Kaitangata Black Gold MTB Race - 13th Nov 2010

Kaitangata Black Gold MTB Race - A fantastic course - 45km Course, A solid effort put in and some of the best single tracks you can find to race on. Managed to push along pretty hard the whole way to finish 6th open man. A really enjoyable course!
Full results at http://www.kaitangatablackgold.co.nz

Kelly's Canter 17th October 2010

6th overall and a medal for the first local!!
Well the annual “Kelly’s Canter” running race in Palmerston was on the 17th of October. Having grown up in Palmerston as a youngster I have been up and down the hill more times than I can remember. The race is a bout a 4km course fro the main street up around the monument at the top and a fast and steep descent down the face to the finish down at the main street. This year prior to the start there was a bit of a rain shower so the green grass became pretty greasy. The race started and there is a pretty hot pace set from the start. I headed off in the front 4 and made my way up the paddocks to the start of the top steep section where I was passed by 2 others. Up around the top of the hill and down to the descent – I pulled out my speed weaponary at the top –my old motocross gloves, these are the key to sliding and jumping your way down the steep face over thistles, rocks and drops in the ground. I made up to 4th place on the descent through my out of control descent, great fun but a bit borderline on injuring myself, coming off this slope with a few nasty scrapes and bumps on the old back side! Anyway a fast blast down the paddocks to the finish I was overtaken again by the two guys who had got me on the top slopes. A pleasing blast up and down the hill and completely spent.

Andrew Sloan - Dunedin WInter Kayak Series Race 6 - 26th September - 2nd Fastest Individual

Well after having the 6th and final Kayak race of the Dunedin winter series postponed due to 140km/hr winds on the Otago Harbour, we had the final race on Sunday 26th September. The course was changed from the original course set to paddle the length of the harbour due to the tides. Anyway we started from Vauxhall Yacht Club and the course was down the Harbour channel, around Goat Island at Port Chalmers and then the return up the harbour to complete the 22.5km course.

Having raced and competed well in 4 of the previous 5 races (race 1-6th, race 2-6th, race 4-3rd, Race 5-10th) I had earned myself a rather large handicap start time for this race. I was to wait 54 minutes before heading off for my race. There was an outgoing tide and a slight tail wind so the paddle down the channel to Goat Island in my trusty UFO was pretty quick and good speed was maintained for the efforts put in. However once heading around Goat Island and starting the return back up the harbour the full force of the outgoing tide was felt, this combined with a really strong wind that had picked up on the way down made for one mission of a paddle back to the finish! I had managed to pull in a couple of paddlers and close the time gap up on the early starters. I was caught and passed by the 6 Man Waka Ama boat and Daniel on his ski who started behind me on the return leg. I kept a solid paddle stroke and tried to maintain a good chase but by the time I reached the finish I was completely spent and had given this last race all that I had. I finished with the 2nd fastest individual time for the day in 2hr 22min. (The Waka 6 and a Waka 2 had some solid times ahead of me along with Daniel on his surf ski). All in all a great winter series and one that has some quality paddlers turning up making for some great winter racing. The overall series results worked on a points system and too your best 4 races, this put me 4th (I think I just missed on 3rd) overall in the series points system, a result I am stoked with. No photos from the race on Sunday but my Son Oscar (11months) was more than keen to help/play when I was rinsing my boat at home after the race.

Race 5 Dunedin Winter Kayak Series - Henly-Taieri Mouth 17km

Well race 5 of the winter series was on Sunday 15th August and the competition seems to get a bit tougher and closer each race. This race doubled as the Otago K1 Marathon race series so there were a few extra fast paddlers there in their K1s on the start line. This race used a handicap starting system. Having done well in the previous races in the series coming in 1st multisport boat in each of them I had earned myself a 34 minute handicap delay on the starting paddlers. I would have liked to be in one of the earlier handicap time groups with the other multisport boats but found myselfthe only multisport boat lined up in my UFO alongside all other K1s - It was always going to be a tough call to stick with them but I hammered the best I could in a hope to reel in some of the earlier starters throughout the course of the paddle. It was slack water on high tide at the start but by the time we turned under the bridge at Taieri Mouth to race back up through the gorge the tide was flowing out and the use of eddies and river currents proved decisive. The handicapping system made for an exciting finish catching many boats towards the end, competing for line honours. Being on the 34min handicap I had to work hard to make up ground on the paddlers before me and try to minimise my losses to the K1s. I finished up 2nd Multisport Paddler and had the 10th Fastest time of the day to all the K1s and the 1 other multisport paddler who held out 2 minutes on me. A great blast and a good way to keep things honest over the winter months in the kayak! full results can be viewed at http://www.kayakotago.org/events/calendar.html

Race 4 Dunedin Winter Kayak Series Sunday 18th July

Henley to John Bully Gully and return – 13km
Well after missing race 3 of the series I was back to try and hold onto the good finishes I had had in the first 2 races of the series. My goal has been to be the first multisport boat paddler in my trusty UFO finished in each race while staying as close to and getting in front of as many K1 paddlers as possible. Races 1 & 2 saw me achieve this and finishing amongst the K1’s and Surf club ski paddlers in 5th and 6th respectively.
Raced 4 had a slight course change at the last minute due to a Jet boat race on the same waterways, after some discussions with the Jet Boat racers a course was decided that would see us all avoid each other out on the river, which is good because a massively powerful V8 jet boat is going to win over a thin piece of paddle powered carbon any day!
The race was a mass start and as always I like to get a solid break on other boats from the start before settling into a good rhythm for the rest of the race. We were off and I found my self doing a bit of wash hanging on 2 K1’s and we had one in the distance that we were never going to be able to catch. So I hung tight with the 2 K1 paddlers and worked at almost maximal effort to stay on their tails all the way down to the turn point – my paddle was hammering a solid cadence all the way and feeling pretty good. A the turn point we had to exit our boats and run up and around a picnic table on the river side before getting back in our boats and heading back to the finish. I had a bit of a slip running up the grass and a slow transition here so missed the 2 boats I had been paddling with.
Heading back I could see that we had built a good comfortable lead on the chasing 23 odd paddlers behind us. I worked hard to keep up a good paddle turn over and most of all good technique. As the fatigue of working at almost maximal effort sets in sometimes techniques drops and with this speed drops too, so well aware of this I kept good technique focus on my stroke for the return leg.
Heading back in the distance I heard the roar of about 20 jet boat engines and could see a big group of rooster tails coming from boats heading my way, I glanced to my left and saw a buoy in the water and suddenly clicked that the buoy would be the turning point for the jet boat race. My heart rate stepped into overdrive along with my boat speed – I had a vision of 20 jet boats mowing me down and that being the end!! The boat drivers are very skills and alert and zoomed down and around the buoy and back up the river while I was in the middle of the river they zoomed past and made some good chop, but all was safe, I hammered it out to the finish from here to finish 4th in a time of 1hr9min, 2min off 2nd and 3rd. A good paddle, the next race of the series has a handicap start system so I will need to work hard there as good finish places mean longer handicap times at the start. Anyway a good blast for a mid winters morning.

Race 5 Dunedin Winter Multisport Series 27th June

A great race out at Macandrew Bay. A solid Kayak saw me finish the 10km paddle in 3rd place and then onto a solid MTB up and over the peninsula hills and onto the final 10km run from Lovers Leap down through Sandfly Bay and back up over the Harbour hills and down to Mac Bay to finish. I lost 3 spots on the MTB to end up finishing 6th in a time of 3hrs 11min, a good sold race.

Race 4 Winter Multipsort/Duathlon Series, 3 Mile Hill Sunday 13th June

I had another good race at Race 4 of the winter series on Sunday up on 3 mile hill around the snakes and ladders track and near by - 2 superman style crashes and one tree hit - no breakages though. The race was made up of a 3-4km run, followed by the relatively challenging MTB of about 15-20km followed by a repaet of the first run to finish. A good race finishing 5th. The next and final race is at Macandrew Bay on Sunday 27th June.

Macandrew bay Multisport Race - Dunedin Winter series Race #3 Sunday 30th May

Went out and raced in the third race of the multisport series. After having to take the high road to Mac Bay because of some trees and slips along portobello road we were given a perfect mornign for a race!

Off in the Kayak I hammered it as hard as I could knowing that the kayak my lead will be eaten up on the MTB. I lead the Kayak down to the turn around and then hung tight wiht the first paddler Norman Dunroy and had Matty Graham and Jim Cotter hot on my tail. It was out of the Kayak and onto the MTB this is where Jim and Matty got away on me. It was a good grind up the road to Larnachs Castle and along to the Paradise track which was a quick and slippery descent before a good climb back up to Highcliff Rd and a slippery descent down the Greenacres Track into Mac Bay for the final 5km run to finish. all in all a good honest course and lots of fun and challenge on the MTB in the mud! I finished up 4th overall, so happy with that.

Dunedin Winter Kayak Series Race 2 - Careys Bay Sunday 23rd May

I went out and raced in the 2nd of the Kayak series races yesterday at Careys Bay set over an 11km course. I have been feeling pretty good about my Kayaking lately and had a solid paddle yesterday with my trusty JKK UFO slipping through the water nicely. There were 41 Kayaks in the race and it set off at a pretty hot pace. My goal has been to get amongst the surf club paddlers in the K1s & Skis and keep with them. The pace that they set is pretty quick. Yesterday there were a group of 5 paddlers that established an early lead and held their distance form the followers. I was leading the following group for the most of the way until I really lit things up and managed to pull away a bit and hold that while trying to close in on the front group. It was me and Brendan O'Neill (paddling a K1) chasing hard on the front paddlers. we were never going to cathc them but held a solid pace keeping the gap to the boats behind us getting bigger. In the end it came down to a sprint to the finish line between Brendan and I, only to be pipped by a boat length at the finish by him. I finished 7th overall, I was really stoked with the race and felt the Kayak was slipping through the water real good. Next race of this series in 4 weeks so I'll keep working on things for more gains in that.

Race 2 - Winter Multisport/Duathlon Series Whare Flat Sunday 16th May

I went and raced at the 2nd Race of the winter series Today. The course was a blast out around Whare Flat where we ran and biked around parts of the Racemans Track and other bits of forest track. Just like the first race for the series there was another good turn out of people there keen for a good blast.

We started with a quick 3ish km run through some up and down tracks - I was hanging on to a hot pace being set by Matty G for the most of the run and just dropped of the pace and was passed by Gav, Jim Cotter and Kashi Leuchs just at the end of the run, this was how it would stay. Onto the MTb and it was a bit of a grind up the road and into the forest before the soingle track fun - slipping and spiinning through the tracks was fun but quite challenging with muddy slippery tree routes - IO managed to sty on the bike and in control for most of the ride. COming off the ride it was another loop of the first run to the finish. I had a great blast, finishing up 5th behind Kashi Leuchs, Jim Cotter, Gav Mason and Matty G in that order. Kashi and Jim had a massive lead after the MTB and were flying!

Anyway great fun on a good course, and feelimng pretty fit and strong at the moment. Next race is in 2 weeks and next weekend the 2nd of the winter Kayak races at Carey Bay.

Dunedin Winter Multisport Series - Race 1 - Broad Bay Sunday 2nd May

A fantatic turnout of people for the 1st race for the series yesterday was good to see. There must have been about 30 Kayakers lined up on the start for the race which consisted of a 5km Kayak/15km MTB/5km Run and there was also a duathlon race alongside this also.
The Kayak was on glass like water and we were all off at a pretty solid pace. I was working hard to stay with the front paddlers which consisted of mainly K1 Paddlers and 2 other multisport boats. we blasted through the paddle and I came off the paddle in 4th place for the individuals and set into hammering it on te MTb as I had 2 of the three people infront of me in sight but couldn't quite reel them in. On the first hill climb o fthe MTB I had Matty G pass me and slowly fade into the distance as he peddalled a solid ride. I t was off the MTb and onto the run which was a great offroad scramble and dash up through some bush and farmland before crossing over the top at Highcliff road and down to the finish in Broad Bay. A fantastic race and i felt happy with the result of 5th in the end. These races are a great way to get some good speed and keep you working hard all the way. Next race is 2 weeks away.

Dunedin Winter Kayak Race Series - Race 1 - Vaxuhall 10km/Otago 10km Champs Sunday 25th April 2010

(Photo - I'm the 2nd White Boat at left of picture behind K1)
I went along to the first of the winter Kayak Series races last sunday and had a good paddle. There was a turn out of 39 boats which was good to see and i guess future races will get even more as the weather was pretty windy. So after a good 40km spin out to Portobello on the road bike prior to the race it was into theKayak race. It was a 10km course that ended up being 4 laps of a 2.5km circuit as the wind was quite strong on the harbour - I enjoy the rougher stuff as it sorts out the paddlers and slows the K1 padders down a little. The race was prett quickly paced with a good turn out of the surf club paddlers. I stuck with the front bunch of them for the first 2 and a half laps and then dropped back a bit. I ended up finishing 7th overall and was the first multisport boat which I was happy about coming in behind 3 K1 paddlers and 3 surf skis,all surf club paddlers who are strong as!
Next weekend is the first of the local winter multisport races with the first one being out at Broad Bay - a good series to keep you honest over winter and have some fun,

Goldrush Multisport Race 2010 - March 20-22

Well this year’s Goldrush was going to be no easier than any other year. The stunning yet challenging terrain stays unchanged waiting with the weather to deal to competitors in the 3 day 375km race consisting of Kayaking, Mountain biking, Running and Cycling.
This year’s Goldrush was my 2nd time competing as an individual and 4th time in total. After completing it as an individual in 2008 and having to miss it last year I was back and keen to have another challenging weekend. This year’s Goldrush training has been based around balance – Balancing a good family life with Cherie and Oscar(who is just 5months old now) and making sure I fitted in enough training to get by and feel happy with my efforts and performance but not wanting to let it take over other priorities in life. Life is a busy time these days and time is a valuable resource!
This year the numbers at Goldrush were down a little on my previous years at the event. There were 103 teams and 17 individuals, There was definitely a good depth of talent in the reduced field and still a great atmosphere amongst competitors and supporters.

Day 1 – Started with eh 30km Kayak to Roxburgh Dam – A good solid paddle and once I was on the water I set into a solid paddle stroke and made good time on the way down to Roxburgh – Coming into Roxburgh Dam in Just under 2 and a half hours and having the 19th fastest paddle overall I was happy with this. Onto the MTB and it was a solid grind up over the Knobby Range into a pretty stiff and relentless head wind through top the summit before a quick descent into Little Valley coming off the MTB in around 2hrs4omin and then onto Stage 3 and the final stage for Day 1 – the Run.

A good Honest 18km run up over some good sized hills to the Upper Manorburn Dam area. I had kept the run in my mind throughout the MTB and not wanted to be completely cooked for the run. Onto the run I made my way to the top of the first big hill climb before it levels off a bit and then set a good pace to get through the run in just on 2hrs. All in all it was a solid Day 1 finishing In 5th place of Open men’s, this was the place I would hold for the duration of the race. After a good feed and a massage we headed back to Alex for the luxury option of showers and beds at a friends place.
Day 2 – After a good sleep it was an early rise and off out to the start line for Day 2. The first stage was a MTB ride thought what I think is some of the best scenery of the whole race – 10minutes into the ride I felt a solid hit to the rim on the back wheel from a rock – yes sure enough it was hard enough to puncture my rear tyre, so I guess it was a 10minute loss on time here fixing this and losing sight of the guy in 4th place who I was hoping to stick close to for Day 2, anyway nothing much you can do here other than stay cool , fix it up and carry on happily! Off the MTB in around 2hrs 30 and onto the road bike for a Quick Spin down the road to the start of Stage 3 the Rail Trail Run.

The Road cycle for me is a good time to spin out the legs and load some food into the system before the run and last MTB stage of the day. Onto the Rail trail Run and feeling good on the legs running – set into a good pace running with a team runner and knocked the 15km run out in 1hr15min which felt good.

It was now time for the crux of the Day – the 58km MTB through Thompsons Gorge to Tarras. This is a tough stage for all, especially Individual Competitors as it is at the end of a big biking day, has a pretty solid and steep climb and this year like most others we had a strong westerly head wind. Mental toughness comes into play here big time and keeping positive and just chipping away at it worked for me, It didn’t make the stage any easier though! Coming into Tarras after a 3hr20min ride and a total day time of just on 8 hours I was pretty exhausted! Another good feed, massage and back to the luxury of showers and bed along with some more tasty treats and food in Alexandra and it was rest up time for Day 3!!

Day 3 – Well day three arrived and it is always a little harder to get up and into it each day. After a pretty solid thunder storm and rain it stopped and began to clear for the early start in Tarras. The first stage was a Road cycle up to Albert Town via Hawea Flat – We started in waves like every other Day - Today our wave took off like we were in a sprint finish of a race – needless to say me and a couple of others were quickly dropped from the impressive speed that Dougal Allan and Gav Mason were setting today just like all other days! After the Cycle it was into the Kayak for the 40km paddle down the Clutha River – Paddling is something I enjoy and is a relative strength compared to other disciplines. However my Kayak training has mainly consisted of paddles on the Waikouaiti river and a few splashes in the surf in the race boat for some simulated rough. It had been 2 years since heading down the Clutha, I remembered the river well having paddled it a lot in the past and really enjoyed blasting down the river through the occasional bouncy rapid and made a good solid paddle of this coming off the river in just on 2hrs30min. A quick transition into the running shoes for a short run up the my road bike before heading down the road from Tarras to Clyde. I was onto the bike and feeling good with the though of the end getting closer. You wouldn’t believe it though – Good tyres, correct pressure… another puncture – a small sharp stone had worked it’s was through to puncture the tyre – oh well another 10minute delay in quickly changing this before getting away and making my way to Clyde for the last stage of the run. I got off my bike and onto the run to give it all I had left to blast to the finish in the 13km run. I was working as hard as I could here and managed to pass 13 other runners – of which most were teams – this was good for the mind and motivation at this stage of the race, I was completed the run in just on 1hr and that was the end of Goldrush 2010 – A solid 3 days of competing in a great area. Overall finishing 5th Open Man and around 60th form the 120 teams and individuals I was happy with my achievement and the fact my body handled the demanding physical challenges! A little slower overall from my last Goldrush in 22hr30min – I put this down to some of the winds and maybe puncture time. Overall though a great race!! Back again for more at some stage!

Rail Trail Duatlon 27-28th Feb 2010

A great weekend of racing. Day one consisted of 8km run/37km MTB/11km run/35km MTB - I had a great day and held a solid speed all the way through the 4 stages. The runs were pretty quickly paced and the time on the MTB was also good - got moving along doing some good laps with a few others at stages of the bikes unitl I or them dropped off - Day one finsihed with me in 4th Place and in 4hr12min.

Day 2 started with an 8km run which i knocked out in 29min!!! we were flying and then it was onto the MTB for 42km of pumping the pedals and keeping things moving along before the last stage of the race which was a 9km run - feeling ok here I used what energy I had left to finish as stong as I could. I finished day 2 in 4th place again after spending much of th ride today with the 2nd placed individual, but there was a 12min time gap i was never going to be able to close on him on day 2.

So overall a good race, I was placed 4th Individual and overlall from the teams as well i ended up around 20th which is always quite satisfying beating lots of teams!! It had been 2 years since I did this race and I took 35min off my time!! A very competitive field this year made for some good hard racing. Things are shaping up well for the Goldrush on 20-22nd March which is my next race and one of the biggies for the season.

Otago Peninsula Challenge 31st Jan 2010

A good blast out on some fantastic tracks and terrain. Lots of good grunty hills to sort things out and some slippery descents also! I finished up 12th Open man and 22nd over all from 168 riders so happy with this performance. Ride time of 2hrs 42min

Lake Wanaka Half Ironman January 16th 2010

We headed up to Wanaka on the Thursday morning, Had a swim in the lake on Thursday arvo - was a reasonably chilly 13.7 degrees, but once your forehead went numb the swimming was ok! So 8.15 am on the Saturday morning the individuals started - a deep water start with 235 swimmers, I got into a comfortable stroke and the swim went well, coming out of the water in 37min which i was happy and actually enjoyed the swim in the clear waters considering the swimming is not my strongest skill. A bit of a slow transition from swim to bike ( I almost left transition without my race number on me so had to dash back and get that) Onto the bike and it was a good honest 90km ride out past Glendhu Bay and then back through Wanaka and down to Tarras before cutting back up around lake Hawea and then back to Wanaka - A good spin on the bike, my goal was to stick to 30km/hr and do a 3hr ride, I managed to stick pretty close to this and take on fluids and food for the upcoming 21km half marathon run off the bike. I came off the bike in 3hrs5min and got onto the run and established my legs and a pace that felt good to keep up for the 21km without cooking up. By the time we were onto the run things were getting pretty warm, with the temperature being around the 30degree mark, so I worked my way through the run feeling not to bad and pushing it along as good as the body would let me. The finishing chute and main street of Wanaka was a buzz of people and a great atmosphere to finish to. I ran 1hr51min for the run, which was ok for a hot day and a rolling course after the bike. So total time was 5hrs42min, putting me 34th in my age group and 81st overall individual. So back again next year...maybe double the distance and try the full distance.. will have to see.

Lake Dunstan Triathlon 2nd Jan 2010

to come

Lake Hayes Triathlon 27th December 2009

To COme