A Beginners Perspective
Royal National Park, 24th June 2007

The lead up to this year’s Kathmandu Adventure Challenge saw Sydney finally getting some much needed rain, so much in fact that my friends and I were concerned that the event was in danger of being postponed. Well, Sunday morning arrived and we met up at 6:45am in Stanwell Park to blue skies and a few clouds way out to sea. It was even reasonably warm for a mid-winter’s morning and was shaping up to be a great day for our first Max Adventure event.

We started heading north, and by the time we reached Engadine there were showers. Not to worry, showers were in the forecast and with all that blue sky down south, how bad could it get anyway? We turned into Farnell Ave. and got our first indication of how popular this event was going to be: cars were lined up for 150 mtrs. before the old Visitor’s Centre, unloading bikes & gear, putting wheels on, etc. We pulled into the old Visitor’s Centre to offload our bikes and were surprised to see at least 200 bikes already there and the drop off had only been open for 15 mins.

We headed on down Reid’s Flats (which was already fully parked with staff directing drivers to alternate parking areas), registered, and proceeded to work out our game plans. The 2 Sues (so named for obvious reasons) were on a different course from Jeff & I (The Lost Boys, also for obvious reasons) so we wouldn’t be seeing them until the end.

Our course started with a run leg, which suited us as we were happy to get some running out of the way while we were still fresh. I had been hoping that the steepest sections of running would be uphill, as this suits my knees better, and I certainly got my wish! Note to self: be careful what you wish for. The day was still damp, which is great for running, and the track wound through some very nice bushland. It quickly became apparent that navigation was going to be the challenge of the day, it being difficult to tell how far you’ve run and checkpoints not being the easiest to find anyway (Lost Boys, remember). From the run leg we went to a rowing leg, which was unexpected, and where we had our first hiccup. I ran straight over to the nearest boat, thinking that Jeff was right on my heels, and jumped in. The boat launched without Jeff, and I had to get the oars in and row back as quickly as I could so he could get in. This was when the second problem became apparent, the pin was broken on one of the oars and it couldn’t be locked in. I rowed back canoe style, and the volunteer on the shore was ready with a new oar for Jeff before I got back. The rowing was a good break, better for Jeff as he was a much more efficient rower than I was.

Next we were on to the bike leg, and the last time we would be clean that day. The rain came down periodically hard but mostly steady through this and the rest of the race for us. After the first bike leg we had our second run leg, and missed our first checkpoint. True disappointment is looking for number 19 (Lost Boys, remember?) and finding number 20. So, back to 19 as we were determined not to miss any checkpoints, and then on to our next bike leg.

We finished the event with kayaking and a good portion of the 7mm of rain that fell that day. My family was there to meet (and laugh at) us, wet, tired and covered in mud. It felt very good to hand in our card knowing we finished, and the post race meal was both good and plentiful.

Thanks go to Gary, his crew, volunteers and sponsors for putting on a great day. Thanks also to the Royal National Park for allowing the day to proceed especially under the conditions. We’re up for it again next year, although hoping it’ll be dryer!

Ted Mann