Trans-tasman Rivalry at Anzac Bay This ANZAC Weekend
This ANZAC weekend, multisport athletes from both New Zealand and Australia will be celebrating trans-Tasman camaraderie together in a different way than ever before at the Anaconda Adventure Race (AAR) in Waihi, New Zealand.
On Saturday 24th April more than 400 athletes will gather at Anzac Bay, Bowentown, Waihi for what Event Organiser, Aaron Carter, says is sure to be a very special inaugural event.
“We have been blown away by the interest in this event, from the local community in Waihi to the number of Australians who are coming over to race – it is going to a great day for supporters, the local Waihi community and of course competitors.”
Carter is predicting some tight racing at the front of the field.
“We are fortunate enough to not only have some Australian Multisport legends but some amazing New Zealand athletes on the start line as well.”
Among the New Zealand athletes is Olympic Silver Medalist – Ben Fouhy. He is part of a 4-person team made up of very accomplished, if not fairly diverse sports-people, including a world top-10 boardsailer, an accomplished multisport athlete and an ex-black cap.
Fouhy will be ‘in’ the water rather than ‘on top’ of the water for this event - completing the 1km swim leg. He will pass onto 2010 runner-up in the 2-day Coast to Coast, James Keugler. Ex-Black Cap, Mark Richardson, will complete the run-leg for the team and will be giving it everything to not let his elite team down! JP Tobin, National Boardsailing Champion and very accomplished mountain biker, will be completing the very scenic 26km mountain bike. Fouhy, Keugler, Richardson and Tobin will then all complete the 2km team run together, finishing outside the Cornish Pumphouse in Waihi township.
In the individual division experienced multisport athlete, Cam Durno (Taupo) will be leading the New Zealand charge and will be battling it out against Grant Suckling from Australia.
It will be a battle of home town advantage vs race experience between these two, while Durno will have the support of the locals behind him it is Suckling who has the experience of racing and winning an Anaconda race before, taking out last year’s event in Lorne, Western Australia.
Durno will be looking to build on his successful end to last year where he placed third in The Lake to Lighthouse and Motu Challenge events.
In the women’s field it will be 2010 Speight’s Coast to Coast runner-up, Louise Mark up against 3-time Anaconda Australia winner Kim Beckinsdale.
Beckinsdale is looking forward to coming down to challenge herself on the New Zealand terrain.
“I love the pristine beauty of NZ and have come over quite a few times to race here. I also want to be able to complete the whole series and am excited about going to a new area of NZ we haven’t seen before….”
She won’t have it all her own way though with Mark in great form at the moment and looking to build on her Coast to Coast result.
The event format includes; Swim 1.6km, Ocean paddle 14km, Trail run 13km, Mountain Bike 26km, Team Run 2km with competitors able to do the course as an individual doing all legs or a relay team of up to 4 people doing one leg each.
Carter commented that “The nature of the event means it is very popular with teams – so we were definitely expecting the majority of the field to come from teams from the North Island – however what has really surprised us is the number of teams from the South Island and also – once again from Australia.”
The AAR International Series has taken Australia by storm, and is an event where multisport meets adventure race. The format is such that its perfect for a challenging individual race or a great team challenge. There are five separate events from September though to May, including stops in the Gold Coast, Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the 2010 inaugural fixture in Waihi, NZ.
All Anaconda Adventure Races are well known for their quality courses, and the Waihi leg will be no exception.
The race starts at 9am at Anzac Bay, Bowentown on Saturday. Entries can be taken on line up until Thursday 22nd April at 6pm, and at the event base in Waihi on Friday. www.anacondaadventurerace.co.nz