The Christchurch Arrow 24 Hour Adventure Race was contested in Hanmer Springs on the 28th and 29th of August. Hanmer Springs is a small town, situated about an hour and a half’s drive northwest of Christchurch. Surrounded by snow-capped mountains, high country farmland and beautiful rivers, Hanmer was set to be the perfect adventure race location…or so thought race director Richard Anderson. However it was a bitterly cold August and Hanmer Springs is an alpine town. As the week of the race arrived three southerly fronts passed over the South Island, dropping a foot of fresh snow across the region. As weather experts offered up comforting forecasts of snow easing and fine periods increasing, race organisers assured would-be competitors that the race was to go ahead.

A record Christchurch field of 150 competitors (37 teams) lined up on the banks of the Waiau River for a staggered start to the 10km kayak leg downstream to the intersection of the Waiau and Hanmer rivers. The braided river, complete with unmarked hazards resulted in five competitors taking swims during the short kayak leg. Once off the water, teams portaged their boats to Transition One, most taking less than an hour to complete the leg.

Teams then set off on an epic mountain biking leg into elevated farmland south of Hanmer, then into the Hanmer Forest. The bike leg consisted of several significant hill climbs where competitors rode, pushed and carried their bikes through knee deep snow in pursuit of several orienteering control flags (as no officials were mad enough to camp out in the snow all day taking times). True to form Team Seagate (Nathan Fa’avae, Kristina Anglem, Hayden Key and Richard Ussher) was first to Transition Two in 7 hours 57 minutes. Modesty was out the window as Seagate quickly changed into warm dry gear for upcoming trek leg. Five minutes later, Team Mainland arrived (Graeme Allen, Matt Woods, Erin Greene and Tom Mackey). Leading the two person open category at TA2 was team Circus Folk (Andrew Ross and Dallas Wichman) in a time of 8 hours and 22 minutes.

Archery was the special activity included in this race, with all team members and one of their support crew required to shoot a couple of arrows at the target. A good aim resulted in time bonuses, with team Greymouth Chiropractic gaining 26 minutes deducted off their final time.

Race Director Richard Anderson said, “its great to see teams arriving at transitions with a really positive attitude. They don’t seem to be phased by the conditions at all”. Race organisers were also impressed with the responsible attitude of the racers, with teams carrying additional gear than required, and in some instances when asked for polypro gloves were presented instead with gortex ski gloves.

After some hot food and thawing out of extremities, teams set off on the final leg to search for control flags located around Mount Isobel (1600m), Jollies Pass and Jacks Pass. Contrary to weather predictions, snow continued to fall throughout the day, settling on all of the tracks creating slippery conditions. Teams tramped throughout the night, cutting tracks in the snow and making strategic calls as whether to search for a control or to take a time penalty instead, most opting to press on and gather all controls.

The finish line was located at the Hanmer Springs Golf Club, where support crews were able to warm themselves by a roaring open fire. Team Seagate was first to complete the entire course in a time of 14 hours and 31 minutes. Arriving home in 15:19 and in second place was Team Sara Wallen (Sara Wallen, Aaron Prince, Jamie Stewart and Brent Edwards). Team Mainland arrived home in third place in a time of 16:22. The last team to cross the finish line arrived home after nearly twenty-four hours on the course.

Following prize giving on Sunday, many teams enjoyed a well-earned soak in the hot springs as the sun finally came out.

Category Winners

Relay Primed for Chaos 22:10