The
Mountain Designs Wild Women Adventure racing Team was created to help encourage
and support women to become strong and capable adventure racers in their own
right, and for them to be able to pass on some of their knowledge and skills to
others along the way. There are now over 15 women who can proudly say they are
Mountain Designs Wild Women, they have not only signed up to race, made it to
the start line, but also finished a race with the Mountain Designs Wild Women
Team.
This
year for GeoQuest we welcomed Hayley Kelner to the team, so I asked Hayley to reflect
on how it was to do her first ever GeoQuest! So, here is her report!
Three
months ago, I sat down for a coffee with Adventure Race legends Tri Adventure’s
Jan and Kim. I had been back adventuring with the Tri Adventure crew since mid
2020 and competed in a couple of Fairy Bells with Jan. At some point during our
conversation, I mentioned that I might like to challenge myself this year and
do a longer race and one day even attempt something like GeoQuest. It wasn’t
long, only a couple of days, before I received a message from Kim inviting me
to join the Mountain Design Wild Women to race GeoQuest. I was comforted to
learn that my good friends, and original MDWW, Gina Dunsdon and Cass Kimlin
would also be in the team, and this contributed to me taking the risk and
saying yes.
So
began a furious attempt to be fit enough to race, with this legendary team, for
48hours. I covered many km’s on the bike and foot and a small amount in the
kayak, which would come back to haunt me during the race. Fast forward a few
months and I was as ready as possible and had even roped my brother in to
attend his first adventure race as part of our all-important support crew. We
enjoyed the drive down to South West Rocks on Thursday and marvelled at the
beautiful scenery. Upon arrival I was fortunate to be given a very generous
race pack of gear from Mountain Designs which would be invaluable throughout
the race. Come Friday was all systems go with race check-in, map collection and
athlete briefing dominating the afternoon. I had so much clothing, gear, and
food it felt like I was packing for a six-month military deployment. Somehow,
we got it all sorted, bagged, labelled and into boxes for our support crew to
decipher at each transition area.
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Mountain Designs Wild Women - First look at the maps! Photo Murilo Mattos
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Doing
the maps with the team was my first experience of how much skill, experience
and focus goes into being a successful adventure racing team. The MDWW are a
well-oiled machine who work together with copious amounts of trust, respect and
consideration for every team members thoughts and opinions. I was in awe of
this process and these amazing women I was about to race with. We had an epic
feed that night as a team and enjoyed swapping stories and sharing many laughs.
Then it was a final check that everything was packed and into bed to try and
get some much-needed sleep. Of course, this was not to be the case, I was like
a kid on Christmas Eve and managed only the bare minimum of quality sleep.
Race
morning dawned in a sleep haze (for me) and after some frantic last-minute
organising, we all bundled into Jan’s car and set off for the journey to the
start line. The drive was beautiful and very windy. We spent our time chatting
and singing along to some Wild Women playlists while stealing glimpses of the
course (river) on the way up. We arrived with plenty of time to spare and the
atmosphere at the start line was incredibly relaxed and joyful. Being unsure of
the water temperature and concerned about getting cold we made a team decision
to wear rain jackets. I wore the new MD Stratus Jacket made of Pertex which
kept me dry and at a great temperature throughout the entire paddle. I was very
grateful for the breathable material and armpit vents. These jackets were a
favourite among the entire team and got a lot of use throughout the race.
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| Mountain Designs Wild Women at start with our crew! Photo - Jan Leverton |
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| On the bank of the Macleay River, selecting our kayaks and securing our gear. Photo - Trent Boyles |
Everyone
was smiling, getting their boats ready and having a dance to the upbeat tunes
that were playing. I feel like our team was always up for a dance and we
bounced our way through our team photos with complete joy. It wasn’t long
before the first teams were heading off into the white water that greeted them
as soon as their paddles touched the water. As team 12 we were able to watch
the half course teams and a few of the full course teams start before it was
our turn. Chris, race director from Wild and Co, blasted his version of a wild
women anthem (I can’t even remember the song) and we were off, spurred on by
the cheers of remaining teams and supporters.  |
Start of GeoQuest 2023 - Race Director Chris, pumps up the tunes! Photo Trent Boyles
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This
is my first race start (not that there are many) that hasn’t been a frantic
dash on foot with my HR soaring while I desperately try to stay with my
teammates. In comparison, this was leisurely, we carried our boats down to the
water, pointed in the direction we wanted to go and jumped in to start
paddling. As the least experienced paddler in the team, I wouldn’t even call
myself a recreational paddler, I was incredibly intimidated by the idea of
paddling 70km in one day or even 28km in one go. And predictably, I struggled.
Mentally and physically this first paddle was one of the hardest points in the
race for me, and it came at the very beginning! I was in the boat with Cass,
and we had a great time negotiating our way down the rapids and trying our best
not to bounce off other boats, or people. There were people and boats going
every which way and teams flipping into the water at nearly every rapid
section.
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| Trent has the TA set up in plenty pf tome ready for our arrival at TA 1. |
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| Kim and Gina are off! Kayak Leg 1. Photo - Trent Boyles |
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Cass and Hayley, not far behind, negotiating 1st rapid! Photo Trent Boyles
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At
one point Cass and I were spinning around when she called out ‘I’ve lost my
paddle!’. Mid-spin I lookd to my left and there was her paddle, hanging in a
tree! Somehow, I reached out and pulled it out of the tree and passed it back
to Cass. I then called out ‘What do we do now?’ Cass, forever unfazed and
eternally relaxed as I have come to learn, told me to wait and then paddle as
soon as our boat faced down river. This, I think, was our most dramatic moment
in the paddle, closely followed by me stopping us from falling in by pushing
against some unsuspecting racers bottom while he tried frantically to get out
of our way after flipping over in the white water. Poor guy, he was just trying
to race. Our hilarious paddle adventures continued with us being wedged on a
rock, just swaying in the breeze, halfway down a rapid and coming across Kim
and Gina floating, no longer in their boat, at the end of a rapid. They had
been knocked out after being unable to avoid another team who had come unstuck
in the rapid in front of them.
Despite
all this drama and adventure, we set a good pace as we made our way through
many of the teams in front of us, collecting checkpoints 1-3. This is where I
came a little undone and began to struggle. Using a borrowed paddle that was far
too big for me and trying to maintain a furious pace I was quickly losing the
ability to keep up. Cass and Kim swapped spots and Kim and I swapped paddles
and we soldiered on. This was my first experience of the teamwork that makes
adventure racing unlike any other sport. Teammates who are willing to step up
when someone else is struggling, the unspoken truth that everyone will have a
moment in the race, and we will all be there to get them through. Safe to say
once I could see the bridge and our support crew up ahead there were some
stealthy tears that threatened to slide out. I was a mixture of feelings,
completely exhausted and drained, worried that I felt that way at this point in
the race and proud that I had pushed through when all I wanted to do was stop. In
the transition after this leg, we also decided on nicknames for each other,
which Kim would only discover at the end of the race. Kim was Terminator, Gina
was Batgirl, Cass was Big Dog, and I was Wheels. This gave Gina and I endless
amusement at points throughout the race, anything to keep the spirits up
really.
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| Despite the fatigue, Kim and Hayley, cruise into TA 1! Photo - Trent Boyles |
Our
transition was seamless, the support crew (Nick and Trent) were amazing, and in
no time at all we were out on the bikes. Finally, I was in my comfort zone
coming from a strong mountain bike background. We blasted through this bike and
collected both checkpoints with no issues. Kim was out front, with the maps,
considering a more direct track for us to take but it didn’t look like it would
go through. We chose the ‘longer’ way, but as the roads had just been graded
the riding was smooth and easy. It was on this bike leg that Gina established
herself as the ‘gate keeper’ and performed this job effortlessly throughout the
entire race, thanks Gina, that was a lot of gates! I was happily flowing along
and so content to be on my bike it was a surprise when we quickly arrived at
the next TA for the farm trek. We had opted to use flat pedals and ride in our
running shoes so all we had to do was swap helmets for hats and we were ready
to go.
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Stunning scenery on Leg 2 MTB - Photo Murilo Mattos
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Kim
and Cass marked up the map and we had to collect 5 out of 6 CPs in any order.
This trek was on farmland so made for easy travel, though there were a few
hills to navigate. We headed off to find checkpoint B first which was on its
own up a spur. After a little search in the scrub Cass called out that she had
found it. Then we were off, rolling down the hill to cross the creek and road.
Hello, slightly wet feet due to not enough rocks in the creek. I’ve learnt that
having wet shoes is just part of adventure racing! Luckily, we had the Mountain
Design Coolmax socks which perform equally as well whether they are wet or dry.
The entire team swears by these socks as an irreplaceable piece of kit for
adventure racing and I’m planning to acquire many more pairs. This trek
introduced me to many new ways to navigate a barbed wire fence. We rolled under
them, squeezed through them, and climbed over the top. Every time we approached
a fence, I was highly entertained by trying to guess how we would tackle it. On
reflection, maybe I was already a little tired at this point! After collecting
the next checkpoint, we decided to take a bearing straight across the farm
through multiple spurs and gullies. This part of the trek was a bit more
challenging, physically, as the ground was very uneven and the grass so long
you couldn’t see where you were walking. We pushed on, with the photographer
Murillo in tow, he was moving a lot quicker than we were! Eventually, we found
the road and made rapid work of the last couple of checkpoints. With a quick,
apparently obligatory bash through some lantana to a highpoint, the only real
detour. As we got to the end of this leg, we started to see more teams coming
out to start their trek, we were making great time and hours ahead of our predictions.
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The Terminator - Kim.....setting the pace up the hills, Bat Girl and Wheels not far behind!
Photo Murilo Mattos |
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| Look, this is where we go! Photo Murilo Mattos |
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| Off we go, down to the CP....it's not too far! Photo Murilo Mattos |
I
barely remember the ride back to the TA as it was so quick with only one CP.
The sun was setting as we rode across the farmland and made a beautiful
backdrop for the end of our first day. A few gates, a couple of turns and more
smooth roads led us back over the river and into the presence of our capable
support crew. We took our time with this transition as we were heading out for
a 30km night paddle and knowing there would be some white-water we were all
preparing to be quite cold. I wore my Mountain Design thermals, Gore-Tex MD
jacket and a pair of Gore-Tex MD rain pants that I have had for nearly 20
years. We also donned the warmest gloves we had, beanies, wool socks, and
helmets (which were mandatory again). After the best toasted sandwich and hot
chocolate I’ve ever had we set off down the hill to where we had left our
boats. I think we were all a little nervous about this leg as we didn’t know
what we were in for. I would say we all had no idea it was going to be how it
was and surprisingly it ended up being the favourite leg for most of the team.
As Cass and I got into our boat she discovered that the boat was bubbling. This
was quite concerning as it hadn’t happened in the first paddle. We decided
there wasn’t much we could do and just hoped it would be fine. After sending
Nick for an extra run up the hill to retrieve Kim’s glass, which weren’t
helpful in the conditions, we were off.
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| Oops, forgot the glasses! They didn't work anyway....sorry Nick! Photo - Trent Boyles |
We
had four checkpoints to collect on this paddle and were assuming that the river
would be similar to the first paddle with a few white-water sections. I have
discovered, in my short racing career, that I enjoy racing at night. I think it
is because I lose all concept of time and distance and just focus on one step,
pedal stroke, or paddle stroke at a time. The temperature had been steadily
dropping as we were paddling and not long after we started the fog descended. I
have never been in such thick fog, and definitely not while trying to navigate
a river with rapids. We couldn’t see past the front of our boats and even had
to turn our lights to face the sky to minimise the reflection back off the fog.
The upside of the fog was that we spent time marvelling at the night sky and
the remarkable stars. Kim and Gina were out the front and the only way they
knew which way to go was to listen to the flow of the river, or the dull roar
of the white-water, and numerous times Cass and I watched them disappear into a
rapid, sideways in one instance, with no idea of where they were headed. The
Wild Women really are just that and incredibly brave. We blindly followed and
it was an adrenaline rush to be bouncing down the river never knowing what was
next. I can now check off my list getting a complete shower from a white-water
wave train and straddling the boat, facing backwards, with my heels dug into
the rocks as Cass and I refused to end up in the strainer that was downstream. Despite
this we managed to all stay in the boats for the entire paddle. One advantage of
racing at night is the checkpoint flags are usually reflective. This makes it
far easier to spot, especially on the riverbank. At one of the checkpoints, we
decided to get out to have a stretch and something to eat. We had all been warm
enough up to this point but quickly realised that the air temperature was much
colder once you were off the water. Kim, Gina, and I started bouncing on the
spot to keep warm and this quickly turned into an impromptu dance party. This
is the joy of racing with the MD Wild Women and a memory that will forever make
me smile. We made great progress on the second half of the paddle and were soon
at the next TA after collecting all the checkpoints.
Now,
I don’t think I’ve ever been as cold as I was in this transition. Just getting
out of the boat and up to where our support crew were set up was a challenge.
Undoing shoelaces and zips and removing thermals seemed an insurmountable task.
The rest of the team was furiously changing and organising their gear and I was
just stuck shivering and struggling. This was another point of mental
breakthrough for me, one of many apparently, and I just started doing one thing
at a time. Eventually, I managed to get changed and sit down to some hot soup
and bread. Once again, Nick and Trent absolutely nailed the support crew job
and seemed to have exactly what we wanted and needed. With five, yes five,
layers on and our preferred clip pedals installed on the bikes we rolled off
over the bridge to begin the longest ride leg of the race. Kim and Cass made
quick work of the first couple of checkpoints and soon we were up in the hills.
I think originally this would have been a challenging ride with several hike a
bike sections. Much to our joy, the roads had been recently graded, we could
ride the entire time and only had to slow down for some sandy sections. Once I
warmed up, and my fingers and toes stopped burning, I thoroughly enjoyed this
leg. I am always happy to be on my bike, especially when I don’t have to push
it or carry it. This leg had the most checkpoints, and a few required off track
exploring to find. After a climb that seemed to just keep going up, we rolled
into the next TA just before sunrise. With that, I had survived the first night
of GeoQuest.
Named
the ‘Briggs Lookout Trek’ this leg had the option of teams splitting into two
and getting two of the four checkpoints each. During our pre-race map session,
we had decided that Cass and I would pair off and Kim and Gina would work
together. Cass and I made quick work of our first checkpoint as it was straight
down a recently graded road, and we just had to follow it all the way to the
‘track-end’. Our second checkpoint was at a creek junction, and we knew this
would be significantly more challenging. Thankfully the sun had now risen, and
we were attempting this checkpoint in the daylight. We decided to follow the
road around a bit further to find an attack point that wasn’t as steep, and
this worked well for us. We still slid our way down the embankment using trees,
vines, and anything else we could grab onto to slow us down. Eventually, we
were in the creek and followed it down to find the junction. The creek was
incredibly overgrown and slow going. We were battling fallen logs, copious
amounts of lantana and slippery rocks. Just your usual adventure racing creek
line. At one point our only option was to crawl along the creek bed to get
under the lantana. We had been inching through the creek for a while and were
started to second guess our approach. Cass decided we would continue for five
more minutes and then around the next bend there was the elusive checkpoint!
All adventure racers know how good it feels to finally find the CP after a
battle like this. We then bashed straight up the hill, with a few sideways
detours, and popped back out onto the road. Before we split up, we had
identified a road junction as where we would meet. Cass and I made out way to
the meeting point and began waiting. Little did we know that Kim and Gina had
already been there, after being unable to find their second checkpoint, and had
gone back for another try. Cass and I got so cold while waiting we started
pacing the road, which I’ve been told was very concerning for those who were
watching our tracker. Eventually, a team on bikes let us know that Kim and Gina
were coming up the road and would be there soon. When they arrived, they let us
know that they hadn’t been able to find checkpoint J and we decided to all go
in together. Turns out many teams had a challenging time locating this
checkpoint and some never found it at all. After approaching it from Kim’s last
attack point option she and Cass worked together to locate the checkpoint.
Watching the MD Wild Women work together to problem solve and their grit and
determination to find the checkpoint is awe inspiring. With the final
checkpoint for the leg punched we made quick progress back up to the TA and
jumped back on our bikes for the final time.
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| Trek Leg 7 - Hayley had the tracker, so you can see we nailed J from NE approach |
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| Kim and Gina approached J from the SE 2 times, from the two obvious suprs....no luck! |
As
with all the bike legs in this race, they seemed to pass by so quickly with
minimal issues or effort. We rolled through kilometres of undulating hills in
beautiful forest, only having to backtrack to one CP. After channeling our
road riding skills and taking turns on the front we rolled across several
bridges, crossed the highway, and climbed up to where our support crew was
waiting for us to begin the longest trek leg of the race. Once again, we
feasted on gourmet toasted sandwiches, with brioche bread, and hot chocolates
and geared up to tackle Mt Yarrahapinni, the ‘you are amazing’ trek as we had
named it. I had heard many tales of the infamous hike a bike up this mountain
from a previous GeoQuest and was very happy I wasn’t taking my bike on this
leg. We waved goodbye to our support crew and set off for what would be one of
my favourite legs of the race. We were all in good spirits and, as we had for
the whole race, we jogged all the downhill and flat sections. Kim and Cass were
on-point with their navigation and easily found the first CP on a little side
trail. Not long after we began the scramble up Mt Yarrahapinni. At the base we
passed a few of the half-course teams and they were singing and in great
spirits. I would later find out that these teams were from the Kaiarahi
Cultural Collective and their energy and spirit was uplifting an inspiring, a
great boost for me as we approached the climb. Kim suggested we all get a
sturdy stick, which I quickly named, to help with the climb as there was no
track. I was just following Kim as she made her way along a path that only existed
from other teams pushing their way through the bush. A few times I stopped to
check the incredible view and take a moment to acknowledge what we were doing,
really, I just needed to catch my breath. Finally, we made it to the top and
enjoyed a celebratory coke, an adventure racing tradition.
We
headed up the fire roads to the highpoint and here we belted out a unique
rendition of ‘you are amazing’. Another example of the joy this team brings
even more than 24hours into racing! We ditched our sticks after thanking them
for their contribution and rolled on down to the lookout. The rest of this trek
was jogging down and hiking up the undulating hills in some of the most
beautiful forest I have seen. At this point in the race, I think we were all
feeling the downhills in our legs and trying not to get out of control on the
descents. We racked up a few more CPs and eventually made our way down to the
coast. I was starting to struggle again, feeling very fatigued and ready for a
rest, as we scrambled around Grassy Head. I forced myself to keep my head up
and take in the view as I knew it was special. Luckily, Murillo had found us
again and we have some amazing photographs to remember this phenomenal area we
explored. We quickly found ourselves trudging through the soft sand down the
beach to our second last TA. A quick bush bash for the last CP on this leg and
we found Jan on the bridge over to the TA. She was very happy to see us and
gave us a boost of energy with her enthusiasm, thanks Jan. Once again, our trusty
support crew had everything ready for us, including hot chips which were
exactly what we needed, and we spend through the transition knowing we were so
close to the end.
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| Heading to the lookout at Grassy Head to find the CP. Photo Murilo Mattos |
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| Heading back along the track after finding the CP. Photo Murilo Mattos |
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Gina sets the pace just before we head down onto the beach for the last CP on the leg.
Photo Murilo Mattos |
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| Crossing the bridge at Stewarts point after |
Back
into the boats and we headed off to race the sun to the final TA. With the tide
and wind against us I quickly began to struggle. The 60km of paddling we had
already done and nearly thirty hours of racing combined to put me into a hole I
was struggling to come out of. I apologised numerous times to Cass as I had to
take a break from paddling and all I could do was complain. She assured me that
people had been in worse condition at this point in the race and I was doing so
well. After another forced soul searching, I’ve found adventure racing is good
for this, I continued to do the best I could. Kim and Gina were also eternally
patient and continued to encourage me to enjoy the sunset cruise paddle. We
punched the two checkpoints we needed to get and set our course to paddle
around the break wall. It felt like we would never get there but as we rounded
the wall, we could see the transition area, and this gave me the boost I needed
to make it the last few hundred metres. Reflecting back on the paddles, it is
amazing to think we paddled more than 70km of the one river as the centre piece
of the extraordinary point to point course. I had been thinking when we
arrived, I would put my jacket on before the last trek leg as I was wet and
cold. As usual, in adventure racing, things don’t go how you plan them, and the
other girls sprang out of the boats and declared that we were going to just
run. Honestly, I didn’t take this too well at the time but just did as I was
told and started running. Well, I thought I was running but it was more of a frozen
shuffle with the people on the nearby jetties able to hear my teeth chattering.
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| Our transition from the trek to the final paddle. Photo Trent Boyles |
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| Kim and Cass pack the gear into the kayaks, Nick checks we have everything. Photo - Trent Boyles |
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| Off we go on the sunset paddle |
Gina
asked me what song I wanted to sing, and I chattered out ‘Ice, ice baby’ which
made the whole team laugh. They hadn’t realised how wet I was and none of us
could work out how I had been the only one to get wet on the paddle.
Thankfully, the coastal breeze was warm, and I quickly dried and was not longer
feeling like a moving ice block. We made brief work of the first CP on this leg
and only had to be on the beach for a short while, which everyone was happy
about.
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| The sun has set, time to get out and run the the finish! |
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| No time to muck around in this TA, Hayley sings 'Ice Ice Baby' as we set off. Photo -Trent Boyles |
The sun was setting at this point, and we all knew we were so close to
the finish. We only had two CPs to collect and then find the finish line. Kim
decided to take us to a trail she knew existed and after finding ourselves in
the water processing swamp, not the nicest place, we followed her bearing and
were on the right track. Unbeknownst to us, our supporters at the finish line
were stressing at this point as other teams had tried to find this track and had
been unsuccessful. One thing I’ve learnt about adventure racing and the MD Wild
Women is that you must trust your navigator and have full confidence in them.
We were totally committed to this approach throughout the race and Kim and Cass
never let us down, they are amazing. We followed this winding path, that made
me feel like we were in a magical forest, and emerged at the end of the bridge
where the CP was. We only had one to go! Choosing the coastal path we made
quick progress to the final CP, where Gina performed some athletic manoeuvres
to punch the card. Then we were off to the finish line and the cheers and
smiles of our supporters and friends. We crossed the line as the 4th
full course team overall and the first women’s team.
What
a pleasure it was to experience such beautiful country through a course where
every leg showcased the natural beauty of the area, from the crystal-clear
water, spectacular rolling hills to the lush green rainforest. Crossing the GeoQuest
finish line with the MD Wild Women, my team, my friends was the end of the race
but the beginning of me knowing that with hard work, trust, teamwork, support,
and joy, we can do hard things and achieve beyond our expectations. I will
forever be grateful to Kim, Jan, and the MD Wild Women for giving me the
opportunity to have this experience, test my limits, break down and keep going
and in the process, learn more about myself, how to suffer joyfully, and the
kind of person I can be. As a MD Wild Woman, I know I am strong, capable,
adaptable, determined, resilient and joyful. Now bring on the next adventure!
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Mountain Designs Wild Women - 1st Women's Team - 4th overall (our best GeoQuest result)
Photo - Murilo Mattos |
The
Mountain Designs Wild Women GeoQuest 2023 - Kim Beckinsale, Gina Dunsdon, Cass
Kimlin and Hayley Kelner; would like to thank our sponsors – Mountain Designs,
Ay Up Lighting Systems and Tri Adventure as well as our amazing support crew, Nick
Baker and Trent Boyles as without you our experience and results would simply not be as good as it gets. Thanks to Chris Dixon from Wild&Co and your team of officials and volunteers for creating another memorable GeoQuest course that we can relive for years to come.
Photo
Credits go to Murilo
Mattos from fotop.com; shared via Wild
& Co on their FB page, other credits to Trent
Boyles and Jan
Leverton.
