Mild Seven Outdoor Quest
Seagate Stay Out in Front
Jackie Yu / 14.12.2003
“Our strategy is not to lose time to Nike and Nokia,� said Seagate NZ’s Nathan Fa’avae, referring to the second and third place squads. “We don’t want to do anything silly.� Holding down fourth is defending Outdoor Quest champion Team New Zealand.
Before day 3 began torrential rain had fallen through the night, depriving the start of the blue skies and puffy white clouds athletes enjoyed the day before. Starting on the beach at the Nexus Resort north of Kota Kinabalu, competitors began the day with a new Outdoor Quest discipline – ocean swimming. From there it was a whirlwind race: running, inline skating, team biathlon, paddling, mountain biking, adventure skills and a final paddle to the finish. The course was only nominally shorter than the previous two days – six hours as compared to seven and eight – but the pace was much faster. “The pace today was pretty quick. Nike ACG/Balance Bar were pushing it a bit,� said Seagate’s Fa’avae.
“I wish we weren’t digging ourselves out of a hole,� explained Mike Kloser of Team Nike ACG/Balance Bar, which began the day in second place. “Seagate is incredibly strong and we’re always playing catch-up with them.�
Nike ACG/Balance Bar needed to make up five minutes to take the overall lead. Instead, after being in first place during the mountain biking segment, they lost five more minutes. “We were right with them, then they got away on the ropes section,� said Kloser. “That’s a shame.�
Afterward, as the skies cleared, Michael Tobin of Nike ACG/Balance Bar put a brave face on their disappointment. Seagate NZ’s lead is almost insurmountable. “We’re not gonna give up. The nature of adventure racing is that anything can happen.�
Outdoor Quest 2003 has proven the truth of that statement: only fifteen of the twenty-six teams that began the race are still racing. And not for lack of fitness. Heat, altitude sickness, bicycle mechanical breakdowns, and dehydration have taken a random, painful toll.
Kristina Strode-Penny of Seagate NZ says that no team is immune, not even a squad whose victory seems assured. “The native boat paddle tomorrow could get us in trouble. Even if we only lose two minutes here or two minutes there, they all add up. Ten minutes isn’t that much.�
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