ARC 8 Hour

ARC - Adventure Race Coromandel 8 hour

THaT'Z US headed back to the Coromandel to take on the 8 hour ARC race, after a successful day at the 6 hour previously.  Taryn, Zoe, Helen and I knew we had the basis of a good team - which actually just adds to the pressure.

ARC 8 started at Waihi Beach with a raft to be made and paddled.  Despite our best intentions we were once again last to the equipment and got shoddy tubes!  Mental note: work on knot tying and paddling arms - definitely not my strength.  We weren't well placed after a slow transition, and headed out on the bike to make up some ground.

Most of what followed was a course along the Nugget Multisport and the Hauraki Rail Trail - which I've done before so didn't have that 'adventurous' feel to me.  We ran to Orokawa Beach, hiked up that bloody steep hill, and rode on to Waihi.  The only real mountainbiking was a small section at Waihi Township, which was unmapped except for a clue stating to stay on the one way track and collect seven checkpoints.  The trail wove in and out so we were sometimes quite close to other teams on different loops, so to keep things interesting I would call out a random count number to confuse the other teams.

From Waihi we headed on the Rail Trail through the Karangahake Gorge.  Route options were minimal, so it really did have the feel of a multisport rather than adventure race, which I was finding pretty tiring.  Our nav had been pretty tight, just one up at the old kiln which I misread but Helen persisted and tracked it down.  Other teams were struggling also, including two blokes who had been on our tail during this stage.  After grabbing the checkpoint, we headed back towards the main trail, where we saw them poring over their map.  "It must be over in these buildings" I yelled, and watched as they pulled up and followed us in the wrong direction.  Small things amuse small minds....

On to the last leg, I was gutted to get blocked by a closed tunnel which wasn't marked on the map, and which I'd walked through only a few weeks previously.  This became a 10 minute dead end and one of those nav mistakes that if frustratingly bad luck.

After racing on Autopilot for most of the day, things suddenly got interesting at a checkpoint near the end.  After an uncomfortable 'ropes' activity which involved dropping off a cliff and nearly ripping my arm off, the girls were quick to drop their bags and head off up the track.  I was tired, faffed around a bit, dropped my helmet and picked up the maps, Taryn also stayed and grabbed her clue cards which was our saving grace.  The final checkpoint was on a rock midstream but it was no where to be found.  In my opinion ;) it was in the wrong place on the map.  Downstream of the bridge was a pretty obvious landmark........  We did hear other teams say the checkpoint wasn't there after the race, so obviously others had struggled as well.  After some circling, Taryn checked her clues and found a note which described EXACTLY where to go!  So, we dropped the other teams, stealthily slid into the water and headed downstream for some canyoning.

While I could say that most of the race wasn't very adventurous, this bit was nearly too adventurous for my liking!  We swam across pools, clambered on rocks, dragged each other out of swirling eddies, and jumped off banks into unknown waters, eventually spotting the checkpoint midstream.  No safety crews or marshalls on this section, in some fast flowing water had me pretty nervous, but also made for the highlight of the day, clambering through a downhill tunnel slide towards the end.

1st women's team - actually beating all the men's teams, mixed teams, and pairs - EXCEPT for one Dad and his ten year old kid.  It's not quite as good as being able to say 'first overall', is it? 

National Master's Hockey Tournament

I don't have a photo of my actually playing hockey in Napier at the Nationals.  Tom reckons it was just a drinking trip.  I reckon these ladies are the best hockey players I know.  Silver medals for us lot.

It might make sense to jump from here straight to here to read about how this crazy crew in flapper dresses got me to Australia playing hockey.....