The Arrow International 24 Hour Series has come of age with 34 teams entering the first event of four in the New Zealand 24 Hour Series. Teams from Queenstown, Dunedin, Wellington and all over the North Island were represented at the weekends Auckland event. With an early kayak to begin the event, pre race favorites Team Performance Lab, Neil Gellatly and Mike Gilbert where content to ride the wash of fellow Auckland based Team Blue Ducks, Phil White, Anne Mortimer, Gordon Blyther and Malcolm Hughs.

After completing the beautiful 30km kayak from Okahu Bay to Umupuia Beach it was team Sportzhub.com, Steve Knowles, Craig Stevens, Tim Wilkins and Debbie Chambers who made a move up the field passing team Blue Ducks during the coasteering leg and Tyrolean abseil to take second behind Performance lab. The coasteering leg gave teams the opportunity to stretch their legs while circumnavigating the coastline of Duder's Reserve. Teams also undertook a horizontal 80m Tyrolean abseil over a swamp to complete the coasteering leg.

Back into the kayaks for a challenging paddle against the tide and up the Wairoa River towards Clevedon. The leading teams completed the 12km kayak in little over an hour. The following teams where not so lucky and with a receding tide many teams had to portage their kayaks long distances over mud flats to reach the Wairoa channel. Just to compete an Arrow 24 Hour event is an accomplishment and to prove time and placing are not always the first priority one team was reputed to have stopped for a coffee during the second kayak leg when offered by a local boat owner on the banks of the Wairoa River!

Leg four involved mountain biking a full traverse of the Hunua Ranges. While punchuring a tyre, team Performance Lab momentarily lost the lead and then regained it from team Sportzhub.com before reaching the transition at Managatangi Dam with just a four-minute lead. Also hot on the pace and with in 20 minutes of the leaders was team Blue Ducks and Team Casio Altimeter, Phil Wood an ex New Zealand orienteering champion and Alistair Ackers.

Leg five, the mountain trekking was to decide the fate of race leaders with a 28km night trek, which involved crossing Mt Kohukohunui, the highest peak in the Hunua Ranges. With three different trekking routes to choose from the first three teams all took different courses. First to emerge from the bush was team Sportzhub.com, followed by the big movers through the night team Casio Altimeter. Team Blue Ducks had also passed team Performance Lab during the trek to be placed third overall. With only a short mountain bike to the finish line in Clevedon team Sportshub.com were first across the finish line in a time of 14 hours and 11 minutes. team Casio Altimeter were just 16 minutes back followed by team Blue Ducks and Performance Lab.

The last official team over the finish line and completing in their first adventure race was team SWKW, Steve Wright and Kelly Woodward. After admitting to having tried to use their cell phone and call for a ride but being unable to get any service they decided to complete the course in a total time of 27 hours and 21 minutes.

To summarise, the Auckland event included over 110 competitors from around New Zealand and represented a wide spectrum of athletes. 24 hour adventure racing in New Zealand is certainly maturing with a strong field of top competitors and an increasing number of new entrants to the sport. The series now moves to the home of multisport Christchurch for the second event in the series. While Christchurch is the home of multisport it may be the North Island teams who take home the prizes!