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Kiwis come through again!

13.05.2009

In this third running of the Keen Adventure Race it was again the New Zealanders who stole the crown from the Aussies. This year it was the Orion Mixed team of Anna Berthelsen and Stuart Lynch who bettered their runners up place from 2008 with a faultless race. This dynamic duo were in the lead right from the start in this 500km, 5 day epic stage race, their win made even more remarkable by the fact that their team with one male and one female beat the all male pairs.

37 teams of two started the event in picturesque Wye River on the Great Ocean Road on Tuesday. The unusually wet and cold week threw many challenges at competitors, forcing some to retire or ‘short-course’ the race but today in Anglesea, the teams completed the final leg in perfect racing conditions. Having trekked, mountain biked and paddled to Aire River and back through the Otway Ranges and along the Great Ocean Road the event also required racers to demonstrate superior navigational skills as they searched for checkpoints on the journey. With some surfing and roping thrown in, the week provided plenty of challenges for participants and overall rankings were decided by fitness, tactics and in some respects luck.

On Tuesday when the race started conditions on the course were very muddy and dampened enthusiasm a little as teams started experiencing mechanical issues and suffering from the cold. Throughout the event the weather warmed up and so did the spirits of competitors who ranged in standard from the World Champion Orion Mixed and Orion Boys (Wayne Oxenham & Brent Edwards) teams to complete novices doing their first multi day event.

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