The first 5km kayak start with a hot pace driven by a number of K1 paddlers keen to push the pace. Having done every limited paddle training this year meant that I was red lining the whole way. Thanks to my new Sission Evolution Omega I was able to limit my losses to the top paddlers to 2 minutes.
On to the MTB stage I worked my way through the field from 7th out of the water to 5th going into the run. Once into the brutal off road run my Salomon Speed Crosses came into their own on the steep greasy slopes. Over the 5km run to the finish I managed to reel in 4th and 3rd place to finish in 3rd place. 
With a bit of drizzle, a light wind and a little sun from time to time the conditions for the R&R Sport Otago Peninsula Challenge were great. The breath taking scenery on this course is defiantly a highlight and there were a few times when I got up close and personal with the scenery during a few crashes on the fast greasy grass down hills.
Taking in just about every steep hill possible the course is a tough one. A gun field assembled on the start line and the pace was hot from the start. 
It has been a big learning curve entering the world of mountain biking and this race was no exception. It had rained a lot in the week leading into the race and all of the practice rides I had done around the track that week had ended up with me on my arse or in the bushes struggling to ride the wet slippery conditions. The boys at R&R Sport bike work shop set me up with some good mud tires for the conditions and a bit of advice that would turn out to be a massive help come race day. 
Luckily the track had dried out a bit come race day which made things a bit easier. I was racing in the senior age group category and our race consisted of 4 laps which took in the best bits of Bethuns Gully and Forester Park. 
A fast start saw everyone tearing off the start line. I worked hard to hold onto the front rider during the first 10minutes. As we entered the technical single track for the first time I could tell I was riding better than he was. At some stage he popped his cleat due to messing up a technical corner and I got past him into the lead. For the remainder 2/3rds of the lap I didn’t look back and rode hard through the technical descents.
It was great to hear that I was 45 seconds up on second place by the end of the first lap and I used this to fuel my effort. For the next 3 laps I set to work riding as hard as I could, focusing on good lines, pushing the up hills and keeping my energy levels topped with Leppin Squeezes every 20min. I rolled across the finish in 1st place in a time of 1hour52min, I had won the senior grade by 5 min which I was stoked about. I came across this old video of me cycling in the lead up to the 2008 Coast to Coast Longest day. This was coming to the end of a 2hour tempo ride home following the 33km Crouses Crossing mnt run on the West Coast. My old aero bars and Giant OCR3 road bike bring back some great memories.
The new Nissan Pulsar load up ready to go
Working hard on one of the climbs
All set to go
The course started with some fast walking tracks around the edge of a lake before gradually climbing. Part way up the first climb there were two tight little rock sections were you had to have a bit of momentum and hit the right line, they weren't to hard but they kept you on your toes. A final steep pinch followed before a straight line grassy descent on to an old rail trail. A straight run up the rail trail then it was across a small creek and on to some very nice flowing single track. Another steep climb took us up to another section of single track that was a bit rougher than the previous section but a lot of fun. Following this the course went through a rough bumpy paddock that shock me to pieces by the end of the race. Luckily it was not much longer than 500m as it was very taxing on the body. The final section of the course included a final steep climb then in to a rooty descent through some pine trees to the finish. All in all 8.8km per lap, how hard can it be...........
When the hooter went at mid day everyone raced off at a great rate of knots. I found myself riding with Milan Brodina who is an athlete that I coach and was also doing the 12 hour solo. For the first 5hours or so we rode together changing the lead back and forth. Around the 5 hour mark Milan was riding very strongly and started to pull away from me. I set to work keeping my pace steady as I felt myself slowly starting to go into a low spot. With a quick stop in the pits to clean my chain and stretch my lower back that was getting quite sore I came out of my low spot and my lap time started to pick up. I focused on riding smoothly, keeping the fuel going in. I started to make up time on Milan who had put a bit of a gap on me and was ahead in second place.
Coming through the pits early on in the day
Riding hard out on one of the single track sections
Out in the darkness
Coming into the finish
I reached the end of my 25th lap at 11.48pm in 3rd place and that was the end of that. 220km on the bike, 10 Leppin Squeezes, 6 bottles of Leppin Enduro Booster, 6 bottles of water, 3 bananas, 2 croissants, 2 ham and avocado buns, 6 mini rice balls, 4 mince savories, a couple of handfuls of lollies and some chips. I had unbelievably sore hands, wrists, shoulders, back, feet and not to mention my legs were a little tired. I slowly hobbled off my trusty steed, crawled into my sleeping bag and pasted out.
I had come to Timaru looking for a challenge and that is exactly what I got. Over the past 12hours I had been mentally and physically pushed and I loved every minute of it. So much so I am going to focus on getting to Rotarua at the beginning of 2010 for the 24hour N-Duro and/or the 24hour Moonride.
