Anaconda NZ Race Report

After arriving in New Zealand last Thursday things have been slightly hectic but i am relieved to be travelling with Karl Thorstensen who is originally from NZ and has some handy local knowledge. Karl and his wife Kelly were at the airport waiting for me even though my plane was delayed 6hrs and had already picked up my ski ready for the race. We travelled 2.5hrs south to Waihi where the race was being held and on Friday the day before the race we went out for a paddle to test the boats out. It was here that i realised my boat wasn’t going to be ideal and i spent the whole time trying to stay in it rather than paddling forward.

I learnt to paddle in a particularly tippy boat so i should be accustomed to it now but this boat was something else and with rudder problems as well it didn’t make things any easier. I quickly contacted the race organiser but all their boats were already hired out and he put me on to a friendly local who drove me an hour down south to a kayak shop to look for a back-up. All we could find was a plastic sea kayak weighing in at approx 50kg. The decision was now paddle a tippy boat and spend a fair bit of time in the water or go the safe option in the unsinkable barge that would add over 30mins to my time.  I didn’t want to think about it as both options would certainly mean i couldn’t win this race so i shut it out of my mind and thought about the other legs.

Running out of time we didn’t get to practice on the run course but just looking at the headlands along the coastline you could see it was going to be an epic run with a large amount of climbing and descending and some amazing views. We did however get to experience the first 5km’s of the mountain bike course and it too was a ripper. A brilliant descent through rolling green paddocks before a long 1km climb up a steep ascent. This course had everything and apart from the paddle i was very excited to really give it a crack. If i won it would mean the series is wrapped up and i could go into Forster next weekend feeling quite relaxed. If i lost i had a heap of work to do in Forster and a whole heap of pressure on my shoulders. I didn’t want that!

At 8pm on Friday night the briefing was held and i bumped into Rapid Ascent director John Jacoby who heard about my boat predicament and found a local kiwi who came to my aid. He too was doing the race but had a spare boat that was far better than the 2 boats i currently had at my disposal, A Honcho. I felt a huge wave of relief and suddenly i was back in the race.

The swim started in a protected estuary that had some huge tidal currents running through it and while we were able to wade for a good 200m out it suddenly dropped away to a staggering depth of 97m and Orca sightings were not uncommon. Thankfully not today! I had a reasonable swim, beaten out of the water by a NZ superfish but coming in 2nd overall and holding a 1:45sec lead over the next individual (Grant Suckling). Grant has been my nemisis all season and improved his weaknesses out of site this season while all the time maintaining his strengths making him a formidable opponent.

The paddle made it’s way out through the estuary and into the ocean where we followed the coastline North for approx 10km’s before turning into a small beach break where we started the run. The paddle seemed to take forever and i was passed straight away by Grant then another kiwi doing solo and about 10 team competitors. Things weren’t going so well but i had to limit the loss and keep plugging away. Grant managed to hit the run almost 5mins clear and the other kiwi was 3mins up the road before i was able to slip on the running shoes.

Things weren’t looking good but finally i was running and ready to claw back some lost ground. The run was absolutely spectacular, climbing 200 vertical metres over coastal headlands before descending back down onto protected beaches below. At some points you were ducking through lush rain forest, the next minute you were hugging a cliff face on a 50cm ledge perched 200m over the ocean. This was by far the most amazing run i had ever done. I knew we finished with an epic climb that ascended 2km’s from the ocean up to the mountain bike transition but i was leaving nothing in the tank. I had reached this point and still could not see the two other solo competitors ahead of me. I punished myself up this hill and passed the kiwi copetitor halfway up but was getting increasingly concerned that i still had not seen Grant. I hit the Mountain Bike i started the final leg in 2nd position.

At this point i wasn’t feeling very confident as Grant is a great cyclist but i wasn’t about to give up. I hammered along for the next 5km’s until my left leg gave up and was completely overwhelmed with cramp. No, i thought, this was the end of my race and could be walking the next 20km’s to the finish. I took that leg out of the pedal and rode 1 legged for the next kilometre. It was then that i looked up the next climb to see Grant only 400m ahead and doing the same thing. I couldn’t believe my luck but that run course had certainly taken it’s toll. The cramp slowly subsided and i was able to ride normal again but how long would it last. I passed Grant at the top of the climb and knew i had to keep working hard if i wanted to stay in front.

The next 10km’s was torture as the cramps kept coming back in waves and then to my horror Grant came up behind me just as i was climbing over a fenceline. This race wasn’t won yet and we still had 5km’s to ride. I sprinted away for the second time and didn’t look back. I was on the home straight as we were coming into town and knew that if i could enter the last transition with Grant i had a good chance of winning.

I did exactly that, hitting the final transition with a 30sec lead and headed out on the last 2km run. I just prayed the cramps would stay away. The final run was spectacular, looping around the outside rim of an open cut mine over 200m deep. I came across that finish line so relieved that i had won and Grant was less than 2min behind. The kiwi’s were amazing in their support and the local town and media were behind the event all the way.

I am absolutely stoked to have been involved in this series this year and although i am feeling battered and bruised i’m looking forward to seeing Lisa in Sydney in a few days and heading up to tackle the last race in Forster this weekend. Thanks for all the support on Facebook and hopefully i can report back with more great news next week after Forster.

Seano

Filed under: Sean's Diary

Leave a Reply