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We arrived in the Shire, the land of the triathlete, with high hopes of an outstanding and exciting adventure race in the Royal National Park. We were not
disappointed! The weather appeared as though it would be kind to us, after torrential rain caused a change in the race route. After yet another battle with
the contact and the map (thought we might have it mastered by now), we were off.
We were pretty relieved that there wasn't mini-rogaine to sort out the pro's from the amateurs, as we have a tendency to fall into the latter category! It
seemed like a super fast start, with both Elouise and myself wondering how we would keep up the pace. Fortunately the pace slowed down when we arrived at the
first transition area, the canoes. It would have been a lovely trip, with a picnic lunch, bottle of champagne, and our better halves, but alas, we were
here to race. After a bit of paddling we got ourselves sorted out and into a rhythm. Still on our way out to the checkpoint the leading teams were on their
way back, and we could see why - their paddling technique made ours look like we were a couple of Granny's. (Mental note #1 - must learn how to steer a canoe.) But we were not deterred! Back to the boat shed and out of the canoe we jumped, with both of us managing to hurt ourselves in the process. (Mental note #2 - must remember that when timber is constantly under water it becomes very slimy and slippery.)
Now it was off to the bikes. This leg of the race was fantastic, with a beautiful ride up the old Lady Carrington Drive. We were enjoying the scenery so
much that we missed checkpoint 5 (very sneaky that one), but could fortunately get it on the way back. We had to re-stop at each checkpoint just to make sure
we had punched the correct holes (Mental note #3 - must learn to count.) It was all too soon before the bike leg was over and we were racing to the kayak
transition area. We did think it a bit mean of the race organisers, not having the kayaks ready and waiting by the water for us - they are mighty heavy!
But the paddle up and down Port Hacking River was great, and was a good time for a chat. The chatting may have slowed us down a little, as this leg is usually
one of our strengths (actually, it's probably our only strength!).
Back to the beach after collecting a couple of checkpoints and we hit the ground running. It didn't last too long though - those stairs were a bit tough on
the legs. Once we hit the top of the hill it was fantastic running (sorry, jogging!) in gorgeous bushland. We were leap frogging with another team, but
they eventually got the better of us (must have been locals!!). After getting to the top of the hill near Loftus Oval we thought we were home and hosed, with
a nice jog back down hill. Hence we were so distracted by the thought of the finish line that we missed checkpoint 19 (Mental note #4 - must remember to look
at map and collect checkpoints). Elouise stoically ran back to get it, as I am the old woman of the team, and then we were finally on our way back to the
finish.
It is a fantastic feeling, knowing that you have almost finished a terrific race. The final dash home was pretty speedy, with the downhill helping our tired
bodies. We finished in the top ten, which we were both pretty happy about, considering the couple of mistakes we made.
The team at Max Adventure do an amazing job at organising these races, and once again, the volunteers are outstanding. Thank you for a great day out -
we'll be back!
Lyndal and Elouise
(The Wombats)
