Wow, we got to compete in another event in 2021…..how lucky are we right now! I do feel sad for everyone in NSW and Victoria at the moment, unable to train, race or travel because of COVID. Hopefully restrictions will start to ease soon, and we might all be able to get out and race interstate and OS again in 2022.
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| Hells Bells 2021 - HQ Mooloolaba |
So rather than give a leg-by-leg description of Hells Bells I thought I would ask the girls a few questions that the dot watchers or those new to the sport of adventure racing might like to know. I can tell you that backing up after XPD and MOJO was made much easier because we themed it the ‘Party Race’! That’s because it was Cass’s 40th Birthday on the original Hells Bells weekend and then when it was postponed, we were also celebrating Gina’s 50th. Gina was racing with the Tri Adventure Girls, so we planned a big girl’s weekend that just happened to feature an overnight adventure race!
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| The Party Girls - Pre Race |
I thought it was a great course and as a team were stoked to finish with a top 4 overall result and winners of the female category. Our navigation strategy for the event was to share the nav one CP at a time, so I would navigate to one then Cass the next and this seemed to work well. This was a spur of the moment thing that I thought of just as we started, so it’s always great to try something a little different even if there is a bit of risk involved. I loved the trek legs because we could run quite a lot but also, do a little bit of bush-bashing (off the top of Wild Horse Mountain) and swimming (across a muddy river in the dark)! Being out in the Glasshouse Mountains as the sun was setting as we rode towards the silhouettes of Mt Tibrogargan and Mt Tibberoowuccum was spectacular. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite finish by 2am and earn a champagne finish but we did get to watch a stunning sun rise as we paddled up the Mooloolah River to the finish.
Well, that’s enough from me! Here is how the girls responded after the race:-
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| Mountain Designs Wild Women - 1st Women (4th Overall) |
Do you ever stop - XPD Mojo now Hells Bells??? How do you manage that?
CASS
There's never really a stop. As a mum of a soon to be 1yr old, I have to take the opportunity to get out as much as possible. I like to always have an event on the horizon to look forward to. Hells Bells gave me a chance to have a weekend away with some of my greatest AR mates. My super supportive husband Darryn always helps too!
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| Cass in action - trying to fit 8 bikes in the van....teamwork |
AMIE
Stopping training or racing is something I find almost impossible
at any time of the year. As I'm getting older, I find I have to force
myself to rest as my recovery isn't what it used to be. Doing the races
so close together can sometimes cause one race to be a little harder than you
thought it would be when you realise you haven't recovered properly from the
previous one. Your legs decide there's nothing left to give, and fatigue
is impossible to push through. We found this happened at Mojo this year
after XPD was so close. Best way to help with this is to try to space
your races out, I guess!
ALI
I sometimes try to
stop and rest once in a while... but it's hard because I'm easily sidetracked
by the next big adventure, ha ha. My workload has been quite heavy the last few
months, so I didn't compete in XPD. I therefore went into the Mojo 12 hour
feeling fresh and backing up for Hells Bells a month or so later was no
problem. You girls are amazing having done XPD as well.
What was your favourite part of the course?
CASS
The short, fast legs were great this year. We did a lot of running in the trek legs and the race seemed to fly by. I always love seeing the volunteers at transition areas too!
AMIE
Hells Bells was an awesome race again this year and I really
enjoyed the course being not so hilly as usual! My favourite parts of the
course were the bike legs through tunnels and any of the single trail in
Dularcha or Ewen Maddock we got to have a ride on.
ALI
My favourite part of
the course was the trail running around Mount Beerburrum and the Glasshouse
Mountains.
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| The Glasshouse Mountains - always spectacular |
What did you find hardest about Hells Bells this year?
CASS
The short fast format
meant that nothing seemed too difficult. We were motivated to get home for
birthday champagne and breakfast!
AMIE
The bike legs seemed super-fast so I just do all I can to hold
onto the other girls as any sign of an incline and I tend to fall off the back
a bit.
ALI
The hardest part of HB
for me this year was getting really sleepy around 2 - 3am, which unfortunately
coincided with us spending an hour or so looking for that CP near the creek,
making it harder to snap out of!
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| Ali Wright - Mountain Designs Wild Women |
Kayaking in the ocean looked like there was some swell....how did you manage that?
CASS
There was a bit of swell, but nothing too crazy. We train in the ocean as much as possible, so we are used to swell and chop!
AMIE
The paddle legs were great, the swell at the start of the kayak
was rough but not unmanageable if you went down the beach a bit and paddled out
where the waves were not dumping.
ALI
I didn't think the
ocean swell was that bad at all... I think it's all relative to what you're
used to and in particular your 'baseline'. Geoquest in Sawtell a few years ago
was particularly scary for me, plus a few outings on my surf ski near home have
been a bit dicey, so Hells Bells at Mooloolaba this year didn't make me panic
luckily! Plus, I was in a boat with Kim and I knew she wouldn't be fazed by it
at all either!
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| Cass and Amie on the right heading for the waves! |
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| There was a bit of swell but Ali knew this river mouth well! |
What happens to you when you can’t find a CP??
CASS
CP 26 was a tricky one for us. When we have nav issues (which aren't to often thankfully), we stop and discuss our options and make a plan for moving forward. In Hells Bells, we backtracked to our last known location and got ourselves to a better attack point. We were all excited when Amie spotted CP 26 on the side of the creek.
AMIE
We took some time
trying to find one of the CPs on the Mooloolah wetlands trek
(26). Cass and Kim worked together on the maps outstandingly, as usual. When
the girls are focusing on the maps Ali and I are just trying to listen to their
discussion and look around at tracks the girls might miss while they have their
heads in the maps.
ALI
I have complete faith
in our lead navs, Cass and Kim, to locate the CPs. When we were struggling with
one near the end of the course, we found that pacing from our last known point
helped and I tried to help in that way, followed by 'grid searching' with the
team.
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| Looking for CP 26 Our tracker does not look like we had as much trouble as we did! |
What do you like so much about spending your Saturday nights in the bush in a creek?
CASS
I love my team mates and I'm a bit of a Type 2 Fun junkie - things that aren't that much fun at the time, but when you look back are pretty epic.
AMIE
A moment of unease for me that night when I realised, we would
have to swim across the muddy Mooloolah River (which in hindsight wasn't even
an issue and is funny now). Stripping off to hold our packs above our
heads and wade across the creek was good for the people without a height
disadvantage!
ALI
Saturday nights in a
bush in the creek... well, what can I say, I do enjoy things a little different
to the norm!!!
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| Amie Munson 'Where was that muddy creek? or was it the Mooloolah River? |
3 tips you could give to others who want to take on Hells Bells next year!
CASS
1. Practice your nav as much as possible. Get a
map and get out there. Rogaines and MTBO are great ways to practice.
2.
Be prepared for anything - even swimming
across the Mooloolah River at 2am.
3. Do it!
AMIE
1.
Lots of lube
2.
Good snacks
3.
A team of people who you know can hold it
together in extreme circumstances.
ALI
1. Embrace the adventure and GO FOR IT!
2. Speak to others who have done the race a few times
before and can provide useful background and experience.
3. Join in an orienteering / nav skills type session such
as the ones run by Tri Adventure, to increase your confidence and learn from
the legends.
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| Tri Adventure Girls - Some very skilled women in this bunch too! Kelsey, Jan, Hayley, Gina |
Thanks Cass, Amie and Ali for sharing your post-race thoughts and thanks for being such amazing team mates to race with…..here are a few tips from me!
1. Navigate, Navigate, Navigate! Spend time practicing your
navigation like you would with the other disciplines. Do as many Orienteering,
MTBO and Rogaine events as much as you can. Start off going out with someone
who is better who can pass on a few tips and then go out and go on your own.
The best way to learn is by making mistakes and learning how to work it out.
2. Paddle, Paddle, Paddle! Some people underestimate the
paddle legs of adventure racing, so get out and paddle at least once a week and
practice paddling in a pair as well as paddling in time and having someone at
the back who can steer and paddle in time makes for a slick team.
3. Transitions, Transitions, Transitions – this year HB had over 10 transitions so you can make up a lot of time if you are fast but lose a lot of time if you are slow. So, practicing changing disciplines with your AR pack, food and other equipment is definitely a big help!
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| Mountain Designs Wild Women - Amie, Ali, Kim, Cass with Race Director Chris Dixon |
Thanks to Chris Dixon
from WildnCo for having
the courage to go ahead with the event after having to postpone in August and
to everyone else who supported the event!
Next up on the
Calendar…… Wild Women Adventure Race – Saturday 9th October!
I am looking forward to putting on my race
director hat and spending a bit of time on the other side of the fence!
Hope to see you out there!
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| Kim ready to put on here event director cap again! |
