Nelson women were to the fore at the Merrell Summer Challenge in Hakatere last weekend, with four teams from the region turning in standout performances across the three, six and long course events.
Team Dot Dot Dot, made up of three family members from Murchison Area School, won the three- hour schools’ category. For Ruby Hocking and cousins Maci and Payton Topping, it was a memorable first taste of major adventure racing. Fifteen year old Maci was thrilled with how they worked together.
“It was awesome. The kayak stage was pretty tough because we were into the wind the whole time, but it was so cool to cross the finish line with my sister and my cousin.”
The Off on a Tangent team of Courtney Gravett, Helen Jermy and Juliet Jones claimed the long course veteran title with an impressive time of 12 hours and 56 minutes. For experienced adventure racer Courtney, conditions made a huge difference.
“The weather was beautiful – it was sunny, but not too hot. We were also the first team to head out in the morning, so we avoided the wind on the kayak stage. The final bike stage back was amazing as well, as we had a tailwind the whole time.”
In the six hour challenge, the Loopy Llamas team of Amy Allan, Allison Silke and Jane Forbes placed second in the veterans category in 8.08. The self-described “crazy mums up for an adventure” were wary of the opening 5km kayak, but steadily gained ground during the cycle and run sections.
In the super veterans category, Sunny Daze teammates Marianne Nalder, Anne Aitchison and Lisa De Vris completed the medium course in 8.31 to finish fifth.
