Day
1 Launceston – The navigator’s day!
Launceston
was the location for Day 1 of the challenge. Gary and I were both on the start
line, but racing in different teams. I was a part of the Mountain Designs
sponsored Tri Adventure Aunties and Gary was racing for Team Rexona. We started
with a short navigation session at the Country Club with some fun challenges including – tennis serve, push ups
& chin ups, golf putting, underwater swim, before heading toward Cataract
George for White Water Rafting. I could not believe that Jan and I got through
this leg faster than Gary and his team of Olympians – Ken Wallace and Courtney
Atkinson. 
We got to do the rafting together as teams had to combine, and go
through a safety briefing before we took the plunge! Lucky for us we managed to
all stay in the raft, and Courtney was thankful he kept his cast dry! Teams had
an opportunity to go for bonus checkpoints to get time bonuses, so we took
advantage of this on the MTB leg as the purpose built trails at the Kate Reed
Nature Reserve were too good to pass up. We finished the day with a paddle
along the South Esk River and a trek back to near we did the rafting and
finished the day at the James Boags factory right in the middle of town.
Day
2 Ben Lomond – Altitude + Gravity
The
day started with an epic 18k cycle up to the Ben Lomond Ski Fields which too
about 2hrs. Ken was unaware of what was ahead and decided to lead the pack on
the charge to the mountain, before being called back by Gary. The Tri Adventure
Aunties took it steady, and I managed to tow Jan for the entire ride to the
amazement of onlookers! CP1 for the day was at the watchtower, quite visible as
we encountered the never-ending switchbacks and the helicopter doing flybys in
all directions. It was a picture perfect day as we summited Stonjeks Lookout at
Hamilton Crags which was at above 1500m and crossed over Summit pass also above
1500m before descending along the Summit Track to our bikes.
The MTB leg which
followed was rewarding, and we were treated to some awesome single track before
the kayak launch at Blessington. On the map the North Esk River looked really
windy, so I wondered if there would be some rapids, and there was! I am told
that Ken Wallace paddled some of the rapids Gondola style, and used a scooter
action to get through some of the shallow areas! It was a fun paddle and as the
water levels were low but it was a bit tricky to manoeuvre the big yellow
kayaks, so we plunged into a few prickly bushes, so lucky we had helmets on. We
exited the kayaks and completed the trek to the finish without wasting anytime
and finished the day about 2k from where we had started. For something different
Mark from Octagon decided to include a rally drive to the event. In our
Renault, we cruised along enjoying the scenery to our accommodation at
Ironhouse Point, and at some point I think Gary, Kenny and Courtney flew past
us as they could not resist the temptation to race!
Day
3 Scamander - The challenge really begins!
Rock
hopping was the theme for the day with 6k of coasteering from Four Mile Beach
to Falmouth Creek where we were to commence the kayak. The swell was big and
the waves were crashing, Gary and Ken breezed through that big surf, and
somehow Jan and I got out too, as we watched kayaks being smashed all around
us! We still had to get in, though, and this is where we got pummeled by a big
wave and ended up like beached whales. The rest of the paddle was rather long
and hot, it was nice to finish this with a bit of a creek walk to the TA!
The day was far
from over we had a trek and ride awaiting us. We felt refreshed as we summited
St Patrick's Head and were able to enjoy the spectacular views and amazing rock
formations as we popped out at the top. It was not long before we were back on
the bikes again for some more descending, and tackling one of those trails that
only John Jacoby would find to send us down! It was a downhill thrill down
Heises Gully which ended up back at Four Mile Creek (where we started the day)
and onto the Tasman Highway back to Ironhouse Point to the finish line!
Day
4 Bay of Fires – Challenge accepted!
The
Tri Adventure Aunties had a good lead on the Red Bullettes and Gary and Team
Rexona were getting more and more competitive as Courtney and Ken were getting
the hang of this sport called Adventure Racing! We started at The Gardens at
the Bay of Fires with a short coastal trek followed by a long ocean paddle from
Taylors Beach to Binalong Bay. When we commenced the paddle it was sunny
beautiful and calm, but the wind picked up and before long we were being blown
to Binalong Bay. 
We were freezing by the time we finished and were shocked when
we saw teams returning from snorkelling without wetsuits! I was concerned that
I would not be able to see a thing as the water was so choppy! Gary sent Ken
and Courtney off for this leg, but Jan and I both braved the icy water and
collected our tokens and were in and out of the TA onto the Trek in a flash,
just so we could warm up by running! The next CP was “an Island” so guess what?
One of us had to get wet again, so I did the safety jump into the water,
punched the CP and then we got to warm up as we ran the Skeleton Bay coastal
track.
As we picked up a few extra CP’s on the trek, we thought we would have a
go on the bike too, and we were pleased that it was worth it, and that the
trails were really worth riding, as we love single track! Final paddle was
shortened, so we had an early finish before a 3 hr drive to our accommodation at Wrest Point Hobart, to prepare
for the final day!
Day
5 Mt Wellington - The Finale!
Mt
Wellington was 2 degrees and the wind chill -10, so lucky we had our Mountain
Designs Gortex Jackets. The 7k descent was lightning fast and was followed by
an orienteering leg! The tracks were steep and rocky in parts and the scenery beautiful;
we picked up all the CP’s and a bonus before getting back on the bikes! We were
required to follow the North South Track to Glenorchy and pick up 3 CP’s along
the way, and there were plenty of optional CP’s on offer too. We were flying
along passing quite a few teams on the quite technical descent, when I got flat tyre number 3 for the event. So all of a sudden frantic panic! I broke the valve on
the tube and thought our day was over, but Rob Pommie stopped and gave me a
tube as they were whizzing past! So all sorted we decided just to get to the
end, no bonuses and that’s what we did! I got another flat at the final CP and
had to ride the final 1.5k on the rim, again!
We had to get through the streets of
Glenorchy to Cornelian Bay on foot, our route along the power lines had us
scaling fences, and wrestling with blackberry bushes. The last paddle was nice,
and we went for the bonus, and got some time credit for it! We finished the
paddle at Constitution Dock and had a quick run up to the finish line in front of
the Henry Jones Hotel! Gary, Courtney
and Ken had already finished, and everyone was smiling, having pictures taken
with Mark Webber himself!
What
a day, what a challenge, what an event! This 5 star charity adventure race,
known as The Mark Webber Challenge had everything! It was long, hard tough, but
the fact that we were well looked after before and after each day, allowed the
body to rest, recover and relax! We had physio’s doctors, massage therapists
bike mechanics at our fingertips, and the accommodation, transport and support
from individual Team Hosts allowed us to totally relax after a day of hard
racing and reflect on our experiences. We thank our team host Susie Blissner for
giving up a week of her time to share the adventure with us! We loved the event
so much that we hope that Gary and I can race together as Team Mountain Designs
in the 2013 Mark Webber Challenge and that Jan and Susie Team up as Tri
Adventure Vintage.
For the full event results and highlights go to the event website http://www.markwebbertasmaniachallenge.com/
Thanks
to Mountain Designs for all their support throughout the year, we certainly
made the most of our gear and put it through some of the toughest challenges
you could imagine – it is certainly the best gear for – places you would rather
be!
