As good as it gets!

Alina McMaster

Sydney Olympic Park was awash with yellow bibs as teams from the very novice to some of Australia’s best got their fix of adventure racing last Saturday 5 February. A sell out event with 101 teams of 3 running, riding, kayaking and navigating their way from checkpoint to checkpoint made the Sydney Olympic Park AROC Adventure the biggest adventure race ever held in the Southern Hemisphere.

After a mass start down Olympic Boulevard teams quickly separated as they picked up maps and stopped to work out a route to collect 100 points around Bicentennial Park before getting on their bikes and heading via some scenic checkpoints to the Sydney Olympic Park Wharf. Negotiating the River Cat wash teams paddled up Parramatta River to Kissing Point where they temporarily left their boats to collect a few more checkpoints on foot, a slide down the slippery dip, a climb up the rope tower and then back to their boats and paddle back to Sydney Olympic Park. There were a few wide eyed kids not knowing what to make of the veterans whooping as they went down the slide!

Back on the bikes and a quick ride to The Overflow where teams collected another map for a quiz on foot around the Sydney Olympic Park facilities. The event was getting exciting at this point as Team Crank looked like they might take it out leading into this last transition and in front of NSW Stingers who have been unbeatable over this season’s AROC events. But the NSW Stingers were too quick on the last run leg and came in first to continue their winning streak.

With a few questions to answer on this last leg about Olympic records and a bit of history, teams struggled to get their brains working as their breathing raced and hearts pumped but that is all part of the challenges of adventure racing. The Millie Chicks took the change of pace in their stride and were gaining after a slowish start but it was the Hoot-hers who managed to keep the lead and came in first in the all female category. The premier mixed category was won by Mille-Nalgene who came in third overall.

As for the other teams it was all fun and laughter as they enjoyed exploring the great sights around Sydney Olympic Park. The Daisy Chicks kept everyone entertained in their hoola skirts and lays and Jeff and the Sports Bras with their infectious fun took out the Julbo Sunglasses Happy Pants award. It really was a race for all with two 12 year olds teaming up with their dad for a family affair and racing those well into their 50’s. It was a good warm up for the AROC 24 Hour Urban Adventure to be held in Canberra in March.

Results
Premier Mixed
1st – Millie-Nalgene 2:40:30
2nd –Hardtale 2:46:55
3rd – Are We There Yet? 2:51:47

All Male
1st – NSW Stingers 2:30:30
2nd –Team Crank 2:32:52
3rd – RedHair 2:46:39

All Female
1st – Hoot-hers 3:02:18
2nd – Millie Chicks 3:03:51
3rd – The Tri-hards 4:23:43

For full results <<click here>>