November 24th-26th 2006
RedYeti 36 Hour Midnight Assault
Gippsland, VIC

‘The toughest Red Yeti race to date.

Tali Karng Trackers were pleased to have along newcomers Kerryn Rim and last our replacement Peter Sexton, joining seasoned campaigners Mick Kolody and Glenn Richardson in our entry to the Red Yeti Gippsland race.

Race headquarters was at Yarram,approx 4 hours south east of Melbourne. It was a warm weekend for November, with temperatures in the mid twenties, so it made for beautiful adventure racing weather.

The race kicked off at Friday midnight, and ran through until midday Sunday. It was a remote location start from the Won Wron Rifle range, and the first leg was a short 16km trek to Won Wron oval where we transitioned to mountain bike. We were traveling comfortably and left this transition point in fourth place in the field and all was good.

It was then a 37km ride to Manns beach, where we transitioned to kayak and then began a 21km paddle to Port Albert. The sun was rising, the weather was great and made for a pleasant paddle in the early hours of the morning. We were holding our position in fourth place.

Stage 4 was another short 10km trek from Port Albert to the Alberton Recreation reserve, with the majority of teams reaching it in the mid morning. The sun was out, the singlets and sun cream were on and we prepared for a 26km paddle to Port Welshpool, in beautiful conditions.

Although the paddle started well, it was in relatively protected waters. After a few hours it opened out to wide open channels, and the weather had now started to turn. We were now paddling into a head wind and against the tide, the swell was up, and conditions got a little rough. From here it was an absolute slog, and it proved to be the back breaker for the entire field. It turned out to be an eight hour paddle for our team, with a couple teams making a wise portage saving them an hour or so. Most teams were unprepared and totally exhausted by the paddle, with only four teams actually finishing the paddle section, us being one of them.

As you could imagine it was a long transition at Port Welshpool with teams drying out, eating and resting up before the next 37 km Mountain Bike leg to Minnie Ha Ha Falls. An advanced section was thrown in on the bike leg as well, with all the top four teams attempting it. We completed half of the advanced section, knowing there were no other teams behind us within reach.

We arrived at the next transition point around midnight, and began preparations for what we all new would be a killer 25km trek all the way to Mount Tassie. It was here that Pete our replacement racer withdrew from the race, leaving the three of us to continue on through the night. There were several big climbs with a total vertical ascend of 2154m and it turned out to be an eight hour trek, right through until dawn. The Sleepmonsters attacked in the wee hours of the morning and didn’t really leave until dawn. It was a really strong trek for us, being the only team to do it under eight hours.

From the top of Mount Tassie we were greeted by our eagerly awaiting support crew and Pete who happily refuelled and replenished us in a fast transition. Thanks guys!

The last leg home is always much anticipated as just know you are so close to home. And it was a fantastic 30km downhill ride, which we once again did in the fastest time of 1hr 25 min to arrive back at Yarram secondary college to the finish line.

Always great to make it home, and although unranked we were pleased to know that we finished strong and were happy to finish in third place overall.

It was the toughest Red Yeti Race thus far, but perhaps the most memorable.

Thanks to Red Yeti (Angus, staff and volunteers) and sponsors who make these races possible. Special thanks to our fabulous support crew Trina and Narrelle, who we couldn’t have done the race without…we love you guys.

Truly looking forward to the next one.

Michael Kolody
Tali Karng Trackers
‘Stay strong, stay on target’