Augusta Adventure Fest
Next Generation Racing at Augusta
Rob Howard / 05.11.2016
The second race of the day at the Augusta Adventure Festival was the Junior Survival race, an adventure run/obstacle course race around the town for children ages 4 to 13 – and there were 800 of them!
The junior survivors were set off in waves by age group, and in quick succession, so there was soon a steady stream of racers heading along Albany Terrace and onto the beach beside the river mouth. Some parents were running with the younger racers of course, but most were out on their own, running at a steady pace and taking the obstacles in their stride.
These included scramble nets, log walks, a dousing with a hose from a fireman, a run out into the shallows of the bay and the most popular was a water slide with a mud pit at the foot of it. This one had the most spectators, and not surprisingly this race had more spectators than ever ,and many more cameras and phones recording it as the families watched and cheered the children on.
The finish was an enthusiastic melee as the juniors streamed under the finish arch to be given their medals and have more photos taken, before getting dried off and enjoying the ice creams, pizza, juices and crepes at the expo stalls.
Once the last junior survivors were over the line it was time for the day’s prize giving, starting with the category winners from the earlier Mini race. There was a large crowd gathered, probably the biggest I’ve seen at an adventure race prize giving, and it was noticeable how many of the winners, including the overall winner, were juniors.
Some of the adult category winners didn’t quite match the junior times, and with the prize giving to follow for the best Junior Survivors it’s clear the next generation of adventure racers in Western Australia are coming along nicely!
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