Kowalski Classic Marathon 2013

24/9/13

This event provides a great opportunity to experience most of the Kowen forest as well as Sparrow hill trails all in one hit!  I must admit, I get more excited by the mixture of trails found out the other side of Canberra at Stromlo MTB Park; however Self Propelled Enterprises always put together a great event and the Kowalski Classic rates highly on my list of races to keep coming back to!

The Kowalski is a good one for those mtbikers who enjoy single-track.  I for one am a great fan of races involving more corners, jumps and berms to negotiate!  This is actually one of the few races I have been in where I have quietly wished for just a little more fire-road to rest the weary core muscles!  I won’t admit that too loudly though.

The many swiggley lines generally means lots of single track!

With work commitments making things quite hectic of late, this trip was to be a fly-in, fly-out visit.  We arrived into Canberra late Saturday arvo, put the bike together, had some dinner and basically went straight to bed.  The race started at 7.30am Sunday morning. As we were in Canberra the early start meant a chilly one!

I started in the first wave of riders with 50 or so others who were expected to be vying for the win.  The women’s field was stacked with talent.  Current National XC distance champ Peta Mullens and Ex National Champ Tory Thomas were flying the flag for the Target Trek team. Jo Bennett an ex Triathlon National Champ and in-form rider with many wins to her name, Jodie Willett were supporting the Liv Giant team.  There were also many local riders who would have to be watched given their home ground advantage!

Riders getting set for race start; after a chilly start it turned out a fine day in Canberra!

The race started up quite an extended climb, aiming to thin the bunch out a little before hitting the first single-track.  I managed to enter the trail just behind Peta, Tory and Eliza.  As we climbed and descended the first 20min or so of early trails, I noted that we were certainly moving along at quite a pace!  Peta obviously meant business.  Just as I was thinking I might need to back things off a tad, Peta pulled over to the side allowing Tory and I to pass and we settled into a more manageable pace.

Jo Bennett and Jodie Willett were not too far behind us, and local rider Eliza Kwan, was also riding awesome to be sitting comfortable in 5^th.  At around the hour mark, the track kicked up a little more and Tory made a move to climb away.  As the trail continued to switch-back upward Jo Bennett climbed her way past me also. I am fully aware that my fitness is only just starting to come along and therefore not too disappointed that the ups were seemingly more steep than usual!  I tried to instead, use my descending skills to limit my losses. Unfortunately races like these aren’t normally won on the downs!  Following the first check-point Jo got a decent gap on me up a steady fire-road section and Jodie was moving in also.  Further up the trail Tory had pulled over to fix a flat tyre, meaning all 3 of us could get around.  This actually cost Tory the race as she never got back into contention.

Jo and Jodie went on to fight it out for line honours, with Jodie ending up the victor.  After feeling so terrible in Qld last week, I was quite happy to finish this one in 3^rd place. It seems my fitness is starting to come along and come summer I should be able to battle up front a little more!

The men’s race came down to a sprint finish. Jason English claimed top spot, just 2 seconds ahead of local hero Mark Tupalski.  Andy Blair rode a gutsy race to finish in 3^rd spot after having to fix a flat tyre.

It was great to also see my teammate and Coaching guru, Mark Fenner (aka Fenz) take out the Masters category!

So it was a whirl-wind trip to Canberra, but definitely worth the visit. Thanks so much to my great Team Torq Nutrition for allowing me to get to these events!