I haven’t written a detailed race report about a race in China since 2017. I wrote a short debrief in 2019 and a very short mention of 2023’s event but it’s time to get back to the old standards.

The Wulong Mountain Quest is a 4-Day staged race that must have 4 team members who work together to complete each day’s activities. The days can vary from 1 hour to 9 hours and we’ll find ourselves running, basic orienteering, mountain biking, kayaking, rafting, swimming, abseiling,  and doing local challenges such as chair carrying or heavy basket carrying, all in any order of varying distances. The terrain is typically very hilly as the geology of the area is full of enormous limestone karst which does allow for caving stages and spectacular features and sights. With the event being held in early September this is a very very hot time to be visiting Wulong, which is part of the Chongqing district. Temperatures are frequently in the upper 30s, occasionally over 40, but there is always the possibility of rain and cooler temperatures especially at the top of the mountain which is around 1500m higher than the village we are based in and a location we often travel to during the competition.

This is my 7th time at this particular race (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2023, and now 2024) and my team mates have been to just as many!

For the 2nd year in a row we were Team Topsport which consisted of Sam Clark, Simone Maier, Alex Hunt and myself. We are proud to represent Topsport as we have all had so much to do with them and received plenty of support from them with our multisport endeavours.

Day 1:

This began with the usual opening ceremony in the main streets of Wulong. Today was looking to be around 35 degrees and it was already over 30 by 9am kick off.

1km run – a very fast start, we ran averaging around 3:20minkm pace and we were still positioned behind 5 Chinese teams who were sending it hard. Down a staircase to the river bed to the main river we found kayaks, grabbed two double kayakes per team and slid into the river.

8.5km kayak – The Wujiang river is large in volume and enough gradient to create very swirly water, some big waves and big boils, the kayaks we use are rudderless and basic so this mixed together makes for a somewhat technical stage. We are near the front of the race when I decide to adjust my foot peg mid rapid as it was way too close, as I do this we drift slightly off line and get drawn into a major eddy on the right. Huge mistake from me and after around 50 sweep strokes we are back in the main flow but have been passed by many teams. Alex and Sam wait up for Simone and I. I’m a bit pissed about my mistake so work extra. My heart rate is through the roof thanks to this and the heat of the day! Out of the boats we sprinted uphill for 1.4km, I felt like a fish out of water gasping for breath,

then a 400m stage where Sam Clark had to wear a chair on his shoulders and carry Simone while Alex and I helped. This was also uphill/up stairs!

We ended this stage with a time out then a 40min bus ride, an unusual situation but we tried to make the most of it by revitalising on water and food. We restarted at the top of the mountain where the air temperature was slightly cooler with a fun, hilly and off-road Mountain bike for 15km.

Then onto a Orienteering stage, I took control of the map but relied too much on the satellite map on my phone which didn’t line up with the physical map! We were chased down by the following teams who likely just focused on us rather than the maps, this was clear when they followed us into a ruthless bush bash when there was a nice track to use instead (My bad!). Near the end of the stage they all went a different way while I pursued a different road which got us to to the final checkpoint first. Here we had to load exactly 60 corn into basket then carry it to the finish line about 500m away. Clarky carried it and we crossed the finish line first… just! However our overall time for the day had us in 3rd as we started the MTB stage with 1min gaps between teams.

Day 2:

Today started up at Fairy town, about halfway up the mountain at 1000m, again slightly cooler than down the bottom of the valley but still 30 degrees at 9am. We kicked off with a different type of chair carry, it was more of a Throne style with long poles on either side.

Clarky and Alex held the back as they were similar heights and I held the front while Simone caught a break in the chair. I had to dig deep for this one making loads of noise, it was supposed to be 500m but it was actually 1km and all uphill. After this we were straight into a 17km run stage, Alex put me on the tow line to help me ease into the faster pace and get some recovery, it was downhill for a few km so I caught my breath soon enough and unclipped. We were around 6th position at this stage.

We ended up down by the famous natural bridges then made our way up and over to the red path before ascending a muddy single track for 800m vertical climb to the end of the stage. This ended us up by Fairy Mountain and switched to the Mountain bikes for 30km, this stage had two long fast downhills and two long steep uphills!

Including some hike-a-bikes over the high saddles. We managed to gain back plenty of time here to get into 2nd place. At the transition to the final 2.5km road run two teams came in just behind us which gave plenty of motivation to run hard! We dug deep and finished the stage well out of breath!

The first place team ‘Wulong Karst’ was a local team, they had 10mins on us at the end of the first run but we had reduced it to 5mins by the end of the day.

Day 3:

Today the course suited us better, starting with a 25km ride with lots of hills. The Chinese teams stayed with us for the first 30mins putting up a good fight before cracking under the intensity and slowly dropping back.

We came into transition just in front before beginning a rafting stage on a small reservoir lake. We worked well together and knocked this one out with a good lead despite the awkward boat size and odd shaped paddles.

Next was a 7km MTB all downhill to the cave. As we entered this transition area, the clock stops to allow us a safe amount of time to prepare for the cave and separation between teams. We were surprised to see NZ Team Cottage of Wattage (Ali Wilson, Weston Hill, Robbie Hunt, Hamish Elliot) enter very soon after us. Into the Cave we went , it was as epic as ever.

Plenty of rock hopping and climbing down water falls, abseiling and some cliff jumping into pools (Even one that I wasn’t supposed to jump, thankfully just deep enough) outside the cave we had 1.5 km of single track to end the stage. 20mins on a bus took us close to the finish line, but not quite there. We had a 1.6km road run all up hill to finish the day! It was a lung burner!

Thanks to our fast start to the day and our quick caving time we won the day and ended up in overall 1st place with the ‘Wulong Karst’ team now 1min behind in the overall.

Day 4:

Today was the biggest day of them all. We started with a 8km run, all uphill including a cave section.

We worked hard and were 2nd into the TA, it was HOT already! Next a 15km MTB that was mostly downhill followed by a 5km rafting stage all downriver. We picked great lines in the raft and managed to pass ‘Wulong Karst’ during this river stage.

Next a 11km run, its starting to get really hot now. This was a very hilly run too, we worked hard but still got passed by the Chinese team ‘Wulong Karst’, they are phenomenal runners and they thrive in the heat!

We eventually made our way down to the kayaks. Onto the lake we were all feeling it, it was hot and it was only getting hotter. Easily upper 30’s and the light tail wind only made us feel hotter. the first 12km was all on a reservoir.

I was sipping away on my drink to limit the damage when suddenly around 30mins in I started to feel faint and weak along with my vision disapearing. I let the team know, they provided some advice but 5mins later I was out to it, unable to paddle at all, I thought my race was over! They clipped in a towline and began towing our boat with only Simone paddling. Then I threw up, ALOT. 2mins later I felt normal again and was back in action and feeling strong. Crazy. We got back into action and back to work trying to catch the 1st place team, we caught up to them, just as we approached the dam. Hopping out of our kayaks we now had to strap them to wooden trolleys with caster wheels to tow them on the road. This portage is 3km of hot concrete road, this is where the heat is amplified. It was well over 40 degrees on this stage while we stumbled our way through it. We are right behind the leaders when they hit a downhill corner too fast, their kayak slides off the road and the trolley wheels snap off. We slip passed them and we’re now at the front of the race. They provide us with a water station, the bottled water just burns us as its been sitting in the sun! Eventually in the river on the other side of the dam we jump in the water and float with our faces underwater, it was sweet relief for a moment. In the kayaks we are now on the main river taking us back to Wulong town and to the finish line, only 20kms to go. We are rewarded with some fun rapids with big boils and waves but still some long slow flat sections. Looking back with 1km to go we have a huge gap, no one in sight. All that is left is a short run up to the bridge to abseil back down to the river then a 1km run to the finish line.

We are moving slow unfortunately and out of no where a Chinese team shows up and flys up to the bridge, we fumble with our ropes and suddenly they are at the bottom before us!

I start to get a bit worried, we only have 1min on them for the overall, so we cannot let them finish ahead of us by much. I am pushing hard and towing as hard as I can when Clarky says its only Team Koosa! Oh the relief! I was so busy on the ropes that I didn’t notice the different faces. A few minutes later we stumble across the finish line. I hadn’t eaten much since my throw up incident and was feeling pretty spacey. But here we are, finished!

We should have the overall win but nothing is ever certain in China. They have provided paddling pools full of water and ice to cool off in, we wait there for the other teams to come in and congratulate them all in.

Its been a tough 4 days and everyone is happy it’s over. It’s still stifling hot and we wade through some interviews and the final stage ceremony. Eventually we have the overall win confirmed! Team Topsport are stoked.

It’s never easy over here. It’s a well organized event in such a unique part of the world. It wouldn’t be possible with out my great team mates Simone Maier, Alex Hunt and Sam Clark. And of course Topsport! If you ever need a help with Coast to Coast preparation: Kayaking on the Waimakariri River or Running over Goat Pass, please visit their website and book a trip or course! www.topsport.co.nz