Adv 223 Yumpu

Team "Slow down Cath" (Megan Bathgate, Catherine Wilson, Emma Stray)
during the paddle section of the 6hr race
the spring challenge
By Vicki Knell
Held in picturesque Cambridge alongside
the mighty Waikato River, the venue for
this year’s Spring Challenge made for a
spectacular setting for the event. On Friday
evening the teams from all over the North
Island gathered at the Sir Don Rowlands
Centre on the banks of Lake Karapiro for
race briefing and a warm up challenge.
It is during this pre-race time that the
atmosphere of nervous tension, friendly
banter and connecting with other teams
happens. One of the disciplines included this
year was the paddling of 3 person inflatable
self-bailing kayaks so an opportunity to have
a little practise was able to be done on the
Friday afternoon.
On Saturday with a race start of 12 pm for
the 3 hour race teams the Mis-Adventure
team were able to have a leisurely start to
the day. We had found a very cute Air BnB
farm cottage with extraordinary views out
over the Waikato countryside to stay in for
the weekend and fortunately for everyone the
weather gods had put on a stunning day.
While support crew are not essential for
this event we had support in the form of an
injured team member – a ski injury put paid
to my racing but did mean that I was able to
take on the support crew role with gusto.
The race started with the kayak section
from the Findlay Park Adventure Camp. It
seems the most difficult part for teams was
keeping the kayak heading in the direction
they wanted. There was certainly lots of
entertainment provided for the support crews
and spectators at the beginning of the 3 hour
race as teams battled to keep out of each
other’s way and to get going on a reasonably
straight trajectory. With great teamwork and
steering from the back the Mis-Adventure
team shot off really strongly and managed to
keep out of the traffic of other less controlled
craft, coming off the water in a creditable 3rd
place of the 50 odd teams competing, but
alas it was all downhill or should we say uphill
from here.
The first mountain bike section started with
a steep hill climb up out of Findlay Park
and then followed 8kms of undulating road
to farmland where there was the transition
for the orienteering section. Although only
covering 3 or 4 kms the orienteering is done
on foot and is a good test of the teams map
reading, problem solving and communication
skills – walking/running over uneven farmland
with some steep sections all the while looking
for the elusive checkpoints provides a
challenge for tired team members. Being able
to interpret and make accurate observations
of landmarks is crucial at this point.
By this time of the day the spring weather
was really heating up and after a quick
transition back onto the bikes the team were
off for the longer 18km mountain bike ride
which would take them south along the west
side of the Waikato River to cross the Arapuni
Swingbridge and then back north along the
beautiful Waikato River cycle trail up to a
last paddle back across to the Findlay Park
Adventure Camp and race finish.
The atmosphere at race finish was carnival
like. Teams from the 6 and 9 hour races were
finishing alongside teams from the 3 hour
race. To be clear though the 3, 6 and 9 hour
events take longer than their namesakes.
This year the 9 hour event was won by
Tron Express an open team who won with
a finishing time of 10:46:29 – and the final
team who were veterans came in with a time
of 21:51:14 – total respect for these amazing
ladies! The 6 hour event winners were
also an open team with a time of 7:24:49
– and the final team of this huge field of 64
teams were a super vet team with a time of
17:42:55 – an amazing show of resilience
and determination.
The 3 hour event winners were a super vet team (total
ages over 150) in a speedy time of 4:02:54 with the final
team of a field of 52 finishers coming in with a time of
8:38:25. While our Miss Adventures were stoked with
their 20th overall and 4th Super Vets placings with a
time of 4:54:42 especially with little training, it’s not
the finishing time or the placing that actually matter.
What matters is getting out there with a group of likeminded
women of all shapes, sizes, fitness levels and
capabilities. We were all inspired by the women we
witnessed participating in this event - the super fit lead
teams but especially the incredible later teams. What
makes us want to do it all over again is the satisfying
grins on the faces of each and every team member as
they cross the finish line, the weekend away with friends
in yet another stunning part of this beautiful country
we live in, the highs and lows during the race and the
satisfaction of being able to move these amazing bodies
to push ourselves to the limit and maybe even beyond
even when we are well over the super vets age limit.
A beautiful start to the Spring Challenge, Cambridge 2020
Thanks again Nathan and team for yet another awesome
event. In what other sport do we regularly have a multi World
Champ giving so much back to promoting the sport he loves,
how lucky we are!
See you all there next year... Spring Challenge Hawkes Bay,
15th-17th October 2021 : www.springchallenge.co.nz
Above: Team "North2South" (Katie Ridley, Aisling Davies, Kiri
Williams) looking for checkpoints in the 6 hour race
Left: Team "Mis-Adventure" crossing the Arapuni Swingbridge
Below: Our team "Mis-Adventure" Trudi Neill, Linda Lennon,
Lynne Dickinson and Vicki Knell at the pre-race briefing
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