Max Adventure 24 Hour - Bendalong
September 2006
The event was a sellout with 100 competitors entering, with a high number of two person teams.
Competitors started arriving late Friday afternoon as the course was issued at registration. Most of the teams still spent the remainder of the evening marking up maps and preparing tubs to be moved along the course. There was to be an advanced section of the course for those teams that arrived back at the start/finish before 12.00 midnight and elected to push on. Team Hardtale comprised
Race day was warm and sunny with a westerly wind on the rise for the afternoon.
Leg 1, Coasteer (approx 6km). The leading teams set a cracking pace from the start and it did not take long for the field to spread out, there were two checkpoints to pick up on the way and soon after it was onto the river crossing. The incoming tide and waves were strong as most teams managed to wade half way across the river then surf, swim and float to the other side. There were safety personnel down river to release throw bags if needed, everyone seemed to get across OK, then another short run on the beach to the kayak TA. We were near the end of the field at this stage; I was labouring on the beach run as I did not want to blow up at the start.
Leg 2, Kayak (approx 16km). We grabbed the first kayak available and as we pushed off we noticed that it was a little different to the other kayaks, shorter with a pointed bow and back rest. It did not take long to realize that this was our lucky break as it allowed us to set a very high cadence and it steered well. We managed to pass all but five kayaks on this leg, we also had some good fortune when a small tinny went past us in the shallow water, we stayed out wide on its wake and hung on for around a kilometer. Staying in the deeper water also made a difference as our boat speed remained constant.
The kayak leg was a real boost as we were only around 100m behind the leaders when we arrived at the next TA.
Leg 3, Bike (approx 20km), with a good climb up to the plateau. This leg was a challenge as the pace was fairly quick and the temperature was on the increase. The first section was some rolling hills with my biggest problem being the rubber matting sticking up vertically to divert water across the road. Matt was bunny hopping the mats as I just crashed through them. We did this section with a couple of teams and it was hard to get the jump on anyone. Matt towed me up the big climbs which helped but some of the teams with us were walking up quicker than we could pedal. We picked up a few more CP’s then it was along the top of the plateau to the next TA. We pushed the pace from here as there were several teams very close behind and we wanted to avoid queuing up at the start of the abseil that was coming up. We kept our fluids up on this leg but I found it hard to digest any food while climbing on the bike, I was looking forward to eating more at the next TA but Matt had other things in mind as a very quick transition was the order for the day. We came into the TA in seventh place about 30 min behind the leaders and only a few minutes behind the other teams.
Leg 4, Trek/Abseil (approx 24km). This section proved to be the most challenging as we were going to drop off the plateau then make the climb back up and the hot winds were not making things pleasant.
We only put joggers on and an extra bidden of water at the TA, then we had a three km run to the abseil with the teams behind closing fast. This was a mistake as we left with only a litre or so of water in our back packs and I still had not downed enough food. We caught up to one team and jogged together to the abseil. The crew doing the abseil were very efficient and it did not take long to get the teams down. Matt and I wore our bike gloves which turned out to be a good move as it was a straight descent for around 40m, the rope got really hot towards the bottom. We lathered up again with sunscreen as the sun was fierce on the open tracks. The track descent from the abseil was very steep and it showed us what we had to climb back up on our way home. We caught up to two teams near CP 7 which was the toughest CP on the course. We climbed up through the lawyer vines and came out under the cliff overhang. There had only been three teams up the top of the knoll at this stage so the best way up had not been clearly marked. We climbed up some mulch covered cracks/opening to the top of the knoll and with three teams working together we quickly found the CP. My legs were cut badly by the vines, Matt kept on telling me to go lightly through the thick stuff, but I kept barging in and getting tangled.
We dropped off the knoll by going along the ridge while the other teams with us went straight down through the thick stuff, they got ahead at this stage as they were on the walking track sooner than us. We jogged all the flats and downhills and picked up the rest of the CPs easily. We just ran out of water as we came close to a farm house during our climb back up to the plateau. Matt called out to the people in the house, they were a little reluctant at first but they helped us fill up our bladders with cool fresh water, another piece of luck as we still had over an hour and half’s trekking (mostly uphill) to get back to the TA.
We chatted to a few teams on our way back up as they were heading down some two hours behind us.
We followed the taped trail along the side of the plateau then up through all the nooks and crannies on our way back up, it was an interesting climb, glad we did it in daylight. Once on the plateau it was an undulating jog back to the bikes at the TA. We spent around 10 min at the TA making sure we had plenty of water and took on some food. We were around 30 min behind the three teams that we had been following most of the day but still in 7th place. Just as we left on the bikes the teams following started to arrive. We had around 70 min of daylight so we decided to put in a big effort while the light was good. We were both feeling OK and not too dehydrated from being short on water.
Leg 5, Bike (approx 50km). The tracks along the top of the plateau were in good condition and it allowed us to set a good pace. Once again the CP’s were easy to find as they kept popping up on the distances that we had marked on the map. It was good not having to read the map on the bike as it normally slows me down, I just kept track of the distances and Matt took care of the rest. There was only one steep section on this leg while most of it was downhill. We only stopped once to connect our lights and having a min min light on our helmet and handlebars made the night riding enjoyable. We had one out and back checkpoint at a lookout and we were hoping to do the return climb before any other teams caught us. Unfortunately as we neared the end of the climb from the lookout two teams came flying down the hill, it was still very close and we estimated they were around 10 min behind us.
We picked up the other checkpoints quickly and kept up a good average speed for the rest of this leg. By now we were around two hours ahead of our estimated times but we were only concerned with keeping our place. I enjoyed this ride due to the high speeds that we could maintain and it is rare to do an adventure race with around 20km of downhill to finish a leg. We arrived at the kayak TA just as Aroc were coming off the water in 3rd place with the other three teams on the water and still within 30 min of us. We put on our wet joggers and got out our jackets just in case it got cold, then into the kayaks.
Leg 6, Kayak (approx 7.5km). The weather was still mild and the water on the lake was flat. Matt took a bearing to the first CP, on our way over we could see two teams heading across the lake. We hit the opposite bank approx 50 m from the CP but somehow my spotting on the shore was not up to scratch and we paddled past the CP. We could now see two teams on the water catching us fast and we still had not found the CP. We turned back and spotted the sign which the CP was attached to easily the second time, Matt was a little frustrated and the “Angry” tag came to the surface on this leg. I was also tea bagging by now as it was well past my bed time but we pushed on. We rounded the point on our way to the next CP, took another bearing and found the CP quickly. We turned our lights off on the way back so the teams close behind could not pick us up. Unfortunately they did the same and they were paddling a lot faster than us. We headed straight back to the CP after taking a bearing and by now there were at least seven teams on the water as their lights danced around the lake. We took no more than 5 min to pack up the kayaks and our boxes then we headed off, just as we were leaving the teams following arrived, the race was now on.
Leg 7, Trek (approx 8km). The last leg was a part run along the roads, sandy beaches and some rocks on headlands. Just as we started off I got really cold as all my gear was wet from Matt depositing water on my head as we paddled. Matt pulled the jacket out of my webbing and I put it on without taking my back pack off and all he said was… “you have to run and warm up again!” By the time we jogged to the next CP at the viewing platform I was as warm as toast again. Back onto the beach we kept up the pace, we could see two teams ahead but no sign of the ones following. As we came around the rocky headland before the monument CP we saw a team around 200m ahead, we soon joined up and put our heads together to find the CP then off down the beach with around 3km to go. As we came down the beach we saw the two teams following about 5 min away. We were now running with Damon Goerke and Fleur Grose and we kept a good pace along the beach. As we came closer to the finish line we realized that we were now going to make the 12.00 midnight cut off for the advanced course but our discussions revolved around having a shower and going to bed. Damon and Fleur could have run away from us but when I walked they joined us which was a nice gesture. We made one more good call by heading off the beach up to the road that went back to the finish line which was a lot faster and easier on the legs. We crossed the finish line together at 11.45 in equal 6th place, then came decision time, advanced course or not.
We were told that some of the teams ahead of us had elected not to do the advanced section. We could have improved our position by two places just by picking up one CP on the advanced course but Matt and I elected to call it quits. The team behind us came in with two minutes to spare but they also elected to call it quits.
It had been a tough day in the office, especially with the heat and the pace that had to be maintained to keep in the race. The first team to finish the main course came in at 8.30 pm with the last team crossing on Sunday morning around 9.00am. The overall winners that did the advanced section spent 4 hours on the next trek and when they arrived at the TA for the next bike leg they were told to go home as there were no other teams any where near them. I had a great time and learnt a lot from my son Matt about maintaining momentum in a long race but it is a lot easier to keep up the pace when you get towed and don’t have to do much thinking.
Thanks again to Gary and his volunteers for a great race and a great location!
Pa Egg