Bethunes Gully MTB XCtravaganza 3 Stage Race 7th December 2008 - Report

Race Stage 1 – XC 3 laps around Bethunes tracks – 8th
This was a great blast, 3 laps of single track, the first part of each lap was up the road and then onto a climb up to the top of the trees before the traverse descent down to lap back to the entrance gate. My strength on the hill was great but I then gave up a few places on the fast singe track stuff, but then made my time up again each lap on the road and climb part of the laps – a great fun first sage, crash free!! Was 8th in this stage.
Race Stage 2 – Hill Climb – Bethunes entrance to Mt Cargill/Organ Pipes Intersection Summit – 4th to top 3rd Open Man
After about a 30 min rest from race one we started stage two to the top of the Mt Cargill walking track where it meets the organ pipes track. I was looking forward to this stage as I have been doing quite a bit of hill work and feel this is possibly one of my strengths. We were off with a blast and I quickly got myself into 4th and then just hammered all I had up the hill, constantly trying to pedal just that little bit harder and spin the pedals at a good pace, but one that I could sustain for the whole climb. I felt good (well “good” being working as hard as possible and sucking for oxygen with the legs pumping!) for the whole climb and got to the top in 28:44, which had me 4th to the top Behind Tony Hogg, Peter Green and Mickey Fan, An awesome climb to the top. It was then a cold misty wait for everyone to arrive before the down hill stage.
Race Stage 3 – Down Hill – Mt Cargill/Organ Pipes intersection to Carpark at bottom of the track. 17th open man
Well my tyre choice and pressure probably wasn’t ideal for the steep fast descent on pretty loose fresh gravel track. My “Mezcal semi slicks” didn’t offer the ideal traction slipping through the corners, and my conservative approach to the downhill saw me get down in 9:23, not as uick as I would like but with things like our wedding coming up I didn’t want to break any bones! A fast and fun descent. The fastest down hill rider was 7:03!

Overall a great race set up, I really enjoyed the XC stage and loved the hill climb,
Open Men’s results for me were
XC – 8th
Hill Climb – 3rd (4th to the top overall)
Downhill – 17th
The final results combined from all three stages had me finish 8th= open man for the day which I was really happy with
Below is the link to the MTB Otago website full results:
http://www.mountainbikingotago.co.nz/html/modules/news/article.php?storyid=72

Bannockburn Gutbuster 2008 - MTB Race

Well a great weekend on the MTB, Went up and raced in the Bannockburn Gutbuster ride from Garston to Bannockburn – 75km with 1300m of climbing in it, so a good honest ride. From Bannockburn I caught the bus through to Garston. The bus ride wasn’t the best as I ended up down the back end of the bus and the windy road made me a little bus sick, losing a bit of breakfast on arriving in Garston, luckily the bus arrived about an hour before the start of the ride, so I was able to get some food into me and get rid of my grogginess!! Anyway at the start of the ride everyone was off! Not long into it and the 1st climb began, I settled into a pretty solid and comfortable rhythm and worked my way to the top of this climb feeling good (which was planned as there is a lot further to go) a the top of the climb my rear tyre felt a little softer than it should have been, so I stopped and puffed a bit of air into it, thinking that it was probably going to keep going down. Anyway blasting off down the hill I was right as the tyre went down, by the second creek crossing I dunked the bike in and could see a stream of bubbles coming out of it, bugger! So a quick tube change here, a bit gutting seeing people cruising past a s I repaired this, but back onto the bike after this and I managed to make up a lot of time and places on those who passed me and was feeling good. On and on down the valley and finally arriving at the start of the climb up to the top of Duffers Saddle, from the bottom to the top I just focused on keeping those pedals spinning round and eventually got to the top, feeling pretty exhausted but satisfied with the climb, from her it was a quick descent and grind along the road to the finish in Bannockburn. I finished in 4hrs7min, and this placed me 65th overall and 35th Open man from a field of about 300 riders. A good blast. click on this link to view web page of full 2008 results http://www.cromwell.org.nz/downloads/2008Gutbuster.htm

Kaitangata Black Gold XC MTB Race - 16th November 2008

An awesome 45km MTB race around some fantastic purpose built single track along with farm land, forest roads and a very small amount of sealed road. The race started off on tarmac at the Crescent Rugby Club before entering forest terrain with and undulating tracks. There is a moderate climb followed by a fast narrow single-track descent back into the forest. Racing took us across farmland, alongside the Clutha River and through bush before the finish at the clubrooms again.
Awesome weather and a great turn out of riders, felt pretty good most of the way and loved the single track stuff. Jumping around 4th - 5th - 6th place for a lot of the ride, but lost a couple of places in the last 5km to finish 8th which i was still pretty happy with considering the numbers and level of riders there. An awesome event - back again definetly!

Kelly's Canter October 2008 - Palmerston - Running

Well a great day for the annual run up to the top of Puketapu Hill and return (about a 4km blast to the top of the hil and back to the town centre). Having been up and down this hill many many times over the years i felt pretty good on this run. A hard pace alll the way and my lungs screaming for Oxygen as i went up and then the legs just holing together as i descended! Leather GArden gloves on for the rough Down hill part at the top made the thistles and rocks less painful! Anyway a great blast up and down, placed 4th overall - 2 seconds off 3rd in a sprint finish.
Won the Chip Dunkley Memorial trophy for the first Open Man home!

Dunedin Marathon 14th September 2008

Well what a cracker of a day weather wise yesterday. I went out and ran the Dunedin Marathon yesterday. A fine morning wiht perfect conditions had me off to a nice pace. I was hoping to run between 3hrs20 and 3hrs30 so had set times for along the way to try and stick to. Feeling good in the legs right through until about 35km where i hit the wall a little, legs were fine with no cramps or stiffness, just seemed to run low on energy and couldn't push along as quick as i woulds have liked for the last 7km - so by this stage i was thinking why do i put myself through this torture???... anyway the same old answer came to mind... because i can.. and seem to forget the pain of these marathons fro one ot the next. Anyway i ended up finishing in 3hr38min, which was about 3min down on last year, still happy enough with this result as i really went into it with the goal ofd a personal time to beat - but didn't so i guess i'll have to keep lining up until i can crack the times i want to beat!!

Peak to Peak Multisport Race Queenstown - 19th July 2008

One of my favourite races, the Start of this is high up on the Remarkables and the Finish is at the Ski Field Base at Coronet Peak!!! Stages are as follows
1. Run/Ski
2. 17km MTB - fantastic downhill on the Remark's access road
3. 7km Kayak across from Frankton to Queenstown.
4. 9km Run (all up hill) to the bottom of Coronet Road
5. 9km Cycle up Coronet Peak Ski Field Road.

This year was my 5th time racing as an individual and i managed a PB time of 2hrs 45min which i was stoked with. The winning individual time was 2hrs 22min. I had pretty good stages feeling strong in all areas. I finished the run in 38min which was the 6th fastest individual i think. A well run event and heaps of fun! Open mens section placing was 16th out of 51 individuals and overall including teams i was 48th out of 150 entries!

Mac Bay Lovers Leap Multisport Race - Race 5 WInter Series, 6th July 2008

the last race of the five race multisport series was Today (Sunday). Had a good race and feeling not too bad despite the cooler temps and the wind!,

So for the series i was

Race 1: 2nd

Race 2: 3rd

Race 3: 3rd

Race 4: 1st

Race 5: 2nd

Well after a mission of a drive over the motorway after all the snow yesterday i arrived at the race start at Mac Bay at 9.30am, this is when it was supposed to start, even leaving home earlier i still got held up by trucks on the icy roads. The race consisted of a 10km Paddle, 20km MTB and 10km Run. Anyway it was a super quick get ready which basically involved gettin gmy bike off the car, giving my running shoes to be taken to the run start , hopping in my boat and GO!! A southerly wind coming up the harbour for the paddle, we did 2x 5km out and back loops for the paddle, It was only Gav and I and one other woman doing the Kayak option, but we had 4 of the surf club guys there to keep us honest on the paddle so cranked it hard for this. Gav was out of the water about 1-2min clear of me and i followed onto the MTB up centre road and along the tops before dropping down the Buskin track and following along the bottom before coming up the road from sandfly bay. From here it was alog the road further and up the road to the Lovers Leap park which was the run transition, from here we ran around the headland before dropping down into sandfly bay and running along the beach. On the MTB and run is where i caught and passed 5 of the Duathlon competitors who had started ahead of us, this is always good for the spirits when you are feeling a little worn! Running along sandfly beach was tough as the wind was really strong and then up the dunes out of here and a touch climb back up ontho the top road before dropping down the Greenacres track to finish back at Mac Bay. A solid race which was tough, i never managed to catch Gav he was cranking well infront of me, I only got a Glimpse of him ahead of me coming up the hill from Sandfly bay. A solid finish in 2nd (even if there were only 2 doing our option, about 8min back on Gav i finished in just over 3 hours!! Great blast, next Peak to Peak in 2 weeks time.

Whare Flat MTB Duathlon - Race 4 WInter Series - June 15th 2008

I went and raced in the Whare Flat MTB duathlon yesterday along with 12 others. It was a cracker of a course. We started with a 4km run along a forest road and back along the "snake" MTB track and back to where we started to get on the mtb, I took off pretty quick on the run and established a bit of a lead and held this to the mtb transition. Onto the MTB and it was a quick balst up the forest road before dropping onto the "Snake" mtb tracka dn this is where the fun started, the track was greasy and windy with a few we surprise bumps and things in it, one trip over the handlebars early on in this for me and then another on some slippy clay (my mezcal semi slicks were not the best tyre choice for the day!) on the technical stuff i was passed by the second rider and lost a bit of ground to him, it wasn't until we started the climb back up longridge road i pushed hard and reeled him in and passed him to take the lead again, from here it was another nasty single track section which was steep and rutty I got passed again (my lack of technical skill and the fact my seat was a bit high for the steep drops didn't help) so I was off the MTB in 2nd place and onto the last run which was a repeat of the first run. Here was where i gave it heaps and established a lead before getting back onto the the single track, from here i hammered it and really ran hard to make a comfortable lead and managed to finish FIRST!!!!! with a 2min lead put into second!! I was pretty stoked to pull this one off.

Mac Bay Multisport Race - Race 3 WInter Series - May 25th

Well a few hard people (or completely crazy) headed out to Mac Bay yesterday in the wet miserable weather to race the Mac Bay Multisport and duathlon race. it was a 5km Kayak, 15km MTB, 5km Run. I had a solid paddle cranking along with Matty G until the end where he put 20-30 m into me coming out of the water so i was in 2nd onto the MTB and held close till top of Castlewood road hill by Larnachs Castle and then was caught and passed by Ray Hope so sat in 3rd for the rest of the race, coming down the paradise track was wet and greasy riding, I was taking it pretty easy and not too crazy down here due to the whole in my hip and skin still repairing from the race 2 weeks ago!! off the MTB and a good solid 5k run to finish 3rd. behind Matty G in First and Ray in 2nd.

3rd

Whare Flat Duathlon Race 2 in Winter Series - 10th May 2008

Well there was a real cracker of a mtb duathlon course i went and raced yesterday. It was out the bottom of Whare Flat/Swampy Summit Rd and involved a 2-3km run/crawl/slide through the bush which was a mud fest followed by a fantastic Mtb through some forestry single track also laced with mud and slippery roots etc, following this we ran the first run in reverse and slipped and slid all through this!! All the time it was wet and rainy!! I had a good race and led off the first run and onto the MTb Matty Graham established a lead early on, of which i chased hard but once onto the single track he made further gains on me. I was storming around the mtb tack on the verge of out of control at many times, near the end of the bike stage i came rocketing over some wooden bvoard walk, i didn't realise i was on this until i was sliding along on my side over this and then ended up off the boardwalk and into a tree - ouch!! - i have onle huge lump and open graze hol,e in my hip now with all the colours of the rainbow developing on it today!! so up and away again only to find my front tyre going flat, i thought it was only 1-2km ot the finish of this stage so i ploughed on up the gravel road out of the forest but it was further than i thought. I ended up having to stop to make a quick tyre change , while doing this i was passed and then had to chase hard onto the last run but couldn't quite make up the time lost from the puncture!! Finishing 3rd i was prett happy with this, Matty Graham Finished 1st, with another Matt 2nd and Myself 3rd. All oin all a great time out in the rain despite the crasha dn puncture!!

3rd

3 Peaks Runnign Race - Sunday 20th April 2008

I went and ran the 3 Peaks Race yesterday for the first time. A pretty cool course with some decent hills to sort things out amongst the field. I started at a pace i felt i could maintain and ran so i was able to run all the up hills and keep a steady and solid pace throughout the race. A good climb up onto the top of flagstaff to start and i was feeling good, along to Swampy and then down some pretty slippery stuff to get to where you cross the motorway and a climb up the hills onto the top of Mt Cargill (it was here i was feeling strong - a few leppins in the system by now and i charged up tho the top before the decent down through the Mt Cargill walkway and onto the finish at Chingford Park. Coming down off Mt CArgill i really wound it up and enjoyed the thrill of running down the track bordering on olut of control at places just hoping for solid foot strikes on the somewhat greasy track in places.

Anyway as a first go at this race i felt i ran strong and the runnung is feeling good at the moment. My goal was to go under 2hrs30min - i managed to achieve this coming in in 2hrs29min1sec!! this placed me 10th Open man and 17th Overall. Some of those dedicated runners are quick with the winning tim being 2hr4min!!

Anyway this is the link ot the full results,
http://www.leithharriers.com/ThreePeaks/ThreePeaksResults2008.html

Broad Bay Multisport Race - Race 1 Winter Series - April 13th 2008

Well i went out and raced the first of the winter multisport races yesterday at Broad Bay. I didn't actually realise they started this weekend but went out there for a blast. The race was a 5km paddle on the harbour which was liek glass so made for some pretty quick paddling, i cranked it up and can out of the boat first with about 1min on the next paddler and ontot he MTB for about 15-20km of gravel roads and then onto the run which was a good steep run over the hill and bush and then back down to Broad bay to finish there. I got caught ont eh bike and lost about 2min on the bike and never made this up on the run but was certainely trying, I finished 2nd about 3min behind 1st. Overall a good race and felt pretty strong especially in the boat. It certainly made me feel a little quicker when Dougal and Matty are away at the Traverse and not racing!!

2nd

Snapshot of Some Events June 2007 - May 2008

I am no longer recording my training on this site, i am now recording all of this on a site www.mapmyrun.com this site you can probably link to my training by searching andrewjsloan and it should come up. I will put photos on this site and race reports here still



Here is a video of some races from June 2007 through to May 2008

Monday 17th March - Goldrush Day 3 - Race

A fantastic 3 days of racing, i think i actually got quicker and stronger over the 3 days which seems crazy, had a real blast and looking forward to improving on some things and coming back next year. Overall i finished up 13th open man individual, pretty happy with this result.

full results from the goldrush can be found at www.goldrush.co.nz

Sunday 16th March - Goldrush Day 2 - Race

Goldrush Day 2... here soon

Saturday 15th March - Goldrush Day 1 - Race

Day ONe Goldrush... Here soon

Sunday 27th January - MTB Race - Otago Peninsula Challenge

Well a great morning for this race, the long course MTB covers 46km from Smails Beach in Dunedin out to the end of the harbour, covering some pretty amazing terrain and scenery(not that there was any time to look at the scenery!) There were about 180 riders lined up at the start for the long course mtb. I went inot this event in the mindset that i would just ride as hard as i could and see how i go. Well off at the start and pretty much into a good solid climb, legs were feeling great and i set into a solid pace and just pushed hard the whole way, som e enjoyable down hill sections followed a lot of the climbing. About 3/4 of the way through the couse i passed a man watching and he told me i was in the top ten!! so this gave me m ore energy to just keep hammering it. Well a really solid race pushing hard the whole way, all my hill rides are paying off. Came in in 2hrs31min and ws 7th really happy with this result.

MTB Race 7th, 2hrs 31min, 46km

Monday 7th January - Kayak

Took the UFO out into the surf at the beach for some skill prac and fun, only really paddling about in the broken white wash and some small waves, paddled along to Matanaka and back, side on to the breaking stuff is a good similarity to side on stuff in river wave trains, good for the balance and proproception.

Kayak 30min

Sunday 6th January - Cycle

Cycled Waikouaiti-Palmerston-Goodwood-Waikouaiti, legs feeling a little flat today especially on the hills, although still managed to push along a good pace and got around in ok tim e with av speed 31km/hr

Cycled 1hr12min