MEDIA RELEASE 24 September 2007
Race results: Anaconda Adventure Race, Forster
New Zealander Richard Ussher took up the gold at the Anaconda Adventure Race,
Forster, which was held last weekend, 22-23 September. Twenty-three-year-old
Sydneysider Christie Sym was also the first female to cross the finish line.
Wearing bib number 3, Richard Ussher beat former surf ironman and Anaconda
Adventure Race Gold Coast winner Guy Andrews and Narrabeen resident Simon Manson
with a time of 8 hours, 13 minutes and 49 seconds. Christie Sym completed the
course in 9 hours, 45 minutes and 40 seconds with a 52-minute lead in front of
Kim Beckinsale.
Ussher, former World Multisport Champion and Olympic skier as well as winner of
multiple adventure races around the world, said even though he knew he was
winning when he reached the third leg of the Sunday course, he still gave his
best up to the end.
"With adventure racing, you never know how it's going to turn out so you need to
keep pushing all the way to the end. It was a good challenge for me as I'm not a
great swimmer," Ussher said.
"It's good to be able to come here and race well. The race organisers have done
a great job at putting the course together. Forster is beautiful – it is the
sort of place I would come to for a bike ride or paddle," he added.
Sym, who also won in the female category at the one-day Anaconda Adventure Race
Gold Coast last August, said she didn't know how she would perform in a two-day
race.
"Kim Beckinsale and I kept overtaking each other in the ocean swimming and
running legs and in the end, I just gave everything I could," Sym said.
"I'm really glad I could race so well. It was a lot of fun," she added.
Ussher and Sym are now looking forward to round three of the Anaconda Adventure
Race national series with the Geographe Bay, WA, race on 4 November, which is
expected to attract around 1,400 participants.
More than 300 competitors registered to the Anaconda Adventure Race Forster
which included ocean swimming, ocean and lake kayaking, coastal, beach and trail
running as well as mountain biking. The Saturday (optional) and Sunday legs were
respectively 48.9 km and 63.9 km.
One of the well-known participants to the Saturday race was Health Minister Tony
Abbott who completed the whole course in 7 hours, 2 minutes and 18 seconds.
Outdoor adventure retailer Anaconda is the principal sponsor of the Anaconda
Adventure Race series which is run by Rapid Ascent headed up by former world
champion kayaker John Jacoby.
Adventure racing is a relatively new sport that attracts 'every day' people and
elite athletes from around the globe. Adventure racing has emerged as the big
brother to marathons, road races and triathlons. According to Adventure Sports
Magazine, adventure racing has expanded from 12 races held in 1998, to over 500
scheduled in the year 2005 and has sometimes been called the off-road triathlon.
The Anaconda Adventure Race series will also be held in Geographe Bay (WA) in
November and Lorne (Vic) in December.
For full results and more information on the Anaconda Adventure Race series,
visit
www.anacondaadventurerace.com.
Anaconda can be contacted on 1300 669 137 or by visiting
www.anaconda.com.au.
Released for Anaconda by Dennis Rutzou Public Relations (www.drpr.com.au)
For further information please call Kim Larochelle or Nicola Rutzou on (02) 9413
4244.
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