The bad news is that we were now racing as an unranked team. The good news is that we finished the next day in 4th position overall, our best result the entire week. Most importantly though for us was not the end result, but what we had achieved throughout the race. The limits that we tested, the friendships that we made, the spectacular places we visited, and the skills and knowledge that we have added to our experience. Last week was not just a race, but a journey that we will never forget.
I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone that supported me in any way in the lead up to this race. All of my family and friends that stuck by me when I was sick late 07/early 08, my training partners for helping me get back into shape in time for this race, and to my team mate Hugh for never giving up on me. To my sponsors, The North Face, your gear kept me dry and warm the entire week, AYUP lights which never let me down in the darkest stages of the night, Oceanpaddler.com for getting our new adventure race double organised in time for the race (on which we clocked fastest paddle time on the final stage!) and City Bike Depot for looking after my cycling needs and providing continued support.
So now with more experience under my belt, I will concentrate on recovering and enjoying the rewards a tough race like this will present. This race has allowed me to reassess my training and my future goals, and I am looking forward to stepping up another level in the future as I take on new challenges.
Never stop exploring...
Christie
The race as it unfolded - a brief account
Tuesday - Prologue
Hugh and I started the week well, with a 6th place overall (2nd mixed team) in the opening days prologue, with a fast and furious 3 hour stage that went well over the expected 1.5 hours. Hugh was feeling strong, thankfully, which made up for myself not feeling so great at this early stage and suffering more than expected with some asthma. Racing at altitude in Falls Creek was definitely tough. Although happy with our high placed finish amongst this competitive international field, we returned to our accommodation to prepare our maps and rested up for the 12 hour stage the next day.
Wednesday - Stage 2 (Falls Creek to Mt Buller)
Not unlike the prologue, todays stage started fast and furious with the collection of two checkpoints (CP's) on bike, before being given the CP card for the remainder of the stage. Off to ascend above the tree line on our bikes, we encountered snow on the ground towards the top, and a rather bumpy ride across the ridge and down the other side. Here at the base of the valley we dropped our bikes and began our trek up Mt Bogong, the highest mountain in the area. The views up here were spectacular, and I regret not taking a camera! It was on this ascent that I had some foot complications, and managed to blister my right heel quite well. Not a good start to the week, but some strapping tape would have to hold it up for the remainder of the race. My first major lesson of the week, look after your feet!
A tough off track descent down the other side of Mt Bogong to a hut on the river went well, with Hugh's navigation spot on, although the climb out was a little slow and tedious with my energy levels hitting a low that was to continue in waves for the remainder of the week. Finally returning to the bikes we made the trip back along the rail way (a rather tedious section of trail) to Bogong village where we completed an orienteering section with a ropes challenge. A little scared of heights I have managed with practice the abseils of cliffs and ascent of rock climbing walls, but walking over tight ropes and suspended wobbling boards was a new challenge, and one I was happy to complete!
OK back onto the bike we then summitted Big Hill, a gnarly climb that seemed to have many a bike shoe footprint most of the way up. Hugh and I were feeling strong here and managed to climb the entire way, although I did have a lot of assistance from Hugh with the tow rope out for most of the climb. Having collected the CP from the high point we began what was a highlight of the race, the massive descent into Mt Buller, which finished with half an hour of single track on a marked course, with some steep drops and fast burms, to then finish by completing a lap of the BMX course and crossing the finish line. 3rd placed mixed team today behind international professional teams OrionHealth and Hotteams.co.nz, we were happy with a solid effort despite some difficulties throughout the stage. Time to rest up for the biggest stage of the week, a 30 - 48 hour race from Falls Creek to Omeo tomorrow.
Stage 3, Thursday/Friday - Falls Creek to Omeo
A freezing morning greeted us for a 5.30am paddle/run start where we were to collect various checkpoints around the lake. A fast start on our custom made Adventure racing surf ski saw us with a good advantage, although we were outdone by a couple of teams who decided to split up and pick up most of the checkpoints on foot (this was allowed for this leg only). 1.5 hours later we were back on foot for a 3.5 hour run through some spectacular country down along a tight single track traversing around Mt Nelse. Again Hugh was feeling very strong, but with myself suffering from some stomache issues again early on (keeping food down was not going so well) we knew we were in for a long day. The run went quite well, with no teams catching us on our way down to Big River, and with many teams running along an out of bounds HWY we found ourselves in 3rd place overall at the next transition.
Although all didn't remain so well, and by the start of the next MTB, a 5.5 hour ride up over Mt Wills (1750m) and back down to Hinomunjie Bridge on the Mitta Mitta River, it was apparent this was going to be a very testing stage for the two of us. A hill like I have never seen before soon appeared in front of us, and this is where the true test began. It's hard to describe what your body can go through in an adventure race, but imagine being sucked of all your energy, when all you want to do is lie down and die, you can't even walk straight as you are so light headed, and you are out on a race course with your team mate and the last thing you want to do is let them down. Hugh towed me along for a good 2 hours, while I tried in vain to get some food down. We were passed by our nearest rivals, falling back to 4th place, although with some wicked steep and technical descents approaching it wasn't long before we were back into 3rd position. Feeling a little stronger we maintained our position, until a tyre puncture saw us drop back again into 4th place.
With dark fast approaching we were ready for the river section, with a 3.5 hour paddle down the Mitta Mitta river. It was here that our river layup ski would get a workout, and a part of the race we had eagerly anticipated. Collecting the CP at the half way mark in the light, our ski had held up well to this point. Now with dark upon us, we used our AYUP lights to navigate the second half of the river. Completely waterproof and submersible to 5m, the AYUP's were the perfect light (yet again) for this paddle, and provided enough light so that the night didn't slow us down. Not far from transition though we encountered a team in trouble, Blasters.com were on an island in the middle of the river with a great fire burning for warmth. Andrew was suffering from what was at first thought to be hypothermia, so we assisted in getting him warm while we worked out a plan to get some assistance. An hour later we left to seek help, leaving warm clothes and food behind with them. (Andrew was later found to have a virus and had to pull out of the race. He has recovered and all is well).
Now for the monster leg of the race, a trek with some tricky navigation, thick undergrowth, and a fastest expected time of 9 hours, this was going to be a crux leg. With my cough and asthma deteriorating quickly, we knew this leg would be tough, but set out with good intentions to finish as quickly as possible. Running into team Hardtale early on we joined up with Matt and Ant to complete the trek, which involved a number of steep ascents to over 2000m all off track. Thick vegetation, sharp blackberry bushes, and slippery terrain underfoot provided a challenge, and we finally crossed the cold river to Ferny Flat in 5.5 hours. Here we crossed over teams further back on the course, as this was a multiple CP, one which we had passed earlier on on the river paddle. More steep climbs, plenty of bush bashing, and many CP's later and the sun came up for our final 15km or so up over a ridge and back down to the river to the transition at Anglers Rest. My condition deteriorated during this final stage of the trek, and it was 18 hours after leaving Taylors Crossing that we arrived in Anglers Rest, completely drawn of all energy stores, that our day came to a stop when it was decided that my condition was too poor to continue. Pulling out of this leg was by far the hardest aspect of the race, and a decision that you know at the time you will have to live with forever.
Stage 4 - Buchan Caves to Lakes Entrance
Waking up stiff and sore (not to mention an hour earlier than planned by mistake!) we arrived at the start a little unsure of what the day held for us. With maps handed out at the start of this stage, we were already on a back foot as most teams had support crews that were able to prepare maps for their teams. Unfortunately our support had no experience with this, so we had to prepare our maps on the move. We began with an orienteering leg of about 1 hour, a scenic run around the Buchan reserve trails, past the falls and some local wildlife. The legs felt great at this early stage (surprisingly) but we were a little rusty on the navigation. Hugh holds his job as navigator very seriously, and that is why he is so good at it. Sometimes though he needs to give himself a break, after all we had been through the past week our brains were tired, our bodies exhausted, but we still managed to return back into transition in the top 10.
Onto our bikes and a race to the Buchan caves only 5km away, we climbed down into the darkness to locate the two hidden CP's. One we found easily, the other evaded us (as it did many others) for far too long. The cave was spectacular, we just saw too much of it!
Back onto the bikes for a 3 hour ride up over what now seemed like a small hill after the mountains we had been ascending all week, and down some more wicked ascents on our way to the final leg of the race, a 2 hour paddle to the finish. Catching 3 or 4 teams in transition, we were looking forward to this leg, paddling out through a river, onto the lake, and portaging across the sandbar and into the ocean. This is where our ski is at home. Collecting the final CP on a reef, we expected to see the surf club tower marking the finish line within 3km, but some missing map extended this final paddle and was more like 8km down the beach. Tired and hungry (yes that is the first time I think I said that all week!) we paddled the final km's to the finish line, to be greeted with a final 500m run over the line.
To finish what is now the longest, toughest race I have ever entered is a fantastic feeling. To finish despite things not going even close to plan is amazing. A little overwhelmed by the immensity of the whole week, it is now time to rest up and let my body recover, as it sure needs it.
Thanks to John and the team at Rapid Ascent for organising such a fantastic, challenging race; I will be adding the Keen Adventure race to my calendar in 2009.
Christie
