Long time Queenstown adventure racer Baz Smith made his debut in the Trustpower Adventure Quest in Queenstown on Saturday teaming with multisporter Willy Roberts to win the 2010 open adventure title.
The pair managed to head off the pre-race favourites, the Queenstown R&R Sports team of Mark Williams and Matt Woods, by just one point to win the event with 46 points.
Race Director Geoff Hunt says the 50 competitors, made up of serious racers and social competitors faced very hot conditions on the course which took them from Queenstown Bay to Bob's Cove and back by bike, and on foot from the One Mile on to the Fernhill Loop and the Ben Lomond Track.
"The Quest is a mini sporting adventure race requiring teamwork, clue solving and orienteering and teams have to report in to headquarters within a six hour time frame or they lose points. Everyone in the field managed to make the cut off this year."
Teams entering the One Mile Creek Reserve
(Photo: Southern Traverse; click to enlarge) |
"We have had great feedback about the course and competitors liked being based back in the central Queenstown area. Several teams took the hard route and checked out clues at the highest point on the Ben Lomond track above the Skyline gondola."
Roberts has competed in three previous Adventure Quests but Smith says it was a first for him. "It was great, something different, I really enjoyed it."
Williams says he and Woods had a good race but admitted to "missing quite a few clues along the way."
The Women's Social section was won by the Just for Fun team of Colleen Thompson and Taryn Perry (Queenstown) who tied on 23 points with Robyn Metcalfe and Jodie Burton (Queenstown) but claimed the title by completing the course in a shorter time. Metcalfe has competed in each Trustpower Adventure Quest since the event began eight years ago.
The Queenstown based Remarkables Physio team of Melissa Davidson and Simon Smith won the Social Mixed Section also tying on 23 points with the second placed Jay Jays team of John Meegan and Julie Smith (Queenstown).
The Open Social section winner was team Big and Small made up of Dan Roberts of Queenstown and his eight-year-old son Kier who attends Arrowtown school and was the youngest competitor in the field.
"Kier pretty much found most of the clues for us," says Dan. "We had a great time."
The team of Jean Lee and Lucy Williams (Queenstown) under the banner of Mother-in-Law's Revenge took out the Women's Adventure category scoring 32 points ahead of Team Jo and Jules, made up of Jodie Currie and Julia Hegar, (Queenstown) on 27 points.
Brendon McDermott and Laura Callahan of Share the Road (Invercargill) won the Open Mixed category with 33 points.
The youngest female, nine-year-old Imogen Blance of Terrace School in Alexandra returned for the second consecutive year to race with her father Geoff Blance, after competing for the first time last year with her mother Denise Thorne.
"it was a real family affair this year," says Hunt, " with Denise competing this time with their 14-year-old daughter Morgan. This is the great thing about this event, anyone of any age can take part and compete at their own level. It's a very relaxed social competition and people can go as fast or as slow as they like."
