In the teeth of what can only be described as a howling gale, a small, brave troupe gritted, grunted and ground their way around Yerrabi Pond and through Mulligans Flat and Goorooyarroo Nature Reserves. That so many even turned up on such a morning revealed a dauntless spirit not about to be ruffled by mere bluster.
Long and Short course races started concurrently, in opposite directions.
Rowan Beggs-French defied the elements to post one of the most impressive victories on this course, just missing the elusive 2 hour mark with 2:00:34 – an amazing time in the circumstances and 21 minutes ahead of 2nd-placed Steve Hanley (2:21:49). Most impressive about Rowan’s race was that he appeared calm and effortless even in the face of the raging wind. Jon Schol took out the Men 50+, not far behind Steve with 2:22:23 after a tight battle with Steve’s biking skills probably the deciding factor.
Similarly, Clare Lonergan and Danielle Winslow had a tremendous tussle in the women’s race, with Danielle opening up a substantial lead in the paddle leg, only for Clare to catch up again on the bike. Heading out of the final transition close together, it was Clare who ran more strongly to take the race in 2:36:24.
Fastest team on the day was the duo of “Madge & Co” – Erica Collins and Grant Madge – in 2:35:11.
Kerry Baxter (Male 50+) from Goulburn took line honours in the Short Course, leading from the start. Though overtaken in the paddle leg by Craig Hancock (1st Male Under 50), Kerry reclaimed his lead on the mountain bike and never looked back to win in 1:25:56.
Sharon Clarke was first Female Under 50 home in 1:37:22, with Pauline English taking the Female 50+ category in 2:07:37.
While congratulations go to all who raced today, special thanks also to the helpers and officials who stood for hours in the freezing breeze: Philip Livingstone and Fiona McWhinnie, the TACT Technical Officials and Lauren Markland from Sports Medicine Australia, Carinna Tong and a dozen volunteers from the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team.
Meanwhile the team "Mother and Sons" defended their crown from last year to take home the Mixed Team category (Short Course).
The mountain bike course was also adjusted to contend with the embryonic development of the suburb of Forde. The new route added an extra kilometre to both long and short rides, entering Mulligans Flat Reserve through another gate further to the east. Most of the course within the reserve remained the same, though differently configured.
The race of the day was the tussle in the Short Course solo women's competition. Kerry Louttit held a 45 second advantage over Carmen Jeffery after the first run, only for Carmen to take a minute and a half lead out of the water. Kerry made up 30 seconds on the ride and after catching Carmen on the run, a sprint finish provided great drama with only a few centimetres separating the pair at the finish after 1:30:18 of solid gold effort, the pair also beating home all the solo males bar one.
A few of the long course paddlers demonstrated fine technique to complete their two laps ahead of half of the one-lap field. Swapping paddles for mountain bikes, the next leg took all competitors once more around the lake, then under Horse Park Drive and a little way along Gundaroo Drive before heading into Mulligans Flat, a portion of Canberra Nature Park. The course followed 4-wheel drive maintenance trails through a variety of delightful woodlands with innumerable kangaroos and native birds also enjoying the Sunday morning tranquillity. The short (14 km) riders looped around at the edge of Mulligans Flat, while the long (27 km) riders continued into the more open and elevated reaches of Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve, enjoying sweeping 
views across the Canberra plain including most of North Canberra to Black Mountain and beyond. Both courses returned racers to the starting point for one final run on cycle paths around the pond, 4 kms for the long and 3 kms for the short course.
