Godzone adventure race
Well the bikes and boxes are packed so now it is time to relax and focus on what lies ahead. Five days 450 km . Kayak 2 hours, bike 3 hours, canoe 4 hours, trek 20 hours, bike 10 hours, trek 20 hours, canoe 6 hours bike 11 hours, trek 12 hours, bike 1 hour, kayak 7 hours. Looking forward to getting started and settling into the team rhythm. Fingers crossed for a seamless race with few mistakes and no injuries or mechanicals ....
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The final flurry
It's funny how you look forward to something for so long and suddenly it arrives. The next two weeks were a flurry of adventures and ca...
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Preparing for a nine month fast and light bike packing tour in Europe and the UK We are always looking for new challenges and new adventures... -
Adventure racing is a sport that requires teams of four to travel together on foot, by bike and kayak using only a map and compass to naviga...
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Things are starting to feel real! We spent the weekend running the Milford and Kepler tracks and have now both said goodbye to our jobs and...
Well it turns out the race starts from the mouth of Milford Sound. A 522km course with the total paddle only 9kms short of the total trekking slog.
ReplyDeleteThe first paddle starts at 0630hrs tomorrow and macpac GOT will call on all their combined experience to keep their race face on, it's easy to suffer sensory overload when you paddle in the sounds! If you have never been through the sounds you'd want to keep your eyes peeled for some race footage tomorrow. With mountains towering on both sides, the sensation of vertigo can sneak up and bite you on the bumfortable:-)
I can report that the team are in great spirits and chomping at the bit to get into their work. The matriarch chaired the team talk this morning and she called for an honest effort, spirit and team work. "if we're not having fun we're not GOT!"
Anne has been seeing everything as contours since Friday morning and Craig has been walking around with his shirt off showing the girls his muscles in case they forget what a pack horse he is!!
The unflappable Jo Forbes is taking everything in her stride, nothing new there.
....and their off!!! A great start with the girls leaving 60% of the field gasping in their wake. Tough first day with not much nav and plenty of hard physical Yakka.
ReplyDeleteThey landed at Milford in 1hr 12mins. Not bad considering the race committee estimated the leaders would take between 60-90mins. Subway smashed it in 55mins with Macpac GOT only 17mins behind. SMOKING!!!
The ride from Milford took the team through the Homer tunnel and climbed 940m in the first 16kms... too easy :-/ All up they climbed 1240m during the 50km ride to TA2.
Getting on to the first canoe section in 15th place was credible in such a prestigious field, yep... not for the girls, they blew down the (sometimes mighty) Eglinton River like Navajo scouts!!!
Early reports (unconfirmed) are that they sang songs as they powered past other teams to hit TA3 11th on the leader board.
Stay tuned...
You wouldn't believe the long hot summer we've had here in Queenstown, so it's no surprise that when the girls hit the first night of racing the rain comes:-)
ReplyDeleteDark and wet... at least it's not cold yet! After exiting the canoe Macpac GOT didn't muck around in transition, they deflated their boats and hit the first trek.
Debbie talked about wanting to concentrate on fast, efficient transitions at the team talk the day before the race and it's really showing in their splits.
But it turns out Nav is going to play a big part in this race after all. None of the teams took the route intended by the race directors. (You navigators out there could/should explain it to the rest of us in the comments section) but with big hills and Beech forests as far as the eye can see Anne needs to bring her 'A' game!
Debbie estimated 20hrs for the first trek. It took them about 26hrs with plenty of drama packed in. After it was all said and done the girls came out still holding 11th place.
Typically they followed that up with a blistering transition before hitting the next bike leg. They will need to watch out for sleep monsters, sleep deprevation could make or break them from now. Watch how they manage that.
They have a few teams in their sights and are even gaining on the highly rated team Subway. Do your magic Anne!!!
Get on line and leave a message of support!!! http://live.godzoneadventure.com/leaderboard/team.cfm?raceNumber=22
Exciting times... stay tuned...
What a difference a day makes! Yesterday Macpac GOT were flying through the field... last night they hit a speed bump.
ReplyDeleteThe stage 5 ride starts off easy enough with a fast flat ride, but nav becomes a bit difficult about 10kms into the 81km stage. There is a track there but it's intermittent at best.
Long spear grass in this area camouflages the trail. If you miss the trail you could end up pushing your bike through the long grass 10m from ridable trails. What's worse is the grass can get a bit boggy in some areas.
You might think that's a challenge but when you consider that Macpac GOT attacked that section at night you realise this MTB leg would break the average man. Luckily there is only one man in the team, he is better than average and he has the girls to drag him through ;-)
Anyway they made it to TA5. They got the news that the stage 7 paddle at Mavora Lake has been canned, along with a section to the stage 8 MTB. Teams are dropping off the rear into the short course options and the DNF's.
So we're into the business end of the race. The matriarch thrives when it's only the toughest left. The team is still marching on, and although they have slipped to 15th on the leader board the have a plenty in the tank.
Anne has a trick or two up her sleeve, keep the faith!!!
See you tomorrow:-)