Cass and I decided to go and have
another crack at the Red Bull Defiance again this year, as in 2017 due to snow
and poor weather conditions the run course on day 2 had to be shortened, so we
missed out on reaching Roys Peak, but did get to race in snow!
Luckily our flight arrived into
Queenstown on time and we somehow managed to pack 4 bikes and 3 people into the
hire car and drive to Wanaka just in time for the race briefing. Weather conditions in 2018 were completely
different to last year as Wanaka was almost in drought and temperatures were in
their 30’s. Following registration and gear checks we just had to put all of
our day 1 gear into the transition bags and check our bikes in as in the morning
we would be transported by bus to the start.
It was awesome this year to have
a terrific bunch of fellow Aussies at the event and staying with us in Wanaka;
including one of my other Wild Women Team Mates – Gina who was racing with
Dyson and also, Bern Dornom who was racing with my former team mate Leo. Jan,
Steve & Shan and Leo’s wife Frankie were also along as the official cheer
squad!
Day 1
Leg 1 Mountain Bike 43k – Minaret Station (elevation gain 800m)
As per last year, competitors
were bussed to Camp Creek, where we all piled onto a barge which took us to the
other side of Lake Wanaka to our starting point at Minaret Station. Despite the
warmer conditions it was extremely windy on the barge and quite cool, lucky we
could leave a gear bag with our unwanted extra clothing. We had a 9am start
planned, however arrived by 8.15 so there was plenty of time to get warmed up
and ready for the start.
Cass and I knew that we had to
really go hard at the start to stay with a bunch to get the most out of the drafting
as we could, and this year I think we did a much better job at this as we were
in front of some of our main rivals when we arrived at the first big climb
about 40minutes into the ride. I was loving the one extra gear I had on my
bike, however it was sloppy and muddy in parts, so we definitely had some hike
a bike ahead of us! In fact, I heard one guy say ‘Braden must love walking his
bike’! It was extremely hot, so the
river crossing was actually quite refreshing, and we enjoyed the cool breezes
on some of the steep descents, however we did have to be careful on some of the
sketchy corners. The course markings were limited so lucky we had a few other teams
around as we neared the end of the bike to get us to the TA in around 3hrs.
Kim’s Race Nutrition:- Endura
Opti; Ems Power Cookie, Water
Leg 2 Run & Abseil 11k – Rocky Mountain (elevation gain 490m)
Temperatures were now over 30
degrees, however it was not too hot for us Queenslanders! Cass and I had a
quick transition to the run and did make the effort to take extra water with us.
The climb up to the top of Rocky mountain started as a run, but soon we were
scrambling up a rough track looking for track markers! Cass was a bit fatigued,
so I put her on the tow rope to keep us together, soon the trail widened and
it was a walk jog to the top before a small & fun descent to the abseil spot.
Here we found Jan in volunteer mode, fitting harnesses to the competitors!
There was a line up and minimal shade, so we took the time out as the clock had
officially stopped, to take in some food and hide under some shade. I absolutely
loved the abseil this year and took the time to look down and behind me as I
slid down the rope. Cass was down next and we had a fun scramble back down the
mountain.
The run to the TA was tough as not only were we battling the heat, it
was extremely windy to the point where we were being blown in all directions at
times. This meant that there was potential for the paddle to be
cancelled……however we hoped it would still go ahead! We arrived at the TA
stocked up on some Gels and then had a short 2k run to the paddle start!
Kim’s Race Nutrition:- Pure
Nutrition Gels; ‘All Natural Lollies’, Water
Leg 3 Paddle – 17k – Lake Wanaka
We had to climb over a fence with
our kayak and then haul it to the water for the start, the wind was up and
there were whitecaps on the lake! We did have a bit of trouble getting our
spray decks on (again) but soon were underway heading towards Glendhu Bay.
This
was so much fun and our ocean paddling skills came in very handy. We were
stoked to pass another female team very early on and see Steve & Shan on
the beach as we passed the white turning buoy at Glendhu Bay. There was a nasty
head wind and side chop to manage before making the final turn towards Ruby
Island and Wanaka. Cass and I paddled strongly taking advantage the swell,
doing some surf style paddling all the way to the finish. We were stoked to
finish the day in 3rd place Elite Women’s category just ahead of Sia
Svenson who had won this category in 2017. This year she had teamed up with
Jacquie Slack who was doing her first RBD and not an experienced paddler.
Kim’s Race Nutrition:- Pure
Nutrition Gel; Water
Rest Repack Recover
After the finish we jumped into
the lake to cool off, breathed some food in and after seeing Dyson & Gina
finish we headed home to repack our gear for Day 2. After dropping off our
transition bags we enjoyed a good feast and put our legs up, ready for day 2.
Kim’s Nutrition: - Chicken Wrap;
Chicken & Salad; Red Wine; Water
Day 2
Leg 4 Paddle 27k Lake Wanaka & Clutha River to Albert Town
It was dark as athlete descended
upon the shores of Lake Wanaka ready for Day 2 of the Red Bull Defiance, as we
had a 6.15am start. Cass and I decided to pre-fit our spray decks to the
cockpit of the kayak to save us the difficult task of fitting them while in the
frantic rush of the start…..we did not want to be left on the bank like last
year. It was a splendid looking day as the lake was calm and the skies were
very clear.
Athletes assembled under the race arch and soon we were off and
racing! Dyson and Gina had an awesome start being lined up next to Braden
Currie and Dougal Allen, Cass and I had to run a bit further however we managed
to jump in and get a good start. It was an amazing site seeing all the kayaks
scattered across the lake all heading for the Clutha River.
As we approached
the river the sun was in our eyes, making for some spectacular views on the
river banks as we paddled down the fast-flowing river! We were greeted by
Frankie standing on the river bank just after the second rapid and from then on
paddled hard, mostly on our own through Oxbow, then on to the finish at
Luggate.
I felt almost crippled as I extracted myself from the cockpit of the
kayak and tried to run. Cass on the
other hand seemed to be a million dollars and had paddled super strongly and
was on fire on the run to the TA, when we saw Gina and Dyson on their bikes
exiting with big smiles on their faces!
Kim’s Nutrition:- banana, water
Leg 5 Mountain Bike 31k Criffle Range (Elevation Gain 1278m)
This year the bike was about 3k
longer as we had a 3k ride back along the banks of the Clutha River to the
shooting at Oxbow! When we arrived, Jan was on volunteer duty and all smiles as
we were right up there in the women’s field! I took the gun and by the time I
saw the clay, my shots had completely missed, luckily Cass shot the clay on her
turn, meaning we could proceed on the bike without penalty! We crossed main road
and started ascending, up, up and up again, false summit after false summit all
the way to the top. We saw Gina and Dyson in good spirits on our way and were
passed by two female teams, one being Sia & Jacquie; we held our own and
kept moving strongly on the course! It was so hot, I was just surviving on
lollies now as nutrition (I had finished the Endura and a bar) and I knew that
would not be enough, but it was so hot, the lollies went down well. No snow
this year of the Criffle Range, so we could really enjoy the speed on the descent
down into Cardrona Valley. The river crossing was mild and very refreshing as
we crossed and made our way to the TA. At this point we thought we were in 4th
and had our work cut out to catch the other teams to finish on the podium.
Kim’s Nutrition:- Endura Lemon
Lime; Carman’s Bar, All Natural Lollies, water.
Leg 6 Run 33k Mt Alpha & Roys Peak (Elevation Gain 1848m)
When we arrived at the TA, we had
our cheer squad greet us….Jan, Steve & Shan seemed so excited! I filled up water as it was extremely hot and very sunny, as we certainly
did not want to run out of water! Cass grabbed some extra ‘pure sports’
nutrition before we headed out of the TA!
Well, I felt pretty ordinary, yet
Cass was motoring on the little flat track as we approached the hills…..we had
taken our poles, and before long we were using them. I know I am not great at
‘walking’ so I decided to run / walk and this seemed good, as it motivated me
to be able to keep up with Cass who was just as fast walking! It was hot and it
was hard, and just before we reached the short course point, we saw Bern &
Leo just 100m ahead. I though cool, we must be doing ok, not knowing at the
time that Leo was suffering and Bern was towing him most of the way! It was a
good thing as it fired them up and we kept trying to catch them! I loved the
skyline ridge, and had fun running along the ridgeline trail to Mt Alpha (stage
high point) and then some cool descents before the final hike up to Roys Peak!
Unfortunately I realised I had run out of water and I knew it was 8k off the
top back to the road, then 6k to the finish…..oh no! I was worried, but just
had to forge down the hill. Unfortunately the down hill was a massive big
superhighway and was hot and exposed, not like what we had experienced on the short
course descent last year. I just had to ignore those negative emotions and keep
running. We came across someone in distress who had heat stroke, but had no
water to help…..about 2/3 of the way down we came across a stream where others
were filling up! We stopped and filled our bladders and poured water over our
heads…this was our saving grace…..we thought at the time! After about another
20minutes of running down the track we arrived at the car park and were delighted
to have water, ice and even Red Bull on offer, to help us to the finish! We
stopped and filled up again, even though we had just 6k to go!
Now it was 33
degrees, Cass was strong and set great pace as we travelled towards the
Millennium Track. We came across Jan, Steve & Shan on the track cheering us
on which was very uplifting! We made it to the finish and were greeted by Jan,
Bern & Leo who had finished just 10 minutes ago! We downed a can of coke
each to try to kill any bugs from drinking the water (thanks to Bern’s advice)
then hung at the finish to see Dyson & Gina’s finish!
Kim’s Nutrition:- All Natural
Lollies; Peanut Butter Sandwich; water
We were super stoked to hear that
we had finished 2nd Elite Female team, however unfortunately we
heard that one member of team 2 collapsed with just 500m to go and did not
finish - they had been in front of us since they motored past us on the ride
with one girl on tow; and one member of
the team that was 1st across the line on Day 1, was unfit to be able
to back up on Day 2, so a great ‘survival of the fittest’ result for Mountain
Designs Wild Women! Thanks Cass for joining me on this adventure and thanks for
Mountain Designs for your ongoing support of Mountain Designs Wild Women
Adventure Racing Team. We celebrated afterwards, enjoying some NZ Fish & Chips and cracked a bottle of French Champagne!
The 2018 Red Bull Defiance was
brought to you by Godzone Adventure, with Bex Laws as the Race Director. The
event was logistically well managed and safety of competitors was an obvious
priority. This multisport event is definitely one of the most spectacular
multisport events you will ever do, however be prepared for the extremes of racing
near Wanaka (South Island of NZ).
Here is a list of the best gear
you could want for a race as tough as this.....we used this gear on the day or included
it as a part of our mandatory gear:-
Mountain Designs Women’s Pro
Elite Gore-Tex Jacket
Mountain Designs Superdry Women’s
Thermal Top & Pants
Mountain Designs Lightweight
Fleece
Mountain Designs Merino Gloves
& Beanie
Mountain Designs Coolmax
Running Socks
Mountain Designs Superlight
Dry Sacks
Salomon Agile 12 Running Pack
Salomon Sense Ride Trail
Running Shoes
Black Diamond Distance Carbon
Z Trekking Poles
SOL Emergency Bivy Bag
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