Thursday, October 12, 2017
DANIEL Jones will return to defend his Motu Challenge title on Saturday. File photo D4369-353
Adyn Ogle
NOW in its 27th year, the Motu Challenge remains a standout in Eastern Bay sporting events.
The annual 172-kilometre multisport race returns on Saturday and it is the toughest event in the Eastern Bay – anything with a race record of over seven hours on brutal terrain cannot be considered in any other fashion.
Last year Whakatane’s Daniel Jones claimed his maiden Motu title, in spite of having more renown as a runner.
Elina Ussher captured a staggering 10th women’s crown last year, setting a new women’s individual record of seven hours 55 minutes in the process. She is gunning for number 11 on Saturday.
Jones also returns this year and prior to his win last year, the eight previous men’s races were won by either Richard Ussher or Ohope’s Sam Clark. Ussher won four titles from 2008 before Clark claimed his first win in 2012. The next year, the two fought a titanic battle where Ussher won and set a new record of 7.07. Clark was less than two minutes behind and nearly an hour ahead of the next individual competitor.
Jones, now based in Wellington, will race alongside his father Neil while younger brother Brad will race in the two-leg Motu 160 cycle race.
“A big motivation is coming back to the Bay and the Motu, being a bit of a family event, makes it a special one, especially as I’ll be lining up next to Dad and Brad.”
Jones said he has no major expectations of the race, and apart from the after effects of a couple of corporate rugby games, he felt fine.
“If anything, the running is going really well coming off New Zealand road relays last weekend. So hopefully I will have a decent overall level of fitness.”
The race begins in Opotiki at 7am with a 65km mountainbike leg to Motu via a newly compacted Motu Road. The recent work is expected to produce faster times on the bike. The 17km second leg is a run loop from Motu village before competitors take to State Highway 2 on road bikes for the gruelling climb over Trafford’s Hill.
The 27km paddle down the Waioeka River can be the making or undoing of competitors and precedes another road cycle from the mouth of the gorge before a 3km run to the finish line at Memorial Park.
The main race can be run as an individual or in teams of up to six people.
The Motu 160 is a cycle race that includes the mountainbike leg and then a massive road cycle back to Opotiki. A duathlon option allows for both cycle legs, with the run in the middle, or just the mountainbike and run legs.
The Mini Motu is an off-road duathlon for children, based around Memorial Park.
How it all began
FORMER Opotiki Shell petrol station owner Keith Goddard established the Motu Challenge in 1993.
Goddard was the vice president of the Eastern Bay Chamber of Commerce at the time and the then president Peter Paterson said Goddard was a doer.
“At the time there was a lot of hype around the Coast to Coast. At the time there were not a lot of those races and Keith wanted to see a top-class multisport race in Opotiki. He had the vision to use the Motu set up. There were close to 1000 athletes in the early days and all the car at Whakatane motels had kayaks on their rooves.”
Whakatane multisport specialist Neil Jones was also instrumental in the success of the race.
Top swimmer up for challenge
CHAMPION swimmer Moss Burmester hopes he will not have to do any swimming during Saturday’s Motu Challenge.
The 36-year-old will compete in the individual race as prepares for February’s Coast to Coast. Burmester was a renowned butterfly swimmer, winning a world championship in 2008 and a Commonwealth Games gold and bronze medal in 2006.
Burmester spoke with race organiser Mike van der Boom last week and said he was looking forward to the challenge ahead.
“I see it as a massive challenge that will really test me.
“I’ve grown up on the water and doing almost all water sports.
“I can kayak and have played in the Wairoa River with friends and my brothers on body boards before, so I am pretty comfortable in a kayak.”
Burmester retired from swimming in 2010 and is now living in Auckland as a performance specialist.
“Training is fitting around work which can be very hard to manage.
“It’s very different than when I swam professionally as that was my job and training came first.
“Most days we are trying to train before and after work for an hour or so and a little longer over the weekends.”
It is a return of sorts for Burmester, who grew up in Tauranga, and he used to visit the beach in Opotiki as a child.