The strategy conversation you can only have here
The Totalsports Challenge consists of seven disciplines, and competitors can enter as individuals or as teams. Teams can consist of seven, three or two members. The Totalsports Challenge begins with a 12km surfski in Gordon’s Bay and a 1.5km swim, followed by a 50km road cycle to Kleinmond, a 13km road run to the Arabella, a 13km K1 canoe paddle on the Botrivier Lagoon, a 25km mountain bike leg back to Kleinmond and a 9km beach run on the Kleinmond Blue Flag Beach to finish.
I've not done it before and this year my friend Lisa and I are doing it as a mixed pair. She has done a couple of these before so she comes with the experience and I'm the newbie. While the event looks like fun and I'm looking forward to it, I've got an inkling of cold/flu like symptoms - very slight - but worrying. I've taken it very easy today (besides the mountain bike in the rain this morning) like having a short sleep over lunch time.
So the event will be fun but what will be even more fun will be the transitions. I think I get it easier than Lisa. She finishes her surfski and while I swim she needs to get ready for her road bike ride after getting her surfski out of the water. I'll come in from the swim, get the surfski up onto the car, change into my running kit and drive from Gordons Bay to just before Kleinmond.
There I'll park the car and take over from Lisa. She'll find the car hopefully and drive past me while I run to just before Arabello Golf Estate. By the time I get there she will have got her K1 canoe into the water and if I'm lucky she may even have my bike ready for me when she returns from her paddle on the Botriver Lagoon. I then head around the Kleinmond Koppie (I'm sure that's not the right name) on my mountain bike, return to Kleinmond proper and then we both take a jog down the beach for 9km's.
It should be fun. I'll keep you posted.