GeoQuest Report by Peak Adventure

The ‘current look’ Team Peak Adventure was formed for an assault on the 2015 GeoQuest adventure race and XPD expedition race. Peak Adventure is a familiar name at the pointy end of Geo, however this was the the first attempt as this team of four and we are now preparing for XPD.

As those familiar with adventure racing know, getting four team mates to the start line in peak racing condition (pardon the pun) is a challenge in itself. Emma Weitnauer joined the team after a successful race at Falls Creek Mountain Raid with Peak Adventure. This was Emma’s first GeoQuest and she has found a passion for the bush after a career racing 12 Ironman Triathlons, including three world championships at Kona. Living in Tasmania, Emma has a great backyard for training and they certainly make people tough down there. Josh Street biked his way into the team from a history hundreds of kilometers long of mountain bike races all over the world, 24hr and cross country, including state and national champion and world championships.

Add to the list a bag full of podiums in some of the toughest expeditions races around the world meant Josh brought more than his fair share to the team. Jarad Kolhar needs little introduction. His is a name synonymous with adventure racing, having racked up an impressive and extensive list of podium finishes in adventure races worldwide. Then there’s me, Sam Stedman. This was my first time racing GeoQuest with team Peak Adventure, but not my first GeoQuest. I’ve placed second in the last two GeoQuest Adventure Races, and was hungry for a win this time round.

A winning team at GeoQuest needs a winning support crew! Joining us on this weekend of adventure was Kim Vaughan from Melbourne and our old mate

Lincoln Murdoch. Come Friday night, we were all set and prepared for the race but the best part about adventure racing is that anything can happen. At any time. To any one.

In an adventure race making mistakes are just part of it; it’s how you overcome those mistakes and move on that define your race. With 12 legs - 64kms of paddling, 130kms of mountain biking and 54kms of running through the day and night, seeking out small orienteering markers placed on top of hills and hidden in deep, thick vegetated creeks, anything could happen and mistakes were going to be made. Throw into the mix a few highly competitive and experienced teams, including Mountain Designs, Shotz Nutrition and CBD Cycles, producing a highly competitive field.

The race....
The 12km ocean paddle got shortened due to rough ocean conditions. We did paddle around the headland and over to the next bay. Paddling elite double ocean skis is great unless you don’t spend much in rough conditions. I live in Townsville, and don’t paddle much in the rough and Nor does Josh. It made for a tricky paddle for Josh and I, with Jarad and Emma getting through unscathed. We literally hit the beach running and soon found ourselves in front and running along a magical coastline. Next minute, all our friends joined in and it would have been a sight to see 16 adventure racers running through the trails and streets of the small coastal communities.

Leg 3 was an 18km bike leg with a quick stop for a swim to find some CP’s in the water. Whilst it was a great spot for snorkeling, we were not hanging around in the sun like tourists. Then it was back on foot headed for the sand dunes which was definitely a highlight of the course. We headed up the dune with team Shotz and Mountain Designs, with CBD Cycles not far behind. Once over the dune it was a long road run which was something new for a Geo course. I think they wanted to test our mental strength on long straight roads. We bridged a gap on Shotz but ran with MD’s to the rafting leg.

We decided to use two inflatable Stand-Up Paddle boards for this leg. It was about 2km across the lake. I paddled 1 with Josh lying down and JK paddled the other with Em lying down. Now, I can SUP but I am no gun and now in a race (and trying to keep up with JK) with Josh on board made for a whole new SUP experience. MD’s where in sight behind us as we crossed to the first CP and then we pushed forward to the TA. Our decision to SUP had paid off and we had a small gap on the field as we headed off on a 13km paddle up a river.

Leg 6 was a 22km trek and we set off at a good pace after more hot pizza in transition and chocolate in our pockets (support crew – this is why we love you). We quickly made our way to the first CP of that leg only to find it wasn’t there. Map check, nav check, look left, look right; still not there. But, we did manage to find team Shotz who got the message that the CP and the kayaks to help us across the river might not make it in time (I told you anything can happen in a AR) so together with Shotz, and in the absence of kayaks, we swam across the river and continued on our way. The next two CPs where off track and require some tricky navigation and moving through the thick scrub. Shotz, led by Rob Preston, who was once the coach of the national orienteering team, joined by Kathryn Preston and Peter Preston, who can also find a needle in a very large haystack in the dark, so as expected they played their cards right and moved quickly from the first CP and left us pushing on our own through the bush. Darkness fell as we hit the last CP for this leg and we headed down another long road run to the TA.

Leg 7 was a 13km paddle up a river in the dark of night. We said g’day to Shotz as we passed them on an out-and- back CP to the top of a hill, we also said hi to the couple having a romantic camping weekend (being interrupted by some crazy adventure racers) with a nice fire and wine on the edge of the river. Soon is was more hot pizza and coke in TA as we prepared for a long night ahead with a 56km bike, 10km trek and 25km bike.

The bike leg started pretty smoothly with sealed road that was quite easy going. We biked along with shotz for some time and kept the pace up. At one stage, we pulled away as they had a quick pitstop, but only to be passed by them when we made a navigation error and we began to chase again. We got into the TA as Shotz were heading out on the trek, it was 1 or 2 in the morning as we geared up for a tricky orienteering leg through the thick scrub. We had to get 4 CPs and we were moving quite well on foot with JK on the map looking sharp after a rest on the bike leg. With JK and Josh at the front it gave Em and I a chance to chat and to stay awake. Next thing - BAM - 1 CP down, feeling confident on to 2, then a crazy 100m vertical climb over 300 meters up to CP3, then a tricky traverse across a ridge line and we ran head into team CBD Cycles. With no time to trade stories we nailed CP 4 then ran our way back the TA only to find Shotz bikes still in the TA. It was 5am as we began the 3rd last leg on the bike into a very chilly morning. Collecting 1 CP

along the way it was hot chips and bacon and egg rolls that our legendary support crew had waiting for us!

25km is a long way in a ski when you have not had any sleep. This called for some good team work and a few energy gels and we picked up the pace across the longest last 5km stretch of water I have paddle in a while, you could see the end but it wasn’t getting any closer. With no time for pizza in the

last TA is was on the bikes and off to the finish line on a very straight and flat road. The sun was up and our spirits high as it seemed effortless to pedal the last 20km (well I think Josh’s legs go around on their own anyway).

27 hours and 40 minutes and we crossed a picturesque finish line overlooking the Hawks Nest coast line in first place. It was a great team effort and an amazing support crew. Well done to all the teams and CBD cycles who finished 2 and Shotz a close 3 . Geocentric put on another great event and we look forward to racing XPD Townsville.

Nudity Optional - GeoQuest 2015

by Liam St Pierre 

GeoQuest is my favourite weekend of racing every year. With the Expedition Alaska start line just around the corner, a lot of my energy has been put towards preparing the gear and travel for this race, and I didn’t have much time to focus on GeoQuest. I knew I didn’t want to miss the race but I didn’t have the time or energy to pull a Rogue team together for such a logistically intensive event. Fortunately Leo Theoharris put me in touch with the guys from Quality Nude Time Racing who were looking for a navigator to race with this year. I recognized the names from many past GeoQuests, and the team dynamics ticked a lot of boxes for me: everything was organised in terms of support crew, gear, accommodation, etc; I would get the chance to have all the navigation to myself as practice before Exp AK; the team would probably move at a steadier pace ensuring I didn’t go too far into the red before Alaska and finally Leo assured me that the team could ocean paddle – a key skill I look for in GeoQuest team mates these days. Plus who could turn up the chance to race under such a cool team name (the origins of which will remain within the team, but suffice to say I was assured that nudity was optional).

This year I was also bringing my two year old daughter to the race for the first time, and we had the rock star treatment flying in to Newcastle while Mum and Dad did the drive down with my gear to look after her while I raced. Arriving at Hawk’s Nest we got our first glimpse of the QNT GeoQuest show – accommodation was palatial and had me almost regretting we had to head out to do a race. With partners and support crew we had 13 people in total staying for the race.

Friday rolled around and the pre-race
checks were ticked off in freezing
conditions, and it wasn’t until then
that I felt like I was actually going to be
doing a race. Even though this was my
eighth GeoQuest, it was my first
chance at the real race: the kid’s
adventure race. It was a little worrying
to see that Lyla has inherited some of
her Dad’s competitiveness, although
she had to take a quick lesson in
trusting her navigator and not just following other teams blindly.

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The line up for the kids race.

Finally the course was handed out and on paper it seemed to suit us. No split navigation legs, relatively flat and a lot of paddling, all of which played in our favour. The concentration required for marking up maps always feels like sitting an exam, and it was a relief to have it done in short order with time to spare to read a few story books and get an early sleep. For those playing along, the course maps can be found here and tracking and final times can be found here.

Conditions on the start line had certainly improved on the past couple of days. A smooth swell was rolling in to the beach, but looking out to Cabbage Tree Island you could see the breakers pounding off the less protected coast line. It wasn’t surprising to learn then that paddle had been shortened so that teams just had to make it around the headland and into Port Stephens. We got a clean start off the beach and were with the lead pack. Conditions got tricky around the Yacaaba headland and we spent just as much time trying to dodge Jarad Kohler’s boat as staying upright and moving forward. I suspected that some of the less experienced teams would have issues, and this was the case with multiple rescues. In chatting to event organiser Louise after the race, it is certainly a point of stress as an race director, however having that ocean kayak start is one of the elements that make GeoQuest so special. I know Geocentric take great care in their safety procedures, and GeoQuest represents about the only chance to experience some amazing coast line on the water, and I for one hope it remains a permanent feature of the race, despite criticism from some quarters about having it in the race. For those that don’t want to ocean paddle, this element has been removed from the Geo Half.

Hitting the beach, we found ourselves
in second place after a great paddle,
but lost a couple of spots while the
boys changed their shoes. Off for the
beach run and we soon found our
rhythm, ticking of CPs along the way.
Running down the dunes into Fingal
Spit was a personal highlight of the
course. Just before, we had been
passed by team Shotz, including
Damon Goerke who made some
comment about having arrived late for
the race and missing the team meeting about who got to carry the heavy pack for the team.

Rolling into the first supported transition area after leg 2 with the top 5 teams, things became a little unstuck when we found our support crew hadn’t arrived yet. It was a sinking feeling to watch teams arrive and leave while we could do nothing without our bikes. After a 20 minute wait, they finally arrived. Everyone was a little flustered and I felt bad for the crew as they obviously didn’t want to let us down. At that point, or motto for the race is that we would have to take our bad luck with the good, and that hopefully we would be due some good luck later down the road.

The stage 3 bike involved a 3 out of 6 CP rogaine on the bikes before rolling into the snorkel location. I flipped and flopped on which controls to go for, eventually settling for C-B-D on the go, with CP D costing us about 5 minutes when we originally rode past it. Coming in to the snorkel location, I was again thrown off by the fact that the volunteer’s car was parked within the circle of the inset and not on the location on the main map where we were told it would be in the briefing updates. Even more frustratingly, after CP S1, I forgot about the disparity and ran up the wrong track to CP S5, costing us more time. The snorkeling itself was a surprising highlight,

An early split in the field as teams paddling the around headland.

with the water relatively warm and plenty to see amongst the rocks. We shared the snorkel with team 19 who had a very interesting interpretation of “visiting the controls together” with two team members still on the shoreline after their team mates had already collected two of the CPs. The whole leg had not been a smooth one for us, and it was exiting the snorkeling that I resolved to pull things back together again.

Off the bikes and back on foot and we were treated to some of the best coasteering I’ve ever done in a race. Along with the Stockton Dunes which we also covered in this leg, this was one of the other great highlights of the race. Straight off the dunes, running the 5km along the major road to our rafts was one of the major low lights, but I can appreciate that it was probably the only way logistically possible to link the course up. For the rafting section, I had a hold of two Alpacka packrafts that we will be using in Alaska.

At over $3000 for the pair, these boats are surprisingly efficient and light to paddle for inflatables. I knew that we could manage up to 6km/hr in them – much faster than we could carry them – so we just paddled a straight line between CPs 13 and 14 and across to the opposite bank.

Despite our early issues, we were already 3hrs up on our flight plan which meant we got to do the whole of the stage 5 paddle in the day light. With glassy conditions on the lake and paddling past islands and little towns dotted along the shore line, it was a very content time in the race. The only hiccup was when we bent the rudder of my ski on a rock paddling in to CP17. While Dean managed to bend it back into shape, it never performed properly for the rest of the race, much to the annoyance of the other pair who were trying to hold our line while sitting on our wash.

Heading into the Stage 6 rogaine, we were faced with a potentially long leg. Only one route strategy seemed obvious, picking up CPs H-J-K-N-O in order and leaving the remainder for the paddle leg (although I am curious to see that Team Shotz with the Prestons also picked up CP L on this leg). Starting out on this leg, our new goal was to make the swim at CP H in daylight, which we managed to do with about half an hour to spare. Finally, it felt like some good luck was coming our way, as it was a bitterly cold swim and I wouldn’t want to have been one of the teams following to do it in the dark. CP J proved to be a little tricky, but we ticked it off with no issues, the same with CP K. After experience the bush bash in to CP J, I decided to change our route to CP N from going cross country to hiking in on the trail network on the north which, although longer, should have been much quicker. Unfortunately all of the tracks leading in to CP N from the north were overgrown or non-existant, and we had travelled so far north that we were just better off picking up CP O before attacking CP N from the west. At this stage we teamed up with Dynamite Adventure Racing on the hunt for CP O and N, and I got a chance to chat to Sakkie about past GodZone races and how his mates would go with Expedition Africa which was just starting at the same time.

After a short portage it was back onto the skis for a paddle down to Karuah. Finding the pull out points to collect the remaining CPs wasn’t as hard as I feared it would be. Indeed, at the first exit we could see steam billowing out of a camp shower. By the time we made it up the bank, a little Japanese man had popped out in his undies for a quick lively chat. He didn’t seem to mind us passing directly through his campervan site, but told us just don’t wake him up on the way back through. I don’t think he fully appreciated what I meant when I said another 60 boats would be coming through that night.

Every time we got back to our boats we would see those of Dynamite Adventure and Moutnain Designs (MDs) pulled up on the shore, so I knew that the chasers couldn’t be too far behind us. Coming off the paddle we had our slowest transition yet at over 30 mins, spending time to get warm and fed knowing that we had up to 15 hours of racing ahead of us before we saw a supported TA again. Leaving on the bikes, I wasn’t sure of our placing still. The first part of the ride was cold and fast, but things eventually slowed down on route to CP23 where the hills finally started to kick up and the mud set in. Approaching CP23, the guys kept questioning if we were going the right direction as there were no tyre marks in the mud. As best as I could tell we were on the right track and going the shortest way there with the least elevation, even if the track conditions weren’t great. In the end we nailed all the CPs on this leg directly, so the lead teams must have taken a different route at times. Many of the tracks we planned to take to CP25 on Goodwins trail were missing, but we quickly compensated for that and hit the punch just as it was getting light. Paul doing a spectacular superman dive over his handle bars when he put a stick through his front wheel was the only other highlight from this leg.

Again, luck was on our side with day break bringing some very helpful sun to light the final trek rogaine. It was a little disconcerting that team Shotz had been out for 4.5 hours on a 10km trek and hadn’t returned yet, so we were expecting a long leg. MDs also rolled into transition just as we were leaving. We ticked off controls in a clockwise direction V-W-U-T. Dropping of the ridge from CP W, I couldn’t locate the marked track until we were well below it’s highest point. Instead of heading back up and around we just continued to bash out to the main road. Just as we were heading.

in to CP U, we came across MDs who had just collected it after a little difficulty and they warned us it was well out of the circle. The plan was to play it safe anyway and just head up the creek it was marked on, but I was pretty surprised to find it hung on the intersection with the main creek line about 400m east of the centre of the circle. Again, luck was in our favour. Given how far east of the CP circle we were, we trekked back out and around on Skyd Hill Road to CP T. On the final hike back to the TA we started to come across some other teams – the first we had seen other than MDs in a long time – and stopped to give the Tiger guys a heads up on the inconsistency with CP U and some of the other missing tracks.

A quick look at the map for the next bike leg and it was a relief to see the riding was either downhill or flat on good roads. Again, MDs entered the TA just as we were leaving. The whole time I just assumed they would pass us once they got their rhythm going as they are a naturally faster team. It was on this ride though that I thought we should at least give a dig at trying to hold onto our fourth place overall and if we did get passed then at least we wouldn’t have any regrets about not trying. With the team working together to draft and tow, we cranked it into the transition where we managed to get onto the boats without seeing MDs come in. Too afraid to let the foot off the gas, we hammered the 25km paddle out in 2:23, pausing only to flip the maps.

At the final TA we got a number of mixed reports on how far our lead was. It wasn’t until we clipped the final CP with just a 12km flat ride home that I felt we had it in the bag. Needless to say, crossing the line as the winning men’s team and fourth overall was a very satisfying feeling.

In reflection, I have a lot to take out of this race. A big thank you to Dean, Wayne and Paul for inviting me to race with them. An even bigger thank you to their support crew who really put on a show – definitely transition areas with style and all the modern comforts. Going in to GeoQuest as training for Expedition Alaska meant that the fitness was there, which helped with concentration on the navigation. After almost 10 years of doing GeoQuest, the team as a whole were over the moon to finish in day light on the second day for the first time ever, which helps so much with the recovery and clean up. Depending on where I’m at with racing and training, I’d love the chance to race with the Quality Nude Time guys and their awesome Geo bandwagon again in the future. Plus I still don’t feel like I’ve had a chance to see their nudity policy exploited to its full potential.

DYNAMITE ADVENTURE RACING Geo 2015

Rugged up and still shivering from the dip in the Myall River earlier in the afternoon courtesy of a competency check, Team Dynamite stood on the lawn in front of the Hawks Nest Beach eagerly awaiting the course reveal. After being given the all clear, the captains from all competing teams swiftly pounced on the individual piles of maps laid out before them. A quick overview confirmed that the course was looking like a fast paced and an exciting loop, with a bit more paddling than normal. Having concentrated on improving our paddling over the past year we thought it was perfect...lets get back and mark them up. It also suited our line up for this race which included Sakkie Meyer, who flew over for us from across the ditch.
We arrived early on the beach the next morning, relieved to see that the dreary clouds and cold wind of Friday had cleared to reveal a spectacular sunrise ahead of a forecast mostly fine day. Kayaks began to fill the beach. What looked like a game of chess ensued, with teams moving up and down the beach to position themselves in the perfect spot to get an "easy" path through the breakers. During a short pre race briefing we learnt that the paddle would be slightly shorter due to the swell. From the beach there wasn't much sign of too many lumps, but we've seen that can easily change.

Leg 1 Ocean Kayak 12km
The countdown began as we stood with skis in hand on the edge of the water. Just as we left the beach, a set began to come through. Karina and Gus copped a pounding, but kept steadfast and were soon not far behind Sakkie and I. We dared not look behind us but knew some mayhem had been caused by the poorly timed waves. We were focused and in hot pursuit of the front teams. As we neared the point, the waves became more and more unpredictable, as they bounced off the nearby rocks. We continued on through the heads, but every time the waves seemed to die down, another few waves would hit us.

Leg 2 Trek 7km
We reached the shore in Shoal Bay in about fourth position and quickly transitioned to the trek. We began at a steady pace, trying to ensure we kept to our own speed on the trails to Fingal Bay. Shotz passed us heading up into the dunes, then Mountain Designs flew by as we ran into town along the beach.

Leg 3 Mountain bike rogaine/snorkel 18km
After marking up the optional CPs on the MTB rogaine map, we took off in pursuit. There were several options with the way the town was set out, but we ended up heading bush at the end of Farm Road, taking a gamble and heading along a "minor track" which turned out to be not bad and put us at CP C in front of both MD and Shotz who had left transition before us. We turned back and took another right hand turn to go to CP E arriving just before Shotz. At CP D we both caught MD and then proceeded as a group down the now slower paced sandy trails into CP6 to drop the bikes. We had decided to swim without flippers, opting to run and swim in bike shoes as we figured it would only be a short swim and wouldn't save us much time (if any). This worked well and we entered the small bay when the Peak Adventure crew were just getting wet. After swimming to the three CPs I got over excited following the other teams up the beach and back to the bikes before realising we had missed punching CP S5 at the beach end of the trail. By the time we ran back 100m, we'd lost contact with the lead groups.

Leg 4 Trek / raft 14km
Arriving at the transition we searched the car park to find our support crew had not arrived. With nothing else we could do we ate some food and watched up the road for them to come. It must have been 15 minutes before they arrived, but it gave us an incentive to trek strongly on this one. This trek took us around some amazing rocky coastline and then across the Stockton Dunes (which would have been nice to spend more time in), before a long flat road run to our rafts. There was little time wasted finding CPs and a highlight was passing the infamous (not) Giant Peach, I am afraid it does look a little old and "weathered". Our raft worked well enough, but with two 6ft + guys at the back, we ended up taking on a little water on the two crossings.
Leg 5 Kayak 13km
A quick transition to the skis put us out on the water in beautiful sunny conditions. We had to keep an eye out for oyster beds, but otherwise an uneventful but enjoyable leg and were ahead of our estimated schedule.

Leg 6 Trek 22km
I swore until we got to the CP that Gus was just pulling our leg that there wasn't canoes. My theory was he figured telling us we'd get wet again meant we wouldn't waste time changing into dry clothes. We got CP H at dusk and wow, that water was cold! I felt for the teams behind that would cross in the dark. The next section was frustrating for all teams it seems, given the majority of tracks shown were totally missing or overgrown. We overshot Log Wharf Fire Road (or where it was meant to be) and ended up walking with the Quality Nude Time boys up to CP O, before heading back down the main road to find Foleys Road and shooting a bearing in to the creek junction from the corner in the road. A long detour but gave us minimal fuss finding it in the end. We entered transition at about the same time as QNT but were longer in there before heading out on the skis.

Leg 7 Kayak 12km
This kayak included two stops to collect a few of the trek CP's, it was the teams choice to collect these on the Trek or Kayak leg.I can't help but laugh about the guy at the first stop we took to get CP M and CP L. Two top quality camper trailers set up at a secluded Karuah River camp site must have seemed perfect! Until 100+ adventure racers began walking through the camp site ALL night. Not this guy... It seemed he was excited about it. Perhaps this changed later in the night, but based on his enthusiasm, he must have been keen to tell as many people about his trailers as he could. I'm not sure if he chewed the ears off every team as they landed while standing there in his undies or it was just special for us? The next river stop to get CP I, was also at a camp site. A short distance away sounded like a massive party. No need for a compass bearing descending the hill, just follow your ear for the yelling and singing from the campers having a really good time.

Leg 8 Mountain bike 56km
We started this leg on fast flat roads feeling good but looking forward to some upcoming hills. Sakkie had dropped to the back as we approached the first of the smaller tracks. We all heard a large crack from behind and instantly knew it was something bad. His seat post had cracked at the very top where the seat joints to the seat post leaving the seat on the ground. Lucky no potentially nasty injury inflicted, but a serious engineering problem to solve to get him going again. A short discussion followed and then some tape wrapped around the stub of the seat allowed us to slot it into the frame.... and voila! A BMX bike! The new bike didn't make uphills easy for the rest of the ride, but at least kept us moving forwards. Some rough and muddy tracks on this section involving hike a bike for what seemed like a few hours took us to some more reasonable roads. Neverest passed us as the sun rose just before the flowing downhill and we rode into the transition at 7:30 just behind them.

Leg 9 Trek rogaine 10km
Heading out, we walked past CBD and Shotz returning after an epic time. We got the first point easy enough, but our walking had slowed and then we struggled a little with CP U. Our interpretation of the alteration had us looking further west of the marked point (not east as was explained to us later). A good point to note to confirm alterations like this to make sure you have interpreted them correctly. Eventually we stumbled upon it and then proceeded up the track and then climbed the "wall" up to CP W. We felt pretty stuffed walking back into transition, but were thankful we weren't heading out on the rogaine like many teams.

Leg 10 Mountain bike 25km
Taking our time climbing the short uphill we found that Sakkie's BMX bike was great at downhills, he was loving the decents and working the legs hard out of the saddle for the small short inclines. A straight forward leg meant we were rolling into town ready to jump on the water, but figuring there would be a team hunting us down.

Leg 11 Kayak 24km
We took off on the Myall River knowing a team (Neverest) was close behind. We headed down river but I began feeling decidedly drowsy and inefficient. The remedy was in the form of some no doze and Sakkie talking crap to me for 10km. It certainly got me going and Sakkie has lots of race stories to draw upon. We managed a reasonable pace after that, aside for some short desperate wee stops.

Leg 12 Mountain bike 21km

Kelvin had raided our rental house on the way through town and found that the
kids mountain bikes stuffed around the side of the house had a seat pole the right size to fit in Sakkies frame. Fat and comfy was the style, but it worked well all the same to get us home. It was a train heading into town at full steam ahead! We were racing to get to the finish ahead of Neverest who landed on shore just before we left on the bikes. But with our speed, we knew they had no chance in catching us. Across the line in
33:41 and fifth place. An awesome result given our potentially race stopping bike issue and suspect injuries/issues going into the race.

Thanks to Kelvin and Sue for being a great support crew and keeping us going, Hydralyte, Resicon, Kwik Kopy Braeside and Huff N Puff Paddling, and of course our families for again letting us go away (and train) for our adventures. Also a shout out to Ben at Errol St Physio North Melbourne for getting me to the start line (once again)

Stromlonauts 2015 Geo-half Race Report

The Stromlonauts made it to Tea Gardens, for the 2015 GeoQuest half. Blue sky and summer time holiday feel. A nice change from -6 morning bike commutes to work. No apprehension about the race. The tricky bit of wrangling a team together, finding support crew and getting an entry in a sold out event was behind us. 

Competency test was a bit hectic, but the weather and water were pretty nice and the course reveal was cool with some sweet coasteering sections and lots of paddling. We seemed a bit rookie belonging to the handful of teams who has less than five Geos experience between us. But the team had a enough race experience and all members could navigate. Planning and packing began and we didn't come up for air until 7 hours later. How was that possible?! Still, all details were covered so early to bed.

Race start was a leisurely 8am with a splash and giggle 5k kayaking leg. The bay seemed protected, but got a bit bumpy half way across. Somehow we managed to stay upright, despite one boat having a gimpy rudder. Field splintered already.

Second into transition and first to trot off down the beach for a 7k beach trek. We were all springing along, even Brad who was comfortably slipping into his pack horse role. Oops forgot to punch the checkpoint, so turned around springing back to TA, grinning sheepishly at the stream of teams who'd been behind us. Otherwise, a scenic leg, and spot on navigation by Craig.

Into TA2, and our support crews’ first ever TA experience. Ooh, fruit platter, peeled kiwis, Vegemite sandwiches, chocolate. They had got the swing of it. On the bike now with Kieran navigating. Superb effort with a tiny pause at an intersection of some unmarked trails around CP C. Pretty funny standing there with teams flying past in every direction. Looks like the maps tripped most team up. Annoying as we did ride past the CP! Recovered quickly.

Snorkelling leg. Kicked off our shoes and trotted off to get the first checkpoint. The map wasn't matching the trails and we were very muddled. We got sore feet running back and forth from the underfoot rocks and sticks. Brad also stepped on a bindi patch. Once we were in the bay looking for the submerged checkpoints completely forgot it was a race. The water was warm and clear, and it was fun floating around. Finally back on our bikes for a short ride to TA. We think we were leading the half field but hard to know in all the confusion of teams around the snorkling.

Quick TA, Craig grabbed the map and we jogged off. Soon bumped into friends That's Cray on a coasteering section feeling navigationally challenged.Trekked through sand dunes that were complete with camels and then a 5k highway trudge. Hit all the checkpoints easily.

Rafting leg - we had two blow up boats and a missing compass mystery solved by uncovering Craig as a closet race kit thief. Craig and Clare paddled from the front and Kieran and Brad sat in the back having a rest. Was very squishy with Brad involved in some flexible spooning with Craig. Brad’s decision to store bananas in his shorts almost caused a mutiny. Kieran raided the snacks from Clare's backpack while going along for the ride. Decided to remain as innocent bystanders to Neverest’s frantic efforts to stay afloat.

Another quick TA and into a 13k kayak leg. Easy navigating for Clare with some small deviations around oyster leases. Warm, sunny and still. Three full course teams got back ahead of us with their boats superior speed, one was That's Cray.

Bike next and Kieran was back navigating. The full course teams went a different direction and we realised we were in the lead. Nice sunset, temperature plummeting, flat and easy navigating for Kieran. The 33k leg finished with a bit of muddy hike-a-bike, which made it feel like a proper AR. Was nice to be laying first tracks in the mud. Slipped into the dark and muddy TA.

Finally a trek leg for Clare to navigate - dark, steep and off track. Carefully moved across a thickly vegetated ridge line picking up the checkpoints without much trouble and taking care not to slip off. No lights spotted behind us. Found a magic trail from the last ridge CP back down to the fire trail. Much nicer than the planned bush bash. Long and hard 7k shuffle out to the highway. Pace picked up and Brad took the map, following our progress and ticking off the kilometers for motivation. 

Finally reached the highway and a depressingly slow bush bash to the mandatory highway crossing. Passed quite close to TA and could see our support crew shining their lights to us. We were still an hour away. Developed close relationships with numerous barbed wire fences. Undertook a thorough structural assessment of the underpass looking for the control which ended up about 20m away. Brad was certain we’d chosen a slow route and had a few teams sneak past, but it depended if the following teams had made the same route choice. We were surprised to still be in the lead with no difficult nav left. Maybe we can win this thing.

Last paddle leg. Was really special under a full moon, starry sky and no pressure of a chasing team. It wasn't until after the race we realised that super team BMX Bandits/Over Yonder racing had been not far behind us and had spotted our lights a few times on the hike.

Last bike ride and a fast ride to the finish line. Pressure off, no one behind to catch us. Our support crew had just clocked 300km to reach this TA and had a hectic day of it. Really incredible effort given this was their first experience and on reflection had no proper briefing from us on what to expect. 

The team had a pretty solid hit out for this race moving well through the course and quickly through transitions without any rest stops. Everyone happy to come away with the win given the quality of teams on the half course.

Next up for Stromies: Kieran and Brad turn attention to running, Craig moves overseas and Clare wonders how she’ll get to GODZone 2016.

GeoQuest Report by Bear Hunt

From 5 to 8 June, Bear Hunt participated in the GeoQuest (Half). Getting the team lined up for the event was not easy this year. Paul and Caroline were both injured and enjoying physio-sanctioned rehabilitation exercises. We eventually found two team members willing to join us: Laure Gauthiez and Ross Barker. Laure has lots of experience in Orienteering, Rogaining, Rock Climbing and Caving, but has not done any Adventure Racing before. Ross did GeoHalf last year, and has done several other AR, Rogaine and Orienteering events with team No Detour. The Support crew was composed of Rachel, Michael, Caroline and Paul. Michael and Paul have supported Bear Hunt before, and Caroline raced with us last year. Most of us left on Thursday after work and arrived at 12:30am on Friday morning, Ross joined us on Friday morning and Rachel and Michael joined us late on Friday evening. The competency check was fun, the water was cold and “refreshing”. Course reveal was good, although we noticed that there would be a fair bit of paddling and less riding. During map prep, Charlotte and Laure took on the planning of all trek legs and one of the paddling legs. Ross and Minh-Tam planned the MTB legs and another of the paddling legs.

Minh-Tam also put three layers of contact on the little snorkeling map, but water still seeped in on that swim. We wrote lists of which gear and food we all wanted at each TA, and the support crew compiled a list of what to lay out for whom. Race start on Saturday morning was exciting. The race started a little later than anticipated, but eventually all the GeoHalf teams were sent off for their paddle across the 5km patch of chop of the inlet. It was bumpy, and Charlotte and Ross were faster than Laure and Minh-Tam. The slower boat was also having a little trouble holding a straight course, but at least we didn’t capsize. We made an ok time across to the unsupported TA where we got changed and then stood in line to load the boats on to the Geocentric Outdoors trailer. We probably should have split up, two people getting changed while two people load the boats, because it felt like we were waiting a really long time until we were finally able to get going.

Once on leg 2, we jogged along the beach, and we really noticed that Ross has long legs and takes big steps. Later on during this trek leg, we all had to work to keep up with Ross, which was good as it kept the pace up. We reached the TA in 13th place and our excellent support crew was there waiting with a chair for each racer with clothes laid out, bikes ready to go. We sat down and changed shoes while they stuffed snacks in our packs and food into our mouths. A few minutes later we were off, speeding down the streets of Fingal Bay. Minh-Tam was navigating and didn’t like the look of the dirt track we had been aiming for, not convinced that it would be the right one. Instead, we made a small detour and had push the bikes up a steep rutted track. As a result, Minh-Tam misjudged the distance to the next crossing, and we spent a couple of minutes looking for the checkpoint in the wrong spot. We quickly recovered and found the CP at the next crossing.

We quickly collected the other two CPs on the bike rogaine, moving fairly well on the sandy roads. On the last CP on this MTB rogaine we met a team that seemed to be confused about the checkpoints. Turns out, they missed that they needed to collect multiple CPs on the MTB rogaine, and hadn’t marked them on their map. We let them take the locations of the CPs from our map, and then we rode off to CP6, to start the snorkel. During the walk to the first snorkel checkpoint, we were briefly unsure about where we were, but got some help from another team in a trade: we didn’t know where we were, and they had no map but knew where they were. Charlotte guided us in some clever coasteering along the coastline to the bay containing the three submerged checkpoints. On the way, we saw one team looking for checkpoints in the wrong bay. The submerged checkpoints were fun to get.

The water was fresh, but not freezing, and we found them quickly. We enjoyed diving down to pull up the punch and the midday sun warmed us once we got out of the water. We rode on to the TA in around 6th position and quickly transitioned to the trek. Laure guided us through the small tracks and small communities and along the rocky coastline to the Stockton Dune. Some amazing views along the way, including some whales off in the distance. We also saw some camels at the Dune, and it really looked like what we imagine a desert to look like. There was lots of shouting and laughing as we ran down some of the steep sections of dune. Then some boring jog/walk along Port Stephens Drive before we turned off towards the group of houses where we would find our “rafts”. On the way, Laure stopped and pointed out a pile of Koala poo: “Hey, this looks like Koala poo”. She looked up, and there was a massive Dropbear sitting in the tree above the road. Yay, more wildlife! Our $25 Kmart inflatable queen mattress, pumps, paddles and PFDs had been laid out by our support crew and the mattress was pumped up quickly by the battery powered pump. Good purchase from last year’s packrafting.

The water crossing on our bed was less than comfortable, but we made good time, and stayed ahead of Area 51 Tiger, who had started at the same time as us. The mattress sat a bit low in the water with all four of us on it, but once we figured out the best seating arrangement we almost managed a straight line, Charlotte navigating. Charlotte took great joy in slashing the airbed on the other side before we continued on to the kayak transition. We changed up the kayaking pairs for this leg so they were more closely matched. This 13km paddle was the further than Laure had paddled before! We found all the checkpoints easily in the daylight, and had a stunning sunset paddle. Our lovely support crew was waiting for us with hot chocolates at the TA in Karuah. At the stage we were in equal 5th place with Area 51 Tiger, who had frustratingly paddled just a head of us the entire leg. It was interesting to see that they clearly had very unevenly matched paddling pairs, with the slow boat being towed for what we assume was the entire time. The next leg was the longest ride of the race, 33km, and we knocked off most the distance quickly following Ross.

This was also Laure’s longest mountain bike ride, an incredible effort to do it so quickly. The last part of this ride was tough, and we took a route on overgrown, barely existing tracks that involved a lot of carrying bikes through scrub, which was not ideal in hindsight. We saw a decapitated snake here. The nav from Ross and Laure was spot on, and we eventually reached the the final CP before a quick ride down to the TA on a recently graded track. The next trek leg had a lot of off track navigation. We found the first two checkpoints easily, and started following the ridge to the next checkpoint. We skirted around the side of a knoll to avoid unnecessary climbing, but when too far around it and dropped off the ridge slightly. After looking at the tracker, this was only a 5 minute error, but at the time reduced Charlotte’s confidence in the dark and we slowed down to make sure we stayed on the ridge. We saw team mudcakes around this point, and lead them into the CP. There was some confusion after dropping off the saddle to find the track. We saw Tri adventure and Mudcakes here. We spent some time stopped looking at the map before we found it, and continued on, in the opposite direction of everybody else.

Our support crew was extremely worried, and thought we had made a 180 degree error. In reality we were just taking a more on track route, which turned out to be about the same, as we reached the underpass and checkpoint Y at the same time as Mudcakes and Tri adventure. We came into the TA before the second last leg a few seconds behind the others, battling for 3rd. With our support crew urging us on, we had a quick transition and got onto the water at the same time as Tri adventure. We were ahead of Mudcakes, who we didn’t see again because they turned south and went down the wrong arm of the river, costing them an hour. Unfortunately paddling is not our strong suit, and Tri adventure were quickly out of sight. We navigated across the lake without mishap, helped by the lights of our support crew at TA.

We saw a trail of bubbles in the water from Tri adventures boats, so we knew the couldn’t be far in front. Pulling into the TA our crew told us they had left 7 minutes ago. We transitioned as fast as we could, but we knew we probably couldn’t catch them on the final straightforward 21km ride. Apart from a small detour for the only CP, the last ride was all bitumen, and we rode in formation as fast as we could, finishing the race at 5:30am in 4th position, after 21 hours and 10 minutes of racing - 15 minutes behind Tri Adventure. We’d like to thank your amazing support crew. They really made it possible for us to go quickly and move through transitions easily. Gear was was laid out and food stuffed in bags while we were fed. It was a great race and the support crew really is very important here. Also thanks to Craig and Louise and crew for setting a great course and running an excellent event as usual!

Jodie Willett: GEOQUEST 2015 - HAWKS BAY, NSW

It takes a lot to crack me, but Geoquest 48 hour adventure race succeeded. There were a few rookie errors from the start. There is no way I intended to race for 48 hours. Looking at the distances we had calculated on a 36 hour race, just in time for a steak and beer at the pub. It didn’t pan out like that.
I certainly feel the race was undersold to me by team captain ‘Tayles’ who had done three previous editions of Geoquest. It sounded like if you could paddle a bit, run a bit and not fall off your bike you could get through the race. I’d done a few 10k hilly runs a week and a whole five kayak sessions on the serene Brisbane River. To say I was a touch underdone was an understatement.

Each Geoquest varies in the relative time spent on each discipline. On Friday we got handed the race plan and maps and there was precious little mountain biking and a lot of time on foot. Having been a runner in a previous life, I relied on muscle memory to get me through, but there is no substitute for time on your feet, even if it’s just hiking. I also made the mistake of panic-buying new shoes before the race thinking my Nike Pegasus wouldn’t handle the rugged trails. Yes, I gave thanks for my extra-grippy and water-resistant Salomons when we were scurrying over rock cliffs and through mud puddles, but for running on firetrails they were too stiff to be comfortable and after the 24k rogaine my Achilles and my right knee were on fire and my feet felt like they had been crushed.

Ticking boxes from the start, it was also my first ocean kayak experience. With blue skies to start the race it was quite exciting punching through the waves to reach the water. But despite seeing dolphins and rainbows at the beginning, things soon changed to a vicious 3m swell around the point. My co-paddler, Andy C, issued instructions with calmness so I thought the conditions were fairly normal. It wasn’t until we reached shore that he confessed there were quite a few nervous moments. Not as nervous as our members in the other kayak, Andy M and Tayles, who ended up upside-down in the huge waves. Quote of the weekend went to the volunteer at the first checkpoint:

Volunteer: “Are you having a good time so far?” Andy M: “No, not really”

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Jodie Willett: GEOQUEST 2015 - HAWKS BAY, NSW

Volunteer: “Oh well, it could be worse. You could be that guy whose bag was floating around the ocean” Andy M: “I AM THAT GUY”

How not to start a kayak leg: upside down boats are bad

Fighting the cold was a constant battle, so having all Andy M’s clothes soaked due to a dodgy boat hatch and ‘no-so-dry’ dry-bag was suboptimal. Luckily we had a long beach run ahead to warm us up. The clothing I brought was perfect for the conditions with a couple of light long sleeve thermal tops, Liv cycling vest, arm warmers, undershirts, beanie and rain jacket. A late purchase of some 2XU tri shorts was essential for forest toilet stops without the need to completely undress that comes with wearing bib-nicks.

As long as we kept moving I was pretty comfortable, however we were guilty of stopping too long in transitions when we should have grabbed and run. The winning team were fed on burgers and pizza and foods that could be consumed while moving. Spaghetti Bolognese, while delicious, was less portable. The length of the race meant we weren’t working at maximum intensity so I went with some low GI foods like peanut butter and honey sandwhiches and salty crackers with some medjool dates and Shotz gels to perk me up if the blood sugar was bottoming out. Instant coffee meant a lowering of my usual standards but it was purely about caffeine delivery for the night stages.

There were some spectacular moments on the first day. Clambering along rugged coastal cliffs while coasteering then coming upon sand dunes at Anna Bay complete with camels which could have seen us in a Saharan desert race. It would have been worth attaching a Go Pro to my backpack to capture some amazing scenery. The late addition of the snorkelling leg I thought was going to be an absolute chore, turned out to be one of the most fun. While not tropical, the conditions were sunny and looking for checkpoints underwater was a great way to see the fish and coral and make a mental note to come back to that spot for a summer holiday. As a tourist advertisement for the area, Geoquest was a massive success.

Followers

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Jodie Willett: GEOQUEST 2015 - HAWKS BAY, NSW

I'd definitely come back here...in summer

Less successful was our rafting leg. Originally a body boarding stage, the organisers switched to inflatable craft a week before the race due to safety concerns. Crews had to leave racers uninflated craft of choice in the transition zone along with a pump. Andy C had managed to secure a raft which allegedly was fit for 4 people. Perhaps the two adults and two small children pictured on the front of the box may have comfortably traveled in it, but our whole team plus packs required a version of twister just to all get in and resulted in a lot of paddling in circles with the toy oars. Trying several different combinations led to the two rowing members kneeling in a manner similar to the stress-positions they use to torture inmates at Guantanamo Bay.

Arriving cold and frustrated into transition we were greeted with the joyous news that the race-provided canoes that were to be used during the river crossing had not been delivered and competitors would be required to swim the 50 metres across. Given that we would be hitting the crossing at 10:30pm and the ambient was around 8 degrees this posed a problem. For an hour of hiking I wondered if this was the leg which would bring me unstuck. Could I voluntarily get in water that cold for the sake of a race in which we were coming last?

So that’s how the four of us ended up naked on the bank of a river in the freezing dark putting our gear in garbage bags to keep it dry. I approached it like ripping off a Bandaid – just get in quick get it done and deal with the pain later. It was compounded by the fact that we weren’t even sure where we were able to get out on the other side so just aimed for a large tree we thought we could climb out on. I started paddling briskly as I entered the icy water, one arm holding my gear on top of the water, the other engaged in a sort of side-stroke. Halfway across the frigid water started to slow everything down and I wondered when they found my nude corpse clutching a garbage bag of perfectly good clothes, whether the coroner would be able to piece together the circumstances of my demise. Finally reaching the other side, climbing through some mangroves and up onto the bank we all descended into fits of laughter. Did that just happen? Did we really just do that? I felt oddly revitalised and even warm once clothes had been donned and we were back on our way.

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Jodie Willett: GEOQUEST 2015 - HAWKS BAY, NSW

A photo of me with camels because I'm not posting one of me swimming naked

The lack of sleep and long hike took its toll on Andy M and at 19 hours we made the decision to leave him with the support crew at the transition and continue as an unranked team of 3. Placing was not a priority at that point and at least we could finish the race. Pushing the kayaks out onto the river I was looking forward to seeing the sun rise on the water. The Lakes region did not disappoint with the first rays hitting a thick layer of mist on the water’s surface. It was fairy-tale stuff. Opting for some rented double kayaks and skirts it was surprisingly warm until we were required to land on an island and run up to the top of a hill to look for a checkpoint. The two night river kayaks were some of my favourite legs of the race – so peaceful, just the stars and the soft splashing of paddles.

Having done a 24 hour MTB I knew the energy restoring effects of sunrise and felt pretty good for the next leg where we were finally on the bike. I’d had a couple of micro-sleeps while paddling but was sure the trail action would keep me awake. On paper it looked like a fairly straight forward 57km ride and after driving it for the first hour and a half and knocking of 30ks we were hopeful of getting through it quickly. The next 90 mins only chewed up 10k though as we rode up a rocky water course and negotiated long fireroad climbs that were too muddy to ride. Fatigue was setting in, we were having silly crashes and one of the bikes suffered a snapped rear derailleur cable.

I’ve suffered through some tough MTB races but there was always the reward of a great view or fun singletrack descent. There was nothing rewarding about this pointless foray through the bush and I was pretty jack of the whole thing by then. We arrived at the start of the next rogaining leg in the afternoon with the second night looming and an estimated 12 hours of hiking, paddling and riding left to reach the end. I just couldn’t face another night without sleep and it wasn’t something I had expected to do. Completely cool with being wet, nude, sore and lost and it wasn’t that the legs were empty as we were the second fastest team overall on the MTB stage. Two nights of sleep deprivation is just not something that I could get through and I couldn’t think of a good enough reason to keep going given we were out of the running to even get recognition of finishing as a complete team.

Unfortunately there is no option of continuing as a two-person team due to safety rules set by the organisers. We called our support team to pick us up and grabbed 30 minutes sleep by the fire while we waited for them. I felt terrible for Andy C and Tayles for bringing a premature end to their adventure. I’ve run through a dozen scenarios wondering if there was anything which could have got me through that patch. Maybe a short sleep? Can of Coke? Foot massage? It’s misleading to look back and think there was something left to give, when at the time you’re just out of answers. I also found it disconcerting watching

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Jodie Willett: GEOQUEST 2015 - HAWKS BAY, NSW

your team members deteriorate, hurt themselves due to extreme fatigue and struggle to string a sentence together at times. Looking at my teammates, they were in quite a state (as was I) but I knew they wouldn’t stop if I didn’t and I wasn’t sure if I was OK with that. Geoquest was a very strange experience in that way. We really must look insane to other people!

Would I do it again? Absolutely. But I would train my arse off, especially for long distance running component. If you’re cool with sleep deprivation, go ahead and amble through Geoquest and enjoy the journey. If not then go hard and get it done so you can spend Sunday night celebrating.

Massive thanks to our incredible support crew Tanya and Rob. It was such a relief to see you guys and you did an amazing job anticipating everything we could conceivably want. Support crew duties are an event in their own right. Also thanks to Liv for my Lust 27.5 which has become my ‘do everything’ bike and For The Riders for preparing it for the onslaught of conditions; Ride Mechanic for the Bike Milk and Moonshine to make sure both my bike and body were free from friction; Shotz nutrition for their gels and recovery bars to keep me going; Maxxis Tyres for the Ardent Race and Ikon combination that proves itself again. And finally to my team mates. We didn’t make it this time, but just taking the start line was a win. Until the next one!

Team Scout GeoQuest 2015