Multisport Motu Challenge

 

The New Zealand Secondary Schools Multisport Championship was held at Lake Karapiro in the middle of the holidays.

 

I completed a 4km sprint kayak to quickly gain the lead and then transitioned over to Cameron Walker who proceeded with a battling 20km road cycle in the harsh stormy weather.

 

Due to a martialling error, our runner Josh Nyika was drafted in to the team two days beforehand to run 8km, instead of the actual 5km race. Despite this (and the demanding weather) he crossed the finish line first, gaining our team the national title.

 

Opotiki’s Motu Challenge was held the next weekend. This is the North Island’s premier mens and womens open multisport event, 2nd to the ‘Coast to Coast’. It attracts world class athletes from around the globe.

 

The 172km event was held in the worst conditions ever recorded, with 7 degree temperatures, gale- force winds, rain and sleet. Many competitors where not able to finish the race due to exhaustion and hypothermia. Others become stranded on river banks to the extent that extra safety crews and a helicopter were called in.

 

The race started in Opotiki with Jack Chapman completing a 65km mountain bike. 10km of it was upon sealed road with the other 55km on lose gravel track that climbed into the mountains against a snowy southerly. He recorded a staggering time of 2hr 32min and 58seconds, which was the 5th fastest time out of the entire field and gave us a 2min lead to the nearest college.

 

Stage 2 saw Asher Cook take on a 17.5km run. The run undulated over gravel roads and soft muddy bush track, where Asher recorded the 2nd fastest time overall of 1hr 11min and 36sec and provided a fast passed transition to cyclist Cameron Walker.

 

Cameron accomplished a 52km solo road cycle against icy gale-force winds, chasing the top leaders, only to concede 1min 47sec behind pair-working world top multisporter Richard Usher and a NZ representative road cyclist. The ride featured 15km of freezing head-win,d then a graduating climb to the summit of a hill, followed by a dangerous, wind-buffeted downhill descent on wet highway to the transition area. Cameron recorded the eighth fastest time of the entire field.

 

I completed the final multisport leg with a 27 km kayak on a flooded river, against the strongest and least predictable wind conditions of the race. Despite having been spun into several 360’s, I managed to finish the paddle successfully to take on the further 8km cycle and 3km run. I finished my leg time of 2hr 14min and 7sec. I was lucky enough to be joined by my fellow team mates crossing the finish line with a team time of 7hr 30min and 48sec, placing us first in the schools division by 31min as well as being the second four man team over-all to finish.

 

This is the first time HBHS has won these titles, making our school New Zealand’s dominant multisporting secondary school in 2009.

 

I would like to give special thanks to all my team mates in both teams, for enduring such a painful race and for their fantastic results, not just as a team but individually as well (and a special mention to Josh for being so fast).

 

I would also like to thank Mr Gavin Lannam for his countless contributions to the team and his on-going support and leadership in the code.