Team Mountain Designs XPD Townsville Ramblings

With Kim and Leo injured and not able to join Schlossy and myself for this event, we recruited Damon Georke and Kathryn Preston from the now defunct and highly  successful  Blackheart team.

#XPDAR Logistics Plan

   With so much experience in the team, we had a very relaxed and organized planning stage.



Bikes packed and ready to go.



We started with an 8km paddle to Magnetic Island where we traversed the coast for 30km completing snorkeling tasks along the way. The coasteering and rock scrambling were technical and the bush was thick. We thoroughly enjoyed picking our way through the maze of granite boulders that are strewn across the whole island. 

CP 3 Snorkel

 We eased into West Point just after 8pm and in 2nd place behind world number 6 Team Raidlight from France, Peak Adventure were next followed by Bivouac Colts. Team Merrell  ranked 8th in the world came in 4 hours after us. This could all have been strategic as we now could not start until 6am in the morning. We spent the night sleeping under a spectacular starry cloudless sky on a comfortable bed of sand. We woke up feeling fresh and eager to see what the course had in store for us, the wind was coming up as we headed off onto the ocean under a dimly lit sky. A clear and crisp sunrise chased us across to the mainland for CP14 we punched in 2nd behind Peak Adventure and headed north. With the freshening wind now behind us we chased runners all the way to CP15 and the finish leading Peak Adventure into the TA.

We began the trek up to Paluma with Peak. With smoke from a fire billowing out of one of the valleys that was one of the route options for this leg, race officials instructed us to only use the other route.

Now travelling with Peak and with a little trepidation under the threat of fires in the area we couldn’t locate the track up the hill so navigated up the spur were it was meant to be . After scrambling through the under growth for half the climb the trail appeared and we soon powered to the top and started the maze of trails uniquely marked by sundials. This was a lush rainforest area with sweet mountain water to quench our thirst and a full tree canopy blocking out another starry sky. Kathryn was nauseous and was soon vomiting, to our surprise this did not slow her down, she switched her energy source to Coke and kept tramping toward the next CP.

We rolled into the MTB TA 10 minutes behind Peak ready to finally ride our bikes after 2 days and a night. Kathryn's husband and son were at this TA and were also both sick so we now had to manage a contagious illness.  Temps were in the single digits so we rugged up and headed off with our Ay-Up lights blazing the way into the misty night. All was going well until we got a little turned around trying to locate CP20 on a single track as the trails weren't marked on the map as they appeared on the ground. We relocated back to the lake and then located the CP after 3hrs. Temperatures were rising as we landed at the Next TA for the Canyon Trek. Here we discovered Peak had forgotten their helmets and would incur a penalty giving us the upper hand for the time being.



Hidden Valley - Running River Trek



We found CP 21 in the gorge without trouble and made the decision to go up and out of the gorge on a straight bearing rather than down the gorge and out a creek line. CP22 proved troubling as the contours in this area were not correctly marked. We lost another 3 hours and daylight locating this CP . We now were navigating more conservatively and nailed CP 23 and headed to Kim's swimming challenge CP in a beautiful lagoon section of the canyon. We didn’t get to experience the beauty of this location as it was dark and we were consumed by dread of a cold water swim on a cool night.



The Running River Gorge in daylight!



We got through quickly and kept moving toward CP25 in a creek junction. This area also caused us problems so with dawn 2.5 hours away we slept. The CP was only 100 metres away. Nicely refreshed from sleep we hurried to the MTB TA to discover we had been passed by Bivouac, Raidlight and Merrell. We paced-lined on the bike passing all three teams to begin the Burdekin river paddle in 2nd and with 8 hours of daylight.



Team MD's prepare for the paddle





We were told this paddle would involve a lot of dragging the boats as the water levels were very low. This paddle was a real highlight for me, I enjoyed the ducking and weaving around low hanging trees and the abundance of animal and bird life kept the interest to see what was around the next corner. The last 4 hours was very shallow and cold so the finish of this leg was a relief. We huddled around the fire at this TA trying to warm the body for the final push to Mid Camp and some much needed hot food and sleep.



Gary at Mid Camp

We headed out onto the 145km MTB at 8.20am feeling optimistic about our chances of catching a fast moving Peak Adventure, we had done our home work on this leg and felt we had the best route planned. We met 4 Qld out-back characters at the hut CP. They gave us 4 icy cold cans of Coke to drink while we shared a yarn or two. We headed out carrying our bikes across the river and then rode through the bush to hit the trail near a bush runway and then up to the road to Ravenswood. Here we had a bike rogaine to historical sites around town. This was a nice break and a chance to take in the town. We grabbed an ice cream and took off towards the Maze TA. With the map called the Maze and darkness approaching we headed off with caution.



River Crossing

 


The pub is tempting!

 


Damon is on the Map

Geocentric Outdoors Facebook Page Interview with Kathryn Preston

We got the first CP and headed into the Maze carefully but had no luck, over shooting the location by 2km . Things were starting to get a bit funky with a nudie run, some attempted dacking and some tow rope whipping all in an attempt to stay awake. Out came the No-Doze and bang we were back flying, locating a creek line which led us directly to the Maze CP and then powering toward the canyon and hopefully some water.  Our No- Doze induced clarity soon faded and the long arm of the Maze reached out and dragged us back into the abyss. Drifting east everything looked wrong, so back to sleep for 45 minutes and dawn.

Kathryn starts with the map on this trek!

Back on track now we had no further issues getting the Canyon CP and some nice water. Barreling up the canyon from boulder to boulder we only had one short stop to patch up a deep little cut. Up the spur to the next CP we came across a box of heaven, the evil Bycroft had relented and left us all some Coke and Pringles. We only had 13 hours of food for this leg and we had now been out for 20 hours so this little bonanza was well received. This leg was now a classic Bycroft soul destroyer, a leg of XPD which should be expected and eagerly anticipated. We rounded the dam indicating our spur line and after 5 days of following the same 4 x sets of foot prints we finally had virgin trail, we couldn’t believe it, not a foot print anywhere. We had a little bet, with 3, for Peak had already finished and 1 for we were now leading. We were 1st to sign into TA and our smiles and relief couldn’t have been bigger. We rested a little here as the heat and lack of food was taking its toll.

Geocentric Outdoors - Facebook Page Video - Team Mountain Designs Interview as they approach the final Transition Area

The turning point!



Team MD's treks into the final TA



Kathryn enjoys a well deserved drink

 


Dave still can't believe they are leading

 


Gary - smiles with relief



We rolled out relaxed with an at times a seemingly unlikely victory in the bag. The finish line greeted us and we were soon on the lounges eating pizza, drinking champagne and regaling our journey to any who would listen.

The final ride to the finish

Big thanks to all our long suffering families that keep all our affairs in order and support us while we chase little orange and white flags through some of the most remote locations the puppet master, Bycroft, can find.

Geocentric Outdoors Facebook Video - Team Mountain Designs crosses the finish line to win XPD Tropics 2015

Team Mountain Designs #XPDAR

Enjoying the Champagne.

Here is a link to the Geocentric Outdoors #XPDAR Report XPD Tropics - Day 6 Winners Finish

Here is a link to the write up in the Townsville Bulletin 12 August 2015 Team Mountain Designs Defends Title in XPD Adventure Race


Team Mountain Designs would like to finally thank our team sponsors as without your underlying support, opportunities like these do not eventuate.

Mountain Designs

Ay Up Lighting Systems

Flight Centre Active Travel

Hoka Footwear

Tri Adventure

Athletes unite to take on Australia’s Toughest Adventure Race – XPD Townsville

Team Mountain Designs has secured two of Australia’s top adventure racers in order to defend their 2013 World Series - XPD Title in Townsville next week.  Kathryn Preston who recently achieved a podium finish with Dave Schloss in Expedition Alaksa (both racing for Rogue) , and Damon Goerke a two time XPD winner, are replacing Kim Beckinsale and Leo Theoharis who are both out due to injury. These athletes are used to racing head to head against each other in events such as Australia’s Premier Adventure Race - Geoquest and the iconic NZ Adventure Race – Godzone.

The event which commences on 5^th August in Townsville is attracting teams from over 10 countries including top teams from Australia, New Zealand, France and South Africa. Two of these teams are currently ranked top 10 in the AR World series – Bivouac Inov8 (NZ) and Team Raidlight (France). The 700km event which will see teams travel by foot, MTB  and kayak from Tropical Islands to remote outback stations is likely to take most for the top team over  100 hours  to complete and they will do this with less than 10hrs sleep in some cases.  XPD is organised by Sunshine Coast’s Craig Bycroft and Louise Foulkes from Geocentric www.geocentricoutdoors.com.au

Gary and Sloshy will stand out amongst the crowd in their bright Red ‘Flight Centre Kit’ and will not be without their Hoka shoes on all of the trekking legs! 

Kathryn is looking forward to the adventure of the race and trekking, riding and paddling to places most people will never get to experience. She will be relying on her Salomon XA pro-footwear for comfort and durability.

Damon will no doubt not be without his Aussie Butt cream for most of the race and will be very glad he won’t have to be carrying all of the team gear racing with Kathryn, Sloshy and Gary!

Kim and Leo will be anxiously watching over the progress of Team Mountain Designs as the team forges their way with map and compass through whatever landscape that appears in front of them.

Live GPS tracking and news feeds: live.xpd.com.au

Event Information: www.xpd.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/geocentricoutdoors

Twitter & Instagram : #xpdar

Despite being my 10th GEOQUEST it was mentally the toughest!

Geoquest Race Report  2015 -  Kim Beckinsale

Losing Leo our super strong team mate just 2 weeks out was a bit of a bummer, however we still  arrived at Hawks Nest with collectively 33years of GEOQUEST racing experience. Joining Gary, Sloshy and me was Mr Rapha himself, Pikey our 2011 Tassie XPD Team mate! So we were all set for a fun race. We rocked up at rego in Pikey’s Jaguar looking a bit too flash with new MD team gear and very pink Rapha caps making ourselves very noticeable indeed. It was all part of the fun, as we caught up with all of our AR friends that make the annual pilgrimage to this event called GEOQUEST, now in its 15^th year!



Team Mountain Designs looking all Rapha!

The competencies were over and done with pretty quickly this year.  Gary didn’t have to do them but he took Pikey out for a bit of a splash in the Fenn XT as Pikey had not paddled since Tassie, meanwhile Sloshy and I jumped in the Fenn Elite and tested out leg lengths with running shoes on. I was quite relieved to have brought my full wetsuit as I decided to use it today, for the swim but not in the race, so it didn’t matter if it got wet. Soft or smart???



Kim and Pikey exit the swim with the Cowgirls - Tri Adventure

The course was revealed at 3pm and from that point on it was all eyes on the maps and course notes until we finished all the planning and contacting. Meanwhile our support crew in charge of nutrition - Kylie & Dersley, cooked up a storm and provided plenty of homemade delights for the crew while we were doing this, as the meal before race day is such an important one. Blowney and Lucas our logistics crew were with us on the maps, planning gear and transitions, as with 12 legs there was always going to be so much going on – 4 paddles, 4 treks, 3 bikes as well as a snorkel and rafting section.



Team Mountain Designs are far off to the right....just out of the picture!

Race Day at Hawks Nest looked picture perfect, with a bit of a shore break but nothing too nasty. We were told the course would be shortened, due to rough conditions around the Island. This ended up being a blessing, as after Sloshy and I made it out through the break and looked back, Gary and Pikey were not through. The rudder malfunctioned and they had to complete the entire leg without a working rudder, so Gary was the engine on the front and Pikey steering from the back. Sloshy and I could not then paddle at full speed as we needed to stick close to our team mates, so conditions were even more challenging in our tippy ski! I must say I was very thankful for all of the ocean paddle training I had done to feel so confident. I was in awe of what Gary and Pikey were pulling off though so it was such  a good feeling to get off the paddle just behind Rob & Catherine Preston and start the first coastal trek!



Pikey at the end of the paddle - glad to be on dry land!

We soon warmed up again and in no time at all had caught a few teams including ‘Dynamite’ and ‘Buggered if I know’ then before we knew it we were at the TA to get ready for the MTB-Snorkel leg. I carried a shortie wetsuit but the boys opted just for goggles. Along the way we had to collect just 3 of 6 CP’s so this would see teams split then come back together. We were pretty stoked to get into the water in the Snorkel CP’s with all the lead teams – Peak Adventure, CBD Cycles, and Thought Sports- Shotz Nutrition (once were Macpac). After a bit of sand riding, we at the next TA in the lead.



The view of the Snorkel from above!



Transitions were not our strong points in this race, but I think that was my fault! I loved the coastal trek, it was spectacular coasteering around the headlands and running over the sand dunes with all lead teams, even having a bit of a chat to each other along the way. Three teams arrived at the raft leg within seconds of each other and it was just perfect conditions, heaps of sun and no wind. As we were pumping up our raft it suddenly split at the seam and air started pouring out! Lucky we had a patch kit, but it was unlikely to hold…..so we just took off as that was our only option. Our 4 person raft barely fitted all of us and with our leaky boat it was like paddling in a bath! We made the first crossing, portaged to the CP, re inflated the raft and took off again…..just making it to the other side without sinking! My 47yr old knees did not seem to want to move as I tried to get out and start running again. We had lost over 25mins to Peak Adventure but were really just happy to make it.

At the TA we had hot chips and cheese toasties to go, which was so awesome! Upon setting out onto the Trek we were told the canoes may not be at the creek crossing and that we might have to swim. We arrived just as the CP was arriving on foot, punched our wrist bands and got ready for the swim. Time to get wet again! I took off my shirt and thermal top and put them in a dry bag, so I would at least have some dry clothes at the other side, as there was not too much daylight left and I did not want to get too cold before the paddle. Little did we know that CBD cycles were right behind us at this point and saw us before we headed into the bush to CPJ NE side of creek. We were so relieved to pick this one up in daylight, as it was just so hard to spot. Out of this CP we then spent what seemed like hours and hours walking in circles. The track and creeks made no sense and despite Sloshy and Gary trying so very hard to find our way, we had to end up just going on a safety bearing to get out of the mess. So as a result we knew that many teams would have passed us and it was funny when we finally arrived at the TA at the end of the leg,  Blowney said to us….do you really want to know when the top team came in…..just after 6pm….it was now after 9pm???



Leg 6  Map 6 - Looks so simple????

There was still plenty of the race to go, so now we just had to keep going. Knowing it could be a bit cool, I put on jacket, cag pants and thermal top, and was really enjoying the paddle until I fell in the water getting out at the bank on the way to the high point CP. I was pretty mad and cold and wet. I had hoped the climb would warm me up but I was soaked to the core….paddling hard did not seem to warm me up!

Back at the TA at Karuah I had to completely change my clothes, and tried so hard to warm up. I had hot chocolate and chicken pasta and put on plenty of layers. I was definitely a bit slow in this TA, but I knew we had at least 10hrs ahead of us and it was going to be a long cool night so I wanted to be  prepared. We set off on the bikes and the first 10k was all on flat roads, so it was not warming up one bit, and the temperature was dropping 11, 10, 8, 6, 5 degrees…..I was freezing and had to put on my jacket and hood, over my vest, top and thermals. Once we hit some small inclines and technical riding, I started to warm up to a comfortable temperature but then I started falling asleep. Nothing I could do could get me out of this state. I spent the next 7hrs on the bike struggling to keep my eyes open and not crashing. This was really hard for the team, as usually this would be a strong part of the race for me. Yes, I get the occasional sleep monsters like everyone does, but this was different, I was like a zombie zoning out and it was such a struggle to get through the leg. As the sun came up I thought I would be okay, but clearly I was not. Physically I felt great, I could ride some really steep and technical parts of the course, but then the next second I would be almost falling off……pretty scary! Sloshy did a great job navigating this section.

Finally at around 7am we arrived at the final trek. Only one team had arrived back – Peak Adventure, and all the others were still out there, so we set ourselves up for another epic! Pikey was hurting big time by now and there was no way he could run, so we decided just to walk…..good XPD training anyway! Sloshy had the maps and we pretty much nailed every CP spot on. CP U that was 100m east of where the circle (map correction) proved a bit challenging. As we interpreted the corrections differently,  we looked for the CP in both directions and eventually found it more than 250m to the east. We saw Liam and ‘Quality Nude Time’ on our way out of this one, so we gave them the heads up, as well as ‘Damaged Goods’ a bit later on.

Leg 9 - Trek - We walked the whole way and nailed it!

We were pretty stoked to get back on the bikes, I was still yawning bigtime, bit at least managing to stay awake. We had a bit of a climb out of the TA followed by a long descent…..which was fun, I think Gary was now a bit sleepy, but Sloshy was out the front pushing the pace, so I was now doing my bit to help the others stay alert….just like they had tried to do for me all night. Just seconds before a creek crossing Pikey’s tyre started spewing out sealant! We tried to gas it, but the hole was too big, so we put in a tube and soon we were off again. Sloshy set a cracking pace all the way to Bulahdelah.

We were in great spirits going into the long final paddle, and enjoyed the hot meat pies that the support crew had for us! We decided to mix things up a bit, so Pikey joined Sloshy in the XT and Gary and I paddled the Elite. Sloshy and Pikey set off at lightning speed, meanwhile Gary and I seemed to be going nowhere! We were thinking are we this stuffed??? But then I said maybe we have weed on our rudder. We pulled over and the biggest clump of weed came off…phew! We set off again, caught the boys and sat on their wash most of the way along the river. We were all struggling a bit to stay awake, so we were chatting as much as we could to stay alert. We shared a coke at halfway, and pulled in to the bank for a stretch just before the final lake crossing. Both Gary and I tipped in as we were landing the ski….oops, it certainly woke us up, but now we would have to paddle really hard to stay warm but hey, at least the sun was out! Conditions on the lake were perfect and a slight cross wind provided a few runners to catch, making it a pretty fun paddle wash riding Sloshy and Pikey!

Team Mountain Designs - Finish Geoquest 2015

The final TA was a bit slow, as Gary and I had to put something warm on. Even though there was only 18k to go and everyone was saying how warm I was still freezing cold…..Sloshy was ready to go…..but had to wait for me again! We hightailed it to the final CP,  crossed the creek, followed the trail then bush bashed onto the bitumen as Sloshy sat on the front and set a cracking pace all the way to the to the finish!

I was totally overwhelmed by the supporters we had at the finish line! Despite us not finishing on the podium and certainly not having our greatest race, to see all the smiling faces as we crossed the line, was just so special and so rewarding.

Thanks to our support crew Blowney, Lucas, Kylie, Diggie & Dersley, you were always in high spirits even when we dropped off the radar!

Thanks to all my Tri Adventure buddies who all raced / supported the GEO Half yet made the effort to be there at the finish to watch Team MD’s cross the line this meant so much to me. I was so excited when I heard the news that Tri Adventure Mixed had placed 3^rd and the Cowgirls Tri Adventure had won the all-girls category, and that all the teams entered had finished. As coach I am so proud of you all!

Thanks so much to Pikey for stepping in at the last minute to enable us to race at this amazing Adventure Race called Mountain Designs GEOQUEST. Gary and Sloshy were both strong throughout with Sloshy demonstrating he is on fire to race in Alaska in June, then back up for XPD in August!

Thanks Pikey!



Thanks to Ay Up Lights, Hoka Footwear, Flight Centre Active Travel, Tri Adventure and Mountain Designs (our major sponsor) for kitting us out with race gear and equipment.

Mountain Designs have been supporting Geoquest for 15 years and their support for Adventure Racing in Australia over this time has been pivotal in ensuring that this sport that we know and love is going from strength to strength.

Geocentric Outdoors (Craig & Louise), once again you have given us an experience to remember forever!

Will we see you at GEO next year???

 

The Baise Outdoor Quest in China...if Gary says it was tough.....it was!

Team Mountain Designs comprising of Gary Sutherland, Leo Theoharis, Dave Schloss and Sammy Hemsley embarked on another trip to China to race against some of the world's best in multisport and adventure racing. The boys all had unfinished business following last years withdrawal due to illness, and Gary really wanted to go back and experience some of the China that he remembered from his early adventure racing years.....this is how it all panned out! 

Team Mountain Designs - sporting very flash 'China' red Flight Centre Jerseys 

Race report by Gary Sutherland

China's race was based out of a couple of Mountain villages surrounded by Sheer peaks springing out of the ground on all sides to elevations of 1400m. 

A view of some of those sheer peaks!

After getting the race instructions which inform us the race was in 2 section comprising of 2 x 2 day stages with an overnight camp in between of each stage and a hotel stay between the stages. We packed our gear boxes for the first 2 days of racing and our overnight camp and headed out on the bikes to get the lay of land.

Opening Ceremony....Adventure Racing is a really big thing in China look at the crowds!

Day 1 - Race day started with a nice opening ceremony with local traditions and then a 1km sprint to maps suspended 3m above ground requiring team work to retrieve. We could split up to get the 3 check points. Leo who was lame in 1 leg hobbled back to TA, Sammy headed to the out skirts of town for a CP , Schlossy headed to the abseil and I stupidly headed up a massive hill to a radio tower with all the mountain goats from the other teams and only just managed not to come last.

The Start - Day 1 - 1k sprint to get the maps!

We all joined up at TA and headed out for a hilly 22km run I thought would take us 3 hrs. Well the hills never ended and they were steep, we had a super cool cave in the middle which was even better as we finally went through a mountain instead of over it. We took 4:15hrs.  Onto the MTB for a 3hr ride which wound its way through villages full of cheering Chinese kids. This leg had a little Bike Carry section but we were rewarded with some nice single track. The final paddle was out and back and over 3 hrs exceeding my sore bum expectations. We counted we were in 14th out of the 25 elite world teams. 12hr day we were all smashed and soon had our tents up scoffed some Back Country meals and were pushing out zzzzz's.

Day 2 Course - Looks Epic!

Day 2 - 5am start - 120km MTB [ouch] 

We set off in 15 second intervals and were quickly passed by 3 teams with a puncture.We passed them all back and then a few more but this was no longer a race we were just surviving we had climbed over 4000m. Sammy started to wear her fatigue visually with a short display of tears, but quickly regathered herself to complete on of the hardest MTB legs I had ever encountered. How were we going to run 25km, well 1 step at a time of course. Poor Leo was in considerable pain with his nerve injury in his left leg. Schlossy still going strong towed him along while Sammy and I consoled each other as we crept through a surprisingly flat stage. We ended nicely running 900m and walking 100m. Onto a very nice inflatable dinghy section which took us through the most amazing natural rock arch I had ever seen. Over a 15hr day and now a 2hr bus drive back to the Hotel. 

Leo 'downhilling' the stairs....lucky for Hoka's

Sammy was done, she couldn't bring herself to suffer through another day and day 3 had 44km of running. This was her first Multi-Sport race and was filling for Jody who pulled out 6 weeks earlier. It was way out of her endurance and mental zone and she showed incredible toughness to get through the first 2 days. 

Gary would particularly like to thank Flight Centre www.flightcentre.com.au for assisting him with flights to China to get the opportunity to race at this level once again, and for the kit they supplied for the team.  

Darkside Championships March 28th 2015

This year’s race was out toward Ipswich around the Kholo hills, an area familiar with those of us who had done any of the I-Adventure races. We dropped off bikes and boats at 6pm, picked up a pizza and got to HQ just in time for map handout We had everything organized with 45min to spare, so grabbed a quick shut eye before bounding out of the tents ready for the midnight start.

In2Adventure Darkside Start at Midnight 

We started with a treasure hunt for 2 x tea light candles per team, just a mad dash around the parkland to split teams up which didn’t work, as there was a particularly nasty bush bash after CP2 on which the front teams made a trail and the rest just coasted behind.

Onto the bike and chaos ensued with the start of the trail network over grown with wet grass and ill-defined. We found ourselves with all the major players but not gaining any elevation as the map indicated we should be. We started to head up and found ourselves in the lead. A brown snake in the middle of the track on the way to our 3rd CP stopped us dead and even though we tried nicely to encourage it to move with some soothing sticks and stones it was being obstinate so we took to the bush for a detour around our new pig-headed friend. 

Schlossy runs off looking for a tea light candle!

Our next CP was vague [Classic in2adventure] with the description being in a ‘gully north of track end’,  with the track end being a little fuzzy we were a bit long which the power lines indicated. By the time we had the CP our hard fought lead had vanished with many teams emerging from the dark.

The way back was going well till we got a little turned around in the overgrown trails around the TA. We dropped to 4th here and stayed in this spot through to the next leg. 

The trek leg started with a small hiccup over running the trail we wanted , but on the way out we discovered a better option for the next MTB leg back to HQ as we were meant to take the nasty 1st leg Bush bash with our bikes to get back there.

My accelerator went through the floor as with only 2 weeks of running after a prolonged calf problem I was finding the going tough.  I was dropping off up the hills,  but with my signature kamikaze down-hill running catching back up. We sped through this leg 10min faster than any other teams. We jumped back on the bikes to try our new route to HQ which worked perfectly. We caught a glimpse of the lead Tiger team leaving TA as we entered; we had made up 16 mins in the last 1.5hrs.

Team Md's on the bikes!

The bike to the 1st Mystery leg went smoothly and surprisingly we got there 1st by about 11 minutes. This was an orienteering leg, time to unleash our secret weapon,  Leo's first crack at lead navigating our full team. He absolutely nailed it with a little help from Schlossy's eagle eye spotting another classic In2adventure CP placing. It was not on any feature on the map just a clearing in the middle of thick bush not marked on the map. This was a great confidence boost for Leo and he will be expected to do some of the nav later in the year at XPD. Even with a comfortable lead we still maintained our solid pace through the remaining MTB leg to the kayaks.

We walk the first rapid!

First rapid we nearly broke our rudder off even though we were portaging. Kim and Leo did a lot more damage later putting the rudder through the hull and smashing off a venturi. Thank goodness for gaffer tape. So much for the couple of shallow spots in river as described in the course notes. We had 12 rapid sections to portage.  

CP10 was another mystery orienteering leg with a few ‘out and back’ routes and a long off-trail ridge trek, Schlossy lead us through flawlessly. We felt like we got the better of this leg as it was starting to heat up and we had slipped through in the last wisps of the morning's coolness. Back in our battered boats for the paddle on to HQ and the final mystery trek leg.

Leo goes under!

At the first CP we had a nice rest with a tangle of ropes to negotiate as a team. Kim and I slipped through easily then laughed at our bigger team mates trying to squeeze through the same holes.

We nailed the last 3 CP's and arrived at the finish with a 1 hour lead over the next team. A great Team effort with Kim having every control description conveyed to Leo the ferret before we got to CP location. Leo was a tireless ferret and navigating a leg and Schlossy doing most of the navigation as I was not strong enough to navigate and set a fast enough pace. 

Race Report - Gary Sutherland

Team MD's - Hoka's all the way!

Team Mountain Designs would once again like to acknowledge the great support we have from our very loyal and extremely supportive sponsors - Mountain Designs (since 2004) Tri Adventure (since (2009) Ay Up Lighting Systems (since 2010) Hoka (since 2013). We as a team put our sponsors products to the test and provide plenty of feedback on gear so that the products we have for our sport are always improving. 

Mountain Designs - we have been testing out the MD's branded gear including Goretex Jackets, Endurace and Endurance Race Packs, Dry Bags, Socks, Knicks, Tights, Fleeces and Thermals. We have also been using the Berghaus Race Packs for shorter events, a great lightweight pack for 12-24hr events.

Tri Adventure - provide MD's with some race gear (caps, water bottles, and performance t-shirts) as well as providing the team with some financial sponsorship which includes the costs of maintaining a  website page within the Tri Adventure site.

Ay Up Lights - provide Team Mountain Designs with the latest technology in lights for everything we do, and over the years we have seen the batteries become smaller and lighter but last longer, the mount systems improved and the head torch straps have become way more supportive and comfortable. These lights are also totally water proof and stand up to the demands of adventure racing and are produced here in Australia.

Hoka - Our latest supporter and provider of quality lightweight footwear for endurance events. We have been testing out he trail versions of the HOKAS including Stinson Trail ATR, Kailua, Rapa Nui, Mafate Speed. In the short time that HOKA's have been on the market, we have seen significant improvements made so that the grip is superb in all conditions that may be thown at us. In fact in the Darkside every member of Team MD's wore one pair of HOKA's for all the runs and even on the paddle. We were all very happy with the shoes, especially Kim who wore the MAFATE trail shoes for the first time 'racing'.

Team MD’s – Fast and furious start to the year!

Team Mountain Designs lined up this year for the annual Wild Horse Mountain Adventure Race, run by Maximum Adventure. This year we saw the name change to the ‘Paddy Pallin’ Adventure Race after being the Kathmandu since 2004. It was great to see so many seasoned adventure racers come out of the woodwork to mix it with the more recent AR converts and some complete beginners. This race has always been the perfect event to try the sport of adventure racing.

Back in 2004 the event was just up the road at Coochin Creek and there were two classes – novice and expert. If you were EXPERT you used your own craft and raced solo or in a team, if you were NOVICE, you could still race solo or in a team. Gary raced solo and went head to head with Guy Andrews, they had both been doing some adventure racing and had way more experience than me! I was lined up  with my great friend Narelle Ash (aka Narelle from Skirt Sports) to do the event with her, but the night before she talked me into racing solo-novice! Narelle raced expert and gave Gary and Guy a run for the money out on the course! Jan Leverton, my Tri Adventure partner in crime, was also doing one of her first adventure races this same year, with Col Andrews (yep….Guy’s Dad) and raced the course as a pair.

Paddy Pallin Adventure Race Map 2015

So eleven years on, the event is still going strong, and four of us (Gary, Guy, Jan and Kim), from that very first one were all on the start line again. Gary has finished every single one with seven outright wins to his credit and I have finished nine. Prior to this Gary and I, representing Team Mountain Designs, have managed to win the premier mixed four times at this event since 2011. The tension was mounting as ‘everyone’ had come out to play, including Gary’s former MD’s team mates Britt Caling and Brett Stevens, last year’s outright winner Paul Elby, Liam St Pierre - Team Rogue, Rob Gowland – formerly SCAR, Gary Palmer & Todd Vallance – Cyclezone Mooloolaba, Ray Deetlefs – Gary’s training buddy and so many more! Every category was going to be super competitive, nothing has changed!

The Start - Paddy Pallin Adventure Race 2015

Fast and furious it was, with a running start, over 100 teams and all following exactly the same course, what else would you expect! Knowing how many young guns were lined up, Gary and I had decided to opt for a more casual start, however by the time we neared the first CP we were right up there…..so much for taking the start easy! Everyone was flying Guy & Dean were first out of TA 1, with some other teams following, we were a little back as our early detour to try to separate ourselves from the field left us a little behind, but at least out of sight….for now! On the bikes we managed to catch the front of the field in the tricky sand beside the highway…..poor Gary Palmer had some derailleur issues (again), and soon we were chasing Guy & Dean. Unfortunately we were just going too fast and overshot the track to CP 8, so lost our 2^nd spot and found ourselves behind Brett & Britt, Ray & Greg, Paul & Andrea, however we were working very hard to catch up! We did not select a great route to 9 either, so it was a very hard grind back to the front of the field, but a bit of MTB team time-trialling with Ray & Greg, saw us hit the foot rogaine together with all of the other teams mentioned just seconds behind.

Kim & Gary head into TA 2 off the Foot Rogaine

Gary and I opted for the CP order ABDC and once again separated ourselves from the field, as most of the other teams went the opposite direction. Gary was absolutely motoring, and we found ourselves first back to TA2. We set off onto the bikes for the Mystery Leg, but at CP 13 (out & back) we could see Guy and Dean hot on our tails. The mystery leg was a Ride & Tie, this is where you have one bike between two and you ride and dump the bike, then start running, your partner then grabs the bike and so on! Somehow we held our lead, but only just! Now with only 3 CPs on the bike to the finish and a 30 second lead, we knew we just had to go for it. Gary was so strong, I was sitting on his wheel with just an inch separating us, and we would have been doing over 30km/hr, that’s how much I trust my team mate. Guy and Dean had us in their sights and caught us at the final CP just 1k from the finish, we tried to go with them, but could not quite hold on! So we finished about 20secs behind absolutely exhausted and very happy with our result, after all, mixed vs male racing is always tough ask!

Team Mountain Designs finish Paddy Pallin 2015

Great racing everyone, it was fast and furious, but so much fun! Guy Andrews Adventure (Guy Andrews & Dean Cane - 1^st Overall 1st Male Pair,  Old and Baldy (Gary Palmer and Todd Vallance) – 2^nd Overall 2^nd Male Pair, Gold Coast Physio & Sport Health (Britt Calling & Brett Stevens) – 3^rd Overall and 2^nd Premier Mixed Pair. Not to mention Tri Adventure Girls (Jan Leverton & Shannon Mc Grath) 1^st Female Pair.

Premier Mixed Podium - (minus Britt & Brett 2nd)

Next week Gary and I team up with our other race partners Leo and  Sloshy,  for the rescheduled Mountain Designs ARA Darkside.  Instead of 2 ½ hours of racing we have up to 18 hours, so we’ll see how the not so fast and furious start will go this time! Out will come the HOKA's and Ay-Up lights! Sloshy is in great form with a recent win at the Upside down Rogaine and Leo has been training like a professional down in Victoria with some great results at Bike Buller finishing 11^th outright in the 50k MTB and 2^nd outright in the 11k trail run…..he’s on fire!