy bug and was barely moving come breakfast time. Had it been an individual race Nick wouldn’t have left the hotel for stage 3 but team racing is nasty in that it demands all members to finish (provided you want a ranking and therefore prize money). So against a suffering body Nick dragged himself into action. Given that Soph had been suffering all week the poor bugger probably didn’t get much sympathy from his roommate! I’ve since heard this isn’t much different to normal. Such is the life when your partnered up with NZ’s toughest female multi-sporter….

Anyway, stage 3 as it unfolded:

Off the gun we sprinted off the start, annihilated the opposition and snatched a stage win…..not today. Reality is that if we had been racing defensively then today was last line material. Nick, our one fresh recruit for this race was now in trouble, Sophie our legendary female had been ill from the start (fatigue etc), leaving Nath and I who despite not at our best needed to keep the stage happening. If there wasn’t a target on our backs from 6th and 7^th it certainly felt like it.

Slipping and sliding are fond memories from the initial 20km run. Mainly downhill with technical slippery single track the section kept us on our toes, and butts for that matter. The Americans were also in trouble due to sickness today and we managed a decent enough paddle, catching and overtaking them on a short reservoir section. Next up was another run. The guide book stated it was 10km and would be completed in 20minutes. This was clearly a miss print but by how much we’d just have to find out the hard way. Hard definitely a fitting description as the stage stretched out to 2 hours. Soph entered an even darker place than she had travelled the last 2 days in. Nick battled with the rugged slippery terrain one stage falling off a 3m bank. Things got a bit grim out there. The much awaited TA came and went, as did a 50m abseil that was welcome relief to running. Ten minutes of running spat us out of a gorge/ cave system and into the final TA for the race (incorporating a 15 minute compulsory rest).  These rest stops are a good guide to how teams are ranked and the time between them. It was obvious that unless we had an amazing final ride we had lost 5^th overall to the kiwi R & R team and looked likely to lose 6^th to the Australian Nuun team.

I remained optimistic. Anything can and usually does happen in these races and if nothing else 6^th was worth fighting for. The fact that they were Aussies further fuelled my flame. Unfortunately the anything that could and usually would happen, happened to me. My already seizing rear hub completely crapped itself as I left transition. With no bearings there to support one side of the wheel it scraped and wobbled itself from one side of the frame to another. Gear changes became a luxury and I could only watch as my brake rotor bent itself back and forth.

Fortunately:

-          Nath was again pedalling strong and assisted Soph on the 600m of climbing to the finish.

-          I was feeling good and could keep an eye on Nick as we climbed (without any food we were worried he would bonk too close to the finish for comfort.

-          It wasn’t raining or muddy for once

-          The final stage was shorter than expected

So after what had been an epic and challenging 3 days of racing we ran over the finish line. The finish brought rest, recovery and above all relief that it was all over. It was far from our finest hour and far from our dream result but we had finished against the most challenging of circumstances. Nick had a great first race at this level. Unfortunately sickness prevented him from finishing the way he started. Soph went through some of the toughest mental challenges I have ever witnessed in a legendary performance of mind against body. Nath was unbelievably strong for the entire race given our lack of recovery. My performance was like the course itself; up and down and my focus quickly became motivated by Burger King on the way home (nothing against Chinese food!). As a team we always knew this race would be a wild card. Wild it was – a little too wild in fact.

Wulong finished what has been my most challenging yet successful year of racing to date. Given we won 4 from 5 of our races for the year Wulong doesn’t in any way detract from what’s been an amazing ride with amazing people.

Bring on 2013!

 

Raid in France: Adventure Racing World Championships 2012

3:45am, Saturday 15^th September.

It’s dark, a little crisp, but above all there’s a buzz of bikes, lights and people all milling around the Le Argenterie La Bessee town square. In 15 minutes a mass ride to the start will commence. An empty café provides Nath with a base for a quick team chat. We are all excited about the days ahead and given our preparation can be confident in our chances of a win. It won’t come easy however, they never do!

4am, Saturday 15^th September.

With a bit of muffled cheering and the sound of clinking pedals we were off. My main aim for this ride…..stay out of trouble. It’s a mass ride, linked to the race only in the fact that it gets us to the start.

6am, Saturday 15^th September.

The ride went without a hitch. Our bags were now packed to the hilt with gear including mountain boots, crampons, rope, ice axes and harnesses not to mention the mandatory race gear, food and water. The sheer weight to carry would limit our speed over this section more than anything else. Not that It mattered. Due to various factors several factors would make this section unique:

-          Due to weather the length of the stage had been reduced from a winning time of 13 hours to a winning time of 7 hours. Now a subsequent stage would be added to the course to make up the time.

-          This section has a minimum time to restrict racing the section too fast. Go under this 7.5hours and you would have to wait before being allowed into transition.

3, 2, 1, Go! And we were off. A few minutes passed for Chris to make sense of the map and up the trail we headed. The rest of the section went without too much drama. It climbed direct to a Glacier at 3000m for some amazing early morning Glacier travel, definitely one of my high points from the race. Being a return trip this section allowed plenty of interaction with other teams and the reduced time pressure allowed for a few pics also. Before long (in face in about 5 hrs we were back on the edge of transition waiting to be let in. It would be a 2.5 hour rest before preceedings start again. No problem!

1:30pm, Saturday 15^th September

With the minimum time now elapsed most teams entered transition together. Ahead lay a short mountain bike followed by and 8 hour trek. The mountain bike while short proved rather technical and claiming several teams through injury, mechanical or punctures. Onto the trek it was a jostle session galore. Before long we were locked in with Silva, Thule, La Fuma and a couple of other teams. It was clear several teams were burning extra gas to keep pace so it wasn’t surprising to see them drop off one by one as the heat climbed. As transition loomed there were only 2; us and Thule. Chris had by now take the reigns as navigator and Thule settled in behind……until another classic Fa’avae moment. Rather than complete all the zig’s and zag’s we were cutting down the middle. There was however a control on the end of one zig. Nathan slipped over to the control, casually clipped it and the rest of us including Thule cut the middle. Five minutes later they realised their mistake and we had some breathing space….Great!

TA came right on dark. Back on the bikes, lights on and down the valley to La Argentiere La Besse through a network of forest roads and single track. We even passed an excited Isabelle, our host from the previous week standing outside the Yurt. Into TA again, bikes disassembled and onto another Trek. This one would get high and take a good 13 hours. A definite highlight from this section came early on where we used ascenders to climb a small gorge culminating with a rope ladder climb up a waterfall. Awesome! After this the going got tough. We spent most of the next 12 hours above 2000m climbing and descending small passes. Nathan had some issues with the constant altitude and gave us several tense moments as he battled his way through. Full credit to his tough bastardness we never lost momentum. With a 1500m descent to finish, this trek definitely had a leg crunching sting in its tail. By now it was mid-morning and amazing scenes panned out below us.

 

At the base of this nasty descent was the next of our adventure entertainment sections…..Via Ferrata. Having not experienced Via Ferrata before this was an awesome chance to catch my breath and enjoy the dramatic gorge below. Fixed cables, stemples and ladders wound us high above the churning water below for a good 30minutes. Off the cables we now had a couple of kilometres of river navigation to the start of the rafts. With steep sided gorges and fast flowing deep water this wasn’t your average river run and saw us clipping onto fixed lines, doing a Tyrolean traverse not to mention a bit of swimming. About half way down we ran into the first navigation issue of the race. Chris was certain he had the correct location yet there was no control. 20 minutes went by searching with the eventual decision to cut our losses. Into TA (start of raft) officials were certain the control had been placed correctly and the pressure came back on us to return and clip the control. Chris however stuck his ground, 100% certain he had the right mark. Eventually Pascal the race director was called and we were given clearance to continue. I did however worry that we had set a precedent for missing controls on the course and potentially given following teams a good cause for protest (As it turned out the control was over 1km from where it should have been removing all doubt of any protest).

So onto the raft we went. This was much anticipated and we were all primed for some great white water action. With Nath’s vast outdoor background it was no surprise that he was well drilled in raft guiding. This was to be a major asset as the river threw plenty of tight fast flowing turns, holes and rocks at us for the 11km section. It was a great respite from all the trekking we had been logging up and a good chance to use the arms. Off the raft there was no time for mucking around. Ahead lay a 5km trek/ run to a lower river section that we needed to kayak before the dark zone kicked in at 8pm. Estimated time to beat dark zone = 4 hrs, Available time before dark zone = 4hrs 20mins. This could be tight!

As it turned out, the river was flowing really fast making for some quicker than predicted kayaking. In the end we hit the first compulsory rest stop 90minutes before the dark zone. Challenge 1 complete, and some hard earned rest awaits.

4 quick hours later we were back in action. A short 4km trek started us off then onwards for the first of several long rides. This one would take us through our second night and through some entertaining riding. If climbing up to 2800m wasn’t enough of a test, Nath and Soph had problems of their own staying awake on the descent. Thankfully we all got down awake and were treated to some great single track riding lower down to keep the adrenalin flowing. The single track later in the ride traversed a steep sided valley and although not overly technical, the consequences were worth taking seriously and came in the form of large exposed drops. Late on this trail our next obstacle would rear its ugly head in the form of a mechanical. Sophie’s right pedal had given way and wouldn’t hold together. With about an hour to go there wasn’t much we could do other than help keep her up to speed with towing. Time passed quickly and soon we entered transition for another 10 hour trek. I was relieved to see no other teams approaching as we jogged off after losing time with the mechanical. We had seen lights slowly catching us up the valley but they were still safely behind…..for now.

 There as no shortage of trekking in this race and this next one through the Mercantour park would be no easy task. In fact several hours into this stage I hit some kind of wall and suffer more than and high points taking us over 2600m. Whether I was dehydrated or knocked around by the heat my work rate dropped rapidly at about midday and I became the needy member of the team. The others helped carry weight, fed me water and plenty of encouragement. Two hours later a swim would make me feel worlds better but unfortunately the damage had been done. I held my own for the remainder of the section but the prospect of another 7 hour ride was not appealing. The description for the section: “A beautiful section of mountain biking with long periods where teams may need to carry their bikes and difficult navigation”. Not the ideal section if you aren’t 100% but the carrot…….another compulsory rest stop sits waiting at the end. I started well, and paced myself well. There was plenty of pushing, carrying and climbing but I was chipping it off slowly and steadily. Until…….the difficult navigation came along. Chris battled to find the highest of the CP’s. An ambiguous route guide for the CP mislead several teams so for an hour we pushed our bikes around hunting for the CP. At every opportunity I would lay on the ground to sleep only to hear those dreaded words “Trev, get up” and off we went again. Full credit to his perseverance Chris found the CP. Luckily for us following teams (who appeared to be closing on us fast) had the same if not bigger issues and we maintained a gap. The following 4 hours of the ride went in a blur for me. I remember a significant lack of enjoyment coupled with some fairly risky riding (I knew riding was much easier than walking!). TA couldn’t have been a more welcome sight and thanks to my amazing team crawled straight into the nearest tent while they boxed my bike. Thanks guys!

Falling asleep was the easy bit. I had a solid 3 hours sleep. Getting up was the hard bit. In fact Sophie must have shouted into our (Chris and my) tent at least 3 times to hurry up. The sleep had done me good, I just wasn’t feeling it yet. The next section would ease us back into things with a 600m climb before dropping into a much anticipated canyon section. This climb is also a bit of a blur for me. I remember the real beginnings of diarrhoea, force feeding food in and discussions with Nath as to my prospects for the remainder of the race. We talked about regaining strength, eating, drinking, staying positive and the possibility that the cool water and change of scene in the canyon would assist my recovery. His words would yet again prove correct. Fully kitted out in wetsuits, harnesses and helmets we made our way down the most beautiful canyon. We jumped into small pools, abseiled waterfalls traversed rocky ledges and above all had some good fun. I regained the desire to live and the world looked much brighter.

 

 

Completing the canyon was awesome. A small 20m abseil followed shortly by a 100m abseil. I remember being amused but at the same time concerned for Chris who dangling beside me had a testicle pinched in his harness. Poor bugger. 100m must have seemed like a long way! Soon after and all off the ropes we headed off down the river bed to the next TA and another down river paddle. It was now early afternoon and we needed to get moving if we were to exit the river before dark (8pm). It wasn’t a dark zone but it made sense to use the daylight wisely. The river was bony and we hit plenty of rocks but the water flowed well making for another entertaining trip. I had an appetite so took the eating seriously only to vomit it all up with an hour to go. Ah well, at least I was feeling stronger.

Next up; an 8km trek to the bikes. Sounds pretty straight forward but in reality it took us 4 hours and there was no shortage of challenges. At one point while climbing a small canyon we had to swim across pools and scrabble up fixed ropes. Time for more warm gear! Sleepiness crept in and a decision was made to catch an hour’s kip at the next TA after assembling our bikes. Lying on a tarmac road isn’t your usual cup of tea but for an hour it was bliss……until those damned alarms went off again. Onto the bikes and up for another 1400m or so. I was weak. My main recollection here was denying offers for towing and Nath telling me to suck it up and accept the fact that I was not riding well.  I took the tow after that! The remainder of the section had it all. We had nastily speed down climbing (trying to maintain control of the bikes and wishing we had better shoes), a small town (where we bought coke, baguettes, bananas, croissants and quiches….bliss on the stomach), and finished with a 1000m, 10km climb on tarmac. Not only tough on the body but so smooth we battled to stay awake. TA was a ski resort high on the hill at 2000m of elevation and we were again into a trek section but this one was only expected to take 8 hours…….all going well!      

    

It’s safe to say the trek didn’t go well for us. It was yet another test against adversity on several scales. Staying above 2000m for much of the trek was not good for Nath. He suffered like a dog through most of the trek diving into dark places (of the mind) most people never get close to experiencing. I on the other hand felt better than I had in 36hours but the diarrhoea had a grip and I had unscheduled stops every 30 minutes for 9 of the 11 hours we were up there. Not so much painful as slowly debilitating with a lack of energy going in. Nath spewed, I pooed. It was a seemingly never ending cycle. During this trek Sophie and Chris really shone through. Both carried extra gear and Sophie was on our case to maintain a steady speed. Had we been left to natural devices our lead would have leaked away significantly faster.

 

At 11 hours (3 hours longer than initially predicted) we reached a very welcome TA. Ahead lay 7 hours of biking, 30minutes of running and an hour of paddling. The bike was the last tough section. All we needed to do was hold things together for the ride and we were as good as home. Sleep became a priority and as discussed we would take another hour of sleep before tackling the bike. Given the course so far it was no surprise that the bike had plenty of technical single track riding in it. Big drops off into the valley, narrrow trails and sections of pushing made for hard work. Sleepiness made concentration difficult also but somehow we made it within sight of the Mediterranean. Soph had a nasty crash at one point but as usual was toughing it out without complaint. The sight of the sea was initially a big rush but after 2 technical hours of up and down the novelty wore off. Not a moment too soon Chris announced the TA was ahead and comparatively tiny sections lay ahead.

On reaching the sea we all jumped in. It was bliss. Weight off the feet, less than an hour to the finish life was good! The paddle was great, we eased off the pace enjoying the amazing day, sea breeze running through the hair…..all that jazz. 30m from the finish to Chris and my surprise our 90kg captain boarded our kayak sending us all into the drink. Commotion and laughter erupted on the finish as we swam the final stretch and leapt across the line. We had done it. There had been so many unforeseen challenges, so much we could have done without. Nonetheless we had done it. World Champions and deservedly so. What a tough mother of a race!!

 

France was a tough week. It took me several days after getting home to realistically process how the race had gone for me and for us as a team. Besides the obvious excitement of winning a World Championship I was initially fairly critical of how I had gone especially with 48 hours of performing less than what I call normal. It wasn’t until I further reflected with Rach that I became truly proud of what we achieved out there. There were not one but several potential race destroying challenges through the course and we rose to overcome each and every one of them. These challenges are all part of adventure racing. The winning team is the one who pushes through despite the adversity and the team who best overcomes those race defining moments that break the others. We were that team. Chris had yet another great race not only with navigation but was strong right through. Nath as usual made all the necessary calls to put us in the right places at the right times and toughed out some really nasty sections at altitude. Sophie as usual was strong through the entire race and kept us moving when the chips were down. I had ups and downs but was particularly happy to fight through the downs. I now have a new level I know I can survive! It was a great team effort.

Many thank to our fantastic sponsors:

SEAGATE, Patagonia adventure gear, Inov-8 off road shoes, GoLite backpacks, Rocky Mountain bikes, Louis Garneau helmets, o2b healthy supplements, Silva headlamps, GU energy gels, Bridgedale socks, Endura eyewear, Awaken organic energy bars, mont-bell tents, ready set Go antichafe, Nordenmark adventure map boards, Tineli bikewear, and adventure nitelights