Coromandel Challenge
Orion Health Dominant in the Coromandel
Michael Jacques / 24.03.2011
New Zealand’s best Adventure Racers put their body and mind on the line in the Coromandel Peninsula last weekend. A record 250 entrants took on the 11th running of the demanding Coromandel event. In a race billed as “Journey to the End of the World�, competitors started from Whangamata in perfect conditions at 7am on Saturday for a non-stop 24-hour tour of the remotest and most gruelling areas of the Coromandel Peninsula.
Using the classic adventure racing format where the course is kept secret until 12 hours before start time, competitors navigated their way via a mixture of running, mountain biking, kayaking and various adventure skills sections such as abseiling and shooting.
The race up front was dominated by former world champions, Team Orion Health of Brent Edwards (Rotorua), Anna Berthelson (Tauranga), Sam Clarke and Chris Morrissey (Whakatane). The defending champions and pre-race favourites took the race by the horns to lead from start to finish, but for many teams the race was almost over before it began after some spectacular surfing at the end of the opening stage.
The 100km event opened with a 15km kayak from Whangamata to Whititoa, with some rolling surf seeing more than a few kayakers become swimmers as they tried to land at the end of the stage. Waiheke Island’s aptly named Team Fourplay in the Bush has a wet start when team captain Jeremy Kuggeleijn rolled his two-man kayak and came back up with the other paddler missing.
Team Fourplay would prove the surprise package of this year’s ARC Adventure Race as more favoured teams struggled with tough navigation and night time sections. The race was still close after the opening kayak section, with Team Orion Health holding a 1 min lead over dark horse challengers Team Moa Adventure, which was led by former Orion captain Wayne Oxenham.
Oxenham retired from international racing last year and racing this time against the team he won a world title with, there was some friendly rivalry and pride at stake. On stage two, a 10k mountain bike section, Orion took control to build up a 10 minute lead after just two hours of racing. But it was the third stage, a rugged 17k trek into the Wentworth Valley, that illustrated their world class.
After five hours of bush-bashing and river running with a compass and maps their only aid for direction, Team Orion Health finished the stage with an abseil down Wentworth Falls and a 55 minute lead. Navigational experience appeared to make the difference, with highly rated teams such as Moa Adventure losing two and a half hours, and 2010 runners up, Team Nga Rakau of Mark Struthers, Isak Meyer, Louise Mark and Andrew Turnbull, losing more than an hour.See All Event Posts
