MAC Mag 06
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On Saturday 9 September the newly-reformed Mount<br />
Aspiring College Multisport Team completed their first major<br />
event. The Mountain to Mountain race took the six intrepid<br />
multisporters from the top of Treble Cone to the Snow Farm via<br />
six challenging legs. Alison Reid completed the Giant Slalom to<br />
pass the bib on to Tim Hellebrekers who hurtled down the Treble<br />
Cone Access road at terrifying speeds (a police radar clocked<br />
cyclists at speeds up to 71kmph in this leg). After a 9km ride<br />
up the Matutukituki valley, Tim handed over to Mark Hogg who<br />
kayaked down the Matukituki river to meet Harriet Beattie at the<br />
West Wanaka bridge for the 9km trail run leg. Harriet’s transition<br />
with Roland Taylor involved a hilarious entanglement of the race<br />
bib and an iPod - it was pure impromptu theatre that made<br />
great entertainment for the crowd. Roland then made a heroic<br />
road cycle in head winds from Glendhu Bay to the bottom of<br />
the Snow Farm road which was followed by an outstanding<br />
ascent of the 14km (1000 vertical metres) Snow Farm road by<br />
Miles Topping.<br />
The racers competed with determination and good<br />
sportsmanship and were lauded by the race organisers and<br />
other competitors for their excellent attitude and great effort.<br />
The team has as its major goal the 2007 Mount Cook to<br />
Coast adventure race, and this smaller event underlined the<br />
importance of decent preparation and co-ordination, as well as<br />
how much fun these events can be.<br />
62<br />
Hey,<br />
the race was awesome. Really hard though, from my perspective. I was so proud that the guys<br />
before me did so well even with relatively no training. They all rock. The best thing was being a part<br />
of the team. I think I paced myself pretty well because I was able to keep up the same tempo. I<br />
was totally wasted near the end though. Cycling was great, but I think I would have also liked to try<br />
some of the other legs of the race.<br />
Miles Topping<br />
I guess I have to admit it was kinda fun...even though I almost died! It was a little bit rushed for me<br />
and I was a little unprepared for the whole thing, but I think given those circumstances I actually did<br />
OK. I talked to Chris about this briefly, but I was thinking about taking up Cycling as “my thing” so I<br />
guess with that in mind...I’d like to be the cyclist for upcoming races if possible! In the way of gear...<br />
I think we should use the school budget to buy me a super battery ipod. But seriously, the gear was<br />
fine. I don’t think I came near running out of water even though I drank most of it before the race.<br />
Next time I’d like to do the whole course. Well I’m tired and might go back to bed before school.<br />
Roland Taylor