Spiced Cabbage and Multisport Racing in China. (blast from the past)

Dec 14th 1996

In Sept 1996 the Japanese Tobacco Company ‘Mild Seven’ sponsored the first multisport race in china, as part of a new branding campaign.

A New Zealand team consisting of Fiona Hall, Neil Jones, Tane Humphrey and Geoff Hunt left NZ at very short notice to compete in this first race.

And this is some of the story.
From Auckland to Hong Hong and then by a Chinese Airline to Xichang in China’s Sichuan Province. The home of spiced food. Traditional greetings are held at the airport with rice wine and this sets the pace for the day. A short bus ride to our Hotel, set on the side of Xichang Lake. Now before you think that this is the lap of luxury, remember we are in far-removed China where perhaps 100 previous white faces have been seen.

A day of rest, a briefing by course designer Murphy Reinschreiber, who unfortunately hadn’t read the rules, and the scene is set for this first race of the 4 day event - a staged multiday multisport race.

Day 1     Breakfast of spiced cabbage and such like.
              (thank goodness for the packet of muesli that Fi bought from home)

       Team Biathlon (34kms), In-line skating (16km), Chinese boat Paddle  (16km)

Team biathlon : 34 kms of ride and Tie. Two teammates ride out for a pre-determined distance, drop the bikes and then run on. The following two run up to the bikes and ride. etc etc. This made for a good tactical race, which lead straight into the next in-line ‘off-road’ skating - 16km.

For some teams this proved a breeze (ie a team of cross-country skiers) but others struggled. Lucky for Tane, his feet were a size 8 and the skates fitted. He also knew how to skate and that was a bonus. But both Neil and Fiona struggled and this dropped us back in the field. The 3rd section of day 1 was a 10km paddle in Chinese wooden boats.

We finished in 7th but realized that we would be doing a lot better in the next couple of days.
Dinner:     spiced cabbage and such like

Day 2        Breakfast of spiced cabbage and such like.
                 (thank goodness for the packet of muesli that Fi bought from home)

       Seven Temples Run (20km), River kayak (25kms), Run (17km)

This sounds more like us, and indeed it is.  With a elevation gain of 1700m in the first 7km we still managed to put time on many teams, and finished this section by running through another town closed down for the race. A policeman every 10 metres to guaranteed it.
How to feel like an Olympic champion with thousands of Chinese lining the streets yelling Chou you Chou you, Chou you. A translation which means  - “go faster or get more gas in you tank”.

The river suited the kiwi team as well. With experience we were able to battle an extremely strong wind and keep the toy two-man boats running sort of straight.
A final 15km run through the paddy fields saw us at the overnight camp, now in 4th place overall.
Dinner:     spiced cabbage and such like, but hosted by the local Govt. department in a local  
                  industrial, smoke filled town. Our eyes were all watering

Day 3        Breakfast muesli.

          Mountain Bike Ride (50km), Trail Run (20km)

A great rolling ride along country roads through remote villages, finishing with a major 20km uphill ride. The downhill run through forest trails leading into villages at the bottom was also great. Probably the best day. 
Dinner:    spiced cabbage and such like, again hosted by the local Govt. department in the local 
                industrial, smoke filled town. More red eyes.


Day 4        Breakfast museli. Not today its finished.
        I’m afraid it was a Chinese bread and Squeeze’s.

       Mountaineering (2km), Mountain Bike (52km), Lake Paddle (10km)

Start today is staggered according to overall times. We are 1hr of the pace and watch as the front teams descend the rope section and come back through the camp. The short run and ropes are fun, but the road cycle (on our mtn bikes) is best. Riding close, shouts from the villages (chou you, chou you) and a closed highway make for a fun ride, then it’s back to that lake for a final 10km sprint across the lake, and up to the temples to finish.

For the record: Team Southern Traverse / Endeavor finished 4th behind Scar (USA) 1st ; Eco (USA /NZ) 2nd - with Steve Gurney racing ; and a Spanish team 3rd.