Kathmandu Adventure Series
Royal National Park - 26^th June 2005

Singing in the Rain

Sunday 26th June saw the third of six events in the Kathmandu Adventure Series take place in the Royal National Park, Sydney.

156 teams of two braved the torrential rain to line up on the start line (eight teams opting to stay in bed). Over 50% of those that did show had never competed in an adventure race before. What lay before the teams was a course with over eight different legs involving running, mountain biking, kayaking, rowing and navigation.

At 9am the starter's horn was heard echoing off the hills as 310 people crossed the start line on the first leg. One team followed shortly after, having answered a call of nature at the wrong moment.

Many a team was left wondering which way to go when they reached Audley Road after a 400m run from the start. Teams were disappearing in three different directions as each tackled the course in a different order.

The mixed teams went straight across the road to Audley boat sheds to collect a rowboat for a 3km paddle along Kangaroo Creek. The jury is still out on whether an oar each or one person paddling and the other encouraging was faster. What is for certain is there was a lot less arguing from the teams that used an oar each!

Teams then collected a series of checkpoints on a 5km run along the Uloola track. Many teams were seen backtracking after overshooting the first checkpoint and then missing the trailhead behind the toilet block. A steep ascent then followed up to the Visitors' Centre to collect the mountain bikes.

Up to this point most of the competitors had remained relatively clean despite being wet. This was all about to change on the mountain bike leg, with more than one competitor losing a front wheel in some mysteriously deep puddles. Six kilometres later, teams dropped off their mountain bikes for a short road run through Grays Point to the kayak transition.

Greg and Jason Slade of Sladecraft Kayaks made short work of the 2km kayak, completing it in only 19minutes, before running up the hill to their bikes. What followed was a mystery mountain bike leg. Teams only found out the location of the next checkpoint at the checkpoint before. Nine kilometres and 6 checkpoints later, teams emerged muddier then ever for a run to the finish line. First across the line were Richard Mountstephens and Simon Manson of Stingers in just over three hours.

A big thank you to our sponsors: Kathmandu, who provided over $2,500 of prizes; Gu, our energy sponsors; and Triathlon and Multisport Magazine for all their support.

This event would not have been possible without all of the volunteers on the day. Thanks to Tony and Alison for rego and scoring; Glen, Steve, Amy, Andrew and Maray for inflating and packing away over 50 inflatable kayaks; Barbara and Barry for rego and manning the missing checkpoint; Kirsty and Christine for looking after 312 bikes (could have made a tidy profit); Lyn and Elena for parking over 150 cars and then manning a TA; Kerry for manning a very busy TA; and Darrin and Sally for wishing 156 rowboats 'Bon Voyage'.

Thanks also to CREST for looking after the safety of all of the competitors!

"Thanks for a fantastic day!! Dave and I cannot stop raving about our first race and will be waiting eagerly for the next Kathmandu race. The well organised day and course (including the rain and mud) made for an unforgettable experience." Jarrod and Dave, Red Hill Demons

"Just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know how much I enjoyed the race yesterday. It was my first adventure race, and it will definitely not be my last. I had so much fun. Despite the weather conditions, you held a well organised and managed event. WELL DONE AND THANK YOU." Nathan Ryan, McGrath Cronulla

"I'm not in the habit of emailing race organisers but I have to make an exception here. Thanks for putting on a great race! This was the first time my partner and I (Team Novice) had done anything like this and we absolutely enjoyed every minute of it.....even though I had to run most of the bike legs as my chain snapped. The weather only added to the enjoyment of the race. It was a great day and one that I'm sure we will always remember. This has really increased our enthusiasm to participate in more of these races. It was awesome! Please pass on our thanks to the sponsors and volunteers as they did a top job. Must give Kathmandu a special mention to thank them for the product we received.

Thanks again. We hope to see you at more events." Phil Giles, Team Novice