Guy Andrews wins Adventurethon Coffs harbour 2015
Wow, what a day. Adventurethon Coffs harbour 2015 kicked off with Raidlight Ultra Adventurethon, Stellar kayaks Enduros heading out on their respective paddles and Aon Dirty Duathlon heading out on their first run, all athletes thankful that the blustery, rainy conditions from earlier in the week had dissipated and the pleasant Coffs Harbour temperatures provided perfect racing conditions.
We knew it would be a close contest among the top end of the field in the Raidlight Ultra, but as the day unfolded it got more and more thrilling.
Guy Andrews came in first off the paddle and hit the trails running. James Pretto made up most of the 4 minutes lead Guy had after the paddle, entering transition only moments after Guy left. And the race was on. Guy Andrews, who says he is in the best shape of the last 15 years, was not going to let this happen easy.
David Whitney, having stepped up from previously doing Enduro challenged the male field at every turn. With fastest run and ride times, he made up time on the other two men. But neither Dave, nor James were able to catch Guy, who in the end finished in 4:04:16 (over 13 minutes ahead of James Pretto).
The women’s field in the Raidlight Ultra were just as thrilling as we had predicted. First we were met with a shock exit of local favourite Karron Masson, suffering broken ribs from an injury earlier in the week. Karen was gutted, as she had been training hard towards the event, and with local knowledge of the trails, Karen was pipped as the favourite to win the Women’s field. Being a good sport though, she still got out on the trails to cheer on the other competitors and will be back again before she knows it.
The top 4 women didn’t waste time either, finishing in some very respectable times. This has to have been one of the most exciting women’s field we have seen, and we hope the start of many more, as women realise they have just as much to offer the sport as men. Bren Turner was first woman in off the paddle, followed not long after by Andrea Peebles, Christie Sim and Darlene Cheney.
After the first run Andrea had made up some time on Bren, and now had a mission, to see what she could do. Andrea was able to claw back time from Bren in the ride leg, and both women came into transition at the same time. When Bren headed out of transition very quickly, Andrea raced out after her, and the last 6km run home became very exciting. Meanwhile Darlene and Christie were still pushing away, showing exactly how awesome women are.
Andrea finished first in a time of 5:17:19, less than 3 minutes faster than Bren Turner (2nd) & Darlene Cheney (3rd).
The Stellar Kayaks Enduros and AON Dirty Duathlons all put in brilliant effort and we love hearing the stories that come afterwards. The full race report is still to come after Sunday’s events, with all the wrap up of Enduros, Duathlons, Taste of Adventurethon and Junior Adventurethon.
Next Adventurethon event is Adventurethon Anglesea (along the Surfcoast of Victoria) December 5 & 6, 2015. More information at www.adventurethon.com.au
Sunday’s events include Taste of Adventurethon and the Junior Adventurethon – all kicking off at 9am. Come down and check it out at the North Wall grasslands.