Iron man contest moves to Mt Hutt

Press, 21 October 1983, Page 38

Iron man contest moves to Mt Hutt

By

JEFF HAMPTON

Seventy fitness fanatics will push themselves through a gruelling alpine course at Mount Hutt this week-end at the fourth Salomon iron man contest.

Competitors must climb, run, ski, and kayak over a 13km course on the Mount Hutt ski-field and the Rakaia River in the one-day endurance event.

Starting time is midday tomorrow in front of the day lodge on the Mount Hutt ski-field. The finish line is the Rakaia Gorge bridge.

The organiser, Mr Robin Judkins, of Christchurch, says if the weather is bad tomorrow the event will be staged on Sunday or Monday. Competitors must climb 700 vertical metres of snow up Mount Hutt ski-field, ski 700 vertical metres of the

north bowl, run Ikm of scree, and then kayak 7km of the Rakaia River. The event is divided into five classes — open, veteran, women’s, interschool, and the “originals” — for those who competed in the first alpine iron man contest. The first three in each section will take home {irizes of ski and mounaineering equipment.

Mr Judkins is delighted that so many sportsmen from throughout New Zealand will compete and believes this is because of the change of venue — from Wanaka to Mount Hutt — and the growing popularity of multi-discipline sports. He expects the winning time to be less than 90 minutes and the slowest competitor to take about three hours on the course.

Safety precautions include having officials and first aiders stationed at points

around the course, says Mr Judkins. A helicopter will be available to ferry out anyone injured and jet boats and canoeists would keep an eye on the kayaking section. Competition should be fierce in all sections of the event.

The frontrunner in the open section is Christchurch’s John Howard, a mountaineer who won the contest in 1981 and 1982. He will face a stern challenge from another Christchurch man, Sandy Sandblom, aged 39, who is the present “veteran” iron man. Another competitor expected to do well is lan Edmond, aged 18, a pupil at Otago Boys’ High School. The present “iron lady” is Penny Webster, of Wellington. Strong competition for her title is expected from Sue Ritchie, also of Wellington, and Gillian Wratt, of Christchurch.