MULTISPORT
THE final Montane Seasons of Pain adventure race for 2013 at Mount Baw Baw last weekend was labelled “the toughest thing I’ve ever done,” by winner Brody Gardner, who travelled to Gippsland to contest event.
“I’ve just returned from Xterra Maui, and this event was just as brutal” and “insane” were among the comments from finishers, but all were followed up with the same effusive sentiment “but I loved every minute of it”.
It was a consensus opinion at the spring edition of the adventure duathlon, which in its fourth outing featured new course sections and a redesigned mountain bike singletrack.
After a gruelling nine kilometre trail run, 8km mountain bike, 7km trail run and 9km mountain bike, competitors toughed their way up the infamous ‘Sting’- a 300-metre vertical climb over 1.4kms – to finish the 34km trail run and mountain bike course and heave themselves on to the traditional finisher’s couch wearing both a smile and grimace for their efforts.
The men’s event was underscored by a pace that defied the hilly singletrack course, with newcomer to the series and first time off road racer, Melbournian Gardner, taking line honours.
“I want to race a few Xterras (global off road triathlon series) so I though it would be a good first time outing,” Gardner said.
“But it is the toughest thing I have ever done.
“The course was unrelenting and technical, at no time were you able to back off.”
Gardner, who has a background in sprint and Olympic distance triathlons, said merely reaching the finish was an achievement.
“It wasn’t a question of what kind of pace you could maintain; it was just about getting through it and finishing,” he said.
Despite the prospect of a course defined by hills, Gardner attacked early in the piece, going hard out the front.
The technical mountain bike trails took their toll, with eventual third place getter, Tim Doman, snatching the lead at one stage after Gardner flipped his bike for a close encounter with a tree.
It took until the second run leg, in which his extreme pace came to the fore, for Gardner to re-take the lead, going on to maintain a three minute buffer over eventual runner-up and prolific Gippsland adventure racer Rob Preston, who had reeled in and overtaken a slowing Doman.
Gardner’s ‘Sting’ baptism came as a rude shock in his run to the line.
“I don’t know how anyone could run that on fresh legs, let alone having raced for 34 kilometres,” he said.
The last incline did not slow him too much overall however, with an incredible course time of two hours and 44 minutes.
In the women’s race it was notable adventure racer and current Australian Multisport Champion Maria Plyashechko who took to the front early, with multisport athlete and trail runner Claire Thomas and Xterramultisporter Belinda Hadden on the chase.
Neither could maintain the pace, however, highlighting Plyashechko’s consistent strength in both disciplines.
The expat Russian knocked off the tough course in three hours and 23 minutes, a clear 23 minutes ahead of second-placed Thomas.
“It was an absolutely gorgeous course in a stunning alpine area,” Plyashechko said.
In the teams category Alan McCubbin and Chris Degruyter put in a solid effort, sharing the trail run and bike legs before running the ‘Sting’ together, finishing in a time of three hours 18 minutes.
The first and only women’s team across the line was Vickie Saunders and Rechelle Olsen.
The pair was cheered over the line by a crowd, who appreciated the huge effort it took to stay out on course for five hours and 15 minutes.
