Wiki Factory Racing

It was great to get out last week for the first event of the wicked rogaine series and my first event since breaking my ribs almost 6 weeks prior. It was based around the sugarloaf reserve on the Port hills. I had no plan to be competitive, I was just happy to be out doing something after several weeks spent on the couch recovering. My sister joined me at the event to ensure I wouldn't go crazy and push myself too hard.  The result isn't great but then again I wasn't expecting anything since we were mainly walking around. The positive from the event is I'm now capable to start training again!

As many of you know I unfortunately broke my ribs in the weekend before Coast to Coast in a momentary lapse of concentration while kayaking. While it was obviously disappointing to be injured and forced to pull out of Coast and GODZone, at the same time I was relieved as it could have been a lot worse. I'm beginning to think Coast just isn't my race since this is now the third time I have had to pull out due to injury in five attempts at the race. My dad ended up racing for me at last minutes notice with a little persuasion and despite no training and having not paddled in 2 years, he finished a very credible 3rd place in Open Men, proving that anyone is capable of not only completing but also being competitive at Coast if they put their mind to it. Thanks to the support of many people over the years, I know what I'm capable of achieving at this race, its just going to be a case of making my own luck and building on my current fitness to be as prepared as possible. I lo...

Pic's Peanut Butter have come on board to support me with their delicious products for the upcoming GODZone adventure race. Based on the trials I have had already, the shots of peanut butter will be a perfect boost through out the event and will certainly be used during training missions as well! I have already had a lot of people staring in envy as I devour my peanut butter in the middle of the gorge while they are struggling away on their leppins or dry muesli bars. Check out their website if you haven't tried the best peanut butter on the market yet! www.picspeanutbutter.com/

Better late than never! This year I was fortunate enough to be given permission to compete at the Rasdex Classic River Race, a 70km kayak race, rather than do safety like I have in the past few years. It was good timing as well, with having just received a brand new Flow kayaks Rush to try out. Although I didn't get a chance to paddle the new boat down the river before the race, I had paddled the river several times in other boats in the weeks leading up to the event, so I knew the river like the back of my hand. To increase the excitement of getting to race again I was named as someone to watch out for in the pre race predictions. www.sportzhub.com/news/rasdex-classic-river-race3 I was (fortunate) enough to still be in the junior category so I knew there was little chance of getting any competition from other juniors, so my main goal going into the event was to try and get into the top 10 overall and not have the open men catch me who were starting 15 minute...

I made the crazy decision a few months ago to enter the 12 hour solo event at Mcleans Island. Despite every intention to train for the event, my longest ride leading up to the event was only 3 hours long... Not exactly ideal but in the end it seemed to work in my favour (not that anyone probably believes I did barely any training). The race started in typical fashion with a compulsory sprint around the first lap despite the long distance ahead of us. After that first lap I was sat comfortably in the lead bunch with the eventually winners of Open men and Vet men as well as 2nd and 3rd place Vet men. I was expecting the pace to drop off at any moment but when it didn't I made the decision to drop off the back and ride at my own pace because it felt like if I kept going at theirs, I would blow. I was soon passed by Dave Slater and focused on trying to maintain my position and keep my lap times fairly consistent. Mentally the race started to also become tough from here with...

Glorious weather saw 23 teams compete in the annual SCARC 12hr Adventure Race, The Edoras Challenge at Mesopotamia Station and Forest Creek Station on Saturday, 27 September. It was our first race together as a team, building up for Godzone, and my first serious race for quite a few months apart from a few club kayak races. With a shot gun start at 7am, teams had the choice to either trek first (30 km around Mesopotamia Station) or MTB (50km around Forest Creek Station), we made the call to bike first as we thought the weather would come in fairly early and would result in a slower bike time than the effect would be on the trek. We were pushed on the bike leg by team Heartland Ricoh but due to them making navigational mistakes and then ultimately forgetting about one of the last checkpoints, we managed to take the lead into the trek section.   This is where I knew things would begin to unravel as I had been focusing on my riding for the upcoming 12 hour solo a...

This year was a little bit different for me compared to previous years as instead of being a competitor (or guide like last year), I was the safety manager for the event. Although a lot easier to manage than race director, there were still a few stressful moments over the past couple of months watching the weather and preparing the course. My most cause for concern though was doing the briefing in front of everyone! My biggest lesson learnt from this however was how much effort goes into organising events behind the scene, so much respect for these people!! Definitely can't wait to get back racing though  Best spot on the river  With the best view on the river