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.