Memories from the Outback

I recently came across a report that Kevin Piercy wrote of their experience as team Mawson in the 1st Edition of XPD. For those about to embark on their first expedition race this give an amazingly frank and sometimes humourous perspective on what it takes to finish. Enjoy!

XPD "as much an expedition as a race"
August 2004 at Broken Hill
Kevin Piercy

Do you enjoy the 5km Traralgon Harriers run? So do I. Looking for something more? A half marathon, a marathon, a triathlon, an ironman. A multisport race like the Blue Rock Classic or the Mars Challenge? Don't hold yourself back, go for the five to ten day adventure race.

What is it? Surely it can't take that long?

Well the XPD is a teams race of four people and our team, Mawson, comprising Glenn Richardson (Hazelwood Nth), Adrian Keogh (Puckapunyal), Leigh Privett (Albury) and myself, finished the race in 7th place in 7 days, 6hours, 6 mins, 30 secs. The first team took 5 days 2 hours, the 17th and final team to finish, took 9 days 9 hours. This is an expedition. What were we doing for more than a week? Well the one discipline, sleep, was the thing we did least of compared to mountain biking, trekking and kayaking. We had about 11 hours sleep up until the 7th night and then we went all out and had about 7 hours sleep on the last night. We estimated we couldn't catch any teams in front or couldn't get caught from behind, and we were a bit weary. We were very weary. We weren't exactly "jumping out of our skin" though after this sleep. At least Ado no longer needed a rope tied to him to keep him in the right direction, and he no longer shook hands or talked to hallucinations any more. Sleep, like eating, were part of the necessary things to do and the fun things to look forward to were riding, trekking and kayaking.

The first leg on mountain bikes was the most fun because we had interaction with all 20 teams, spirits were high and in 2 1/2 hours we had left Broken Hill with a police escort (run out of town) to the tourist meccas of the Living Desert rock sculptures, dropped down Daydream Mine, relived history via the Silverton cemetery, onto the ghost town of Silverton and the Silverton pub, complete with Mad Max's car parked out the front and lots of paraphanelia inside to keep us entertained while searching for the next race clue to enable us to continue.

An important part of an adventure race, is that the course isn't marked, you find your own way. Checkpoints were given in a very informative race book which included history of the area and are given as grid references. We had 14! 1:100,000 maps. A 1:100,000 map covers a lot of area. We were going to cover a lot of kilometres, 700 kilometres was the advertised race distance but after the first leg, we realised this wasn't reality. It would be 700km as the crow flies. For the first 45km bike leg, we recorded 60km. All up we would have done 950km. Not always in the right direction. Sometimes we went over the same ground, more than twice (but not too often).

What were the roads like? The first 10km, a 5km stint in the middle and the last 20km into Broken Hill were bitumen. The rest were either rocky, sandy, corrugated, barely visible, may no longer exist, or covered in bindis or thorns or some form of annoying prickle.

The two kayak legs were smooth and no prickles, until the portages. To give an example of the benefit of a portage, one portage carrying the boats for 1km, saved about 9km of kayaking down the winding Darling River which flows very, very slowly. Carrying the boats is tough work but not much slower than kayaking, IF you have a clear run of vegetation and a riverbank that's accessible.

Getting back to leg one. At the end of the bike you have to dismantle it and put it into a bike box. That's off with the handlebars, pedals, seat, front wheel, tape it down and change shoes. The box is moved on for leg 3, 5, 8 and 11, theoretically a total of 375km.

Leg 2 sounded easy. We're fresh and a 45km trek across the Mundi Mundi Ranges and the 5 highest points along the way should be straight forward. As we found out with every leg, no leg was straight forward, and took us up to 2 times longer than we estimated. On our 1:100,000 map where 1cm is 1km, a marked gully is just as likely to be a Grand Canyon compared to a decline of 2 contour lines of 20 metres, as it appeared on the map. Well the trek took us 11 hours. We finished in 5th place with a team within a few minutes in front and 2 teams just minutes behind. Our feet were well on the way to being knackered within the first day. It was 11 hours of rocky uneven ground of either going up, down or side slopes. I've saved the best bit of leg 2 to last. It was hot and we were dehydrated badly, just like all the teams around us. I drank a couple of litres in the first bike ride to be well hydrated for the trek and my aim was to carry a minimal 2 litres during the trek. There were plenty of wild goats in the ranges so when you're desperate, the idea of milking a goat doesn't seem too bizarre, but there was a New Zealander in the Albury Team we were travelling with, and they only had to see the gleam in his eyes and the goats ran like hell. 8 hours into the trek we came across rock pools, we had a long way to go and dehydration now wasn't a good idea. Ado and I took on 1 1/2 litres from these puddles which we affectionately referred to as "goat piss". We treated it with a double dose, and after 20 minutes I started sipping and from experience I felt I'd know within 10 minutes whether I would be laughing or crying. Within another 10 minutes we caught and passed the Albury team. Over the next 2 hours I drank 1 1/2 litres of cool, refreshing "goats piss" that tasted like the Morwell pool gone berserk. I was able to relate to Craig, the organiser, at the end of this leg, that this was the worst looking water I have ever drank. The previous worst was during one of his previous events at the first Geoquest. The previous worst to that was water in Nepal that gave me salmonella poisoning resulting in passing blood, diarrhoea for a year and no spicy food or alcohol for 5 years.

At this next transition we had our first drop off box of food. At each transition, each team was given 30 litres of water and from now on, we carried a lot of (heavy) water.
Leg 3 was a 70km mountain bike that took us nearly 11 hours. We started at about 2 am in the morning and it was a nightmare in the dark, trying to follow a track that bumped and weaved invisibly up a creek. At the first of the leg 3 checkpoints we were now in 3rd. The team previously 4th had stopped to sleep, and the other team had stopped to wait until daybreak after giving up trying to stay on the track in the dark. Going off the track you risked getting lost and also lots of punctures, which would be very time consuming and potentially the end of the race unless you carried spare tyres as well.

Enthusiasm to keep our position led us 1 km (only) in the wrong direction but in our haste to shortcut to make up time, this cost us more time because we had to come back to the original plan.

Leg 4 was an orienteering loop out and back on our feet for 25km which took us 4 1/2 hours. Only 13 minutes off the fastest team and 7 hours quicker than the slowest team. This point was the beginning of the end for 3 teams. It was a nice jaunt through the Barrier Ranges and dry sandy riverbeds. It was also in daylight and we took a few photos on the highest point at a checkpoint on the ranges.

Leg 5 was a 110km mountain bike which took us nearly 19 hours. Yep! We found a lot of unmarked tracks and gates but the highlight was having afternoon tea (or was it morning) with the station owner of "Langawirra". Lachlan and his parents were most gracious and convincing that we should have a cup of tea and toast. It was a most pleasant stop and chat with people who farm 130,000 acres with sheep, cattle, wild goats, extreme soil conditions, extreme heat or cold and even floods 3 years ago. An hour later we all took group photos and took off in the direction and guidance given by Lachlan. Lachlan's mum looked on with admiration and horror, because she believed we all could do with a good 12 hour sleep, a feed and some medication. She offered to show us where the bedrooms were but at that point we had less than 2 hours sleep in 48 hours and if we went to sleep now it would be a good waste of daylight and we wouldn't wake up in a hurry in a bed. We assured her every adventure racer looked as good (or bad) as us, and it was a normal look. We also couldn't imagine many teams stopping for a chat, so we better get going.

Soon after, I got my first dreaded puncture, 500 metres after bragging to a film crew that none of us had a puncture and it was a miracle. They filmed the change, but we did have good teamwork. We had thorn proof tubes and the local Broken Hill tyre inserts to prevent punctures. Next we had lots of sand and to be able to ride 5 kph took a fair bit of skill.

At the end of this mountain bike we were coming into our 3rd night. The transition was planned to be our saviour for food and sleep at the Little Toper roadhouse on the Barrier Highway, 80km out of Broken Hill. Leigh and I had a roadhouse meal of lamb and vegetables which we thought was pretty good. Glenn couldn't go past a hamburger and Ado was well on his way to eating 2kg of salami (an epic of its own) and didn't need any back up food.

We had tried to sleep for 2 hours the previous night but we froze and couldn't sleep. We had a tent (compulsory equipment at all times), cardboard boxes as insulation mats, and all our compulsory clothing on(!), of thermal top and bottoms, polar fleece top, hat and gloves, and waterproof top. Tonight we had our bike box as well, where we had stashed our sleeping bags and more clothes. Everything wasn't going to be easy. The site was windy with 50 knot gusts. A tent wasn't going to survive here.

This didn't phase us. Leigh in particular has an incredible talent of being able to sleep anywhere, at any time. Within 30 seconds of finishing a meal he was lying across 2 seats and snoring loudly. The roadhouse manager suggested to me at this time it was probably time for "our mate and us to move on" because the snoring was competing too well with the TV. After 20 minutes of negotiating we got a room to sleep in for 2 1/2 hours, as long as we slept on the floor, not the beds. The carpet was fantastic. I was losing one kg of weight every day and my hips appreciated the carpet.

Next we had our longest leg which took 29 hours. So we left in the night, visited Burke's cave, scared the hell out of a dam building contractor in the middle of the night for a chat, had a 1 1/2 hour sleep in beds of some unused shearing quarters and did a hell of a lot of walking through flat, prickly bush to finish at the Darling River well into the 4th night. We were at the half way point. This didn't cross our minds as being a significant point. We generally were focussed on each task and completing each leg as well as we could.

I had squeezed into our food box a pair of kayak booties to keep my feet dry and warm in the kayak. Good idea, but my feet were now 1 1/2 sizes bigger after the trek and if I took my runners off, they probably would have grown larger. I was looking forward to the kayak but as a team we had a fair bit of anxiety and trepidation. This was with regard to the long 65 km distance, the blow-up Sevylor two man kayaks looked incredibly good fun for Zambezi Grade 5 rapids but looked incredibly slow for the Darling River, and we knew kayaking was Leigh's least favoured and practised discipline. No worries, we were the fastest team in 16 hours, by 28 minutes to the next team, and over two hours quicker that the winning team. To say no worries is of course an understatement. This was the first leg that we were allowed to use a GPS. It proved essential to have a GPS to find checkpoints and where we were, on this winding river on a 1:100,000 map. For example a shortcut through a 10km wide lake seemed a good idea at first, but the lake was a man-made flooded area where the water level was either very low or many land locked areas supporting lots of trees. We did apparently avoid the river weeds which brought many kayaks to a slog of 4 kph. Top speed peaked at 6.3 kph by the GPS in deepwater and anything over 6.0 kph was really a waste of effort. When we got out of the kayaks we were hypothermic and it took me 1 1/2 hours next to the fire, shivering, to warm up.

We had a compulsory six hour break ad we had our bikes, and our sleeping bags (yeeha). An official was to wake us up but was distracted and we may have got 4 hours sleep in the 7 hour stop. The next mountain bike was through the township of Menindee which was a tour of the historic sites and GPS was once again allowed and essential. Our timing wasn't so good. It would have been much easier not in the dark. There was a cold frost and we missed the opening hours of the cafes and bakery.

From the course notes, we knew before we started that the next leg would be the most important in deciding our final placing. It was a "70" km kayak, below the weir wall where the water level was low, and even less flow, if that was possible. The course notes allowed some creative alternative routes where you had to get to the next transition with the kayaks and gear but you didn't have to go via the river and you could take one mountain bike. Our strategy was to pack the kayaks away into their bags, load them onto a bike, and go via the roads. It would be about 56 km and even if it took us one hour to pack the gear on the bike and went 6 kph, this would be 11 hours. The first kayak took us 16 hours and the second one was sure to be longer.
The following leg after the kayak was a 40 km trek and if the mountain bike went with the kayaks, it had to go on the trek. Seems like a straight forward strategy, run with bike and kayaks to the trek. On the trek take in turns having a rest on the bike while the others run.

Every leg so far had a nasty and challenging twist. Was the trek covered in vegetation and thorns so that you had to carry the bike for "40" km? Did the bug U turns in the river allow us to portage huge amounts of the river to reduce the distance to make it a better option than being on our feet for over "96" km? The 75 km trek was tough on the feet. The first 60 km kayak wasn't easy either. The 96 km trek must be quicker?
We did the kayak.

Why? Glenn's feet survived 75 km, and a 100 km trek in the second pair of Dunlop KT26's (2 sizes bigger than the first pair) probably wouldn't be able to contain the enlarging feet, potentially jeopardising a finish. Glenn was strong in the kayak. My feet were actually stuffed from the bike. Standing on the pedals to try to take away the continuous bumps on the bum, the cleats had bruised the balls of my feet. Trekking was relatively better than the bike for me. I rode the previous bike ride clipped out of the pedals to save my feet. This created another problem in that going over bumps, my feet would tend to go airborne and I feared the inevitable, landing astride the crossbar.
Leigh had to take his insoles out of his shoes after the first trek to get his feet into his shoes. The subsequent treks were like trekking in slippers on rocks and thorns. However, Leigh could see the potential of a "96" km trek and he had had enough of kayaking for at least another year or so.

Ado would do whatever it took to finish. It's a lot easier to "carry" someone in the boat for 65 km compared to carrying someone by piggyback for a 96 km trek.
At the start of the 6th day, we jumped in the kayaks and went 10 metres before we had to get out to get across a sandbar. This was going to be one helluva day. We actually were having fun. This was despite a bit of physical discomfort and the mental torment that other teams could potentially stroll the other route and pass us. XPD was like an outback camping trip with your mates, except we didn't camp much or stay in the one place for long.

Our first major portage was a 1 km shortcut that cut off potentially 9 km of river. Leigh manufactured a couple of "trees" to go through the hand loops of the end of the kayaks. We each took a corner and as long as we had a 4 m wide pathway, we would be laughing. We created a pathway after ripping our legs apart and proving that the Sevylor kayaks are much more indestructible than us. My own personal moment leading to a few harsh words of encouragement to myself, was catching a foot in a prickle bush, landing headfirst into it, then having the kayak come over the top of me, pinning me to the bush. No big deal, I just needed the kayak to go back again to let me up, if only I could make myself heard.

We knew we would freeze to death if we stopped during the night and so we stopped in daylight and cooked a meal. 2 1/2 hours of darkness later, we were on the way to hypothermia again. We stopped and built a massive fire in no time. However, the first 6 matches were wet and didn't light. The lighter didn't work. The second box of matches in the first aid kit saved our lives. We were having fun again. The fire was cooking us and turning around produced an even bake. This of course would be dehydrating us. We had a hot drink which was fantastic. The camel back water was so cold I could feel it creating hypothermia from the inside out. Following another 2 1/2 hours in the kayak, we had to jump out and light another fire. We had a roaring fire in 60 seconds, teamwork was at its peak. We were happy and enjoying life.

This stop we had a 20 min sleep. Ado didn't because he knew we all couldn't wake in 20 minutes. He turned the boats around ready for a launch and pumped the boats up hard again. They go down in the cold. After 22 1/2 hours of sandbars, ducking and weaving around fallen trees, we reached the transition to see two teams formerly behind us, leave the transition. We were 5th, now 7th. We had a good kayak and we were motivated to get back to 5th. These 2 teams had trekked the whole distance, the 3rd team trekked over one half, the leading team had portaged over 25km of the 65km kayak (without a bike). We had a quick transition.

It was now the start of the 7th day. We weren't counting, it was just another day of adventure. The 40 km trek didn't surprise us in that it wasn't as simple as it seemed. To have a direct line we contemplated wading through a lake, but after bearing the cold of the previous night we were vulnerable to the cold and we certainly didn't want to lose a shoe in the mud. We took a longer route. Ado was a tower of strength but the last 7 km took us many hours. Ado didn't get the benefit of a 20 minute sleep the night before. At the transition point, the officials were once again chirpy and genuinely pleased to see us. Their cheerfulness turned to concern with our appearance, to relief and surprise that Ado could go to sleep before he had actually hit the woolshed floor. A bed of wool was waiting for him. Going into the 7th night we've had about 11 hours sleep, we were going to have 7 hours straight now.

The last leg took us 8 1/2 hours. We still had to navigate, stop twice for food, stop a number of times for more punctures with my bike and even at 8 1/2 hours for a 110 km mountain bike, this was a relatively good time. The winning team took 10 1/4 hours and this reflects they obviously did it in the dark.

In my mind, any team that finishes this race, their a winner. The organisers feel the same way and at the finish they treat you to a bottle of champagne, an esky of beer or softdrink and a chat on their couch for as long as you like to stay.

Footnote: Our team member Leigh turned 59 years of age during the race. What an incredible effort. No mercy for age was ever expected by Leigh, and if he ever felt we were colluding to look after him, he picked up the pace.