Although fierce competition was expected at The Nugget Multisport Festival held today in Waihi, nobody anticipated the gutsy win from comeback athlete Dwarne Farley.
Farley completed the 78km Full Nugget Solo in 4 hours and 12 minutes narrowly beating second place getter Rob Creasy by just two minutes. Farley's win is all the more incredible as the event is barely two years after an horrific collision with a motorcycle, while he was out running, left him with multiple fractures and a sense of a lucky escape.
Farley saw the motorbike hurtle towards him only in the last moments before impact and was able to leap to his left, sparing his life while sacrificing his right leg. Surgery to rebuild the shattered leg was followed by more than six months of intensive therapy. He began running again barely a year ago.
 First-placed male Dwarne Farley(Photo: The Nugget Multisport Festival; click to enlarge) |
"In 2013, the Nugget was my first race after the accident and I did it in a team. I picked it as I knew it was a great race from having competed in other years. The run is my highlight as this one gives you everything you could want – coastal trails, native bush and sandy bays," said Farley.
 Second-placed male Rob Creasy(Photo: The Nugget Multisport Festival; click to enlarge) |
The women's title was taken out convincingly by Nic Leary in a time of 4:30:57, some 45 minutes ahead of second place female, Julia Cree, and only 18 minutes behind the leading men.
The athletes road cycled, kayaked, ran and mountain biked their way from Waihi township, to Bowentown, though Waihi Beach, along the Orokawa Coastal trail and then back to central Waihi via private farmland and trails.
Farley considers the course to be very achievable, and said the well organised yet community feel event made it one of his not-to-be-missed events.
 First-placed female Nic Leary(Photo: The Nugget Multisport Festival; click to enlarge) |
Now in its fourth year, the Festival also includes the Half Nugget Duathlon (10 km coastal run / 23 km MTB / 2.2km run), and 5, 10 and 21.1 kilometre adventure run and walk events. All events finished at the Cornish Pumphouse in Waihi, beside the Martha's Mine.
The Half Nugget Duathlon individual male winner was Thomas Lynch-Watson in 2:20:23 with the fastest female, Joanne Chalmers, across the line in 2:56:41.
In the half marathon, tables were turned by the shock injury of race favourite and national ultra-distance runner, Kerry Suter. Suter was injured and withdrew from the event, just 3km into the coastal trail. His absence left opportunity for Kerry Goodhue to take the podium. Goodhue's time of 1:46:08 was just 4 seconds ahead of his rival and second place getter, Stefan Wagner.
Katy Dawson won the women's half marathon in a new race record of 1:55:47, with Orlaith Heron in second place in a time of 2:12:48.
Organised by Waihi charity Sport 'n' Action, funds raised will go toward a new sports facility for the little town, known as New Zealand's Heart of Gold. Race organiser, Mark Samson, said the event was going from strength to strength with close to 550 people pre-registered this year in individual and team events, almost 100 more than last year.
"Many events around New Zealand are shrinking, but the Nugget Multisport Festival just keeps growing in popularity. We're now attracting some of the biggest names in multisport and adventure running, many first timers and a bunch of regulars who keep coming back every year."
Samson puts the Festival's success down to the variety of events on offer, safe and achievable courses and the scenic location. He said that the half-marathon adventure run and Half Nugget duathlon had shown the greatest growth in entrants and said feedback from participants was that the scenery on the coastal route and private farmland was stunning. He also noted that Waihi is an easy place to get to and has much to offer as a holiday destination.
"We have great places to shop, eat and stay, loads of historical and outdoor activities, and the new Hauraki Rail Trail, which starts right in Waihi, has huge appeal for cyclists, runners and walkers of all ages," said Samson.
