Update from Richard Palmer

The day started with a boat trip from Port Arthur that was great fun, however was quite rough and cold. The real race started on top of Mt Wellington with a tough descent followed by a very technical mountain bike leg ending up at Wrest Point Casino. We then did a quick run to the top and a rope section off the top of the Casino. Then we ran to Hobart town centre for a few more checkpoints and to finish off today’s racing and the Challenge for this year. We are all very happy to finish and looking forward to celebrating tonight!

Update from Phil Barrett
Day 4 of the Mark Webber Challenge took place at Port Arthur and commenced with a severe weather warning which bought about the cancellation of the planned paddling stages of the day.

The first leg for the two Telstra teams was a 15km run from Waterfall Bay to Fortescue Bay. This trail run has some of the most spectacular scenery to be found in Tasmania and the Telstra teams ran the leg very strongly. David Moffatt and Jacinta Worland were one of the fastest teams competing in the Ambassadors Cup and Team Telstra competing in the Van Diemen Cup continued to push their lead out and challenge for 3 spot overall. Unfortunately for Team Telstra Mark Comer sprained an ankle just prior to the end of the 2 hour run leg which slowed the team somewhat when they were pressing for 3rd place.

The next leg was a 22km mountain bike ride on very hilly rough roads into a very strong head wind. Again both Telstra teams road strongly and continued to pick their way through the field. The next leg was a 6km run around a wind blown peninsular with some very large sand dunes to be traversed. Following the run it was onto the mountain bike again for a 8km ride to the finish. Both Telstra teams finished the day extremely well.

As the teams cooled down word was sent around that there would be a 10km kayak in the evening and so the teams had to regroup and get back into their wet and sweaty gear to undertake an additional kayak leg to complete an epic day. The kayak leg took place off the Port Arthur historic site with a large spectator contingent and concluded with the competitors kayaking through and under the bow of a very large catamaran. Another example of the mystery legs and spectacular natural environment interaction that this race brings out.
With the final day 5 due to take place in Hobart tomorrow the two Telstra teams are very well placed to take out their respective categories in the event.

Update from Keith Mearns

Today saw us move from the beautiful Lake Barrington and head North to Launceston. We had a difficult 32km mountain bike section which took approximately 2 hours. The mountain biking was 3 laps of 9 km course with some challenging up hills and technical down hill sections followed by a 5 km paved section to Launceston Gorge. The highlight of the mountain biking was the opportunity for spectators and sponsors to view the from the comfort of the marquee which was set up adjecent to the course.

Once at the Gorge we had a tourellean road section this involved pulling ourselves across the Launceston Gorge suspended by cables high above the water. After a short sharp run we traversed back across Launceston Gorge on a flying fox, then a quick run down towards the lower end of the Gorge where we climbed back under Launceston bridge. From here we ran back to the top of the Gorge and finished the day with a white water rafting section.

From Launceston we have a 4 hour drive to Port Arthur and a challenging day tomorrow. Team Telstra is in 4th place around 1hour off the lead leading the Van Dieman’s cup by several hours.

Everyone is in good spirits although starting to feel the effects of 3 days of hard racing. We’ve had a few minor scrapes and bruises although nothing to serious.

Cheers, Keith

Update from Mark Comer

Also visit the Mark Webber Challenge site to track the teams progress.

Well day two is done and dusted. Unfortunately it rained all night and was pouring again this morning so we couldn’t do the Mt Rolland. While it is very tough it is spectacular. It would have given us the chance to gain some time back on some of the leaders as trekking is our strength.

The day ended up involving a 25km mountain bike ride including a monstrous 4km climb at the end (just over 1 hour 10mins), after that we ran part of the intended run course - a very steep climb. We ran along some wet tracks) in reverse to get a checkpoint then returned the same way (around 1h hour). The next stage involved a spectacular mountain bike ride mainly down hill and the boys particularly Keith let loose (30mins). The final leg was over a 7km paddle.

In the end we lost a bit of time to team Keen, Red Bull and Driza-Bone but made up time on all others. In the corporate division we are about 1hr 30 in front of RBS so well placed. The team is doing well and holding together pushing each other hard as we go.

Tomorrow is a hard and fast mountain bike ride followed by some rope activity and white-water rafting in Launceston. Tomorrow will also include a big run so should be a good day for us.

Cheers, Mark

Update from Mark Comer

We all jumped on the mini buses and headed to Cradle Mountain today. There was talk that due to snow and black ice we might not be able to get all the way to top - apparently you can only get up there on average 28 days a year.We were seeded with the top pairs meaning we went off last with the likes of Jarad Kohlar and his partner Deanna Blegg.

There were four groups with 10 minutes apart so we headed off at 9.30am. In front were the other corporate teams including a range of pairs with celebs and top sports people. Also racing was Michael Milton Paralympian gold medallist - both winter and summer. Clearly the most amazing thing I have seen to date was him on crutches racing to the top of Cradle. If you haven’t been there before, there are massive boulders (1.5m plus in height) that you need to pull yourself up over. There are also huge cracks between with potentially life ending impacts if you stuff up.

Anyway back to us. Our aim for the day was to grab the corporate lead and see how we could go against the pairs.

We started with a paddle around Dove Lake collecting 7 checkpoints along the way and were 2nd out of the water in our group.

We then hit the run with Phil in front, Richard at the back and Keith and I in the middle. The run to the top was solid and we passed most teams by the time we got to the top but also got caught by the other 2 teams we started with.

The descent was hairy with the boys hammering and we eventually got to the bike transition sitting 4th, 22 minutes down on the leaders (Kohlar and Blegg) and around 10 minutes down on 2nd and 3rd. We had a tough “neutral” stage before the mountain bike. The mountain bike was a tough 35km ride on really unforgiving terrain. I felt like I was riding in quicksand for part and also came off on one descent. We held our position but not sure if we lost more time on the leaders - soon find out.

We got back had a shower and all had a rub down - I need some salt tomorrow as I cramped up on the bike.

We probably have 30 minutes up on the next corporate team. All up the day was about 5 to 6 hours racing plus a 1 hour “neutral stage”. Some teams will have it tough and were over 3hrs longer out on the course. The other guys are feeling strong and we should have a good week.

Tomorrow is the biggest run day. A 1 hour mountain bike ride to start followed by a 3.5 to 4.5 hour very tough mountain run, another 1 hr plus mountain bike ride and finally a 1 hour paddle.

Cheers,
Mark