A pictorial account
Team O2B Healthy Ltd
Hamish Fleming, Sam Manson, Marcel Hagner and Simone Maier
RACE DAY 1
Leg 1: run up 6,000 stairs over Mt Tai, run down 4,000 stairs and descend some technical trail.
Oh yea, and carry some boxes of water, traditional style up the last few hundred meters.
Leg 2: Abseil and short swim, then run to kayaks.
Leg 3: kayak
Day 1 summary: 3rd place
A solid day for the team, on a running dominated course. Confident we could lift our rank over the next few days.
RACE DAY 2
Leg 1: Run and short wheelbarrow push (yip! Not a typo… I said wheelbarrow).
Leg 2: Long (~60km ) flat Mtb TT
We ended up riding this in a bunch with Purao and Thule.
Leg 3: kayak
A pivotal leg in our day. This is where we got a gap on the field.
Leg 4: short run
We we going for it on this stage. We were in the lead and knew Purao would be coming for us. So good pain faces in this shot…
Leg 5: GPS orienteering and flying fox
Purao caught us here, and we worked together to clear the O section. At the last CP we were able to gap them and reach the Flying Fox in first.
Day 2 summary: 1st in stage – second overall.
RACE DAY 3
Leg 1: Staggered start in the kayak
Stage 2: Mtb, rolling terrain followed by a ~ 800m climb. We were neck and neck with Purao right into the TA. A tough climb.
Stage 3: run then flying fox. Purao got about 40 seconds on us here.
Stage 4: run to the finish. Purao were ahead, but due to the staggered start and a stop clock for the fly fox we knew the stage win was still within reach.
We hammered it home and left it all on the course… Second on the day by 12 seconds!! What a race!
2nd overall Tai’an Mountain Quest 2017
Mountain Adventure and Multisport 