Paddy Pallin Adventure Race Sydney
A cracker of a race for the last event of the Paddy Pallin Adventure Race Series 2009-10!
Diane Chanut - AROC Sport / 20.03.2010
Indeed Tomaree National Park, the Worimi Conservation Lands and the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park provided a spectacular backdrop for the Paddy Pallin Adventure Race. 30 hours before the race start, the scene was set with a 3.3 magnitude earthquake hitting Nelson Bay.Saturday 13 March 2010 – 10:23AM: starting at the base of the famous Stockton Beach sand dunes, competitors were looking up at the near vertical sand climb in front of them; teams knew a real adventure was to come and the anticipation was stirring. The near-record field spread out quickly through the rolling sands looking for elusive codes on hidden checkpoints before starting their coastal assault. Jumping on the bikes at Boat Harbour, they tackled a fast ride along One Mile and Samurai Beaches and then a short push through Tomaree National Park to Big Rocky. Teams were then faced with the highlight of the event as they had to swim out to a small rocky island complete with a crystal-clear, 3m deep rock pool containing the next checkpoint. Back on the bikes, teams headed off to Fingal Bay for a paddle across to Fingal Bay Island. All teams got a rock-hopping coasteer in while the top ten teams visited the historic lighthouse. From there it was a last chance to catch a wave on the kayaks and then a beach run and very short ride to the finish at Fingal Bay oval. Pheew, what a day!
Newcastle locals, Undecided, comprising Stu Adams, Scott Taylor and Chad Singleton took out overall line honours and the male category after a tight tussle the whole way with Team Crank (Matt Shields, Matthew de Belin, Jeffrey Price). Team Crank ended up a close 2nd and BMX Bandits (Dave Ellis, Adrian Betts, Will Robb) came in 3rd.
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