DirtFest is a weekend of adventure events. The festival is made up of 7 separate events which can be entered individually. Entrants can also choose to enter the 3 long course events to challenge for the Dirt Master or Dirt Mistress Title. The male and female competitor with the shortest overall time would take home a tidy $1000 each, as expected this sort of prize money on offer attracted a quality field with competitors travelling all the way from QLD. The events started with the Salomon Tre-X Off-Road Triathlon and the competition was stiff in both the men's and women's long course events. The long course involved a 700m swim - 20km mountain bike - 8km trail run. The event was held at the Riverside Oaks Golf Resort in Cattai NSW, nestled along the edge of the Hawkesbury River. The swimmers hit the muddy and weedy waters for 2 laps, with a short run dodging the ever present cat eye thorns, between each lap.
A quick transition saw the competitiors head out for 2 laps of the 10km mountain bike track. The track was fairly flat with a sandy surface. There were some good passing opportunities on the fire trail sections. The course headed through some nice weaving single track before a more open second section through grassy paddocks. The main obstacles were the moving kangaroos who were out in plague proportions.
Another transition had the guys and gals out into 2 laps of the 4km trail run, with the temperatures soaring towards 30 degrees. The track crossed some open flood plain before leading up steep overgrown steps across the escarpment and back across the open ground. The short run leg did not see many changes in the overall places. The men's event had Adam Conquest (1:28:17) finishing first with Kyle Ward (1:31:05) and Klayten Smith (1:32:24) in second and third respectively. The women's event went right down to the line with Nina Wright (1:48:00) pipping Sue Thompson (1:48:11) at the finish and Janet Martin (1:54:18) coming in third place after a ripper swim leg.
The short course triathlon also saw close tussles with David Boers (54:18) and Jaci Richards (1:14:36) completing the 35om swim - 10km mountain bike - 4km trail run on an oppressively hot morning. Well done to 10 year old Ivy Carter competing in the teaser event with a time of 21:25 for the 150m swim (completed by Adam Carter) - 4km ride - 1km run.
There was time for a nice rest before the afternoon trail running events. The Mud Rats race was up next for all the kids and the prizes on offer (a handful or two of lollies) were warmly received by the little tackers. The 5km and 10km events were kicked off with the temperature having dropped back down to the low 20's. The track followed the same course as the triathlon run, with a small extra section added onto the end, taking the runners around a small pond. The Dirt Master and Mistress competitors with stong run legs were keen to extend their advantage before the final mountain bike event. This led to some impressive run performances with Adam Conquest first followed by Klayten Smith and Corey Brough in the men's event. Sue Thompson came across the line first followed by Nina Wright and Sarina Tomchin in third. The next days mountain bike would be the deciding factor in both the men's and women's events. Adam Conquest had a 4:51 minute lead over nearest rival Klayten Smith and Sue Thompson led Nina Wright by just 2:55 minutes.
The mixture of long course, short course and kid's events meant that there was something for everyone. There were lots of couples and a few families out enjoying the weekend. The jumping castle kept the kids entertained on a warm day and the competition and quality of the racing had the spectators cheering for more. The In 2 Adventure crew had organised a fantastic pasta dinner at the Golf Club and after a wonderful warm shower it was great to sit down and meet some of the competition from around the state and across the border.
The night saw a storm sweep through and the rain settle in. While there were some competitors who were keen to cancel the mountain bike event (actually maybe it was just me?) most were actually pretty keen to get it started. The kids race had to be called off due to the weather conditions but the 50km race kicked off right on time. The track was almost unrecogniseable from the day before. After the first couple of laps the fire roads and lower sections had become quite muddy, with one little section extremely difficult to ride due to the complete lack of traction. The mountain bikers in the field rose to the top with Kyle Ward establishing a 6min lead after a single 10km lap. Nina Wright also established an advantage over Sue Thompson. Kyle Ward was able to finish the 50km race 15:08 minutes ahead of his nearest rival Adam Conquest even after a puncture and twisted handle bars. Klayten Smith came across the line in third place. Nina Wright took out the women's race followed by Sue Thompson and Janet Martin.
There were 16 competitors in the 20km short course mountain bike event, with many of these braving the conditions and coming out just for the day. My hat goes off to you all for getting out there and giving it a go. I passed one girl on her first lap, considering quitting. I was so impressed to see you roll through transition and head out there again. I could see from the smile on your face at the finish line how much satisfaction you got from finishing and that is what it is all about!
With the conditions so difficult it was a race of attrition, there were unfortunately 26 DNS and DNF. I think everyone who hung around for the presentations ceremony was so impressed by number 121 for gutting it out, top effort!
The final Dirt Master standings were:
1. Kyle Ward
2. Adam Conquest
3. Klayten Smith
and the Dirt Mistress were:
1. Nina Wright ()
2. Sue Thompson
3. Janet Martin
A great thanks to the In 2 Adventure crew for organising a top quality event . Thanks also to the volunteers who worked through the heat and the rain to ensure we were all safe, timed and fed for the weekend. Let's hope that next years event will be even bigger and the competition even stronger.