Godzone Adventure Race 2013

Without a doubt the whole team were excited about Godzone. It had been several months since our last race together and we were primed for another adventure in the southern hills. Nath had recently moved to Queenstown for a gap year making for some familiar ground to head towards. Straight off the plane I was collected and we headed for the Kawerau’s Dog leg rapid. Nath paddled a white water boat while Soph and I paddled an inflatable double canoe. It was a great opportunity for some last minute sharpening for my canoe steering skills. Awesome! Chris was still on his way. All we could do was lay sweepstakes on his arrival time. Guaranteed it would be last minute, guaranteed it would be when we least expected it. One thing we were sure of however was that he wouldn’t get lost!

Saturday 9^th March:

Yesterday had been spent packing boxes and organising gear. There was nothing left to do but hand in our gear boxes and board the buses. As with last year’s race the bus trip the start was rife with speculation. Where were we headed? As it turned out rumors of a Mt Cook start proved correct. Maps were dished out in Omarama before an afternoon briefing in the Hermatage. The course looked good. A little shorter than last year and perhaps easier navigation but challenging all the same. Major competitors would come in the form of Harraways Oats (Aaron Prince, Stu Lynch, Dougal Allan, Jess Simpson), Macpac, and Thule with several other teams close by if things were to go pear shaped.  A brief description of the stages would be as follows:

1.   .    25km Mountain section above Mt Cook village

2.       37km Inflatable canoe down the Tasman river

3.       140km Mountain-bike

4.       59km Trek in the Dingle Burn area

5.       70km Mountain-bike from Lindis Pass to Albert town

6.       90km Kayak down the Clutha, Lake Dunstan finishing near Cromwell.

7.       35km trek through the Pisa range finishing at the Snowfarm

8.      72km Mountain-bike to Crown Range eventually finishing in Queenstown (via Shotover gorge swing)

 

If pre-race predictions held true this year would involve much closer racing where we ran away with a 12 hour margin. We would do everything we could to get away again but it would be much tougher. Included in this “everything” was a $59 buffet at the Hermatage restaurant. Safe to say we stuck out like a sore thumb but between the food quality and minimal wait time it was ideal last minute preparation!

6am Sunday 10^th March:

With promptness and organisation second Nature to Warren and Adam race start was sharp on 6. We ran at a solid clip through the Village and onto the Sebastapol trail. Teams jostled for position while headlights darted around searching for misplaced teammates. We kept it calm. There was no immediate hurry apart from shadowing the top few teams. Chris and I had spotted a route through the Sebastapol bluffs last night so with Harraways and Thule deviating we took our own line and emerged on the saddle victorious (only for a few minutes…). Before long Harraways were hot on our tail but Thule lagged behind. This theme would extrapolate through the entire race.

 

The remainder of the section was spent with Harraways. No one tried to make a move rather we all tried to establish a gap to the trailing teams. The section was spectacular to say the least. Commanding views spread out across the Hooker and Tasman Valleys with Mt Cook dominating the sunrise. Cloud drifted in at about 1000m making for a perfect start. Several times I had to pinch myself back into the reality that we were in fact racing. The pace remained consistent throughout the stage descending past Mueller hut, back into the Hooker Valley. Not wanting to slacken the pace the adventure race shuffle re-established itself as we continued down the Hooker, and up the Tasman to the Tasman moraine lake complete with icebergs. This was TA 1 and came not a moment too soon. 5km of jogging up the valley without water had left me craving a refill.

 

TA1 saw all alliances disappear. Each team for themselves. Here we turned the heat on, quickly grabbing our rafts and onto the 1km gear carry to the edge of the lake. It was far enough with a 20kg raft. The lake couldn’t come soon enough. Wetsuits, lifejackets, raft pumping and the heat all fuelled the hectic pace. Probably 2mins clear of Harraways we jumped into the boats and paddled off heeding the warnings about upcoming rapids. Yee haaa!!! The first couple of rapids were awesome with substantial waves requiring clever positioning in the boats. Unbeknown to us teams behind were having much more fun leaping backwards off their boats and swimming the rapids (also known as “getting nailed”).

For 90mins we paddled unchallenged, pleased with the rapid flow and progress. A 50/50 braid selection by myself proved costly antd after another 20 minutes of questionable flow the reality was that the main flow was to our right. Even worse was that I could see Harraways quickly mowing us down. Bugger! Soon after the two flows merged coinciding with Harraways catching up. Game on again. Lake Pukaki approached in tediously slow fashion with a quickly braiding river but eventually we broke free the shallows and set to work making these fat inflatables move effectively on flat water. 9km remained to TA2. Slowly but surely we edged a small gap on Harraways. Upon reaching TA 2 2-3 minutes seperated the two teams with the trailing teams barely in sight. 

A quick TA saw us on the bikes for the first time and moving quickly. The first half of this 140km ride would take us along the edge of lake Pukaki then through Twizel, round the Southern end of Lake Ohau then up the Ahuriri River to the TA. The first 100 or so kilometers went fast. Harraways were still on our tail, we could see their lights behind us. The first TA in the Ahuriri valley was in the Clay cliffs. This was an uneventful area by night but would have been stunning by day. A dead-end track cost us a couple of minutes and gave Harraways another sniff at how close the carrot was. 35km remained. It would be a mixture of farm trails and gravel road and progress was much slower than earlier in the ride. Harraways seemed to ebb and flow behind us. At times we were sure they would catch right up only to be surprised that they'd dropped right back. Either way we entered TA3 at Ben Avon station with a narrow 10 minute lead. No time for mucking around.....trekking gear on. 

Stage 4 was to take us toward Lake Hawea in the Dingle Burn area. The predicted time was 20hours but Chris had other ideas! In actual fact the Trek did take us 20 hours. It was an honest trek with some decent climbs. From my perspective this was a frustrating section. It was hard to get any great rhythm or momentum and was typified by the trail down the Timaru River which was off camber with seemingly endless climbs out  off the river to avoid bluffs and waterfalls. I think we covered about 8km in 3 hours which puts in perspective how slow the trail was. Monday (Day 2) was a particularly hot day and despite being well hydrated and eating plenty I found the last 90minutes more difficult than normal. In fact what would normally be a steady walking pace became damn near impossible. Luckily the rest of the team weren't in such a hole and helped me through the last hour. The media's mistake on Sophie's name to "Sophie Hard" was pretty accurate in this hour.

As dusk fell we entered transition at Lindis Pass. Not a moment too soon for me and a change of discipline represented a much needed break for the feet. 20 hours on the feet had taken its toll. To the eye my feet were fine but the  nerves were sensitive.....enough to make me walk like an idiot!

It was great to be on the bike. It was even better to have a break from the sun. My problems late in the trek were definitely linked to such a hot day in the sun. I don't tend to handle the heat well and in hindsight more swimming may have helped my cause. This section would take us 1400m up to the top of Grandview mountain before dropping down to Lake Hawea and following the Hawea river to Alberttown. All going well we would arrive in Alberttown close to 4am in the dark zone and catch some much needed kip before the Clutha kayak section. Initially there seemed to be more trekking than biking but as we gained elevation the terrain improved and I was loving being on the bike. I think there's always a period of adjusting the eyes to night riding after a bright day in the sun and this seemed to improve with time. A quick nap and some smooth downhill later we entered the Hawea flats and soon after were on the river cycle trail playing dodgems with countless rabbits. How we didn't hit one I don't know! The trail was smooth and fast....a little too smooth whilst sleepy but TA5 arrived without a hitch.

Disassemble bikes, food, teeth, wees bed! An hour and forty of sleep was bliss. Getting up wasn't so but we were all much better for it. The dark zone lifted at 7am so we made haste to be in our boats and ready for a 7 sharp start. A small crowd gathered to cheer us off at 7 and a small chuckle radiated as 3 of us paddled off while Chris continued to put his spraydeck on. I was loving being in the boat. It was cool and the beginning of another beautiful day. Later it would be uncomfortable in the heat but for now with the weight off my feet and fast moving water life was good. Every hour we stopped for a brief snack before continuing down river at what I'd call a consistent pace. This would continue for another 7 hours until we reached TA6 on the banks of Dunstan. Before then we would paddle most of the way down Dunstan to a CP close to the Clyde Dam returning to the TA at Lowburn. My main point of suffering was returning from CP 17 at Caimmuir to Lowburn. Not only did we pass Harraways and estimate the gap at 60 minutes but the Sun was in full force reflecting off the lake and making life difficult for my non-sun glassed eyes. Passing Harraways represented a reality check. Time to narrow the focus again and stretch the gap.

The Lowburn TA has fond memories. Adam and Warren had organised vegetable soup, Lasagne and fresh cheese buns for teams in transition. Amazing! I didn't eat anything during the entire race that tasted so good. Nice work boys...

It was now 3:30pm and the heat was incredible. The first 2km of the Pisa trekking stage was on the road and the heat radiated off with intensity. Nath and I spent our time scanning ahead for irrigation streams and creeks to cool off in. If we could look after ourselves during the next 2 hours it would surely pay forward to better pace in the racing that followed. Initially we kept a good steady pace. Everyone was feeling good and progress came without force for several hours. After dark the third CP presented a sting in its tail with steep sidling coupled with an increased presence of speargrass. The feet again protested but we pushed on. Chris was as usual navigating like a legend and the rest of us did our best to keep pace. The terrain eased dramatically en route to CP 22 giving rise to sleepiness. Challenges would continually present themselves at this stage of the race and the team that overcomes them the best generally moves the quickest....or such was our goal anyway! First up would be a quick nap at CP22 to get through the next couple of hours. The lights of the Snow Farm were visible in the distance and without too much trouble TA 7 was upon us.

Final Stage....awesome! This ride would take us from the Snow Farm across the Crown Range, down to Arrowtown then to Queenstown via the Shotover canyon swing. From my perspective the Crown range road seemed a long time coming. There was plenty of pushing, plenty of ruts to confuse tired eyes with a nap or two to keep us on the game. No one said much, we just got about the business. The witching hours coincided with a drop into Arrowtown. Keeping warm was hard but Nath found a solution in the Patagonia Nano-puff jacket that worked amazingly. As with any race there is usually a sting in the tail. Godzone wasn't too bad but if there was a sting it would have to be the climbs out of Littles road and then up to the Shotover gorge swing. The legs definitely protested.

The Gorge swing was great. Three days of racing didn't leave much adrenalin in the pipeline but I sure as hell did enjoy getting the weight off my feet. Its not often you feel sleepy on a 100m+ swing! Formalities over there was only one thing left to do.....finish. Down the Shotover valley we went enjoying the cheers of local supporters and the dawning of another cracker day. Think I might sleep this one away......

The Finish was great. Several locals along with a selection of hard working race volunteers lined the finish chute to welcome us home. Pizza waited over the line along with plenty of cameras, questions and a seat that had my name on it. It had been another great race for us as a unit. Physically we had all come from different build ups probably not making for our strongest race but team cohesion shone through to create another solid collective performance. Thanks again to my teammates for a great racing. Legendary navigation from Chris, race brains from Nath and strength from Soph. Its always humbling. Thanks also to Haraway Oats. Three hours behind is nothing to scoff at. The racing kept us honest and was a sleep stopper for the online spectators. Now they'll have a much better idea of how sleep deprivation works!

     





 

Coast to Coast 2013

Only 3 weeks late on this one. When you do Coast to Coast everything goes on the back burner for a month. Post race all these things rapidly hit the front burner.....safe to say my blog didn't make any burner!


I only decided to enter Coast to Coast on the last day of December. I had been putting the decision off over Christmas but there always comes a time when decisions must be made. I was primed and ready for a hard 6 week build up and all that goes with. January went fast. Two weekends on the course, a few decent sessions between and it was all over. I felt better prepared than I had ever felt, had managed more training than I would normally manage and for all intensive purposes was ready.

As it all unfolded, a very brief account of events.....

5:35am: After 20mins of casual walking toward Kumara beach with fellow legend Dan Moore I noticed things were a little breezy upstairs. "F!@k me, my helmets at the bike stand!".

5:45am: I'd like to say I hitch hiked to the bike stands but in reality I just jumped in someones car and got them to drive me the 4km return to where I left Dan. Crisis over.

6am: No mucking around now. We were off. Braden and Rich set the pace. I followed with a list of other contenders. Without too much mucking around a top bunch of about 12 guys emerged as a front bunch. Among us were Sam Clark, Richard Ussher, Braden Currie, Dougal Allan, Dan Moore and a few others. This was more or less our top ten finishers right off the bat I remember us settling into a reasonably organized rotation early into the ride probably explaining why we put 10 minutes on the 2nd bunch. My legs didn't feel great but with nothing I could do I put my focus onto efficiency and was confident a change in discipline would work well for my legs.

The Run: I had a usual smooth transition here but Sam, Braden and Dougal transitioned amazingly well getting a jump on the rest of us. I wasn't too worried thinking more about running myself into the race rather than blowing a gasket on the first 3km. It was a tactic that paid off but not immediately. My route choices were solid and I was running efficiently keeping Rich, Sam and Dougal at about the same distance in front. By the time we hit Doreen creek I had without too much effort caught the 3 guys immediately in front and was comfortable with their pace.Entering big boulders it was clear that my route choice was different to the other 3 so backing my judgement I went it alone. Going over the pass I wasn't particularly surprised to hear Braden was 8 minutes in front, nor did it worry me at the time. He had always planned to get a break off the run.

On my heels by now was Dougal who was having a great run compared to previous years and put some fire in my belly to up the pace. Soon after I had a clear gap and set about making a quick trip to Klondyle corner. Conditions were quick but 3:03 for the run was awesome. Lets hope it wasn't too awesome.

Apparently not.....Braden had smashed out 2:53. What a legend.

With a firm buttock wind the middle ride went without too much hassle. Getting off the bike things got sticky. I had cramp of the nasty kind throughout my legs. Several expletives, a couple of groans and a banana later I caught back up to Dougal (who had caught me on the last km of the ride then past me atop the hill) on the run to Mt White bridge. Here with my awesome crew we got a gap on Dougal that wasn't to be closed until the dying stages of the river.

Paddling the Waimakariri:

Five hours of running and biking will always leave you a little fatigued but the Waimak is notorious for showing who the decent paddlers are and who cooked themselves on the run. Initially I thought I was the latter. My arms and shoulders felt heavy and fatigued. A little worried I quickly came up with a strategy....ignore it and put up with the pain. By the time I entered the rock garden rapids this strategy was paying dividends. I had started at a decent enough pace and the arms were already feeling better.

The river had dropped markedly even since out practice paddle on Thursday so ahead lay a tough slog but I was feeling good. Getting close to the Gorge I reflected on how great it was I hadn't been caught by Rich. Glancing back I got a disappointing surprise to see him right behind me. He wasted no time getting past but once in front I was even more surprised that he didn't surge ahead. In fact for the next hour I kept Rich in sight, gradually losing time but in a controlled fashion. Until......"the paddle incident".

If I had a dollar for every person who's asked me "what happened to your paddle" I'd be retiring next week. The reality is a bit of a blur. About a kilometer from the iron railway bridge the river took a sharp left turn round some bluffs. This particular rapid had never warranted any special attention in training so it was business as usual. What I think happened is that I got very close to the bluffs, failed to get my paddle out of the way, hit the bluff and tipped over. I then overcooked my 1st roll going straight over the other side. On a second attempt a right hand brace stroke resulted in my RH blade falling off and then a swim. Bugger! For all intensive purposes my race was poked.

In a last ditch effort to continue racing I asked the jetboat driver manning the rapid if he had a paddle on board. "Yes, but it looks nothing like yours?" he said. I quickly responded that it was better that my other option (to waka paddle the remaining 20km), took the 80's style flat paddle and got straight to work. It was far from pretty but I was moving downstream again and focused in my work. 10 or so minutes later I spotted Ian Edmond videoing the race. Spotting his wing paddle I wasted no time in arranging a swap (great for me, not so great for Ian) got back to work. Unfortunately Dougal had now caught up and was now on my tail. The remaining hour of the paddle was uneventful. Serious damage had been done to my time. All I could do was be as consistent as possible. Into transition we were a closely matched bunch. Sam Clark, myself, and Dougal all within a minute.

Biking Home:

I started the bike with an angry vengance but my ride too was soon to fall apart. The paddle incident had a follow on that would hit hard. Basically I hadn't eaten enough on the paddle especially in the final 90 minutes leaving nothing in the tank for the ride. It was a grovel to say the least and Sumner beach really was a sight for sore eyes!


Wrapping up:

Hats off to Braden. He had the dream race and a well deserved win. 2:53 for the run is hard to fathom. Upon reflection I've found plently of positives in my race. I've also learn't a lot about what not to do! Eating plently during the paddle is essential for a good final ride. Its not rocket science but making it happen on a hot day and when bad luck hits is another story. The paddle....well, thats history and it certainly won't be repeating.

Many thanks to my crew and my loyal sponsors who keep me going despite the odds. Thermatech, R & R Sport, and Rasdex.


 

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!