Fa’avae Wins Crazyman

Michael Jacques / 02.05.2010

Nathan Fa’avae celebrated his 20th year in multisport with a win in the 20th anniversary Crazyman.

Almost 400 endurance junkies from all ends of New Zealand lined up in Lower Hutt this weekend for the 20th HuttValleyNZ.com Crazyman. And Fa’avae added his name to the long list of multisport stars who have won Wellington’s premier multisport event since its inception two decades ago.

Established in 1991, the list of past winners is like a who’s-who of the sport: world champions such as Richard Ussher, Jill Westenra, Gordon Walker, Emily Miazga, Elina Ussher, Kristina Anglem, Alex Stewart and Steve Gurney have all won the annual Lower Hutt event. Fa’avae, a former adventure racing world champion, led from start to finish to add his name to that illustrious roll call with a comfortable win in what is also his 20th year in the sport.

The 37 year old Nelsonian first burst on to the scene in the 1991 Speight’s Coast to Coast when as a 17 year old he led the Two Day race through the first day before slipping to 12th courtesy of a home-made kayak. Since then he has gone on to be one of the world’s best multisporters and adventure racers, but despite world titles and wins aplenty he had never taken on the hills and harbour of Wellington’s Crazyman event.

Wellington threw up four seasons in a day for the 20th year of the kayak, run and mountain bike race. The anniversary event started on a glassy harbour under blue skies as kayakers headed from Petone Foreshore across to Eastbourne 13k away. Out on Cook Strait a southerly front was waiting patiently, but Fa’avae was waiting for no one as he followed the top teams to lead the individual race off the water four minutes ahead of Wellington’s Michael O’Conner.

Fa’avae appeared comfortable on the savagely scenic 18k mountain run over the Eastern Harbour Regional Park and Mt Lowry to Wainuiomata. But behind him fellow Nelsonian Dan Moore was racking up the fastest run to move from fourth to second, just 90secs behind the race favourite as they started the final 36k mountain bike.

Fa’avae, however, is a mountain bike specialist. After his baptism of fire into multisport in 1991’s Speight’s Coast to Coast, he took to cycling and eventually raced mountain bikes internationally. That experience served him well on the tough 36k course through Wainuiomata mountain bike park, along the Hutt Skyline and down the Hutt River Trail. When he eventually stopped the clock outside the Lower Hutt Town Hall in 4hrs 35min, it kept ticking for another 21min before a torrid battle for second place that saw Wellington’s Lee Campbell outsprint Moore for second place by three seconds.

The women’s race was similarly dominated by Wellington’s Rachel Ockleford, although she first had to overcome a spirited start from fellow Wellingtonian Heather Kirkham. After the kayak across Wellington’s eastern harbour bays, Kirkham held a two and a half minute advantage. But after the mountain run Ockleford had turned that into a five minute lead and with mountain biking being her best discipline she eventually crossed the line with more than half an hour to spare in 5hrs 44min.

In other racing New Zealand mountain bike number two, Brendon Sharratt dominated the duathlon option in 3hrs 24min 24secs, while Christchurch-based Swede Sia Svendsen dominated the women’s duathlon in 3hrs 53min 43secs. Among teams Wellingtonians Marianne Archer, Sally and Helen Anderson were the highlight, dominating the women’s team race for the fourth year in a row in 5hrs 03min 41secs. Favourites Glen Muirhead, James Coubrough and Julian McPike duly dominated the men’s team race in 4hrs 10min 20secs, with Coubrough breaking the run course record with 1hr 12min 31secs.

While Fa’avae and co were impressive in winning their respective races, further back in the field Wellington’s Paul Coles was celebrating something more personal. Coles won the very first Crazyman in 1991 and the 55 year old returned two decades later to mark the occasion by finishing the 20th anniversary Crazyman.