Mixed fortunes in Crater Challenge

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 550, 23 August 1994, Page 3

Mixed fortunes in Crater Challenge

Waimarino athletes taking part in the weekend's Ubix Crater to Lake Challenge had mixed fortunes in their respective disciplines, with the Ohakune businesses-spon-sored team fmishing a creditable 35th from nearly 90 starters. The event kicked off at 10am on Saturday from the Crater Lake, fmishing at the Great Lake Centre in Taupo. Ohakune' s team, consisting of Heidi Godfrey (ski), George Taylor (mountain bike), Chris Thrupp (cycle), Shane Reid (kayak), Colin Budge (water ski) and Joe Taoa (run) fmished with a collective time of 5:36:35. Individual times recorded were: 0:06:22 (ski), 1:26:58 (mt bike), 0:54:08 (road bike), 0:40:28 (run) Individual times were not available for either the kayak or water skiing sections The team were well positioned, when disaster struck

during the fifth event - the boat being used for the water skiing section became partially submerged. Competitor Colin Budge managed to complete the course using another boat but the team was penalised for the unfortunate incident. Placed first was a Hamilton team (Olympus Gym sponsor) with a time of 4:22: 1 1 . Second was an Auckland entry with 4:27:19, and third another Hamilton team that finished in a time of 4:27:49. Other Waimarino competitors to perform creditably were Deb Campbell and Matt Callaghan who both competed for a Taupo-based team. Deb finished the run section in a time of 0:4:50, while Matt's mountain bike was timed at 1:18:39. Their times plus those of the rest of the team placed them 21st overall.