The Great Adventure Challenge::

by Stephen Johnston - Team Korn Ferry/Futurestep

After the coldest winter in 60 years and a soggy start to Spring it was the heat that took us all by surprise. By midday the temperature was nearing 30 degrees and there seemed no quantity of water or Powerade would offset the profusion of sweat. For the seven teams competing in the inaugural Great Adventure Challenge (GAC), a corporate team adventure race to raise money for the Starlight Foundation, it was to be a tough day out of the office.

Adventure racing is catching on – with the number of events increasing by more than 50% per anum it is Australia’s fastest growing sport. (Check out www.sleepmonsters.com.au for an idea of the events on offer). For the uninitiated adventure racing is triathlon in the wild – a multi sport endurance event that combines cross country running, mountain biking and kayaking with the navigation challenges of orienteering.

The 7 teams competing in the GAC gathered at day break at Waterfall oval for the pre race briefing. This is the first time we find out about the course itself and so the first challenge is to figure out the best route between the 24 check points and to assign team members specific legs of the event. (Each team has 8 members with 4 on the course at any time) It’s a hive of activity getting the team ready to race and we immediately understand what Gary the race organizer means when he says, "the fastest or fittest team don't always win in an adventure race" You have to know where you are going and who is doing what – get lost, miss a check point, lose your control card and you can lose a heap of time on the course.

I am not competing in the first leg - an 18 km undulating ride to the coast – so I hitch a ride with Tim one of our support crew and drive to the first transition point. Leg 2 is the “mystery challenge”, raft building with rope, inflatable tubes and wooden polls. Always a great test of teamwork the crafts created were variable in design, mostly sea worthy and all made it safely back to shore – some a little faster than others.

The next leg was long run along the coast to Bundeena. This was my first leg and I took off like a jack rabbit. Pretty soon though we started to climb from sea level to the top of the cliffs and the terrain became less stable, forcing us to slow and even walk at times. The cliff top is like a lunar landscape and at times the track simply disappears, causing us to lose valuable time literally running in circles trying to find a way thru the scrub. Finally we made it into the streets of Bundeena and with aching legs made it to the kayak transition. When all I wanted was a lie down I was thrust into a life jacket and plonked onto a kayak for a 10km paddle across Port Hacking. This was tough going as the wind blew up a sizable chop. There were two stretches where the shortest distance between 2 points meant jumping of the kayak and wading across sand bars ( scratch one pair of now waterlogged runners) At times finding the checkpoints can be tough and the clue for one of the locations on this leg was “ find the pink buoy”. Would have been a good clue if all the buoys weren’t pink! After approaching 6 we finally found the one we needed and then it was simply a matter of grinding it out into the wind and waves for the next 40 minutes until we reached land. We did well on the leg though and had over taken 2 other competitors to be in third place at the half way mark.

I was more than happy to pass the baton as my shoes were full of sand and my thighs were burning from being locked in an awkward position on the kayak for over 90 minutes.

This was a good chance for a rest and refuel – I could feel a headache coming on and knew I was not eating and drinking enough to keep me going for the whole event especially in the heat. I sat out the rowing leg and the long bike ride along picturesque Lady Carrington drive and felt strong enough to do the last leg – a 6 km mostly uphill run back to Waterfall. We took off at speed in pursuit of our nearest rivals who were only minutes ahead of us and set a cracking pass through the lush green undergrowth for about 2 kms, but when we started to climb on steep, uneven and loose terrain we were forced to walk out of sheer exhaustion and fear of turning an ankle.

When we finally emerged from the scrub and saw the 1 km sign to Waterfall I felt a mixture of relief and triumph. We bunched up and ran across the finish line together greeted by loud cheers and the smiling faces of our supporters. We had done it – a 70 km circumnavigation of the park in a little over 8 hours in oppressive heat. I pretty much collapsed in a heap and guzzled a cocktail of water, energy drinks and flat Coke before I even felt like talking to anyone, let alone celebrating our 3rd place "podium finish".

What an awesome day - participating in this event delivered on so many levels – it's a great personal fitness challenge, a genuine team builder and for a corporate leader and an opportunity to galvanize an organization behind a great cause. When we realized we had raised $50k for Starlight all the pain faded in a flash.

We’ll be back again next year.