Sport
3 August, 2021
Adventure race wraps up
NEARLY 30 teams converged on the far north over the past weeks for the 11th XPD 500km adventure race with one local team managing to beat the odds and themselves securing fifth place.
NEARLY 30 teams converged on the far north over the past weeks for the 11th XPD 500km adventure race with one local team managing to beat the odds and themselves securing fifth place.
Chipesti was a local team comprised of three Tableland locals Chris and Sarah White, Kieran Mouldey and Luke Smythe who traveled up from Townsville to compete in the event running from July 18 to July 24.
This year’s race was themed ‘Rivers of Gold” paying homage to the 1870’s Cape York gold rush centered around the Palmer and Hodgkinson Rivers.
In respect to this teams were also tasked with gold panning and abseiling in the many areas they discovered and raced through over the duration of the race.
Competitors had to tackle the grueling conditions of the Far North while kayaking, mountain biking and hiking in a race against the clock, other competitors and themselves.
It was the first ever adventure race for Chipesti team member Kieran an experience he certainly didn’t expect.
“I hadn’t even heard of XPD but I was asked to join the team by Chris and Sarah,” he said.
“It was as much as a mental challenge as it was a physical one, something I wasn’t expecting.
“I really enjoyed the experience and with some proper training I believe it is well worth doing.”
Despite the hard conditions and sleep deprivation that Kieran and the rest of the team endured they managed to pull through and claim fifth in the Premier Mixed category of the race with a time of 111 hours and 55 minutes.
Another Tablelands team dubbed the Warrior Women competed in the Retired Category and put through a time of 91 hours before retiring from the race.
