Brisbane turned on a perfect day for Adventure Racing, as BlackHeart Events rolled into town for their first Adventure Sprint race to be held in the Sunshine state. Not a breath of wind, clear blue skies, and a fantastic crowd who are very enthusiastic and passionate about their adventure racing, added to a very memorable, action packed day. Racers started arriving early, some eager to get into focus and concentrate on their race, others keen to pick up tips for their first time around.
Kookaburra Park in Karana Downs provided a great venue to host the race with an abundance of facilities and shady trees, and it was through Kookaburra Park that teams commenced the race, with a short rogaining section to split teams before commencing the Leg 2 kayak stage. Teams darted around the park, some taking their time to take in the scenery around the pondage, some tentatively wading through knee-deep water while making their way between CP’s 4 & 5.
At TA1, the usual suspects Mountain Designs, followed closely by SCAR and SkirtSports Australia, checked in and then portaged their kayaks down to the waters edge to commence the 3km paddle down the river on the way to the stunning Venus Pool and Johnsons Rock.
SkirtSports Australia motored through the kayak section transitioning first at TA2, while Mountain Designs mistook a large paddock as the “small clearing” where CP 9 was located and dropped back to 4th.
Teams then had a short orienteering leg through the Venus Pool and Johnson’s Rock. CP 12, up a tree over the Venus Pool, led to a few cases of the leg wobbles, as one member of each team scrambled up the increasingly slippery trunk to retrieve the checkpoint, but all ended well with no teams reportedly taking a dip in the pool below. At the end of this leg, most teams elected to collect CP 15 on foot. Teams that opted for the alternative option returned to TA3 and then proceeded to collect CP 15 on kayak, before then paddling back up the Brisbane River to TA 4 and the Leg 5 bike ride.
As racers collected their bikes and headed out through the paths and trail network, team Mountain Designs regained first position, with team SCAR close on their tails. The mountain bike leg was a mix of urban and cross country MTB orienteering, taking in the back alleys and streets of picturesque Karana Downs.
On returning to the finish line, the first 20 teams had the option of completing the bonus course – a kayak and bike leg, involving some great trails. The leg turned up the heat for the more advanced teams, and this is where Mountain Designs put the pedal down and put the race beyond doubt.
First across the line were team Mountain Designs, taking out overall line honours and the Male category. Equal second in the Male Category were Team SCAR (succumbing to a wet map) and team Phoenix Adventure Spunks. In the Female Category, Team SkirtSports Australia blitzed the course, followed in second by Free Spirits, with team Adventure Angels in third. For the Premier Mixed Category, Black & Blue took finish honours, with Pirates in second, and Scream Powered in third.
Teams picked up prizes courtesy of our brilliant sponsors – BlackHeart.com.au, with Salomon, Rudy Project, BodyScience compression gear, Endura, and Merida, and Injinji Australia, with SpiBelt, Yankz laces, and Cramp Stop.
