The Inside Track – Moxie Adventure Race

If this is your first time to enter Moxie… Whether as a newcomer to adventure racing or having already tasted the joy of multi-sport… You are in for an absolutely amazing day. The challenge is… as always… As hard or as easy as you want to make it. That’s the beauty of these events…

The day starts off with racking the bike. Putting on your new cycle top and feeling like you now belong to this big group of strangers.

The start is two small loops of the field. Pick up your bike, helmet and bring your runners with you if you are using clip in shoes for the bike.
This happened someone i know. He tackled the rest of the day in clip in mountain bike shoes. That’s lesson one. How to make this event harder than it needs to be…

The bike segment is a great mixture of hills and straights. The surface is smooth. But if this is a windy day choose a smaller gear and peddle with higher cadence. Enjoy the elements. A downhill will take you to your first transition. Rack the bike. Change shoes if necessary and take some liquids and something to eat. The mountain part is enjoyable but mostly It’s a fast walk. Don’t forget to look around you and enjoy the view.

The path up the mountain is mostly single file. Marsh ground in places. When you reach the top and run across… prepare yourself for the best run off a mountain you will ever experience…

The terrain is quite different to that of the one you just came up. Speed and reasonably soft ground makes it an easy descent. As you run down, you run through a farmers yard, over a style, onto the road. Off the road into a stream. Under a bridge for a few more yards and out into what seems like a field. Then out of the trees you see the beach in front of you and at least 1km away the kayaks waiting for you. The sand is extremely soft and difficult to run on. But all the time doable. But if you know this is coming it will be just another challenge. Personally, I would run through toffee just to get to the kayaks. I love this part. Don’t worry about that part if you’re not overly confident. There are 2 seated kayaks. A kind competitor will take you with them. It’s a relaxing part, giving the legs a break and putting the arms to work.

Out of the water and the bike Transition is only a wee run for 2 mins. Change shoes if necessary and back out for the last leg of the day. As usual, the cycle is on fantastic roads. But don’t be so busy peddling hard you forget to take in the scenery. Give a shout out to all the people marshaling… They love to hear a Thank you too. Back to rack the bike round rolling hills and glorious flat roads. Then run to the finish line to collect your medal. Eat the food and catch up with others on how their day was. No one will ask you about your times. It’s not that kind of event. It’s social. Everyone is out to complete their day and enjoy it while they are doing it. Be social. Chat plenty and hopefully, if this was your first event or first time doing Moxie you will fall in love with that mountain…and the whole event.