Wanaka Skyline Challenge and Hillend Gutbuster Report

The weather was crap. No other way to describe it really. Sure, we didn’t have any problems with sun burn and dehydration but we didn’t really expect to get so close to hypothermia for some competitors!!

It’s days like this you really appreciate good gear (all those wearing macpac feel free to sing their praises) and minimum gear requirements! Comments from the top were “I was wearing all my kit and it was still bloody cold!” A big thanks too to Horleys and Annies for helping to keep the energy levels up on such a demanding day.

The low cloud (and maybe a marker or two missing) made keeping to the track quite a challenge along the top of the Skyline between Roy and Alpha but luckily everybody made it home eventually.

The gut buster course proved to be particularly gut busting going up and then for some competitors even more soul destroying coming down- although it was a shorter course than the Skyline Challenge it was no less a massive effort for all those who took place.

Ed and Terry were glad to see virtually all those who pre-entered turn up and pit themselves against ‘challenging’ courses on a good day but real adventure races on a day like we had today.

You should all be well pleased with yourselves for completing your distances! And didn’t those Export 33′s go down well afterwards- thanks very much to the export guys and also to 93b who supplied the yummy filled rolls (next year we’ll ask for a couple of vegetarian ones among them too).

A huge thanks to all the ‘volunteers’ (friends dragged in) who not only tramped up to mountain tops but also stood around in the rain and cold for hours! Events couldn’t happen without you and we whole heartedly appreciate it.

Please add your comments below- we know basically all of you got spot prizes so please make a comment and tell us if they’re any good. How’s that shave gel you all got in the race packs? I use the ‘Aloe Hydrate’ flavour and would have to say it is genuinely good stuff. (Sorry to the ladies- next year we’ll hassle more sponsors for product you can use too!) And how cool are those self charge torches/cell phone chargers… depending on feedback we’ll try to get more of the stuff you like and less of the stuff you don’t. Thanks very much. Terry and Ed