Hopefully you enjoyed the race as much as we did! Those beaches, those views, those electric fences!!
However if you were a little unprepared then it may not have been the enjoyable experience you were hoping for! This is usually down to either a lack of fitness, skills or the wrong gear. The good news is that these are all controllable and can be improved on for next year to make it that awesome race experience it should be!!
We asked some of the women who attended our adventure race skills weekends to share what helped them through the race…
“I had one of those moments during the map reading session where the light bulb lit up! Rach and Kym explained map reading concepts in lots of different ways to reach all learning styles!”
“Kym, Nic and Rach are all very experienced and successful adventure racers in their own right, but it was so beneficial that they broke down racing into skill areas where each of them had their own expertise and knowledge to share.”
“The navigation and map reading skills were invaluable, I still have a lot to learn, but without the knowledge gained from your course, it would have been a tougher day for sure.”
“I learnt a lot from your course, and it certainly helped make my race experience better. There are bits you told us that I didn’t do this time, but will certainly do next time to improve the experience even more, like get clip in pedals and have a snack box on the bike, actually try some recipes to have real food, invest in some good gear… the list goes on.”
“The skills weekend was set up so it was relatively fluid. Because of this, our different needs/desired outcomes and skill levels were easily met.”
“Being a newbie to adventure racing and the family joke when it came to directions, the “sure, why not” response to doing the Adventure Race Skills Weekend soon became, “OMG, I am so pleased I did the Adventure Race Skills Weekend”.”
“So much was covered during the weekend: breaking down the map reading; simple bike maintenance tips; bike repairs; how to work as a team – the role of each team member; mountain biking skills; kayaking skills; useful tips and recommendations for during the race; and all put into practice over the weekend. “
“At the end of the weekend I thought “I’ve got this!”. Yes, I’d done the hill work, the long bike rides, the paddling, and read the compulsory gear list, BUT, I would have been underprepared in terms of what was involved in an adventure race and how to get through it. There were many times during the race where we said “remember what they said at the skills weekend …” which gave us the confidence to make the right decisions. The knowledge and advice Kym and her team shared over the weekend were invaluable – for any event – and I’ll definitely be doing another skills weekend before our next adventure race. Thanks Kym!”
“We would have struggled through the event if we hadn’t done the skills weekend. No amount of fitness training prepares you for the skills required to do an adventure race.”
“Doing the skills weekend with NZ Adventure Retreats was the best thing for our team. Not only did we get to spend the weekend getting to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses better, we also learnt so much about navigation, technical mountain bike skills, race nutrition and general race preparation.”
“Learning tips and tricks for map reading really improved how accurate we were on race day. The bike maintenance session made me realise how easy it is to look after my bike to keep it working smoothly and it sure rides better! I highly recommend the skills weekend with these amazing women, they are full of great information that they have built up over years of adventure racing themselves.”
We are looking at September 7th/8th for the next Adventure Race Skills Weekend. To register your interest send an email to: kym@nzadventureretreats.com with your location and we can keep you posted.