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ARC 24 Hour Race 2009 12 May 2009 Heavy early morning rain greeted us for the start of the 2009 ARC Adventure Race. Based at Pauanui’s, Tangitori Reserve, the race had been dubbed ‘Operation Nighthawk,’ and was all about saving our country from a hostile foreign power. For me personally, I was extremely nervous going into the race. Haunted by the memory of my 22nd hour withdrawal from the same race in 2008. Stage 1 sent us off into the misty Tairua Harbour to collect a number of checkpoints. The furthest of which was at Shoe Island, 4km across the Tairua Bar. As a team we made a tactical decision to forgo the trip to Shoe in the hope that the time saving would provide us with more light for the trekking section later in the day. Stage two was varied 40km mountain bike section through forest, farmland, river, and clay tracks. En route we were faced with a swim across the Tairua River. Followed by a 20 minute trek through the river, before exiting via grade II rapids. At one point, with a bike on each shoulder, I managed to find (or not find) a footing that was much deeper than I am tall. Before the transition at the Broken Hills camping ground we had a chance to prove our rifle shooting skills. Hannah lead the way hitting all 5 of her targets, which is more than can be said for the rest of us. The trekking stage around the broken hills area was navigationally challenging with checkpoints to find along various unmarked tracks as well as a number along the third branch of the Tairua River. Though our tactical decision earlier in the day meant that we were now out of contention, it proved worthwhile finishing the trekking stage just on dark. The fourth stage was to be a relatively short and easy mountain bike back to Pauanui split in half by a quick abseil and flying fox. Upon arrival at the outdoors centre we were greeted by a plethora of bikes and strobe lights. The flow of teams through the flying fox was not as quick as the organisers had intended. I am yet to decide whether the exhilarating experience of flying along a wire at break-neck speed in the pitch black illuminated by a single LED was worth the frustrating three hour wait. I later learned that current Adventure Racing World Champions, Orion Health had maximized the time to get some valuable sleep. The valuable lesson there is that even though they weren’t necessarily in need of sleep they took it, and I am sure it helped toward the end of the race. The amount of water in the Tairua Harbour was declining with every minute/hour we were waiting for the flying fox. By the time we got there the low tide sandbanks, which Tairua Harbour is well known for were forming quickly. We paddled, dragged and, carried our kayaks around the harbour collecting the checkpoints in close proximity and omitting those located further up the harbour. Onto the final trek and we were almost home. Having been drinking a herbal concoction and chewing on coffee beans I was well and truly wired by the time we left transition for the last time. The trek took in more of the Tairua Forest and the top of Mt. Pauanui providing us with seldom seen views of Paunaui and Tairua by night. The race finished with a sting in the tail, literally, as we bashed our way through bush down to the river and the finish. Thank you, to: Vasque, Bridgedale, Bivouac Hamilton, ARC and Nick Hirschfeld for the continued use of his hypernova |
ARC 24 Hour Race 2009 |
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