Brief Race Report – Jindabyne Multisport – 7th March 2021

For me, this year’s race was characterised by five factors: 1) Incredible racing conditions, 2) A deepening solo field, 3) Rise of kids, 4) Incredible camaraderie and friendliness, and 5) Dedication of volunteers and support crews.

After a year made so challenging by Covid, it was certainly a relief to line up for a 6.45am fog free start at Kalkite for the first swim, with a good-sized field.  The conditions were near perfect throughout the whole day, with a tricky crosshead wind just starting to pickup for the solo athletes on the final paddle.  Without re-counting the whole day, the particular highlights included the long swim with perfect glassy conditions the whole way enabling maximum speed for least effort and the incredibly beautiful flat sections through the glades on the long run.  The air temperature was perfect throughout the day, with no issues with cold or dehydration.

My first Jindy Multisport was in 2015 as part of a team, with my first solo in 2016.  This year is the biggest solo male field in that time, and everyone finished in under 11 hours in the under 50’s and Hugh Mander was under 12 hours in the over 50’s!! It is hard to explain, but basically every solo athlete was at the top of their craft this year.  To give you a bit of an idea just how competitive this field was:

• Dave Ellis (5th solo) was fastest in the 2nd bike leg, and 2nd in the final paddle;
• Malcolm Brown (4th solo) was fastest in the long run and second in the gruelling 3rd bike leg;
• Josh Campton (3rd solo) was always consistent and lowered his last years’ time by 24 minutes; and
• Nathan Stewart (2nd solo) was so fast in the last paddle that the closest was Dave at 4 minutes behind and the furthest was me at close to 15 minutes a drift!

A massive congratulations to all the solo athletes, with a special thanks to Nathan and team for making the trip from Queensland (& for pushing me along) and to Dave for convincing Malcolm to compete.  I reckon we are in for an even faster race next year.

This year saw a big jump in the number of kids and teens competing in teams which was so awesome to see.  The children of my own extended group of friends and family are just coming of age (including my own kids), so this was especially exciting to compete alongside them in large numbers. The determination, satisfaction and then joy on the face of the kids running the final leg was so special to witness – team 303 and Jackson in team 302 were a highlight for me.

Every year and at every Sri Chinmoy race we are reminded of the kindness and camaraderie that connect us as people – and this year’s Jindy Multisport only strengthened this sense of connectedness. For all the competitors, volunteers and spectators who encouraged the solo field on, we are extremely grateful. From my perspective, sincere thanks to Matt, Rob, Felix and Luca (Scrambled legs and Achen) plus Sal Ragusa (aka Marco Pantani) for your good company and encouragement on the course, and Sean King and Andrew Renwick (Proximity) for your positivity and kindness.

Finally, a huge thanks to all of the individual and team competitors who without your commitment we can’t have a race, to the Sri Chinmoy team for your continued dedication to this event, and to my support crew of Peter Brennan (my Dad), Anthony Buykx and my beautiful wife Tash.

See you all next year, and please bring a friend (I will be bringing Rowan Beggs-French)!