Ten reasons why Geoquest is Australia’s Premier Adventure Race

1. Geoquest is run by the two most experienced Race Directors in the country. Craig and Louise have been the leaders in this field for many years and are passionate about bringing the world of Adventure Racing to Australia.

1. Geoquest has maintained its same major sponsor – Mountain Designs since its inception in 2002. Mountain Designs’ commitment to the sport of Adventure Racing in Australia

2. The Geoquest Half provides an opportunity for new teams

3. or individuals to experience a shorter version of the full course, as well as allowing older AR athletes to continue to participate in the event. The Geo Half was introduced in 2003 and has now become an official part of the event for Mixed, Men’s and Women’s teams.

4. Geoquest continues to support the 4 person mixed team as the ‘Premier’ category and offers equal prize value and equal event length to both men and women in both the FULL Course and the HALF.

5. The location of Geoquest changes every year, not only providing variety for the adventure racers but also stimulating the economy of small coastal towns.

6. Geoquest is navigationally challenging throughout the entire course. The event directors always find a way of challenging even the most experienced teams every single year, which promotes the art of navigation and sparks an interest to become more adept at this necessary adventure racing skill.

7. A support crew is an integral part of Geoquest and are in fact a part of ‘the team’. This allows for family and friends who might never consider themselves as competitors to come along and see some pretty awesome sights and be a part of a team. They also add value by being able to provide fresh or hot food on course which in some events is not possible.

8. Geoquest has an ocean paddle where you can bring your own craft, which ensures that the paddling section of the event required the same amount of skill development and attention as the other major legs of mountain biking and trekking.

9. Geoquest always has some sort of Mystery Leg that is only revealed a few weeks before the event. This has included the use of rafts or tubes and other permitted accessories to get the team and equipment across a body of water. This certainly adds to the challenge of the event and sets the scene for some creative thinking and ingenuity.

10. Geoquest promotes the Spirit of Adventure Racing where an environmental ‘less is more’ philosophy is a major part of the experience. Only the privileged ones who sign up for the physical and mental challenge that we call Geoquest would really understand what this is all about! It’s not about money and it’s not about masses!

GeoQuest Report by BroCann

Some say that getting all members of your team to the Geoquest destination is the first major milestone in the Geo journey. Well for team BroCann (Brothers Andy, Lukas, Mick, and cousin Steve Wallis), it was certainly a relief having the original 4 team members and support crew all present at Crescent Head on the Thursday afternoon for our first Geo. It had been a nervous week beforehand looking after a wife with the flu, and my son with tonsillitis. I have never gargled so much salt water in my life!

We had a minor drama Thursday afternoon when Lukas went to unpack his car, and saw oil all up the back of his car and over his bike. For some reason, it seemed to be concentrated all over his brakes. A blown rear diff seal and 800km of highway driving from the Sunny Coast will do this. The pads were saturated in oil, and with no spare pads, we emptied the local chemist of their alcohol wipes just before closing time. A thorough clean of the brakes left it with about 80% stopping power, which would have to do.

Our main goal was to finish the race with all 4 team members, while our stretched target was to finish in the top 50%. Being our first Geo, the unknown factor really limited us setting anything more specific. Even though the line up also included some really talented teams, our team had all put in a good set of training for the last 5 months so it was now just a matter of being tough in the mind and seeing where that got us.

The Friday before the race seem to drag on forever, and we were all just keen to race. We picked up the Kayaks we had hired from Jared in the morning and took them for a

quick ocean paddle to make sure everything was adjusted ok. This was Mick’s first time in a Mirage 730, and he wanted to make sure he could do a deep water re-entry. A near drowning in his first attempt did not do his confidence much good. He had some real trouble getting his skirt off when he was upside down, however the next few attempts got easier. We paddled back in enjoying the small 1ft swell, knowing well that the weather was forecast to change dramatically before the race started. The forecast was 20-25knot winds, with a 1.6m swell. A short race into shore between our 2 crafts saw us paddle over a tiny swell, which ended up turning us on our side and tipping us over. Hmmmm, can’t wait until we get into the real weather I thought. Gotta remember not to catch a wave into shore! This ‘planned’ capsize helped us to get some extra manual bilge pump practice.

Mandatory checks and competency checks went well, and we got our maps around 3:30. We were told at this point that if the wind was over 17knots, the ocean kayak would be cancelled, and replaced with a MTB. This was disappointing as we had actually done a bit of ocean paddling training. Planning went well, and we got to bed around 9:30pm.

We met on Saturday Morning at 7:15am were we found a very tired Steve and Mick. Steve was staying at the caravan park, and some boys arrived on Friday night for a buck’s night. They partied until 4am, as did Micks new neighbors. Lukas suggested to treat the extra night sleep deprivation as XPD training. We arrived at the starting point after a brief scare thinking that the control card was in the hand out bag back at the unit, as I hadn’t checked though the bag. We decided not to get caught up in the initial start and found ourselves at the rear of the pack. After letting the chaos clear a little, we then put the

foot down and caught up to the lead group. The first ride went well, and we were glad to get onto some hardpack after a slog through the soft sand. We arrived into the first TA in first place (all placing in this blog refer to the male category) which was a pleasant surprise, and this motivated us for a quick transition. Lukas and I had the swim/run, and Mick and Steve went off on the longer run. The swim actually was quite

nice, and was much warmer than we expected. The swim length had also been reduced from 800 m to 400m, which meant that Lukas and I would have the easier of the 2 split legs.

We completed the swim without any issue, changed into our running gear and took off around Hat Head. The scenery was spectacular, and we were making good time. After getting the first CP, we decided to bush bash up the hill to get to save on an out and back. The terrain started off ok, but soon turned to thick lantana. We followed a few kangaroos through some thick scrub and got to about 10 meters from the CP at the top. We could see the CP, but that last few meters seemed to take forever. The bush bash made us up a few places, however we were pretty scratched up. We got the next CP ok, and headed back to the TA, were we had to wait for Mick and Steve to arrive. It was nice sitting on the beach, but we were getting anxious after waiting for 30 minutes. The boys arrived, so we were good to go. Another quick transition onto the bikes, and we were off.

The next leg was a slog through soft sandy tracks, which saw a couple of minor offs. There had been no issues with the navigation at this point, and we were all feeling good. The final bit of tarmac to Smokey Cape lighthouse felt amazing after the soft sand tracks, even though it was uphill.

We arrived at the TA at 12:30 to the taste of some ham sandwiches and cold coke. Wow, how can a ham sandwich taste so good! We were still leading the male category by about 5 minutes. We made our first nav error here, and headed down a track heading to the beach instead of through the headland. Steve picked up on this early, which was nice, as it limited the amount of uphill backtracking. We starting passing some of the half course races here which was encouraging, and rounded the headland to the jail before the beach run to South West Rocks. It was here that team DASH passed us taking the lead in the male category. I was feeling a little sick, so was on the tow on the beach run. I have only recently become a user of a tow rope, as I didn’t think they would make much difference. How wrong was I. Both the bike and run tow systems are now a mandatory piece of my AR kit. We saw DASH head up along the beach thinking that they had missed the turn off over the bridge, only to find that we had actually taken the longer way, as the rocks were crossable due to the tide. The orienteering leg was pretty basic, and saw us leaving this in 2nd place, 9 minutes behind DASH. We had packed a lot of gear in this leg, as the next few legs would be unsupported. We put the hammer down on the bikes to the pack rafting section.

Our rafts were up quick thanks to the electric pump, and we
were soon on the river. Although the rafts went up quick, they
were quite slow on the river. Paddling with our arms just
didn’t seem to have enough propulsion against the tide and
wind. We had 2 people on a single mattress x 2, and 4 bikes
on a double mattress. We did some mid river reorganizing
and made it to the other side ok. It’s good that we are family,
as we got pretty close on those air beds. The sun was going
down, and it was now cold. Mick had left some gear back at
the TA, so he was now in his raincoat for some extra warmth.
We found that the best way to get warm was to go fast, so this
we did. Our bike legs throughout the whole race were our
strongest. Lukas was feeling the extra weight a bit, as he had most of the rafting gear in his pack. The extra 6kg was the ‘teams’ way of bringing him back to an equal playing field with the rest of the team. We made up 35 minutes on this leg, and arrived for the first Rogaine at 5:56pm. This had us back in first place with an 18 minute buffer over second place(DASH), and 1 hour over third place (SA Ambulance).

The first Rogaine leg required us to get 6 of 7 checkpoints. We have found on many occasions that Rogaine’s are heavily influenced by confidence. If you nail the first few checkpoints, it really builds the confidence and helps you on your way. Unfortunately, we still had not found our first CP after 1 hour. We decided to skip this CP (V) and get the other 6, which unfortunately meant we had to go out and collect the far CP’s. Steve’s navigation to the rest of the CP’s went well, even after slipping in the creek and whacking his head on a rock. The food was starting to affect Lukas’s bowels, and it was not safe to trek up a hill behind him unless you were after some extra nutrition that resembled a cross between road kill and broccoli. Although we got the rest ok, it meant that a 4hr Rogaine turned into a 6 hr Rogaine. This had a compounding effect, as it also meant we ran out of water, and had to do a creek fill. I was feeling it here, and had stomach issues, so was not eating much. We saw Tiger Black on our way back to TA after collecting our 6th CP, and they also looked like they were doing it tough. We were very happy to finish this leg, however it was now midnight and we were now 1 hour behind both teams SA Ambulance and DASH. The official Geo Blog read “the wheels fell off for team Brocann, who had a shocker navigating at night, and have now dropped from 1st to 3rd, with SA Ambulance taking a narrow lead”.

It was good to get back on the bikes, even though our butts were now pretty sore. The extra weight from the raft gear definitely made a difference going up those hills, however there were a lot of people now walking up the hills, so it was nice to pass some people again. After a big uphill to start, the rest was pretty much downhill which was nice. We were flying down a dirt road, when I heard a yell, followed by the words ‘drop’. I swerved to the left and missed a massive drop, which Lukas and Steve had

gone over and nailed! Nothing like a drop at 50kmph to wake you up! We again were greeted with some smooth rolling tarmac to Scott’s head, so we put the hammer down and arrived at 1:37am. We made up 28minutes on the leading teams, and were now only trailing second place by 6 minutes.

This TA saw our first hot food which was good. My stomach was playing up, but I ate anyway as we still had a long way to go. It was after this TA that saw the other 3 guys starting to have stomach issues as well. I assured them that it wasn’t due to my precooked spag bol.

We were now on our first Kayak, and it was nice to turn the lights off and paddle under the clear skies on the Nambucca river. We were so glad that it wasn’t raining as forecast. We found the portage area fine, and did the 2km portage to the other side. The next part of the kayak was interested due to the hundreds of fish jumping in the river. We got smashed by fish hitting our kayak, paddles and bodies. It was worse when we put our lights on, so we had to paddle in the dark just waiting for those fish to hit you. Definitely a memorable experience. Steve even had a fish land in the kayak!

We arrived at the next TA at 4:20am. Man was it cold! We were all feeling a bit ill at this stage. We had lost 30 minutes to the other teams, and were now 1 hour behind them. This was our longest transition by far, partly due to us knowing that we would be unsupported for up to 12 hours. Steve was pretty cold in his short skins and was keen to start riding. I packed some extra food, just hoping that I would not need it all. I also ate some dry bread here, which turned out to be awesome, and saw the start of me not feeling ill in the stomach. I will be adding dry bread to the list of food items I take on a long race. Our route choice here was not the shortest, but had us bypassing some of the hilly areas. Steve was starting to feel worse in the stomach, as were Mick and Lukas. There were only about 3 big climbs in our route choice, but it sure did take us a long time. We only had issues with 1 CP on the bike, which saw us searching for 30 minutes. We ended up bush bashing to a creek, and then hike a biking up are steep 50m climb. We found the remaining CP, and headed to the next TA which was the Rogaine/archery. We reached the top of the final big climb to see a team in trouble. We had seen them out on the course a few times, with one of their members hurling. I stopped to give them some anti-nausea medication, only to look up and see Steve also heaving up. We drugged him up, but he was pretty bad, so he hoped on the bike tow (thanks Mick), and I took over the nav. We go to the next TA at 11am and were in 3rd place, 2 hours behind first place.

Steve was in a low, and could now only walk. Mick and Lukas had upset stomachs, however I was actually feeling good now. Thank God for dry bread! I was doing the Nav, and we took off down the road. I decided to head down the hill a little early and follow the creek down to the CP, however we did not find it. We searched for a while, and decided to go back up to the road and attach it from a different point. The second

attack also proved fruitless. Oh no, it was a case of the first rogaine all over again, however this time we had to find it, as the map to the next CP was on the first CP. I could tell the guys were happy to do all the extra hill repeats by the looks on their faces, however it wasn’t until I told them we were going back to the start that I heard the first groan. I offered the Nav to any takers, but as there were none, we headed back up to the start. The case of the first Rogaine CP strikes again. This time I paced out the distances and we found the CP no problems. It was hear that we saw Tiger Black again, and Trev gave some encouragement by saying ‘don’t give up’!

Finding the CP gave me a new leash of life, and I quickly took a bearing to the next CP. We smashed up a hill to the road, and as the others came up, I rechecked the map. Uh Oh, I just realized that when I took the bearing I had the map upside down. Guess those hill repeats in training were really paying off! My confidence took a big hit, and had to apologize to the team. They took it well externally, however I was glad I was not a mind reader! Back down the hill and up the other side we went. Things were looking good to the 3rd CP, and we were all looking forward to finishing this rogaine in daylight. We followed a spur down a hill to a creek, and went up about 200m. It seemed too far, so Lukas went up another 70 and came back empty handed. My nav confidence was at an all time low, and again offered it to anyone else but no takers! I was sure we were in the right place, and after some more looking, decided to trek back up the spur to the main road, and attack from a different angle.

It was now 3:30pm. We were running low on water and considered our battery life for the remaining legs. We had planned to have finished this leg and the next 2 by now. We checked out our battery life and made a call to HQ to see what the penalty would be to have some new batteries brought out, as we still had 2 CP to get, plus a bike leg and raft leg to go. Louise said that next Mountain bike was easy, and so we should be ok, so we pressed on. Steve was feeling a little better now, so I happily handed the Nav back to him. We came down a different approach, and hit the same area we were in before. We continued up the same creek and found the CP. We had gone 20m too short the first time! Ahhhhhh! We decided to take the longer but easier nav choice for the 3rd CP, to build some confidence back up. This took about 45 minutes, as we were still just walking due to the guys feeling sick still. We got the third CP with about 30 minutes of light left. We took a team vote to take the short but risky route option to the 4th CP instead of the long and easy. We took a bearing and through the bush we went thinking it would only take about 15 minutes. By the time it got dark, we knew we were lost. We walked around for ages, but in the end took a safety bearing to the nearest main road. This seemed to go on for every and at one stage I had to check to make sure the map was not upside down when we took the safety bearing. The

bearing was good, and we hit the main road. We got our bearings, and realized we were only 250m from the 4th CP, however we took a vote to skip it as were now out of water and had limited battery life. In hindsight we should have gone and got it, as it turned out to be a 3 hour penalty, however at the time the thought of going back into the bush did not appeal to any of us. We arrived back at the TA very, very glad to be leaving that rogaine. It had smashed us, then re-smashed us. The slow estimate for this leg was 4 hours, however it had taken us 8. We left this TA a beaten, but still keen to finish the race. We had now been without support for 15 hours.

The bike leg always seemed to pick up our confidence, and we found ourselves flying! Shortly into this leg, Steve’s mapboard snapped, so I took over the Nav again. We gave the broken mapboard a very short burial ceremony and off we went. I am not sure what was spurring us on, but we were smashing it. Either the anger from the previous leg, the promise of hot food at the next TA, or the search for water in the town of Fredrickton certainly got us motivated, as we felt like a professional bike racing team. Although we were now out of the race, we still beat the top male team by just under 1 hour on this leg, and this included some extra kms of riding due to missing the first exit to quarry road. Ahh, quarry road. This was where our team had our first niggle, which was pretty good considering we had now been racing for nearly 38 hours. We will put it down to the guys not hearing me to turn due to the noise of the wind on the bikes because we were going so fast and leave it at that!

We reached the raft crossing and stripped down to minimal cloths so we had some warm cloths to put on after. It was very cold at this point, and we had prepared for a long paddle based on our first rafting experience. It was a pleasant surprise to see the tide was with us, so it didn’t take long to cross the river. I was a little concerned at how much Steve was enjoying my ‘body heat’ on the paddle across. Kudos to the person sitting in the kayak in the middle of the river making sure people were safe, as that would have been a very cold and boring job. We packed up quickly, but were very cold.

We again went fast on the bike to warm up, but had trouble staying on our bikes when the uncontrollable shivers went through our bodies causing the handlebars to go everywhere. We passed a few teams along the road and were met at the TA with warm food and a warm fire. It was now 10pm, and it had been 18hrs since we last saw our support team, so needless to say we had no water or food. Butter chicken and rice usually tastes good, but magnify that by 10, and you will get close to how it tasted then. We rugged up for the next kayak leg and off we went. We had it drummed in by support to make sure we went the right way, unlike team Rogue who decided to do some significant extra paddling. Glad the sleep deprivation was not only affecting us. We got about 100m down the creek when Mick realized the control card was back at the TA. We were so glad this got picked up early.

It was warm in the kayaks, but cold out. Skinny Mick doesn’t have much insulation on at the best of times, and he certainly got some extra chill time looking for CP 30, especially when I had them out looking at the wrong bridge. The sleep deprivation was now kicking in, and I was making silly nav errors. What’s an extra 10 minutes over 48 hours I say!

We got to the correct bridge near the weir and continued up the creek for an eternity. Steve’s extra night of sleep deprivation due to the buck’s night was now hitting hard, and the boat was getting a little wobbly as he had some micro sleeps. I was keen not to fall in, so tried to keep him talking. A couple of times I turned around to see Steve ‘paddling’, but unfortunately his paddle was not actually touching the water. He was cold and spent. There was not much navigation happening by now, and I was just looking for a right turn followed by a bridge. The paddle seemed to take an eternity, and we had a couple of disappointing right turns but no bridge, which meant more paddling. The guys were questioning we had gone the wrong way, but it was just a matter of keep going. We arrived to hear our support crew cheering us on at 1:14am. This was the coldest it had been all night, and Steve had to spend some time in the car with the Heater on to warm up. We knew we were on the last leg, and after we had some warm clothes on we started to run to the beach. We hit the beach, knowing there was only 7km to go. This was a nice feeling, and we only had to get one more CP. The last CP proved trickier than expected, mainly due to the sleep deprivation really kicking in. We were all wandering a bit, and not really navigating. We briefly lost each other in the dunes, but eventually found the CP and made our way to the beach. We were all spent by now, and the 7km of soft sand meant some quality time in the hurt locker. Lukas and Steve were struck by the sleep monsters, and were seeing other teams. Steve almost walked straight into the ocean, so we made sure he stayed on the dune side of us for the rest of the race. We could see the lights of Crescent head, however they did not appear to get much closer for ages. We arrived at 5am, and crossed the finish line at 5:11am. We had raced for 45h, 11m, covering 250km, which put us in 17th place overall (out of 32 teams (male and mixed)), which was adjusted back to 21st place after our 3 hour penalty was applied.

The highlights for me were powering on the bike legs, and the night kayaks under the stars. Also, it was pretty special leading the mens division for a good portion of the race. I was also happy that we were able to keep going with no rest easier than I thought it would be. Our teamwork was really good, and there were really no real issues. Each team member stepped up when required and spread the load. We could speed up our transitions a little, and it would be good to sort out our nutrition so we didn’t feel sick. I will definitely be making dry bread a mandatory TA option! The final highlight was the Crescent head bakery. Those vanilla slices and custard tarts were unreal, and I am pretty sure that any weight loss through the race was regained the few days after the race.

The low parts of the race were the rogaines, especially the second one. It really broke us, and I was pretty disappointed with my navigation efforts on that one. More navigation practice, especially at night will really help to improve. I also need to take more care on the first CP, as it really sets you up for the rest of the race.

A huge thanks to Linda Wallis and my dad as they did an awesome job as our support crew. Thanks also to Reuben, Hannah, and Tom (Steve & Linda’s children) for getting dragged around for 48 hours in the car. I know that Ice cream I bought won’t fully pay for the lack of sleep, but hope it goes part of the way.

We all talked on that final beach run if we would do the race again next year, however those conversations will remain under lock and key until we all have had some time to recover and relive the many stories and memories that we gained during the race.

BroCann out.

Mountain Designs Adventure Racing Team

Geoquest Crescent Head 2014 – Was it a beautiful playground.....or was it a battlefield???

The scene was set for a great showdown between last year’s top Geoquest finishers and Seagate, arguably the best Adventure Racing Team in the world. Seagate were tired coming off an expedition adventure race in Africa; Peak Adventure - last year’s winners would be strong despite their chief navigator Rob Preston also backing up from Africa; Outer Limits – 2nd in 2013, would be both fresh and strong coming off a top performance in China, a few months ago; and we knew Cyclezone Mooloolaba would be in there for the fight as well. So with the ominous weather forecast of gale-force SW winds and 100% chance of 15-25ml rain over the weekend we know we were all in for a challenging weekend of adventure racing #GeoquestAR style.

Gary & Leo - Gear Checks

Over the past seven years Team Mountain Designs have dominated Australian Adventure Racing. In fact Team Mountain Designs was the most “winning” team from 2003 -2010. The new look Team Mountain Designs will draw on past racing experience to set new goals and be one of the highest performing teams in the sport of Adventure Racing. Our Vision is to perform at speeds normally reserved for on road terrain while maintaining world class navigation skills.......and we will do this with a smile on our face! Our community vision is to give back what ever possible to a sport that has given us the opportunity to achieve goals beyond our dreams. It is this vision along with support from our partners and sponsors that will allow us to pass on valuable knowledge to aspiring Adventure Racers. Check out our website:- http://www.triadventure.com.au/teammountaindesigns.html

This is a very social time where all teams get to meet up again for the annual Geoquest pilgrimage on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend. Gary having completed 11 and stepping up for his 12th Geoquest was spared from the competency checks along with 2 others Mat Bacon

(Team One Chick & 3 Token Blokes) and Damon Goerke (Peak Adventure Shotz). Despite the reprieve, Gary still did pretty much everything except for the swim & wet exit....even taking me out in the ocean over a few little tiny waves to check the foot holds were right in the Stellar for the choppy ocean conditions predicted. Soon it was time for the course to be revealed, and we were informed of a possible cancellation of the paddle if the winds forecast were above 15knots......what a blow.....all that ocean paddling practice too! Anyway soon we were back at the house with the crew – Lea, Blounie and the Sutherland crew pouring over the maps, and preparing our gear. The course included 14 legs, 32 CP’s, 21 maps and distance of some 227km with a MTB mass start and 5 more MTB legs with two rafting sections to get our bikes and bodies across waterways; 5 treks including an orienteering relay and another archery; and 2 paddles one with a 2km portage. Gary and Sloshy were working on the route choices while Leo and I were going through all the CP descriptions, adding notes and working with support crew on what their roles would be at each of the TA’s along with time approximations as Kylie was cooking up a storm in the kitchen feeding us hearty homemade soup and pasta!

Leg 1 – MTB – Crescent head to Hat Head National Park -20km

As the paddle leg had been cancelled it was a mass MTB start at 8.00am, so this meant that about 140 of us were all gathered at a tiny cross road just out of town. We all lined up and off we set along the bitumen for the first 5k. As a team, we sat near the front of the pack ready to make a move a bit closer up when the road turned to dirt. There was no point in using up too much energy at this stage! The dirt soon turned to sand and we found ourselves moving right up to the front of the field, just nudging ahead of Peak Adventure, and Seagate......maybe we just had a bit more experience with sand riding, with all of the team being Sunshine or Gold Coasters! We all got to CP1A at the same time and proceeded to Hat Head. We came into the TA round about the exact same time as Seagate and had about 2 mins on Peak Adventure. We had a quick transition into our ‘split trek gear’ before heading to the TA right on the beach!

Leg 2 – Trek Split – Hat Head National Park – 8km

We had agonised a long time over this split during preparations, but finally decided that Sloshy and I would cross the creek straight to F, run to I at Hungry Hill then H on Third Beach; Gary & Leo would swim and do the Hat Head Point CP’s C, D E as well as G up on Connors Hill trail. Sloshy and I were first team back and instead of meeting the boys at the TA on the beach, we opted for a quick transition first...as we all

had to get in together! We soon realised that the boys must be back and headed to the TA where they had been waiting for ages.....ouch.....minutes lost! So after a lightning fast transition by Leo & Gary we set off on the bikes in 3rd.......just as Outer Limits were arriving back in TA. We noticed that other teams must have struggled with the sand riding as there seemed to be a big gap to the rest of the field.

Leg 3 – MTB – Hat Head to Smokey Cape -22km

Again we were riding on sandy trails, and I was in my element.....thinking that this was actually a blessing in disguise, as most people hate sand.....but we obviously didn’t mind it at all. This section now had a few steep pinches so a lot more effort and energy required getting through the course. We started to pass many of the Geo Half Teams who had started at Hat Head with the Trek Split. It was also great to come across the Tri Adventure Cowgirls right up there amongst the leaders eating up the sand too! There were just 2 CP’s on this leg and they were on the track and relatively easy to find, so at the end of 3 legs, somehow we were in the lead!

Leg 4 – Trek – Smokey Cape to South West Rocks -11km

We set off on this lovely coastal trek, and instantly the boys put the hammer down I felt I had nothing, so I told Gary I’m only running on 80% and that I had come down with a sore throat ( I had tried not to tell the boys I was not 100%) .....so I might need a tow....so soon Leo hooked me up and we were off running up the Smoky Cape ridgeline collecting CP6 at the gate before the steep trek up to find CP7 at Little Smoky peak! On the way down we decided to take a little detour.....instead of going down the track (which seemed to be going the wrong direction) we continued to bush bash......right down to the road....and only then, realising that the track was the right one, and we did not take it! So we hit some houses and the road and took the long way into to CP8 at the monument now just trailing Peak Adventure. We ran together past Trial bay Gaol to CP9 at Laggers Point before stepping onto the beautiful beach on the way up to South West Rocks. This beach was absolutely stunning and we couldn’t hold ourselves back surprising cameraman James Pitman who said ‘Hey MD’s you are ahead of Seagate’......he seemed surprised......I think we were too! We ran up the rocks smiling as we head into the TA.

Leg 5 – Orienteering Relay – South West Rocks -5km

At this TA we meet the lovely Amy from Geocentric who is handing out the relay maps. This was a Google Earth map with 4 CP’s. We were all required to get just one CP, and take the tracker as the relay baton. Sloshy headed out first; meanwhile we were back at the TA getting our gear sorted for the next leg, as we had to fit paddles on our packs, add food for at least 5hrs and be ready to run our leg of the orienteering when Sloshy arrived back. I was second out on the course, and had the easy CP in the street, but went slightly too far to the right and ended up in Gregory street, so after realising my error, I turned left and ran direct to the CP, on my return Gary too the map and tracker and headed out for the CP, as I was trying to scoff down some hot chips and ham & cheese toasty and a lemon squash......no wonder I didn’t eat much of my packed race food! Gary was in and out went Leo, just as Peak Adventure were leaving the TA....they had blitzed the orienteering without a doubt!

Leg 6 – MTB & Raft – South West Rocks to The Pines Picnic Area, Yarrabinni National Park-30km

Team MD’s were second out of the TA, but Outer Limits were breathing down our necks, as we headed out on the road to the Macleay River, our paddles were catching the wind like sails and made it quite difficult riding. Upon arriving at CP 12 we were to blow up our rafts and paddle with our bikes to the other side. We saw that Peak Adventure had just got on the water and we were just starting.....their craft however did not look to stable or efficient....but they were trying very hard to get off the bank. We had two small lilo’s and one double, one battery pump and one hand pump. Leo and I paddled one single and Sloshy & Gary on their single, towed the bikes on the double. This was effective, as we motored past Peak Adventure and caught the lead Geo Half team just as they were exiting at CP13. We came across two blokes fishing on the side of the river, with a fire ready to go and a weekend camp set up.....they had no idea they were about to be inundated with about 50 or so rafts and around 200 people in the next 4-8hrs! Now off the rafts we had to somehow fit everything back into our packs and make our way to the next TA. The boys all had pack-racks fitted to their bikes which meant much less weight to carry on their backs, but the ride up to the Pines Picnic area in Yarrabinni National park was still rather testing. At some point on this windy dirt road just after we had passed the sign to the infamous Mt Yarahapinni (the location of the 2006 Geoquest hike-a-bike from hell) Sloshy noticed we did not have the map to get us out after the trek. It was not on his board.....Gary was super cool....he just said calmly I can get us to Scott’s Head, we might just have to see if the Geo Half team we had only just passed, have the same CP 16 as us. We lost momentum here for a bit as we were really worried.

Leg 7 – Trek Rogaine – Yarrabinni National Park - 8km

We had to go slow now as we needed to wait for the team GB to get in to see if we could solve our problem.....So we changed into our trekking shoes, Sloshy & Leo got the map from the TA officials, while Gary and I snuck over to GB as they arrived to see if 16 was the same......phew it was....so we drew it on the map, and just the written directions from the main road to Scott’s Head after that. Our spirits lifted again as we headed out on the trek.....we were still in the lead! This was a Rogaine leg where we were required to get 6 or the marked 7 CP’s....mostly creeks and high points and not many tracks....it was 8k....it looked slow going and it was! We headed to CP V first....the description was creek junction, so we followed the main road down into creek to the first creek junction, turned NE and headed to the next junction, and took the SW fork to the CP......as we were heading back up north from this CP we were greeted by Peak Adventure on the same route. It was getting dark now....so on with the AY UP lights! Our next target was CP U, so along High Knob Track we headed east, but unfortunately we dropped into the creek a bit soon, and hit the junction before both S & V, so we headed to CP S first and then went for U. It was on our way to CP U that we met Seagate, in some of the thickest masses of lantana that you have ever seen.....it was nasty but we made our way to the CP together...then went our separate ways! We headed for High Knob Road again and all the way to CP P, choosing to miss CP Q which would have been a nasty climb.....looking at our route choice now, it seems like we might have gone for Q if we had done U and S in the planned order. Anyway it was quick travel out on Way Way Creek Road to CP P and there being a little track down into the creek made the bend quite an easy find! So just R and T to go we headed to R first and headed up the creek....this was very slow travel, and in hindsight I think a better attack point would have been from Leonards Road......but anyway after much twisting and turning and crawling through barb wire vine, wait-a-while and lantana we eventually found the gully that led on up to CP R. We exited direct south and took Leonards Road to CP T at the high point. As we headed for the TA we saw the Cowgirls who were just about to embark on the epic trek, and then Peak Adventure on the bikes heading out.....we wondered who else had eased their way ahead! No one.....well done Sloshy....great nav!

Leg 8 - MTB Yarrabinni National Park to Scotts Head -17km

We left the TA in 2nd place, however as we were leaving Outer Limits and come into the TA as well and we were sure Seagate were not too far behind. Gary was on nav duties now and we made our way up to CP 16. It was a tough climb and there were a few Geo Half teams heading out as well. I know it felt tougher than it was because we had all our pack rafting stuff too...... It was not long before we were on our own heading out along Leonards Road again.....but unfortunately we took a bit of a wrong turn finding ourselves at a dead end track, and having to backtrack up a hill......now it was somewhere about now either just before or after CP 16 that Sloshy realised that the map that we did not have ‘Map 11’ had somehow reappeared...... ‘Oh no’ .....the support crew must have dropped it off somehow! Minutes later we were greeted by Race Directors Craig & Louise who had to stop us.....this was a breach of the rules.....we knew it.....but it was out of our control we had not played a part in getting the map at all.......it had just appeared.....the support crew had obviously panicked and tried help us out.....but yes it was against the rules......but we did not even need the map.......we had it all written on Gary’s Map 9.....but a penalty was applied. We had to ride all the way back to the TA at CP 14/15 and return the poisoned map! So up, up and up we rode once again.....we had already just been passed by Outer Limits and knew Seagate were not far back......now we would be giving away hours! Oh well sometimes things don’t go your way.....and this was just not our day.....! Map dropped off, back out Grassy Head Road, and onto Scotts Head, although we had now ridden an extra 10k of hills we were still in 4th place.....over an hour behind Peak Adventure, Outer Limits and Seagate....who were now fighting for the top 3 spots.

Leg 9 - Paddle – Scotts Head to Macksville -11km + 2k Portage

We greeted our support crew (Kylie, the girls, Blounie and Lea) here once again.....they had hot soup and warm clothes for us ready to go.....we took a bit longer in this TA than other teams 18 mins whereas Seagate, Peak and Outer Limits all just 5 minutes.....wow....impressive! Despite our misadventure, we had still come in to the TA in a time similar to our estimate......so we set off down the Nambucca River at around 9.18 pm. It was a beautiful night out on the water, with the moon brightly shining in the sky. This was the first real paddle of the race, something that we had been looking forward to....especially Leo as he has been putting so much time an effort into his paddling all year! Sloshy & Gary in the Fenn XT led the way and Leo & I in the Stella just sat on the wash! Suddenly Sloshy realised he had forgotten the tracker.......oh no....we could turn back, but the crew would have already been driving down the road with it stored in our gear! Bummer another penalty! The portage worked well, and being very familiar to Gary (as it was the same portage as they had done in 2006) we managed to get the wheels rolling down the road quite well.......just wondered what the cars travelling on the 80k highway thought though! We found the re-entry point quite easily, bashed through some mangroves got back on the water and made our way to Macksville.

Leg 10 - MTB – Macksville to Eungai State Forest – 43km

This was an important TA to refuel as we would not see the crew for more than 10 hours......so a bit more hot soup (cauliflower, this time) and some coffee & hot chocolate was enjoyed by all. Off with the wet clothes and on with the dry ones....it was going to be a long, cool night on the bikes, so we decided to start dry and warm. Off we set on the bitumen out of Macksville, heading for the hills! The boys were absolutely motoring once again.....and again I was struggling....so Leo hooked me up on the tow rope again.....and boy did I spend quite a bit of time on that two rope on this leg! We had quite a few CP’s to collect on our way out to the Archery/Trek and some would prove to be more challenging than others. Gary had his eye on the maps, Leo and I were doing distances and Sloshy was setting a strong pace......we were moving quite well....there were some really steep pinches that we had to walk in parts and some sections where it was just way too steep to tow....this was Geoquest! We located CP 19 on the track bend and were heading to CP 20 when the track we were on just ran out! Mmmm was this a Bycroft twist or were we in the wrong place???? We had checked at the top before descending that we were right, so we pushed ahead through the think forest of lantana. The track, was no longer a track and there was evidence of others being there, but had they turned back????? We pushed on down into the creek, up the other side and soon found the track on the other side and the CP.....phew.....this would certainly sort a few teams out later......as who in their right mind would send us down a track like that????? Craig & Louise would! The hours were just flying by and we certainly were on the other side of half way to the TA. We certainly had to keep our distances correct and focus on the map all the way to CP 21 as we made a few minor errors which cost a bit of time......maybe just fatigue was setting in. CP 23 / TA was at an old quarry, but we somehow just rode straight past it......locating it on the way back up the track thinking we must have taken the wrong track. 43k done!

Leg 11 – TREK – State Forest – 8km

Here we were greeted by Linda and Rob who were entertaining themselves at the archery. We got lots of instructions and went in one ear and out the other and then realised it just meant we just had the do the archery first before we went out on the trek. We had to get 4 on the board before we would be allowed to head out! With Sloshy being a former champion archer, and with Leo, who got 3 out of 3 at the Rogue, this should not be a problem. So up we step.....Leo – miss, Gary - miss, Sloshy - Hit, Kim – Miss, Sloshy - Hit, Leo – miss, Kim – Hit, Gary – Hit (in the red)....we are out of there! Leo (sorry.....but more practice next year....if you want to be a champion like Gary & Sloshy). So we get our map and off we go from the TA to W. This was in a creek junction.....surprise, surprise! Sloshy is on the maps.....it’s still dark as it is just after 4am.....not too long till dawn but for now the AY UP’s are going strong and getting a great work out. So down another creekline we go to find W, and here we have to find the directions to X! Guess what.....another creek junction......but, but this area of state forest is a bit more forgiving, the travel down the spurs is nice, so we stay out of the creek and just jump into the junction at the last minute to find CP X and the directions to Y . Yay Y is at a high point, so up we go over a few creeks and spurs to find the high point.....we get a bit stuck on the way....but Gary has a quick peek and realises we are on the wrong ridge.....so down and up we go onto right one.....Y was a little off the high point down the spur, so it took us a few goes to find it.....and then we had our final clue to Z.....and you guessed it.... ‘creek junction’. It was now light as we made our way to Z and up the spur out of there back to the TA. We are once again greeted by the very excited TA officials Rob & Linda who were now offering coconut water....so the boys and I could not resist but pose for some photos! We were are told that Peak adventure had only just left......no one else had even arrived at the TA but Seagate were now in the lead with Outer Limits not too far off the pace.

Leg 12 – MTB - State Forest to Gladstone – 29km

So it was nice to be on the bikes again and in the light, and to be on some flatter faster trails. Leo was doing a great job keeping me on tow and Gary on the maps was setting a solid pace. This ride took no time at all even though there were 4 CP’s to collect along the way. At CP 27 we were to pick up our rafting gear and cross the river. Here we found Peak Adventure having somewhat of an adventure on the rafts.......they had to split up and go over and back twice to get themselves and their gear across.......so this was going to take them a while. In the meantime while we were inflating our lilo’s we realised one of them had a big hole....we tried duct tape and strapping tape and nothing would hold. So the solution was Leo would paddle and I just sit there with my finger on the whole.....lucky this worked.....and I just got to sit there like a princess! So we nudged ahead of Peak Adventure here as we hurriedly packed our gear back onto our pack racks and backpacks and hurried to the next TA.

Leg 13 – Paddle - Gladstone to Upper Belmore via the Belmore River -15km

Our support crew were so excited to see us ahead of Peak Adventure and made us do a fast and furious transition......but this time we did not forget the tracker or any maps! In the skis and off we set down the Belmore River. It was a beautiful afternoon paddle with heaps of wildlife to keep us entertained along the way.....it was actually quite hard to stay awake now that we were sitting down.....and I could tell Gary was falling asleep and so was I! The weir came up fast and just as we were getting the ski’s up the steep bank we could see Peak Adventure rating fast......so we sped up and got back into the water on the other side of the weir and paddled strong all the way to the TA at Gladstone.

Leg 14 – Upper Belmore – Crescent Head via the Beach – 11km

The crew basically met us at the water’s edge with our packs ready to go....no food....it was all in Sloshy’s pack....and we just had to wear the shoes we had on. Now we were on the final leg of the course and it was a race to the line between us and Peak Adventure for 3rd & 4th

spots, as Seagate & Outer limits were long gone! I was suffering big time with the pace the boys were going, I was hooked onto Sloshy’s tow rope and he was working hard along the bitumen road on the way to CP 32 which we would find in a sand basin using a Google Earth map. I think we all had visions of XPD Tassie where we spend hours searching for a CP in a sand dune......but this was not the case this time. As both us and Peak Adventure spotted the CP at the exact same moment and then headed for the beach for the final 7k run to the finish line.

I was still on tow as we were running along the soft sand.....Leo and Gary were urging me on....but I had nothing.....Peak Adventure passed us and opened up a gap. I needed a short nature stop and soon I was back on tow.....feeling like I could at least keep running.....but no chance of catching up......so we ran down the beach passing a few Geo Half teams on the way and across the bridge into the tiny town of Crescent Head. So after 29hrs of racing Team Mountain Designs finish Geoquest in 4th Place just 4 minutes behind Peak Adventure in 3rd place and a couple of hours behind Seagate the winners and Outer Limits who finished 2nd . What a great race and what a great opportunity we had to race head to head with some of the best AR athletes in the world. Thanks Geocentric Outdoors for such a great #GeoquestAR and thanks to all the teams for who made that battle at the front so exciting. Most of all I think it is great that so many teams signed up for Geo this year to prove that AR is Australia is certainly alive and well and just going from strength to strength.

A very special thanks to our awesome support crew who did everything they possibly could to be there for us and help us speed up those transitions to keep us in the fight for the lead for such a big part of the race......Thanks Blounie, Lea, Kylie, Dersley, Diggy, Emily, Charlotte & Sarah!

To our major sponsors ‘Mountain Designs’, thanks for continuing to support us and the sport of Adventure Racing for such a long time, and especially your support of this race called Geoquest – Australia’s Premier Adventure Race......for without your support Adventure Racing in Australia would not be what it is today!
To AY UP lights, where would we be without your support? Well........we would still be out on leg 7 at the Pines Picnic Area that’s for sure! Thanks for the new lights and B2000 Lithium Polymer batteries....just love the 3 settings....to keep us going longer and stronger!

Thanks also to our supporters Hoka Shoes, Berghaus, Salomon Footwear, and Area 51 for making the products that help make it easier to get to the finish line or just get there faster.... and recover faster too!
Finally thanks to all our supporters out there our family and friends at home who were watching the dots....we hope we kept you on the edge of your seats and that you had lots of fun watching us all night....and day! We certainly gave it a good shot and we’ll be back for more in 2015!

GeoQuest Report by SA Ambulance

TEAM 6: SA Ambulance Adventure Racing (Owen Jones, Morgan Coull, Scott Bemmer, Beau Griffiths)

Mountain Designs Geoquest 48 hour Race Report

With support crew in tow the team embarked upon a mission driving with a load of bikes and team kit from Adelaide and beyond in SA. Arriving after 22 hours of driving the team quickly went about sorting team gear, tuning bikes and preparing fuel/food supplied for the arduous task ahead of them.

With a late team mate change due to injury, SAAS stalwart and original race member Scott Bemmer was given the call up and came out of retirement to boost the team stocks. Labelled “The Rock” and “Dozer” for good reason, he was true to form and was unbreakable for the duration of the race. Such was Scotty’s enthusiasm he held court at the front of the field during the first stage leading the “not-a-peleton” group of teams along the opening road for 5 minutes of glory.

This glory was short lived when the teams hit the sandy tracks through Hat Head National park. Settling back into about 10th position, SA Ambulance ground its way through the sand traps and headed off onto Leg 2’s split Rogaine in a good position. Touted as favourite to take out the mens category, the pressure soon got to the team with Team Captain Morgan Coull suffering early cramping on the Rogaine. Reduced to a walk, the team rapidly lost time over the field and slipped back into 16th place after leg 2 and held in check for much of the daylight hours managing cramping.

Leg 3’s sandy mtn bike tracks did nothing to alleviate the cramping stakes with its Sandy tracks, punishing hamstrings and quads alike. 1hour and 56 minutes of 22km of sand traps was a torture test for the captain going down a number of times whilst cleated in with cramp. A very supportive team offered up some salt tablets which were greatly appreciated and got the Captain back on track again.

Leg 4 and other team members were feeling the effects of pushing harder through the sand and the unseasonably warmer weather. The 11km trek whilst not hard by any means in navigation nor terrain saw the team reduced still to a steady walk. More valuable time was given up to teams ahead as they charged through this section. Now back in 17th/18th position the team was grateful for a rest during the team orienteering section with a chance to rest the legs, refuel and rehydrate.

With the bikes and packs fully loaded with rafting supplies, SA Ambulance rode on steadily out of transition and ready to launch an assault on the field during the team rafting section. A reasonable rafting set up saw the team grab a couple of places back up the leaderboard. It wasn’t without dramas though and things got interesting and bit too intimate in the small rafts as both Team Captain and our Chief nav man Owen simultaneously cramp in the very small children’s inflatable boat.

With a long climb ahead of the team leading into the Forest Rogaine, the team made a great call to stash some of the heavy rafting gear and pfd’s into a nearby bush that the team would be visiting on it’s way back down the mountain. This proved to be a game changing plan allowing fast ascent and descent of the mountain on the bikes. Gaining now a couple of places and in 16th the team was looking forward to the night Rogaine and testing out Owens Nav skills which have been renowned for making up laces in past races.

True to form, Owen’s Nav didn’t disappoint. Whist the team was lightning fast on foot by any means, the nav was however perfect, nailing checkpoint after checkpoint. Team spirits were now high and we were all suitably rehydrate after drinking what we affectionately called that ‘Crazy Ass Coconut juice’ at transition. Now in 11th position and leapfrogging a number of teams we charged on ahead in the mountain bike leg towards the kayak. A quick stop at the bottom of the mountain to pick up our rafts and supplies and it was onwards and upwards for the South Aussies.

Leg 9, the Kayak/portage leg. When you are paddling 40+kg boats it always scares you when you see a portage section in one of your legs. Particularly so when you don’t have any kayak trolleys to portage with... In a frantic effort on Friday afternoon, Devine intervention took hold when Scotty and support crew member Sarge stumbled across a tip. With 3 minutes to closing time on a public holiday the staff were not to pleased to see these guys. A quick rummage through the heaps and the boys popped out to the front office with a pair cheap folding prams. When asked how much for the prams the boys were told to kindly and quickly “F-off” as the staff locked the doors and gates and tore off down the road at break neck speed to the local pub.... A few alterations here and there, a bit of 100 mile an hour tape and there we had it. The Prambulator portage 2000!! Strapped to the top of the Mirages we copped a few funny looks from other teams but even more so as we belted past them during the portage section!!

Leg 10... Surely the longest 45km in mountain biking history. This leg took us 6 hours + and we thought it was never going to end. Coming off wet off the kayak leg

and a tardy transition saw the team suffer with mild hypothermia for a while. With our Nav man fast falling in a whole, the team did well to keep it together. Especially given the “slightly overgrown track through the creek...???!!!??” The rising sun was a welcome sight in the morning and soon reinvigorated the racing spirit within the team.

Leg 11. The team kicked of the final rogaine leg with a spot of archery. As Team Captain, I admit, I was awful at it missing the target wide to the left on both occasions. Now back in 12th place it was make or break time during this leg to make the top 10. The first two checkpoint were nailed pretty quickly whilst there was a mild mishap on the third saw the team ascend to early and have to take a wide berth to safely nail the third checkpoint. Gaining on a number of teams if quickly became crunch time and key decisions had to be made. Play it safe on the last checkpoint or go for broke and the glory. The vote went three to one. We decided on all or nothing and put our trust in Owens quality navigation skills. It was a move that ultimately cement us in the top 10 and take out the 1st place in the male category. We headed out of the Rogaine leg narrowly ahead of about 4 other teams now in 8th place. The team charged down the descents towards the last rafting section at break neck speeds. The team rafting section was flawless compared to the last effort with set up and pack up completed in double time. Now heading to the last kayak and penultimate stage the team were geared up for a lightning quick transition. Wasting no time at all the team were quickly on the river and sitting in 7th place as a number of other teams were preparing their tilt on the final legs home.

Leg 13 was a relatively easy 15km kayak leg with a short portage over the weir. Thanks to Team Rougue going 10km down the wrong way we were elevated into 6th position. As I punched the control card at the checkpoint the following team pulled up the bank in their race skis having made up great time on the first section of the paddle. Fully expecting to be caught by the faster boats Team SA Ambulance somehow held off the attack coming into the transition and quickly set about taking off on the final 11km coastal trek.

Light was now starting to fade fast and leaving transition there was a bit of a concern about losing the google earth image map of the final checkpoint in the dunes. The map was nowhere to be found so we had to make do with what we had. After 10 minute or so hiccup in finding the final checkpoint we could now see the following team hot on our hammer about 500m away. A quick punch of the control card and we motored through the scrub and onto the beach ensuring we kept a low profile and no lights on. Now struggling and with a team member close to collapse and vomiting we trudged along up the beach in what seemed like an eternity to reach Crescent Head. The lights behind us soon became a number of teams that were fast gaining on us. With a few km’s to go the light behind us went out and we now knew they had a sniff of us and were executing their final assault on our placing. It wasn’t to be..... Somehow, we managed to hold off by the barest of margins, 3 minutes followed shortly by a number of other teams. It was racing at its best. Places unimportant, team vs team aiming at being the best they can be.

What an amazing effort by the top teams too, they obliterated the course and left nothing out there, those guys and girls are truly inspirational racers. Well done to all who came and competed this weekend and thanks to Geoquest and all their merry men and women on a great course, race and job well done! Last but not least, thankyou to the wonderful support crews (Millie and Sarge) whom without you there would be no race.

GeoQuest Report by IB Bandits

Since Wilson’s Prom I’ve been building towards the Mountain Designs Geoquest Half, a 24hr team adventure race with navigation, mountain biking, kayaking and running. All male or all female teams are allowed to enter but the emphasis is on the premier (mixed) category. A few leadup events included winning the 6hr NSWRA Gibraltar Rocks rogaine with David Baldwin and practicing some night navigation with my teammate Oliver Johns at the ACTRA 5hr Kowen Forest night rogaine. This was Oli’s longest run to date, and here we were a bit scared to see Seb Dunne and co. training for the Geoquest Full (48hr version) by MTBing for a few hours out to Kowen, smashing the rogaine, then MTBing home! Adventures”

IB Bandits – Keith Conley, Tom Brazier, Sarah Buckerfield, Oliver Johns

Keith Conley is an AR veteran but the rest of our team were newbies. We had a pretty solid grounding in at least one discipline (Sarah – orienteering, Oli – MTB, me – trail running) but predicted we might struggle with kayaking and transitions. One of our strengths is navigation, with all 4 team members being individually competent.

During the course release on Friday arvo, we almost wet ourselves with excitement at the prospect of the relay orienteering leg, predicting that we could make some big gains against other teams with only 1 or 2 navigators. Soon after that, I nearly wet myself with fear when we heard about a swimming leg – fortunately only 2 members had to complete this and I was spared by my friends.

Studying the maps and marking our course went pretty much to plan (with Keith developing a severe stress headache!) and our rough time estimates predicted that we would be racing to finish by sunrise on Sunday! Em and I helped the team to relax by sharing some of our Tinder conversations with the locals. GPS data of our course route.

map for split leg swim/rogaine

This leg would spread the field out a bit to avoid the certain chaos of an inexperienced MTB peloton! The key strategic decision was to figure out how to maximise time efficiency using two separate pairs of people to complete the swim and collect a few checkpoints – hopefully with both pairs finishing around the same time. Keith and Oli nailed the swim and checkpoint C while Sarah and I grabbed the others in a clockwise loop (plus shortcut across the creek and barefoot run into transition). We finished just 3 mins after the lads and were first team to complete this leg, woohoo! small contact patches of tyre surface made it tough going through the sand for Oli The first MTB leg looked straight forward on the map. We were in the lead pack of 3 or 4 teams and shared a bit of drafting on the first section of road. Then we hit the sand and chaos ensued. This was not really a skill that many of us had practiced or mastered. We soon figured out that it helped to just relax into the drifting and just keep spinning an easy gear – if you stopped pedaling you would dig in and fall. Next we experienced a highly unexpected mechanical problem – Keith’s pedal simply fell out of the crank. Upon inspection, the thread inside the crank had almost rubbed flat, so there was barely anything there to screw the pedal back into. We jammed it in as best we could and limped through to the next transition.

10:54-12:41, trek to South West Rocks

Straightforward team trek with a bit of single track, hill climbing, headland views and a few km along the beach to finish.

This was awesome fun. Our whole team can nav confidently, and it was a nice change-up to a more intense tempo. While our teammates did their legs, the wait provided vital preparation time for the next 3 legs without support crew contact – we needed MTBs, head torches/bike lights, running shoes, inflatable pack rafts, paddles, 7hours food/water. This translated to really heavy bags.

13:09-16:04, MTB with 700m pack rafting

The best laid plans didn’t help us on the pack rafting. We used a setup based on the photo above, with the front person using their hands to paddle in a backsculling movement while the forward facing person used a modified kayak stroke. Oli and I were concerned about our bike cleats pinching a hole in the raft so had our feet precariously nestled on each other’s inner thighs – gotta trust your teammates! We could hear a slow leak in our boat so we set off quickly, aiming to reach the other side before too much air spilled out. We were hoping this was an internal leak between the two layers of the boat. Our paddling setup was too speedy for Keith and Sarah, whose bikes were pretty much falling off their boat, so we had to hang on to an oyster pole and wait for them to avoid violating the 100m team separation rule. We bungee corded my PFD to their boat and grunted it out against the wind/current. Our paddling position was limited by the bikes and made for an inefficient, shoulder only paddle stroke – slow going and extreme fatigue in such small muscle groups.

16:04-18:44, Way Way rogaine

We arrived just before sunset in equal 2nd with Keith’s brother’s team – GuRus! Sarah’s nav made short work of the first two checkpoints with a pack of 7 people in tow behind her, then our two teams diverged to collect different 3rd checkpoints. We bumped into fellow Canberrans Bear Hunt, who were only 2 CPs behind us and mowing their way through the field (as per their race strategy).

After a dense bush bash for our 3rd CP, we were coincidentally reunited with GuRus on the way into our 4th and final CP – we just couldn’t get away from each other! Our 2.5hr rogaine effort would turn out to be a significant advantage over the majority of teams and we left Way Way picnic area in equal 1st.

18:44-20:13, MTB hills

Oli’s prowess of riding with no hands while re-folding the map and placing it back in the map board saved us some crucial seconds on this leg. A couple of minor distractions and we were out of the forest and back on the road, getting our pace line on as we headed into Scotts Head.

20:13-21:57, car shuttle

Quick little car shuttle with our awesome support driver Em Cheyne! We were planning to nap in the car but we were ahead of schedule and buzzing so nobody really felt like sleeping. There was panic at the kayak start as we were the first team to arrive and the volunteers were not aware of the location of the paddles that we were supposed to use! A bit of a hunt around and the crisis was averted as we located a trailer
containing the stash of paddles.

21:57-00:20, kayak

We rugged up for this leg as it was pretty cold. By this point it seemed a safe bet (barring any disasters) that the race for line honours was between us and GuRus, as we reached the halfway portage point together. We pulled away slightly on the second half but ended up together again at the final transition area.

00:20-02:35, beach trek

A quick change into dry clothes, shot of coffee each and we were on to the final leg. Keith’s ankle had been getting progressively worse all day and at this point any attempt at running 3km on roads sent stabbing pains through his leg. So we walked towards the beach and watched GuRus run ahead. The only CP on this leg was located in a sand bowl (pic above) and we were approaching from the East-West track on the northern edge of the map. We marched through the dunes and overtook GuRus, leading them into the final checkpoint.

Once we crashed through the scrubby dunes, ready for the final 6km beachfront stretch, we had a friendly chat with GuRus and came to a mutual agreement about the finish proceedings. There was a beautiful lightning storm flashing just off the coast as we made our final approach to Hat Head and crossed the line at 2:35am Sunday morning, beating the sunrise by a good few hours! GuRus followed us in 10mins later for 2nd place, and our mates Bear Hunt would also make it in before sunrise for 3rd place in mixed!

Aftermath

Gigantic thank you to our support crew

intensive support crewing is for an AR, I think it’s a safe bet that their job was much tougher than actually running the race!

The race HQ was in Crescent Head, which was so amazing that Sarah had to take advantage of the surf on Sunday morning, Oli practiced his bike skills and I did some recovery/exploring.

All the AR people were super friendly, and seemed excited to have some fresh/young blood checking out their sport. We also got to meet Seagate (world champions) who won the full race during a Sydney pit stop on their way back to NZ after winning Expedition Africa. These guys are freakishly tough but still basically seem like normal people! Adventure racing seems to involve complex logistics, heaps of organisation and is fairly expensive, but I’ve got to say I’m hooked. Our team is looking at the Wildside AR (5 day race!) near Newcastle in October. Glow worm next weekend!

Public service announcement – on the way home during the Monday public holiday, we were smacked with a $400 fine for obscuring our number plate with our bike rack (despite last minute home made attempt for once-off bike rack use). No demerit points but hefty penalty, watch out!

GeoQuest Half 2014 - The cowgirls ride again

The 2014 Queens Birthday weekend saw the Mountain Designs GeoQuest being held at beautiful Crescent Head and what better way to spend the holiday weekend than with 200 other Adventure Racers running, swimming, riding and paddling around the beautiful Macleay Valley Coast. The TriAdventure Cowgirls team this year was made up of Jan ( Team Captain and super navigator ), Gina, Michelle and myself with our support crew made up of Mandy and Kelsey ( both unable to race due to injury ) and our one and only Cowboy Andy. I had a months’ notice before the race so had plenty of time to train but Michelle had less than 7 days’ notice and we were very lucky to have her join the team at such short notice. Mike and Greg ( Mandy and Michelle’s partners respectively ) were volunteering at the event so everyone had a busy weekend.
We all arrived at the lovely Lorikeet Retreat throughout the late afternoon and evening on Thursday and had a quiet night getting to bed early as it was a long drive from south East Qld

Friday morning was when everything kicked off with team registration, photos and competencies, these involved a first aid and navigation quiz, a swim across the Killick Creek in shoes and PFD and then we had to capsize our kayak and demonstrate that we could get back in. This all went well but we had to wait till evening to have a hot shower as the hot water system at our accommodation had sprung a leak and was being replaced while we were splashing around in the creek so it was a cold shower at the creek side for us.

After lunch it was time to head down to HQ for the all-important course reveal and map hand out, so with the maps in our hot little hands we headed back to study the maps and have a bit of red to settle the nerves and help getting to sleep

What a Cracker of a Geoquest!

This is a race report prepared by Bruce Shaw, our newest Dynamite Adventure member. He was not only a Geoquest newbie, but it was his first adventure race EVER! Great effort by him and a huge level of commitment to dive in the deep end with us with an aim to be towards the front end of the field. Well done Bruce, hopefully the first of many!

It's 4am and the Dynamite Adventure Team convoy was underway. Paul would fly a day later, whilst Karina, Gus & myself hauled our gear up the Hume to compete in the 2014 Mountain Designs Geoquest Adventure Race, all 48 hours of it!

By Friday morning the complete team had gathered for our crack at this year’s Geoquest.
A team of six – 4 racing and 2 supporting would soon be living out of plastic tubs and off local

bakeries as we navigated our way around 250km of beach, bush and waterways on the northern NSW coast. Kelvin & Nikki, our support team, were to become the single source of everything during the race. They would feed us, help clothe us, service bikes, have our equipment ready and get us cracking out of transition as soon as possible.

A race of this size brought in teams from all over Australia and one even from New Zealand. From first timers, like me, to one bloke who’d come every year for 11 years straight to race... the field had a diverse array of teams and experience. We’d soon know which teams would be putting it on the line to win... or in our case get as high up in the top ten as we could.

Dynamite Adventure Racing

things stood out for me. One being the safety speech discussing the "inherent dangers" of not just adventure racing, but also the Australian bush... the sobering line was that if you’re not comfortable with taking personal responsibility for the unknown dangers ahead then come and be withdrawn from the race.... hmmm.

Secondly, was to do with the increasing wind levels and how that could affect the first kayaking leg – frantic research to know what the weather was doing.

I had been told that the real race starts at the briefing, 18 hours before we officially start to sweat in earnest... it wouldn’t be long before I found out why. With maps in hand, we literally had to pick the tracks & roads we would take for the entire race and

there wasn’t just one to choose from, plus at least 20 maps. The team poured over the course, selecting route variations, calculating distances and a running sheet of where we would be and when – it was at this stage that our bravado prompted Kelvin to blog our comments about how we would smash the course, we’d also become expert Archers in a matter of minutes!... I can honestly say that looking at the maps I was utterly naive of the story they tightly held... but that wouldn’t prove to be my biggest obstacle.

False bravado for sure.... little did Kelvin know just how much Paul & I were sweating on the call for the first ocean paddle leg to be jettisoned due to strong winds.

The wind built even more and via social media the organisers sent out news that the ocean kayak was abandoned and we’d now MTB from the get go... this worked much more to our strengths.

So with courses plotted and maps laminated, it was time for fine tuning gear selection. Never having done an adventure race, not even an afternoon of polite orienteering, I was in a panicked state of mimicking when it came to packing... I’d been well briefed and so didn’t find myself without the right gear... socks... lots of socks and be prepared for a freezing night when paddling... this made sense... our legs would be exposed and not moving, so out came the heavy duty ant Artic expedition pants just in case.

All the gear boxes had been ticked and so at 10pm I was very surprised to be nodding off for a half decent night’s sleep.

1. MTB (22km)

A quick goodbye to the support crew and we set off to find the start line. At 8am we were off at a relatively sedate pace... I’d expected some attacking on the bike but reminded myself of the length of the race.

Keen to start well and gain advantages on our team’s riding strength, we found ourselves at the pointy end smiling away – ‘how easy’s this’ I thought... then I had a moment – if Seagate* is not up here... then why on earth are we? (*Seagate being the number 2 ranked team in the world for adventure racing)It wasn’t going to take long before I could demonstrate just how green I was to the sport of adventure racing.

Our first mistake was we had failed to transfer the additional map information during route planning and found ourselves to be the only ones traveling on the track known as "poor track". Turns out it wasn't too poor and there were only three or four small sections that we couldn't ride due to the sand. We met peak adventure where the tracks met so figured we hadn't lost too much time. We then turned right to go across the bridge through the back of the caravan park and then onto the beach with the bikes which wasted some extra time that we were about to need.

2. Split rogaine trek and swim (8km)

Off the bike and into the first trek leg I should have drunk literally litres more fluid than I had done, plus spoken up about the pace being just a tad hot. But I didn’t, we were racing and my theory was to tough it out. Big, big rookie mistake.

3. MTB (22km)

Time to hammer on the bike. The best part of this leg was the massive push Kelvin gave me as I left transition. I couldn’t move up to Gus’ back wheel, the team kept slowing but it was not good. This next section of riding would be dramatic in time loss. The first half was ok, sandy, tricky and generally ok, I just couldn’t go as fast as I needed to. Karina took some weight out of my pack – now 2 kilos lighter... but no faster. Next up on the track, a massive sand dune. I paused at the bottom thinking that the moon seemed closer and more achievable. Gus took Karina’s bike & Karina took mine... my first though was what do I lean on now – I thought my donuts were dusted? I got to the top. I don’t how. The team must have wondered what an earth was going on and what would they do with just 3 functioning racers. Next up was Paul who pushed me up the last hill to end of the ride.

I can’t explain how we moved up to 10th during this section, the exhaustion must have been shared around.

I lay down next to the car, utterly spent and thinking I’d really made a complete mess of the race, but around me the team worked frantically. Hydralyte in a rather large dosage was downed. I tried eating, but chilli tuna wasn’t going to sit well – so next effort was a vegemite roll. It would take two hours to eat that vegemite roll.

4. Trek (11km)

And then we were on our feet again and moving.... moving was the key. Waiting was the race now, waiting to come good. 30 minutes later and at last I could crack a joke... nervous laughter... has he lost his mind or is he coming good the others probably thought? Perhaps a bit of both?

One team after another went past us. What is normal practice, but does look a tad harsh, is the use of a tow rope between two people and when one racer went past with one attached to their waist... it seemed to be getting dragged against their will... I thought thank goodness we hadn't carried one of those on this leg or I would surely have been hooked up!

Thanks goes to the team for giving me the highly valued currency of time to come good without too much pressure to speed up... in the rainforest we were surrounded by soft, moist soil... perhaps they were looking for somewhere to bury me? I really wouldn’t have minded so much. But I kept thinking who’s going to paddle with Paul?

Eventually, the walking pace quickened and then we broke into a stunted jog. Just over an hour had past by the time we passed a team stopped on the track with one guy horizontal and their captain on the phone... they were pulling the pin... I’m not sure what the problem was, but extremely happy to have the team experience to identify the problem and being given the opportunity to settle back into the rhythm of our race.

The course took us north along another coastal track with incredible views before rounding the headland and dropping down onto the beach for a few km’s along the sand to the the TA and our support crew.

We had dropped several places and would start the next section in 13th.
3pm and we had hot food washed down with copious amounts of hydrolyte. Our next rendezvous

would be roughly midnight and we had to be self-sufficient with a heap of gear and food until then.

5. Orienteering relay (5km)

The orienteering section was relatively easy going. The guys got Karina to fetch the longest (and turns out wettest) CP as she had been strongest all day! This was an untidy and slow transition, especially given the time the orienteering section gave us, but with extra heavy rafting packs on we took off out of town.

6. MTB and rafting (30km)

A key part of this section was rafting. We would have to carry the two rafts and associated gear for all of the riding... which would be ok for an hour, but we found it soon wears you down (aside from killing your back).

A rather unique local had decided jumping out a people from tall grass pretending to be a barking down as they are riding at 30+ km/h with huge packs on would be amusing just before the rafting. After copping an earfull from us hopefully they thought about it a little.

We did however seem to have a great rafting leg. Karina glammed it up on the second boat as she held onto the bikes, making sure they didn’t fall onto any oyster beds. Gus had a crippling bout of leg cramps when he walked into the river for our raft launch and almost went under. We had an efficient start, fine tuning our paddling technique in what is essentially a kid’s toy. Deflate, repack and get moving as the sun came down. We moved into 12th. Crossing before dark was a big help to enable identifcation of the exit point and navigating a river lined with oyster farms - we were starting to drag ourselves back into the game.
One left turn onto a dirt road and we headed skywards... or at least that’s how it felt and then just had to keep grinding out the km’s in the now dark cool evening. Steep descents on fire trails were kinda tricky with all the pack weight trying to keep you from slowing down and then throw in a front light that shakes loose to leave you in pitch darkness for good measure.

Eventually we made the checkpoint and started out on what would be something I could never have appreciated if I wasn’t there. The time was now 6pm and had been dark for an hour.

7.Rogaine (8km)

With wet feet from rafting, we plunged on foot into the dense rainforest looking for a dry creek bed... good lord! Paul took the lead as head navigator and we followed his head torch as he smashed his way through all manner of forest debris. Using our map, minor clues and the landscape, Team Dynamite literally fought through all manner of terrain, with Gus & Karina also sharing the load for navigating.The second CP was overshot a little, but the others we found ok (with V being the CP dropped). Our next 5 hours were filled with laughter, confusion, and determination, slipping and sliding as we worked our way through the checklist of points. Eventually we’d return to the checkpoint and our bikes at 10.47pm in 8th place. Which would explain all the bikes lying around as other teams grappled with the night.

8. MTB (17km)

Back on with the raft packs and down to the river. Sadly, that’s not how it happened.
It’s a little blurry still, but I can just remember the sensation of going up. I went into counting mode.

Only to six, I didn’t want to tax myself unnecessarily. Every now and then we had to hike the bikes, but overall we were making ground. The steep lumps that were washouts on fire roads became near impossible ramps. The best part of it was we were doing it together, we talked it up when we could, grouped up at the top of hills and became a single unit even without thinking about it.

9. Kayak and portage (10km)

12.24 am and we’d made it back to the support team in 7th place. Time on the river was up next, and out came the surf skis for the first time. The paddle leg had some dry land to negotiate in the middle and we had spent considerable time researching the fastest way to portage our boats.... Gus had devised a cunning plan. Run!

We paddled with Cyclezone Maloolabah and caught another team at the portage. The kayaks are heavy at the best of times, but at 1am they’d weigh a tonne. We had wheels... serious, professional wheels that meant we could run/tow through the portage. This is probably a moment in time when you get an insight into what the race means to the team and the effort that would be required to shave minutes off where we could in a 48 hour race. Gus & Paul would prove immense in this short portage. Nice work.

2.08 am. 5th place. An incredible effort. Blow the siren!

10. MTB (45km)

We’d been briefed that the next section of the race would see us away from our support team for 12 hours, this meant 2pm the next day for reloading on food and water. I loaded up with 5.5 litres of water, several vegemite rolls and all sorts of small snack foods... plus spare socks. Off we rolled on the bikes, very happy not to have the rafts. The temperature had dropped to roughly 5 degrees and I could literally hear Gus shivering... my expedition pants would have been looking pretty good at that stage. It took a while to process that the shivering meant he was extremely cold, so we stopped and pulled out warm head gear and kept going, the best way to warm up was to keep moving... a punishing theory...

I think we knew we were in 5th and so kept the power down. My problems from the start of the day were pretty much gone and it was automatic mode when on the bike. Soon enough and we had to make decisions about our route choice. Take the shorter distance via steep hills and keep warm or head along a valley in what would have been extremely cold but easier riding conditions. We took to the hills and then we took to the no-doze.

Our next checkpoint would prove to be incredibly difficult to locate. Travelling down several offshoot tracks looking for it but coming to dead ends wasn’t as bad as I thought, just turnaround and pedal back up. I think we must have been in a trance. Elusive as this checkpoint was, we had to find it. Karina was starting to feel very tired, but a 2 minute lie down recharged the batteries, especially when we told her she’d been sleeping for an hour!

Gus & Paul were looking for a way through from our track’s end to the ‘must be there’ road on the map, only a hundred meters away or so. We decided to bash our way through. Our first obstacle would be crossing a creek with steep banks and infamous lantana weeds and all manner of vines that grew way over our heads. Unfortunately on the other side, the foliage was thicker and no road could be found. We spent the next hour working our way up and down that creek, splodging through waist deep stagnate water. Keeping our bikes out of the water was tough when you’re legs are clambering over hidden logs, but at least it was light now.

Another team came down the jungle creek from the other direction and then another, all carrying their bikes. The scenario really seemed to be a comedy sketch in the making. Eventually we made our way up and out to the checkpoint with some relief, but we’d dropped back to 9th.

11. Rogaine (9km)

Onwards to the Archery range, Karina & Paul made short work of hitting the target while Gus & I were a tad off, firing Arrows into the quarry behind, thanks Paul for getting those. One more trek and I felt like we would be on the home stretch, but water was becoming an issue. At some stage Gus would discover that his 2 litre bladder was empty. Four more checkpoints hidden in creek beds and hill tops would take us on a real test of determination. I wasn’t much help here in navigating, as per the night before, the other 3 took turns to search and lead through the overgrown bush. Sharing the water around, we opted for safety in route selection, keeping to tracks as much as we could.

12. MTB/raft (29km)

We’d dropped back to 11th, with several teams’ only minutes just ahead. A quick redistribution of our remaining water and we got going. The time was now 12.45pm.

Riding out we again anticipated an early descent from the hills, but this was also not to be. In many ways it worked to our advantage as Karina smashed the hills leaving one team we passed to comment ‘where do you find a girl like that?’. Before making the next transition we had to raft across another river, which was short and sweet with our rafts being dropped off at start of the crossing.We met SA ambulance at the river crossing. A quick inflate, paddle then deflate and we were hot on their heels again on the way into town.

Luckily we would just have to carry the rafts another 10km or so to the next transition. Whilst feeling utterly buggered, the wind was at our backs and a sense of ‘what the hell am I doing’ whilst clambering through vines in the middle of the night had well passed. Up into 8th after a strong section through the hills, we were coming home with a wet sail.

13. Kayak (15km)

Our support crew was incredible. We rolled in to find coffee, chocolate muffins and all sorts of treats laid out for our speedy consumption. The boats were by the water ready to go and our paddling gear was out. With at least 3 different types of food in my mouth we started the last kayaking leg at 3pm. The headwind wasn’t as bad as I expected and the incoming tide wouldn’t affect us. Unlike in training, Paul & I were able to get to the front and set the pace for a while. Mid paddle was a weir wall to portage, which meant exciting the water up a steep rocky section.

The body was really feeling it now, at least the sun was keeping us warm. All of a sudden we sighted team SA Ambulance just ahead, we’d been racing them all day and night. Gus’ competitive streak kicked in and he was soon powering past Paul & I to catch up to them, which we only just did as we hit the TA.

From the paddle into our last transition and it was my turn to get the shakes and shivers. We’d moved up to 7th overall with Team Rogue accidentally taking a wrong turn at the start of the paddle and continuing upstream for 1 hour until they came across teams rafting.

14. Coastal trek (11km)

Gearing up for the final run at 4.38pm we knew the sun would be setting in minutes. We had to find the last checkpoint before dark. The team took off and the pace built, it was a pace I really didn’t feel like I had, but with not a lot of options ‘suck it up’ was the only way forward.

Hitting the beach in fading light, I was trying so hard to be of use finding the last checkpoint, but was being more of a tourist than a helper. Checkpoint found and then off for a sandy run home. Trying to stay in 4wd tracks on the sand, to limit the sinking, was difficult as they were only wide enough for one foot. Then behind us we saw lights us, racer’s lights. It was time to turn ours off and make sure they didn’t know where we were.

Paul and Bruce back on the water after the portage (Photoevents)

Lights off was a great decision, not only did it reveal the surf, amazing array of stars, a building storm above Crescent Head, but it took away the need to watch where each step was going and made me at least stop thinking about the sand. We were all experiencing different levels of exhaustion/pain. It’s hard to all shuffle at the same pace, when everyone’s bottom gear is at different speeds. We each continuously switched between walking and running in an effort to keep together.

We didn’t know it, but SA Ambulance had their lights off and were only a few hundred metres away. In the end they finished 3 minutes faster after almost 35 hours.

Through town to the finish line... it would soon be over. Nikki & Kelvin met us with beer & champagne! Paul did a little jig, whereas I was just happy to be standing up! In fact, when we grouped together arm in arm for a photo, it was the most stable I had felt for some time.

How did we end up? 6th in the premier mixed category and 7th overall. It was really a phenomenal result given all we encountered so the guys were stoked. The team managed to stay smart enough and fast enough for long enough.

We’d finished the race, but the race wasn’t finished with me just yet. Hobbling back to the house with beer and laughter going hand in hand I couldn’t wait to get warm. By the time I was in the bathroom trying to get undressed, my ability to move was quickly seeping away. I made it into the shower, sandy gear strewn all over the place and just sucked up the warmth, I couldn’t wash myself, and I could only stand there. Gus yelled out – Are you ok? ‘Just’ I replied. I thought I was using all the hot water, so turned off the shower... then starting getting cold... on came the shower again to warm up. Eventually I made it the 5 five feet to my bed and covered myself with a sleeping bag and down jacket, turned onto my side and lay there motionless, every time I went to move I started shaking.

The team went out for a celebratory dinner, but I literally couldn’t get out of bed, even though I desperately wanted to share in this last part of the adventure together. By morning I’d recovered enough to walk to breakfast with the team. I really can’t thank them enough for bringing me on board, especially such an unknown quantity. The race was undoubtedly tough for me, but in the end I loved it. I have to thank my family for all of their support as well - Sarah, Grace & Mac were incredibly excited when I got home and had spent much of the weekend posting well wishes and tracking team Dynamite... sometimes wondering why the little line was going around in circles!

It takes a few days to digest exactly you have accomplished. The more that you share the experience with others in many ways the prouder you become. Listening to yourself talk about what you went through as a team, the situations that we found ourselves in and just the notion that we didn’t stop creates a distracting backdrop in your mind. All of a sudden and the discussions have turned to ...what next?

Video from Peak Adventure The Beginning The Middle The Finish