Mark Webber Challenge - Day 5 Celebration - Team Rexona No Quit

The Mark Webber Challenge 2012 is over.

Still on a cloud since crossing the finish line, it is hard to come down, clean and pack everything within a few hours before the evening celebration and a 10am flight the next day.  The evening celebration at the Henry Jones Hotel is just fantastic. Great to chill with everyone, watch the pictures of the event, the promotional videos and relax and chat with everyone and get to know them a little bit more. In hindsight, I did not eat or drink much during the event as I was too busy talking with people.  

After a speech from Mark Webber and the race directors, it is time to hand out the trophies to the winning teams.

The first team called was the third team in the Enthusiast category, and what a pleasure to hear our team name: Rexona “No Quit”! We all get these beautiful awards made in Tasmanian wood and are congratulated by Mark Webber who also said a few words in French for Eric and I.

Team Rexona No Quit (Eric, Glenn and Christophe) with Mark Webber

What a fabulous race. What a fabulous place. We had such an amazing time in Tasmania and enjoyed every single moment of it. Looking back, it was such a unique and magical opportunity to race through the most beautiful and wild parts of Tasmania.

We felt privileged to do that and race among the who’s who of sport athletes and adventure race world champions. We lived up to our team name, gave everything we got and I want to acknowledge Glenn and Eric for being amazing team mates. Thanks to Rexona for sponsoring us to do the Mark Webber Challenge 2012. We are definitely keen to do another podium next year and show some more No Quit attitude! 

Check the one pager article about team Rexona No Quit in the newspaper:

Copyright Mosman Daily

Team Rexona No Quit Wrap Up video at Sydney airport

As Eric and Glenn put it: “this week is the highlight of my year”, “the Mark Webber Challenge was just an amazing experience”.

  

Mark Webber Challenge - Day 5 - Team Rexona No Quit

Day 5: Hobart

Last day of the Mark Webber Challenge 2012. Feels like we have been racing for an eternity. After several days spent in the wilderness and a gorgeous day 4 around binalong bay, we are now back in the civilisation. Our team, Rexona No Quit, is back in third position by not much. Today will be the decider. Crossing all our fingers and toes.  

The day starts at the top of Mt Wellington, where competitors will have to run around the car park, before jumping on their bikes and ride down in a very short and fast bike leg. The temperature at the top is just freezing. Gave my gloves to Eric and for a second time warmed up Glenn getting changed outside and freezing.

Bruce and I are then off to the TA where the team will be transitioning to an orienteering run. I will be ready to go at each TA in case Eric or Glenn needs a break. Eric arrives quite quickly but Glenn is taking a while. Then he arrives after having had a flat. Team Qantas is already gone. While the guys are running, I get our bikes checked by McBain which is lucky as apparently Eric’s derailleur was dangerously bent.  

Qantas arrives at the TA and the team has a massive panic attack. The girl in the team is nowhere to be found and then when she is back, the guy who needs to get on the bike leg with her cannot find his bike shoes. They are running around screaming. Feel a bit bad for them but that is good for us. Our team arrives 30 minutes later with a massive smile. They are really happy with their orienteering leg and have gotten all the optional checkpoints. Sweet. Next is the best bike leg according to everyone for Eric and Glenn, going down to Hobart.
 

At the next TA, they both arrive grinning again, after a great bike leg. When I ask them how they feel, Glenn responds: “Feels like I haven’t started the race”. Great! These two are champions. Looks like we are still cut to cut with Qantas, it will all depend on the optional checkpoints. Off to a quick run leg and Glenn and I will be kayaking to the finish line.

Final leg, Glenn and Eric arrive running, Glenn and I jump into the kayak and we are off paddling like crazy to the finish. After a right turn, getting into the harbour there is now a last straight line before getting off the kayak. Both Glenn and I paddle like crazy. Like Ken during Ben Lomonds, I just concentrate on the tip of the kayak not even looking ahead and paddling as hard as I can. We get to the jetty and Eric and the kayak guys pull me off the kayak, Eric tells us: “We have only one minute to cross the finish line otherwise Qantas is third”. BOOM! We start running like there is no tomorrow. The finish line is 100 meters away. We run so fast to cross the finish line, we make the picture of the day on the Webber Challenge Facebook page:

So happy to be finished, we congratulate each other, completely out of breath, we get our finisher medals and get some food and drinks. I cannot wait. I go to the tent where the officials are and ask where we stand. After five days of racing and nearly 400 kms, we are nine minutes… in front of Qantas.

We are third. PODIUM!   

I cannot contain my joy, I am jumping everywhere and go tell Eric and Glenn, we are jumping up and down and over the moon. Third place in our category behind two teams of pro-athletes including legends like Caine Eckstein, Courtney Atkinson and Ken Wallace. Unbelievable. Dream come true. From the moment we won the competition, I asked the team to dream big and we just did it.   Time for pictures with Mark Webber who congratulates us and wants the photographers to capture the wound. Such a nice guy.

Mark Webber makes sure the cameras get the wound

Really nice as well to unwind and chat with all the other competitors (many of them sport and adventure racing legends), congratulating each other, sharing moments and feedback on the race.

Team Rexona No Quit with Adventure Race Word-champions Mimi and Jacky

Video highlights of the Mark Webber Challenge Day 5:

Rexona No Quit Top Tips: 

• Start warm and stay warm until the race starts. 
• Don’t quit (mentally). The race is not over until it is over. Had we not hold on mentally, we would have dropped (physically) and not finished third. 
• Try not to change clothes at transitions. For the last kayak leg Glenn wanted to change his shoes for sandals (not to bring back wet shoes in his suitcase). That was a bad call, especially the last leg of the last day. We had only nine minutes over Qantas. That’s nothing. Another flat tyre and we were fourth. Small things add up.

Mark Webber Challenge - Day 4 - Team Rexona No Quit

Day 4: Bay of Fire

After a gruelling third day of the Mark Webber Challenge, team Rexona No Quit is finally reunited. Bruce is driving really fast to get us to the start line in time but his driving is not very smooth with lots of hard braking and turning. On the way to the TA, we passed Salamander’s bay where the day before the swell conditions were terrible for the kayak leg. Today it is flat as. In Eric words: “Yesterday was just f***g bad luck”. 

By the time we get off, everyone is feeling sick. Not the ideal. Glenn is keen to be driving from now on. The first leg is a short and fast coastal orienteering run for Glenn and Eric. I will be sitting in the kayak ready to go. I am wearing my beloved Kathmandu Gore-tex jacket and the kayak staff have provided me with a great deck so I can stay dry. I am quite apprehensive with my wound, I cannot afford to get it wet otherwise it could get infected, that would mean going back to the hospital and a definitive end to the race for me.  Glenn and Eric arrive and Glenn jumps straight onto the kayak, we are off. I am surprised to find out that it is going well and we are paddling at a pretty good speed. Glenn is definitely happy with our paddling speed.

Thanks to Thuy from Physiowise who strapped me to ensure I got the maximum support for the paddling leg, which definitely made a difference.

Glenn and I paddling together again

Amazing scenery, the water is crystal, the day sunny and there is not too much wind. Great to see Jarad Kohlar and James Pretto as well as Ken Wallace paddling. These guys are machines. It’s like they have a V8 in their kayak. We get to the TA, a beach with crystal water and white sand. Absolutely amazing. I get off my gear and check that the waterproof wound dressing is still holding up (which it is) while drying and checking up Mark Webber. 

Eric and Glenn are on for a snorkelling leg in icy cold water. With the thermal shock, Glenn has difficulty breathing with the mask but still manage to get the checkpoints and give a smile to the cameras.

Back at the TA, Glenn is totally freezing. I grab a towel and after a quick rub and drying him up, they are back on the road for another breath taking coastal orienteering.
 

After the run, the next leg is a bike leg, where our team decides not to do a bike loop where there are optional checkpoints. The trail there is just too narrow and difficult to ride which will slow Glenn and Eric. With hindsight that was a good call to make as team Qantas lost one hour there. At this stage of the race, any mistake is paid cash. 

The weather is really hot, the spot paradisiacal with crystal water and if it was not for the race and my injury, I would love to have a swim and a tan on the beach. Our kayak is ready but the wind is becoming a problem. The race directors decide to modify the course and shorten the kayak leg due to the strong wind. Excellent.

Glenn arrives and we all jump in the kayak. There is a very strong wind and swell. Two teams started just in front of us. We can see team Tri Adventure Aunties paddling but it seems that they are just not getting anywhere because of the strong current and wind. Glenn and I start to paddle hard and I get drenched at the front. I am quite scared to wet my dressing but the combination of the waterproof deck and my beloved Kathmandu gore-tex jacket seems to protect me well. 

We paddle across the bay, overtake one team, get close to the beach but suddenly are just not moving very fast in the shallow water. We get off the kayak and Glenn start running to the checkpoint. I have no idea if I will be able to run with the deck, my stitches and wound dressing. I follow him and after 50 meters, trip into a puddle and get drenched. S**t. I can’t assess the damage and if my dressing is still OK, but now there is nothing I can do about it. So I keep running holding my deck, feeling like a bride having to carry her dress around. Hilarious. I start running and we are off to climb the sand dune. We overtake team SOLDIER ON with Mike, a former soldier who got injured in Afghanistan and lost an arm. He is doing the challenge with a prosthetic arm and his team mate Rickie. Very inspiring. We get to the top, dip the dibber at the checkpoint and start running back past the cameras screaming “No quit”.
 

Then back dragging the kayaks in the water for a while until it gets deep enough for us to get cracking with the paddling. The wind is really strong and it feels like we are not moving much. We finally get to the final TA, dip our dibber and that is it for Day 4.

Cherry on the cake, a camera crew is waiting there and interviews Glenn and me about the day, my injury and our no quit attitude. Second time we are getting on camera, Rexona will definitely be happy.

After a warm shower and a quick bite, we are off to Hobart. Long drive where Glenn is driving, and sadly Eric is not sleeping or recovering much. In the evening, feels so nice to hear from world champion rower Chris Morgan and adventure racer Jacky Boisset that they are impressed with my No Quit attitude today coming back and racing. Also good to see Chris back after his heat stroke on day 3 for the last day of racing. Champion.  

As Eric said when we were back in Sydney (check the wrap up video):  

“Day 4 was all I wanted to do in Tasmania in just one day.”

Video highlights of the Mark Webber Challenge Day 4:

Rexona No Quit Top Tips: 

• Be strategic about your optional checkpoints. When planning, assess how difficult it will be to get them (based on contours, vegetation, etc.), how much time you think you will spend getting them vs. the time credit, and if it might be better to skip them to conserve energy for later. Don’t forget that by the end of the day or after a few legs, you might be stuffed or much slower. 
• If unsure, decide the day before that you will make a call on the day. But be clear where and when. The less you need to think on the course, the better. 
• Read this great post about "Open Water Swimming for Adventure Racers" that deals with "cold shock response” and how to manage and reduce its effects.
• Having a dry towel and change in the gear box is always useful. Otherwise ensure the host or team mate on standby has some to look after the team when they get back wet.

Mark Webber Challenge- Day 3 - Team Rexona No Quit

Day 3: Salamanders Bay. 

Half way through the Mark Webber Challenge. If you thought Day 2 was going to be the toughest day of the race, you were going to be in for a surprise.
I would like to start by acknowledging Eric and Glenn as they were shattered, did not get much food, sleep and had to race the entire day in less than ideal conditions as I was at the hospital. Legends.

After a coastal run and an easy paddling start in a protected bay, teams had to get off to sea in a massive swell.  Glenn and Eric’s kayak was apparently taking water, either because of Eric’s deck not being waterproof or from a compartment not properly closed. Either way between the kayak taking water, the massive swell and Eric that could not really paddle with his shoulder, Glenn got frustrated that they were both not moving fast enough and getting hammered by the waves. The rescue boat took ages to come and help them pump the water out of the kayak. For Eric and Glenn, this leg was definitively the low of the race, the kind of leg that tests you and makes you want to give up.   

Team Ironhouse battling the waves

  

Eric and Glenn against the swell

On my side, despite not having gotten much sleep, I am decided to get back on track and ask the doctor and nursing team to help me out with this. Joy, a wound expert comes and does a fantastic job. Our team will live up to its name: “No Quit”.

Bruce takes me back to where the epic kayak battle took place and it is just dead flat.

Difficult to imagine that a few hours ago several teams gave up and decided not to do the kayak leg due to the terrible conditions. Back at the camp in the afternoon, I concentrate on the maps for day 4 and 5 and plan as much as I can in advance to fast track the preparation and give Glenn and Eric as much resting time as possible. Team Rexona No Quit crosses the finish line among the last ones after a really tough day, where several teams suffered heat strokes. Both Glenn and Eric are shattered and I can feel the tension between them. They are both happy to see me and to have me back in the race, even if it is only for the paddling.

We are now fourth with Qantas starting to take a big lead on us (1 hour and 30 minutes). The podium looks very difficult to achieve now. I can feel that this is a make or break moment for the team. For the rest of the evening and until the end of the race, I will be working on the team spirit, supporting them, and taking every opportunity I get to psych them up. Strategy is now becoming critical. We need to not lose time, and choose the right checkpoints to get time credits and not waste energy getting “useless” checkpoints as Glenn and Eric will be doing most of the racing (unlike team Qantas which can swap three racers). Good news for the evening, we can all have a good night’s sleep in my cabin.

Video highlights of the Mark Webber Challenge Day 3:

Rexona No Quit Top Tips:

• Your sleep is extremely important, if required, get a cabin for the entire team, which will be much better than sleeping in tents.
• Use your iPhone and GPS to plan the next day and clearly identify the shortest/best paths on the maps. Not during the race, it is forbidden.
• Sleep with your compression gear every night, drink heaps of fluid and stretch!

Mark Webber Challenge - Day 2 - Team Rexona No Quit

Day 2 of the Mark Webber Challenge: Ben Lomond  

After a long first day of navigating and racing, we will be racing in the Tasmanian Alps, in Ben Lomond National Park.

Approaching the start line, we see this crazy helicopter doing stunts in the air and zooming past the cars as we are approaching. Absolutely unreal. The pilot is just nuts.

Eric and Glenn being the strongest on the bike, they will be doing the leg to the top of Ben Lomond. It is a tough 21kms climb ending up on top of Ben Lomond National Park. To put this in perspective, check the picture below:

Relentless Ben Lomond

Go Eric!

  

Eric and Glenn powering ahead on the bike

Glenn going uphill

  

Smile for the cameras

In the meantime, I am having a chat with Courtney Atkinson at the lookout, first checkpoint of the day and only checkpoint in the bike leg. Courtney was initially going to race with Ken as the Rexona Elite team but having injured himself, he is now racing in the same category as we are. Rivalry is on ;)

With Courtney Atkinson at the checkpoint

No surprise, the first teams to arrive are all pro-athletes and amongst them team James Boag and Chris Morgan, who just did this with flat paddles. Unbelievable. Team Rexona is arriving shortly after them and Ken Wallace gets off his bike, shattered and goes: “It was relentless; I just focused on Gary’s back wheel the entire climb.” 

Then Eric and Glenn arrive, and after a quick transition, Eric and I are off for a trek/run across the Tasmanian Alps. Four hours of bush bashing and rock climbing (so grateful to have my moxie gaiters!), we get all the checkpoints but at which cost. So much energy spent in getting them. 

We are one of the last team to finish the leg and then Glenn and I are off on the bike down Ben Lomond. First turn, first mistake, going too fast, braking too hard. My back wheel slide and I fly in the air and lands on my left arm. Instantly get a massive lump, the size of a golf ball. My first reaction: “S**t is my arm broken?”, Glenn laughs, tells me there is no way I could move my arm like this if it was broken and we jump back on the bikes. Very fast ride downhill and lots and lots of squid marks at every turns and some going straight off the road :/ The trail is very dusty and slippery. We are constantly on the brakes. We pass a team of two, they both look like they are hurting, with one of the guys saying he fell off his bike and popped his shoulder.

We continue and hammer it, the trail is fast, we are averaging an easy 40/50km/h. Then I hear some noise, turn my head to check if I lost something from the bike, quickly check the bike and look back at the trail. This took literally one or two seconds. Massive waterbar ahead. I am 

going too fast. No time to break. S**t. Time stops. 

I fly in the air above the handlebars in a microsecond and then crash on the ground. The most violent shock ever. Feels like I have been hit by a train at full speed, and my rib cage is totally crushed. I can’t breathe. I lay on the ground for the next few minutes trying to breathe. Thinking about the next team that will be arriving at 40/50kms and hoping they will have time to see me. Quite stressed. Can’t breathe. Ok need to relax. Slowly forcing some air in my lungs. Glenn just came back and is asking how I am. Can’t talk, still winded. Finally start to get some air and move my body. 

First thing I ask Glenn: “how is the bike?” Glenn goes to check and comes back: “the bike is OK”. Then “You have to be more careful mate”. LOL, love you too mate. I painfully stand up and then half-expecting to see blood everywhere and fractures, check my body. Lots of bruises, mud and scratches all over my body but no major injury. Freaking miracle. Then look at my right side and see a bloody patch that does not look too good with a piece of skin that has been ripped off my body. I should be able to continue. 

By this time, the other team has caught up with us and we all ride back together. I am just struggling mentally not to think too much about what happened and focus on pedalling. At least 30 minutes to go before the TA. As we are running on adrenaline this helps and the pain is contained. Thinking about Eric and the last leg which is a white water kayaking. Eric with his shoulder injury cannot really paddle. I will have to do it.

We get to the TA and the medical team is all over me, I start getting cold and shivering. I really can’t continue. Team Qantas with who we are competing for the third place is just rushing to the kayak and overtaking us. Eric is getting ready and will continue with Glenn. I am out.

Covered in dust and bruises but still smiling

  

It's just a flesh wound!

The medical team looks at me and recommends going to the hospital. Bruce is going to take me there and contacts the organisers for Glenn and Eric to get a ride back to the camp. After a few hours driving, we get to the St Helens district hospital. The team there looks after me really well. They remove all the dirt and gravel from my wounds (so painful), clean me, stitch and patch me up. The doctor recommends not to continue the race at this point. It is way past midnight when I get to bed.

In the meantime, Glenn and Eric crossed the finish line amongst the last teams for the day as we collected pretty much done all the optional checkpoints. We did really well and got 4 hours and 10 minutes time credit. We are third, one hour behind team Renault Sport and two hours behind Rexona. Qantas is behind us by one hour. 

By the time I get to bed, Glenn and Eric discover that there is no car waiting for them. One of the kayak organisers gives them a ride in his van. They get to the camp quite late to discover that their luggage is in the car with me at the hospital. That includes the maps which are in my suitcase. Dinner is nearly over at the camp with not much food left and no pasta at all. 

Thanks to Bruce for looking after me, taking me to the hospital and bringing back Eric and Glenn’s gear to the camp. Thanks also to team Redbullettes for providing Eric and Glenn with extra maps so they could plan the next day.

Video highlights of the Mark Webber Challenge Day 2:

Rexona No Quit Top Tips:

• Decide who is going to be the primary team for which leg based on strengths. This will ensure best team performance with optimised breaks to recharge batteries. 
• Take water purification tablets in case you run out of water in the middle of nowhere. It does not weight much and is very handy. 
• Drink electrolytes, don’t bother with water. 
• After punching the dibber, get your third team mate or host to peel and feed bananas to your team mates as they are getting changed at the TA (eg. Glenn takes a bite, and while chewing, I help him take off his bib, backpack, etc. then he takes another bite, do something while chewing, etc.) 
• Have one or two electrolyte cups per person handy next to the gearbox to minimise back and forth to the food station.

Mark Webber Challenge - Day 1 - Team Rexona No Quit

After a few weeks of really hard training and a few hours of sleep (read my post Day 0), the first day of the Mark Webber Challenge is finally there for team Rexona No Quit. Day 1 will be a big navigation day in Launceston, Tasmania

Very fun orienteering session on the green of the Country club to start with. Lots of fun activities like put-put golf, apnea, kayak, tennis, push-ups before running down to Cataract Gorge (~10kms). First big mistake: not having read all the instructions the day before. This led to losing my contacts in the swimming pool 15 minutes after the start. Awesome. Morale of the first leg: RTFM.

Eric crossing the bridge over Cataract Gorge.

Whitewater rafting (~2kms) was just unbelievably fun. So fast and furious. Sadly, at the first rapid, Mark from Team Caltex went overboard and hurt his knee. At least we did not flip the boat like the team behind us!  Then it was on to Glenn and Eric to do the mountain bike leg (25kms) in the Kate Reed Nature Recreation Area before transitioning to kayak for Glenn and me (11kms).

Glenn and I paddling

The weather was just glorious, it was such a pleasure to race in these conditions. After a strong paddle where we overtook a few teams, Eric and I did an orienteering leg (6kms) in the forest, where Eric’s navigation was spotless.  

Then Glenn and Eric did the mountain bike rogaine (12kms). In the meantime I was getting some physio and straps by Thuy from Physiowise as my quads were killing from the downhill to Cataract Gorge. No idea why, I never got quad pain/cramps like these before. Then final running leg in the gorge with Glenn, where I climbed to the lookout chasing Olympic rowers Karsten Forsterling and Chris Morgan before crossing the finish line at the Boags Beer Lover Centre! And sadly, no, we did not have an icy cold beer to celebrate.

Don't tell Glenn and Eric, but their bib is back to front!

Overall a great first day at a fast pace clocking 8 hours and 40 minutes of racing. Not many mistakes which was great to start with and set the benchmark for us. Cherry on the cake, we finished third in our category in front of the Rexona Elite team and overall in 10th position. This definitely gave us confidence that we could be amongst the best teams and do a podium.


Video highlights of the first day of the Mark Webber Challenge:

Rexona No Quit Top Tips:

• Clearly mark on the box which one is box A and box B with a big marker.
• Take the racebook (instructions) with you and contact it (we used five rolls of contact during the race).
• Best to have each map contacted separately and not have maps on both sides, so the third team mate can review the maps while waiting for the team.
• Use different color for each leg (pink and blue work well. Green, orange and yellow not so much).
• Highlight mandatory checkpoints and time credit for optional checkpoints (more on map preparation and strategy in a future post).
• Best to have one or two people maximum planning while the third team mate prepare the gear.  
• Need to give a topline brief to each teammate on their leg, so everyone is clear. 
• Put a spare pair of dry socks in the gear box (your feet need to stay dry/in good conditions otherwise they will blister).
• Third person at TA to prep bananas and gear for team.
• For kayak leg, take PFD and boaties with you so that the team mate kayaking can put the PFD while running to the kayak instead of wasting time putting it on at the kayak.

Team Rexona No Quit debrief at the end of day 1:

Mark Webber Challenge - Day 0 - Team Rexona No Quit

Day 0 of the Mark Webber Challenge was just a long long day for everyone. 

Team Rexona No Quit (Eric, Glenn and I) woke up really early and had so much to do: get to the airport early to check in the bikes, go back twice to the oversized baggage area because I had too many CO2 cartridges in the bike box and my bike nearly missing the flight (big stress!), fly to Tassie, drive to the venue in Launceston, register and get our race kits, assemble the bikes, go to the briefing session, prep the gear, go to the evening reception and then plan a long day of navigation with the maps. 

Video of team Rexona No Quit very excited at Sydney airport:

 

So much gear to check in

  

Our host Bruce welcomes us to Tassie

The good: Getting all the gear and maps prior to the race.  
The bad: Having to sit down through long speeches and waiting for food at the first evening/welcome dinner when the only thing you want to do is eat, prep the maps and go to sleep. 
The ugly: So much to do in one afternoon/evening prior to a very long day of racing the day after. Definitely the hardest/longest day of navigation in the entire race. 

Rexona No Quit Top Tips:

• Go quickly through the course outline. Identify which boxes are to be used for which leg.
• Decide who does what.
• Start packing the boxes while the other(s) plan/strategise.
• Read all the instructions and hints for the checkpoints to know what to expect/how to dress (see why in Day 1).
• Once the maps are done CONTACT them (don’t even think about using a map holder, they are useless).
• Drink fluids/electrolytes to prep your body.
• Get plenty of sleep (use earplugs and eye mask if required).

The next post will describe the first day of the Mark Webber Challenge, a big day of navigation in Launceston