Adelaide 2013 Race Review

It’s such a pleasure heading to Adelaide for this unique race. While still a serious challenge the idea of only climbing 30 floors is just that little bit more appealing, but I do write that from a general perspective. This year saw the format change for the Elites and the inclusion of the Everest Climb added a new dimension that we think is here to stay.

From speaking to Steve Corrie the following day, director of Active8Change and the organisers of the event, the response was very positive and 2013 was stamped as a success. Final fundraising dollars for the Childhood Cancer Association are still being finalised but the overall participation for the day had almost doubled from last year!!

The level that people take the participation of this event to is impressive. We had Pac Man and his buddies chase each other up in one of the best dress-ups we’ve ever seen at an event like this and not to mention Adelaide’s own STIG, Sam, who raced in the Elites in his full F4 race kit! Photos of this and many other memories will no doubt be available from Active8Change shortly.

A special mention must also be made to our own Adam Ryan who after having double hip surgery returned to “race” the event that he had previously won and held the record for. He actually took out the M30-39 Category!

To cover the formalities, Darren Wilson took out his 2nd Adelaide Stair Climb Title with an untouchable 11:33mins for his combined 4 times up the 30 floors. Chris Price was placed 2nd (for the 3rd time in the event’s 4 year history) with a combined time of 12:46mins and Matthew Konetschka came 3rd in his first ever stair climb with a combined time of 13:32mins.

Lauren Gillis was the only female to enter the Elite Category so took away the win with a combined time of 18:01mins. She had just competed a 100km ultra-marathon the weekend before and also studied for exams in between each ascent so the title was certainly hard fought.

To paint a picture of how the day unfolded we need to start at the Everest Climb as this is where the remarkable achievement of Darren Wilson begins. The Everest Climb was a new addition to the race format where teams from the Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) competed against teams from the Emergency Services (Fire Fighters, Police and Ambulance) for the Everest Climb Cup. Comprising of 10 climbers plus one reserve each team was required to climb the equivalent distance of climbing Everest, a total of 100 ascents in the fastest time possible. As you might expect the Firies took out the title but taking nothing away from the other teams the prize was hotly contested with seconds separating some teams. You could tell that a rivalry had been born so I wouldn’t be surprised if the other teams mount a serious attack next year. Some participants completed the climb up to 12 times!

One of these participants was Darren Wilson. Representing the Firies he helped the team take out the Everest Climb with 13 ascents, then backed up to compete in the Elite Category a couple of hours later. Each of his 4 climbs as part of the Elite Race were under 3mins of which we a certain we will not see again for a long time. He is a very modest man so we might leave the accolades there.

To reiterate our opening statement, we love coming to Adelaide and seeing this race grow in stature each year. It’s short format is unique and adds good variety to the series of races that we now have in Australia. As always we can’t wait to see you all again next year.

Sam Power

Adam Ryan