It seems like such a long time since we have updated the Mountain Designs Wild Women Blog, so it’s nice to be able to sit down and reflect on another stage of the Legend Expedition AR Journey!
The Mountain Designs Wild Women
Adventure Racing Team have managed to finish their 4th out of 4
Legend Expedition Races. Kim (Team Captain) had a dream - to complete the full
Legend AR lap of Australia and so the journey will continue in 2027, when the
event moves to Western Australia. It was not so easy to get to the start line
in 2026 as two of our key team members from previous Legend Events were not
able to join the team.
Alina McMaster had been there
right from the start, Snowy Mountains - NSW, Great Ocean Road – VIC and The
Huon Valley – TAS; but was not able to commit due to her role in supporting
Paralympian Lauren Parker’s preparation for the Winter Olympics. In fact,
following on from the ARWS AR World Champs Expedition Canada, Alina was home
for less than 2 weeks before returning to Canada and then travelling Italy,
where she represented Australia at the World Masters Winter Games earning
herself both gold and bronze medals in the Cross-Country Skiing.
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| Alina - Gold Medal World Masters XC Ski Champs |
Del Lloyd had a very different reason for not making the start! Del suffered a stroke at the beginning of 2026 whilst on a family holiday. Whilst Del has recovered extremely well and is getting back to some form of normal, she is left wondering why and how this happened and focused on getting back to her best, as she not only is a great athlete, but a loving mum with young kids and a husband who all need her!
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| Del, leads the MDWW in Canada ARWC |
Lucky that Laura Newton was ready to fill some very big shoes and as the Legend AR allows teams of 2 and 4, so we changed our entry to race as a team of 2. Laura first joined the Mountain Designs Wild Women in 2025 at Hells Bells; where despite having a cold and not being at her best, Laura demonstrated that she was an amazing teammate, so Kim was just thankful that Laura was willing and able to join her! So the journey and the dream was kept alive!
Expedition racing has traditionally only been available for teams of 4 so we were not sure how it was going to be racing as just a team of two! Would be able to carry all the mandatory gear ourselves, keep each other awake, remember everything and most importantly find all the CPs especially those challenging ones when you all need to spread out????
So this is the story of the
Mountain Designs Wild Women’s South Australia Legend Adventure 2026!
Registration, Competencies & Course Reveal
HQ for the event was Murray
Bridge, so we knew that we were at least going to finish right there, we also
knew that the Murray River was going to be a huge part of the race and that
there would be some big kayak and mountain bike legs.
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| The Corellas |
Registration and mandatory gear checks included – First Aid Quiz; Navigation Quiz and Kayak / Swim Test in the Murray River! We also took the opportunity to test out our ‘new’ kayak portage wheels, as they were a different style suitable for the Mission Surge Kayaks with holes – we were impressed at how quick and easy they were to fit and how high off the ground the kayak was lifted!
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| Wild Women |
After the course was revealed, it
became clear that we would be transported to the Border Cliffs on Victorian /
South Australia border and that course would take teams along and near the
Murray River passing through Berri, Loxton, Waikerie, Morgan, Blanchetown, Swan
Reach, Mannum to the finish at Murray Bridge. As per the course schematic there
would be 9 stages, including 3 kayak legs (33k, 43k & 76k); 3 mountain bike
legs (57k, 150k, 60k) and 3 treks (42k,7k,27k) with a course total elevation of
890m -highest point on course 70m above sea level!
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| Course Briefing |
We had 2 hours to try to mark up our maps with our proposed route and check that we had packed all of the right gear / food for all of the legs. As usual we were quite rushed and did not get a chance to go through the entire course in detail, but what we did do:
1. Write
all the CP descriptions on 1 set of maps
2. Rule
on declination lines on the second set
3. Add
the map corrections to the map
4. Add
additional notes to the course notes ie expected times
5. Contact
the control card, reinforce the edge and put a hole for the lanyard
All that was required now before
the start was to do the box weigh ins. We had organised all of our gear into
boxes prior to heading to rego - Box A, B, C and our bike boxes were filled
weight! Yes, Laura had mini scales so we could do some pre-checks! We did have
to do a bit of shuffling when it came time for the official weigh in as Kim’s
bike box was 3kg under and Laura’s 1kg over, so no stress!
Pre-Race Dinner –– Spaghetti
Bolognaise with fresh crusty bread, served with a choice of white / red wine.
Thanks to Jan who was there to support us and help as a LEGEND Volunteer) 😊
THE RACE – Our Great Southern Adventure
Surprise Trek to start – 3 CP’s XYZ
Upon arrival at Custom House
Border Cliffs, we were advised that the race would start with a short foot Rogaine
so after having phones sealed and collecting our maps and trackers, Kim marked
up the blank map, while Laura finished off securing all our gear in the kayak.
This included kayak trolley for an optional portage.
Off and racing - Kim navigated, Laura was the ferret – our direction anticlockwise! Excited to be in the top 3 teams when we arrived back at the start…. but there was a very long way to go!
Leg 1 - Kayak 33k– Murray River from Border Cliffs to Lock 6 Boat Ramp Murtho Rd
We somehow managed to be the first team to arrive at TA 1. Originally, we had semi decided to portage from CP2 – 8k to the TA, to save 8k of extra paddling, but we thought it might be a bit too long. While paddling we saw the other option, to paddle the smaller creeks and finish with a 2k portage which meant 4k paddling vs 11k!
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| Laura is excited as we are the first team into TA 1 |
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| Kim points out where we came from! |
We worked out that decision making is NOT our forte, but we continued from CP2 and when leading the race, we took the turn off down the creek and it paid off! There was some serious dodging of trees and a bit of extra ins and outs, Wild Yaks took a shortcut back to the main river, but our portage route paid off!
Our reward – fish for
dinner? Yes, we caught a fish in our kayak – but it was not quite meal size!
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| Kim & the fish! |
Leg 2 – MTB – 57k – Boat Ramp 7, Murtho Rd to Berri (Elevation 150m)
This leg whilst being very flat
had its ups and downs – challenges & rewards
Challenges – CP5 took us a
bit too long, clue was single track and our route went right past the track,
but we just did not see it beside a fence – it was dark – so just had to re
attack from a different point – got it! CP6 – clue on the control card was
incorrect and the CP had been stolen. We were not to know, so it turned into a
grid search for many of the lead teams in the full and half course. After
spending too much time looking, Kim made the call to leave it – other teams
followed suit! Backtracking on the trail beside Disher Creek, because the
marked trails did not exist! All teams together again!
Rewards – Great photo of
us was taken at CP3; We were part of the lead pack that caught the Coolatai
Ferry – leaving a big gap to the chasing teams. Arriving at TA 2 before
midnight and seeing Jan at the TA 😊
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| Laura punches CP1 |
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| Sunset at CP1 |
Leg 3 – TREK – 42k - Murray River National Park – Berri to Loxton (Elevation 150m)
This was the leg where we were
required to carry our PFDs as there would be some swimming required. During
course planning we had not marked up our maps / our intended route, so it was
difficult for us to tell the TA officials on request ‘our intended route’ so
before leaving the TA – we had some decisions to make! So, after packing up our
bikes and having something to eat we had a look. Loosely we decided trails to
CP 9 & 10; check out route 10-11 when we got there; swim to 12, Swim to 13
and then decide route from 13 to TA2 once on course. Our options were to go
straight on a bearing (were told we would have to cross the river between TA
& caravan park and not go east of CP13) or out and back to CP13 then take
the trail to Milich Landing – but the only crossing point was just to the East
of Forby’s Island and that all of the houses were OOB all the way to the
Caravan Park near the TA.
Challenges – after CP 8, we accidently took an unmarked track but soon realised when we were going the wrong direction, overshot the shortcut track to CP 9 – well no we didn’t we just didn’t realise we were on it and went the long way around. Crossing the weir to CP 12 was not easy for Kim, she fell in when jumping across the rocky gap and got soaked from the neck down. Laura was on hand to assist, and we took it a bit more cautiously on the way back. Kim stripped off all of her wet gear on the top and put on a dry extra thermal and Mountain Designs Ascend Puffy Jacket.
Rewards – CP 10 – we saw
other teams again, so we knew that our earlier little navigation bumble had not
cost too much, CP 11 we arrived just as Team 18 Wild Yaks were on their way
out, so not quite as hard as we had anticipated. Swim across towards CP 13 was not
as cold as we had thought and we nailed the navigation to the CP. Our decision
to travel south on a bearing to the TA worked as we swam across the mighty
Murray in front of the TA - Laura had an amazing swim while Kim just tried to
get to the other side. We were right behind E Dog & the JJ’s who found out
they were in the lead. This meant that we were 2nd overall at that
point, but we had no idea! The TA staff
had hot coffee for us after the swim – so good!
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| The Mighty Murray |
Leg 4 – MTB – 150k – Loxton to Morgan via Waikerie (Elevation 370m)
On this leg there were 15
controls – A to O. Teams were required to collect 10. We were able to plan our
basic route when doing our map planning prior to the race, but just on the
master overview map. So after we had pretty much completed the transition from
Trek – Swim to fully assembled bikes, Kim sat down and marked up the course
with a highlighter. Our plan was that Laura would follow the overview and Kim
the 1:50000 maps. Our proposed route had one extra CP available as a back-up
this turned out to be a smart decision as despite the lack of elevation, there
were many highs and lows for us on this leg. Our plan was to try to stick to
the more main roads and try to avoid out & backs. Proposed course – ABCDGFKLMN
– with O as our backup. We nailed this leg all the way up until CP L afterwards
everything went a bit pear shaped.
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| MDWW ride the long straight roads |
Challenges – low points – Riding 150k with minimal elevation means lots of pedalling, and in SA where the roads are mostly either sandy of corrugated it was no easy ride, then factor in the heat and you have a physically demanding course. Just after punching CPL Kim notices that her wheels were spraying out white sealant…. we stopped at this beautiful green recreation park and had a look at our tyres! Both Kim & Laura’s tyres were filled with thorns – we brushed some little one off and then more sealant was spraying out. Kim went for a little ride on the grass, Laura spun here wheels around and we hoped that the sealant would do its job. Light was fading so we got M and were headed to N when things went pear-shaped. It was like it was the bewitching hour (midnight) but it was only around 6pm. For some weird reason we just could not work out the road to N. Kim calculated it was 1.4k from where we came onto the main road, but we arrived at a private road with plenty of NO entry Private Property signage, so we went on a bit and then back. We looked at the map and went back to basics – scale now the map said 1:100 000 (not 1:50000) as we had assumed. So we thought no worries we just need to ride further… so we did and we found a road named Oxford Landing Road. Great – so we took it. After about 5,5k Kim noticed the road direction had changed, just like on the map, but we had already convinced ourselves that the map scale was 1:100 000 and that the CP would not be here, there was a junction too, but did not quite look like it was on the map. We had a quick look for the CP anyway …. Just in case, but not a good look as after all, we now thought we had another 6k to the CP. To cut a long story short – we kept riding and there was no other bend like the map showed, 11k, 12k, 13, 14k – no…. why not?? We were now bamboozled and decided just to ride to the other end and ‘hopefully’ hit the T intersection. Well, it turns out that we had been in the right place all along and that the scale on the map was WRONG, but we had now missed CP N.
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| Laura & Kim approach CP |
Rewards – High Points – It was nice to see other teams at various points during this leg, no one could tell who was where, so this kept us motivated and excited to keep pushing hard. We were told afterwards that we were leading the race up to CPM. Our back up plan of having CP O up our sleeve worked as when we realised that we had been in the right spot for N, and not really looked, we just had to ride an extra 3k in and out to get O. Bonus – we had one of the most beautiful night sky photos taken at the CP – thanks Lane the photographer. It was super cool to have to catch another ferry to cross the river to get to TA4 at Morgan.
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| CP O under the big night sky! |
Leg 5 – Trek – 7k – Rogaine - Morgan Conservation Area (elevation 20m)
We arrived at the TA happy, but
still a bit frustrated, so after marking up our Rogaine Course maps instead of
heading straight out, we decided to eat some hot food (we had a Jetboil) and have
a sleep (we had sleeping bag and mats in our bike boxes).
The weather was perfect for an
early morning stroll around the bush. Our proposed route was P, G (was meant to
be Q, but we wrote it incorrectly on our maps) TS and Z.
Challenges – Kim set a
bearing to T thinking it was from the first track to the south, but we were at
the next junction, so after we did not find the CP in the depression we
rethought and had another crack with the correct bearing and got it bang on! Oops
we went straight past G (Q) so tried to run as much as we good to get S, Z
before going out to G(Q) on the peninsula. When we returned to the TA, the
sprinkler system had turned on, right where our boxes were left! Lucky for us
Gary Sutherland (winner of the very first Legend Expd – Snowy Mountains) tried
to turn them off and moved our boxes a bit for us – thanks Gary! We did have
the lids on, but not everything was fully sealed!
Rewards – We cleared the
rogaine and we back before sunrise, and ready for our next long paddle.
Leg 6 – Kayak – 43k - Morgan to Blanchetown
There were no portage options on
this leg, but we had to carry the wheels anyway. Instead of breakfast coffee we
took coke, as we knew that we might get a bit sleepy when the sun shines.
Challenges – The cold dark
start. We rugged up in thermals, waterproof jacket and pants and set off down
the Murray in search of CP 14,15,16. Laura nicknamed Kim fidget-bum as she kept
stopping paddling to adjust her seat… it was a bit frustrating for both of us
but what do you expect after just 2hrs sleep in over 2 nights.
Rewards - We flew through
this paddle, singing and laughing to keep ourselves awake, E Dog & the JJs
were right behind us most of the way and as we go towards CP 16, we could see
other teams ahead. Kim spotted CP 16 in the bushes as we were hugging the bank
– the CP looked like it was the edge of a lagoon, but the description was base
of cliff! So that was why we could see teams ahead – they obviously had not
looked at the centre of the circle on the map as closely as we had. (Not that I
have x-ray vision eyes – but my compass does have a magnifier! Upon arrival at
TA5 at Blanchetown we found ourselves right back at the pointy end of the field
with Team 6 Happy Wanders Team 18 Wild Yaks (just leaving TA), 2 MMI, 4 E Dog &
the JJs.
Leg 7 – Trek – 27km – Blanchetown to Swan Reach
We had one of our fastest
transitions of the race here as not only were we keen to make the most of the
daylight, and we were close to the lead.
Challenges – A Big Mistake
– we ran out of TA, not reading the course notes and not looking at the map
‘properly’. Lucky for us the event truck saw us running on the road and pointed
to get off the road, we had been waving at them. We stopped and then saw there was
a big section of road that was marked as OOB – ‘Roads and shoulder out of
bounds in this section’ – but we just did not see this ☹ So,
kim said to Laura, we have to go back to that point before we can move forward
so we will not be penalised. So we lost the 10-20minute lead that we had on MMI
and E Dog & the JJs. We found it
really challenging here as we saw teams crossing the fences, yet we were not
meant to go into Private Property – but had we have read the course notes
earlier, we would have been aware it was okay for this section on the cliffs,
as there was no other way to get to the marked CPs without crossing the fences.
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| The Murray Cliffs |
Rewards – well not too many on this leg other than finding all the CPs. We hugged the cliffs on the way to CP 19 and so walked into the first gully we saw and found the CP. After the race we were told it had been miss placed. We nailed the track to CP 20 but just did not see the CP – in the tree near the cliff, but a second attack had us landing in the same spot and Laura spotted it on the other side of a fence! It was a long hike, especially for Laura who prefers the shorter distances, but how cool, we were in the right place for another great photo opportunity! Arriving at the TA before midnight was perfect as it meant we had some time for a sleep to burn up some of the darkness before embarking on the next epic leg.
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| Another BIG SKY moment for the MDWW |
Leg 8 – Kayak – 76km – Blanchetown to Younghusband
Looking at the route, there was a
clear option to portage at CP 27 and 28, but it would take us a very long time
to get there as it was over 50k away.
Challenges – Just getting
through the paddle was going to be a challenge, so we paddled as best we could
till sunrise, then Kim came up with the concept of the ‘Hour of Power’. This
meant that we would paddle and sing, long and strong for 1 hr then, stop, rest,
refresh refuel for anywhere between 5 – 10 mins. Sometimes this coincided with
a CP and other times not, we got hammered by some more sprinklers when we
stopped on some beautiful green grass at CP25. Kim was not fidgeting as much on
this paddle as she had ditched the kayak back-rest. Upon arrival at CP 27, we got
prepared for the portage. This would be a make or break move, as if the wheels
failed, it was going to be a very long carry! It was uphill and Laura took off
like lightning, then when we hit the steep part of the hill, we both dragged a
bit, but basically Laura did all the dragging as Kim was just not as fast! It’s
so good in a race, when you just feel like you have all this energy to burn, so
Laura kept running. Kim meanwhile was on the lookout for cars and held onto an
emergency brake strap…. Just so the kayak did not run Laura over on the downhill.
Rewards – The portage saved us 16km of kayaking, enabled us to eat, drink, change muscle groups and then just pop back onto the river for one final short paddle less than 7k to TA7. We were so excited that it turned out we would arrive well be for dark.
Leg 9 – MTB – 60km – Younghusband to Murray bridge via Manum Cliffs
The last leg! When a race finishes with a bike leg, it can be extremely difficult to make too much change, unless the navigation is extremely challenging – this was not the case. except for interpreting the intention for CP 30 and 31 at Manum Waterfalls.
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| Under the stars again! |
Challenges – Despite the simple navigation we did arrive at CP 30 in the darkness and looked at the location of CP31 – Creek bend. We scrambled down a track into the gorge and looked ahead and at the map…. It was really sketchy in our bike shoes, so we stopped and made an alternate plan. Kim noticed earlier that there was a car park at the lower end of the falls and a little track leading into the creek, maybe that was what we should do!
Rewards - We were rewarded
with CP31 after a quick ride down the hill to the carpark and a walk along the
track, straight to the CP. It would have been awesome to have rock hopped down,
but not a safe move at night. The ride to the finish was flat, so we were able
to maintain a great pace. We did have a bit of a discussion about the order of CPs
at the finish as Kim had marked the CP correction incorrectly – Laura had it
right – phew – discussion over! (We can explain that another day). After
stopping at the traffic lights in town for way too long (eventually we took the
footbath for a bit), we finally arrived at the finish before midnight for a hot
pie and champagne (thanks Jan).
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| Kim & Laura smiles! |
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| The Finish Punch |
RESUTS Legend Expedition AR 2026
Mountain Designs Wild Women
finished 1st place female and 4th place overall.
Total time= 82hrs 25mins. (3 Days
10hrs and 25 mins)
Total sleep= 4hrs.
Thanks to our sponsors and supporters for your encouragement always;
Mountain Designs
Tri Adventure
AyUp Lighting Systems
Venture Cycles / Trek BikesAustralia
Moxie Gear
Thanks, to the top 5 teams MMI 1st; Wild Yaks 2nd; Happy Wanderers 3rd and E Dog & the JJs 5th for being great competitors out on course, yes, it is a race, but it’s great to chat and even offer some support when we are all there together! Congratulations to all of the teams who either completed the full or half course, it’s so much more about the adventure, the people you meet, the experiences and the things you see than a race, so rest, relax, recover and we hope to see you all at another event soon!
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| Legend EXPD AR 2026 - Women's Full Course Podium |
We also want to take the time to recognise the 4 other female teams who were part of this event, you are all amazing for not only starting but finishing this epic event.
Turbo Turtles Vortex Divas Force de Femme Heard before Seen
For those of you who thought
that 34 + 42 + 76 kilometres of paddling is a lot, that’s 152k – think of the
girls from Heard Before Seen who are taking on the Yukon 1000 (miles) in July!
We can’t wait to track your progress.
Finally, thanks to Chris Dixon & The Wild & Co Team (officials and volunteers) for all the time and effort you put into making this event Legendary. Without your thought, your passion and enthusiasm there would be no race, so bring on Legends 2027 – Western Australia.
Writer - Kim Beckinsale
Editor - Jan Leverton
Photo / Video Credits
Keith Conley
Jan Leverton
If this story inspires you please get in touch with us via our Mountain Designs Wild Women Facebook page, or via Kim at Tri Adventure. If you are keen to race in an all female environment check out these two all women's AR events -
The Wild Women AR - The first & original All Female Adventure Race in Australia
The Amazons Australia - The first ever ARWS All Female Adventure Race
Created by Kim & Jan from Tri Adventure
Sponsored by Mountain Designs
