November in Canberra is becoming fast renowned for its unsettled, variable and totally weird weather. For the past 3 years this event has been held on the Friday night and has been the brunt of torrential rain, mini tornadoes and lightening strikes. Setting up on the same evening between storms the organisers wondered if the new daytime schedule would attract the same demons.
Saturday morning brought the sun and everyone held their breath hoping it would last… And hold it did, with the exception of a wind that picked up late in the morning to give the back teams another challenge to contest in the final paddle.
Buoyed by the music pumping across the lake from the Foreshore Music Festival all the teams finished full of vigour, sweat and success.
For a change of pace the Classic Course was a little shorter than usual which meant some pretty fast work was needed for those top teams. Blackheart Ultrafit with a whole team of new blood, pulling in some expert mountain bikers and orienteers with Adrian Keough, Ben Ratray and David Simpfendorfer, set the speed and went on to win the overall and all male category. The Stingers with World Class and Australia’s best orienteer Julian Dent, were right on their heels. Felicity Brown’s legs must have been working overtime but it seemed she had no trouble in keeping up with Dent and fellow teammate Dave Meyer to finish first in the mixed category less than three minutes from the overall leaders. There was some sibling rivalry with Glenn Meyer and his team, the Sulphur-Crested Stingers (with Sebastian Dunne and Stephen Todkill) coming in third and second all male team just behind his brother Dave. Team Blackheart Salomon (Mark McDonald, Selina Stoute, Alex Ramsey) and Crank (Matthew de Belin, Matt Shields, Alison Curtin) finished respectively second and third in the mixed category. The Griffins (Simon Tuan, Chris Smith, Matt Pooley) came in 8th overall and third male.
It was tight racing in the all girls teams. Winners from the first race in the Paddy Pallin Adventure Race Series in Cattai National Park – The Bedraggled Berra Babes: Mace Neve, Kathy Dent, Kylie Breeze were narrowly beaten by another local team, Femme Fatale with Julie Quinn, Sam Reinhardt, Anne Napier. Team SportsCare (Cassie Carey, Karen Burton, Erica Collins) finished third.
On the Novice side, the event started one hour after the Classic one with a chilly swim across Molonglo Reach which saw some competitors take off their shoes in the hope of keeping them dry for the rest of the event: that hope was quickly shattered as more swimming and paddling ensued, leaving teams no other choice but to dive in the deep end, clothes, shoes and packs on! Two Roosters and A Chick (James Kerr, Cheryl Pearce, Brett Chaloher), who switched from the Classic Course to the Novice one the morning of the event came out on top arriving only minutes after the first Classic teams and taking out the overall win and first place in the mixed category. They were followed by Qantas Three Amigos (Ryan Baker, Micheal Armessen, Aron Everett), first placers in the male category and winner of the Corporate Challenge in front of the Fitness First Crunchers (David Browne, Rohen Burton, Rhys Brotherton) second male and second in the Corporate Challenge, and the Trevillian-Canberra Sand & Gravel (Jeanine Trevillian, Tom Trevillian, Sarah Trevillian) third corporate team. Only 3 seconds separated the overall second and third placers, Amanda Yellat (Kevin Miller, Celina Miller, Rachel Garbutt), second in the mixed category. The Dawson family (Graeme, Michele, Aidan) racing under the team name the MAGics rounded up the mixed category for the Novice course.
The Paddy Pallin Adventure Racing Series will resume in the new year with the last two events of the season: 14 February 2009 in Canberra and 18 April 2009 in Lake Macquarie, NSW.
