Act-Belong-Commit Augusta Adventure Fest
New Zealanders Reign Supreme at Tri-Nations Trophy
News Release (Rapid Ascent) / 04.11.2013
Augusta came alive over the weekend with the Act-Belong-Commit Augusta Adventure Fest, which saw New Zealanders Braden Currie and Jess Simson take the crowns in the headline race today, Sunday 3rd November, 2013 in Augusta, Western Australia.
The premier Act-Belong-Commit Augusta Adventure Race consisted of a multidiscipline off-road race which saw a capacity field of 1,700 competitors take on a 13.5km coastal run, 1.5km ocean swim (shortened), 8km ocean paddle (shortened), 32km mountain bike and 2.5km beach run to the finish.
Competitors lined up underneath the iconic Cape Leewin Lighthouse at 7:45am ready to take on the spectacular coastal run course which saw the visiting New Zealand athletes begin their early leads.
Currie, who won in 2012, lead the race from start to finish, his recent fifth place at the XTERRA World Championships coming into force, clocking a time of 3:28.51.
Currie’s trail run was lightning fast and his paddle and bike leg strong enough to put a good 12 minutes on nearest rivals, countryman Dougal Allan and Australia’s Jarad Kohlar.
“For once I’m realising that a bit of hard work and commitment is paying off; I haven’t been working, so I put a lot on the line for my training and I think it’s all coming together really well.” Currie said.
“Riding the wash out the back of the paddle was challenging, but it wasn’t dangerous, so I really enjoyed it.” Currie said. “I just love these events; the turn out and the people that come to them are fantastic, so I’ll keep coming back to Augusta as long as I can.”
Dougal Allan caught up some time on Currie in the paddle and the mountain bike leg, putting New Zealand in the box seat for the Tri Nations Trophy.
“I certainly went into the race thinking the paddle and bike leg would suit me, but I felt like I was in fourth gear. I thought I had a good run, and anytime I come into the swim alive, I’m happy.” Allan
Just behind Allan was local boy Matt Duncan from Bunbury, WA.
“I have a surf-club background so I’m ok with choppy weather even though the paddle was shortened, but it still played into my hands so I’m really happy with how it went.” Duncan said. “This is my sixth adventure race since the days in Dunsborough and I’ve been in the top 10 for a while, but my new training program has worked well to get me up to third today.”
The coveted Tri-Nations Trophy was held within the premier race, and all eyes were on the competitors wearing the race bibs carrying the Australian, South African and New Zealand flags. The Tri-Nations Trophy featured a three way competition between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, with New Zealand taking home the bragging rights.
“I raced Augusta in 2010, coming in fourth, so when I got the opportunity to race for New Zealand again this year, I jumped at it, and it’s great to come away with the Tri Nations win.” Allan said.
In the female division, Jess Simson blitzed home in 4:16.52, after a last minute call up to make the journey over to Australia.
“I found out about 2 weeks ago I was coming to race, so it’s all happened very quickly.” Simson said. “I’ve been doing a lot of adventure racing lately, minus the paddle though, so today was my first ocean paddle, and first time on a ski, so I was happy to still come away with the win.”
Bernadette Dornom was our first Australian representative to come through after playing cat and mouse with Simson throughout the course.
“It’s my first time racing in Augusta and it was such great fun. I hadn’t seen much of the course before today, but it was really nice out there and I really enjoyed the coastal, trail run tracks.” Dornom said.
In the teams category, the honours went to team ‘Crank’nCycles’, who blitzed around the course in a time of 3:34.08.
It was clear again today that the local support and camaraderie were a highlight.
“There was some great camaraderie on course and plenty of local support cheering everyone on through the mountain bike and the finish of the final run, so it was great to see the community getting behind the event in Augusta.” Said Jarad Kohlar, part of the Australian Tri Nations team.
“This is the fourth time I’ve done the race. The atmosphere and the course keep bringing me back.” Said Perth resident John Taylor.
Janine Burrow, the inaugural X-Adventure Dunsborough winner earlier this year, loves the challenge of adventure racing.
“I found X-Adventure much easier than today because I can’t paddle!” laughed Burrow. “Especially as I was trying to get out the river mouth which was quite tough for me, so I was in the water a few times!
“But I love these adventure races; they’re a great challenge in a wonderful setting and the organisation and town is support is just great.” Burrow said.
Special mention must go to solo competitor Rob Lim, a true adventure racing legend being the only one to have competed in every single WA adventure race event to date, placing third in his category, Male 40-49.
Over 3,300 competitors descended upon Augusta making it the biggest adventure race weekend in the World, and also incorporating two additional race formats; the Act-Belong-Commit Augusta Mini Adventure Race, and the Act-Belong-Commit Junior Survivor held yesterday (Saturday 2 November).
The Act-Belong-Commit Augusta Adventure Fest is proudly sponsored by Healthway to promote Act-Belong-Commit, a community-based health campaign encouraging people to take action to improve their mental health and wellbeing.
Full Results – CLICK HERE
Top 3 Male and Females:
Male
1. Braden Currie: Overall Time 3:28.51 (Run 48:35, Swim 30:11, Paddle 46:55, MTB 1:10.54, Run 12:14)
2. Dougal Allan: Overall Time3:38.39 (Run 57:28, Swim 29:02, Paddle 43:45, MTB 1:09.25, Run 14:28)
3. Matt Duncan: Overall Time3:50.11 (Run 55:09, Swim 33:33, Paddle 46:27, MTB 1:21.15, Run 13:45)
Female
1. Jess Simson: Overall Time 4:16.52 (Run 1:01.46, Swim 40:16, Paddle 59:56, MTB 1:20.26, Run 14:25)
2. Bernadette Dornom Overall Time 4:25.25 (Run 1:05.12, Swim 38:26, Paddle 57:10, MTB 1:29.37, Run 14:58)
3. Jane Swarbreck Overall Time 4:32.49 (Run 1:08.39, Swim 41:40, Paddle 54:51, MTB 1:30.26, Run 17:10)
Teams
1. Team Crank’n’Cycles (Team of 4): Overall Time 3:34.10
2. Hewitt and Mozel (Team of 2): Overall Time 3:39.06
3. Handsome (Team of 4): Overall Time 3:46.50
www.AugustaAdventureFest.com.
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