The Drive… to achieve, to compete, to win, many people endured that thought over three hours of racing on Saturday at the Maximum Adventure Go Natural Multisport event.  As competitors cycle the 32Km leg from Akuna bay out to Westhead and back, then jump in a kayak and paddle 12km to Bobbin Head to only then have to run 9km  thru bush trails before stopping.  What drives these people?  I saw all age groups and all fitness levels competing so it’s not just the elite that are out there.  Is it personal achievement then that drives these people to suffer the wind, the sun, the blisters?

I believe it is all of the above, a big Kudos goes out to all the competitors, the organizers and to the National Parks for allowing the use of the pristine land and waterways of Ku-ring-gai national park.  As always, I find it immensely satisfying to have the opportunity to capture these moments.  It drives me to try and visualize, locate and capture images that resonate what the competitor is experiencing.

It no longer amazes me how many people compete at these events, this was a smaller event with 400 people, thats 400 bikes, 400 kayaks and 800 shoes.  The event would surely be even bigger if not restricted by the parks to limit wear and tear on courses.  But what my mind does now lean to is what drives these people doing these events?  I grew up in an outdoors / active lifestyle so I understand but everywhere around us in the news we are apparently becoming a more and more lethargic society…… well just sign up and come out to one of Maximum Adventures events and see how untrue that appears to be.

If you were a competior out there on the weekend, jump over to the gallery and search your competitor number to locate any images that you have been tagged in.  Otherwise, browse away as many competitor numbers were not visible making identification impossible.

Cheers

Gil.