Icebreaker - Pure Merino

I had the undeniable pleasure of being part of the Icebreaker retail crew at this year’s Speight’s Coast to Coast. It was the 30^th anniversary of this iconic adventure race, which starts on Kumara Beach on the West coast of New Zealand’s South Island and finishes on Sumner Beach on the East coast.

This was Icebreaker’s third year as the exclusive clothing sponsor, and we also entered a HOT Icebreaker team (yes, including you, Craig!).

One of the most grueling races around, Speight’s Coast to Coast is heralded as the World Multisport Championships. Over either two days, or one day for the truly insane, competitors (as individuals or in teams of two) cycle 140 kms, run 36 km over mountains and kayak 67kms down the rapids on the Waimakariri River.

Team Icebreaker consisted of Casey and her partner, Dave, who’d both flown from Australia to join a long list of international athletes for the event. Fleur Pawsey and Simone Maier, alongside Ginny Bush, were three of our team best placed for podium finishes. Craig, Blake, Lisa, Dana, Jacqui and Hamish made up the rest of the team.

What did I take from the event?

• You’ve got to put in a helluva lot of training just to survive – it makes me tired just thinking about it
• Anyone who attempts the race is amazing – hats off to every member of Team Icebreaker
• The sense of achievement on completion is massive – big grins and tired bodies all round
• People get addicted and come back time and time again – they must be mad
• Support crews are vital and form a big part of the vibe – thank goodness they’re there to drink all the Speights (honestly, no one from Icebreaker touched a drop!)
• Viewing the run section from a helicopter is much easier than running it – thanks to Double Hill Station Heli Flights for the ride
• Icebreaker clothing rocks in multisport – it was everywhere!

And, to share Casey’s thoughts on completing the event, “The sense of achievement is awesome, the run kicks arse, and the atmosphere of the whole event is super fun. I urge anyone tempted to sign up, it’s very achievable with a bit of training…I had only been on my bike 5 times!” So maybe, just maybe, I could do it – one day (in the far off future)…

And the winners? Everyone, for their huge achievements, with a special big ups to Fleur Pawsey for placing second in the women’s one-day race.

- Jo Miller, Icebreaker PR

Jordan Pearson recently completed the Speight’s Coast to Coast, racing a gruelling 243 km’s from New Zealand’s West to East Coast, crossing the mighty Southern Alps and some of our merino country in the process. An Icebreaker sponsored athlete, Jordan put our GT Baselayers to the ultimate test.

“My first Speight’s Coast to Coast went better than expected with great results in all of my sections. My school team finished 3rd in the 2 Day School Boys section.

On the beach I received a lot of media attention in my R&R Sport kit, a bright yellow school team race bib with Icebreaker tattoos on my face. The race began well with an average run placing me in the third bunch up the road. Ok but the bunch wasn’t working well together so using my awesome Giant TCR Advanced I made the jump up to the second bunch. However, this bunch wasn’t working well together either, so when I got the chance I made a break up to the first bunch. With about 20km to go on the first ride, the individuals expected the team members to tow them to the run transition. This left me pulling along the first bunch without help. I soon got sick of towing them along so I broke away seeing if I could catch Steve Gurney. I didn’t quite catch him before the transition but still good enough to be 5th overall into transition giving my team runner a five minute lead over the other school boy teams. After a decent run by my team mate, we were still placed third, 20 minutes behind second place. A good day 1.

Day 2 began well, with Steve Gurney, Olivia Spencer-Bower and Kate Cambie in my start group. Steve and I charged through the bike catching other competitors easily as we worked together to Mt White Bridge. I was really pleased to actually lead Gurney while running down to the kayak. My Icebreaker GT layers were ideal for the paddle through the higher than normal gorge. Took a few waves over the bow but great fun and fast! The kayak was going well until just before Woodstock where the wind picked up to almost impossible conditions for paddling. Thanks to the wind and my relative light weight I had several swims which lost me at least 40 minutes. Even the elites and heavier paddlers were having major issues with the wind. After a fast transition, my team mate was flying down the final cycle until 2 punctures ended any chance of moving in to second place, crossing the line in an overall time of 14:10:00.

Overall, the race went well with only a few glitches. Thanks to Icebreaker for the merino layers.”

- Jordan Pearson, Icebreaker Sponsored Athlete

Four of our staff members – Rob Achten, Hamish Allan, Jason Brown and Mike Stepanek are currently competing in the Race Across America – one of the world’s toughest endurance races, an epic non-stop bike race across the US from June 12-20.

You can follow their progress on our specially designed RAAM website here:  http://raam.icebreaker.com/

Please send in messages of support via Twitter and Facebook.  We’re also giving away daily prizes of Icebreaker gear and four Speight’s Coast 2 Coast entry tickets on the RAAM Competition page.

Thanks to the tremendous support crew made up of Icebreaker staff – they’re doing a great job ensuring the team in well looked after on the race!

Go hard guys!