North Face Peak To Peak Race
Released 1st July
The North Face Peak To Peak Leading Edge Winter Multisport Race
19th July 2008
The 'The
North Face' Peak to Peak, New Zealand's leading edge winter
multisport event, is being staged in Queenstown for the 15th
consecutive year on July 19 2008 and will attract some of
the country's most high profile multisport athletes.
The race starts high on the Remarkables Ski Area and finishes on the other side of the valley at Coronet Peak Ski Area incorporating skiing/snowboarding, mountain biking, kayaking, running and cycling over the 44km course.
Race Director Geoff Hunt says numbers for the prestigious race are increasing all the time and while elite athletes like Mark Williams, Eric Billoud, or Haydn Key continue to create record winning times, the Peak to Peak is achievable for all levels of competitors.
"For people who like to do multisport events or want to start out, the Peak to Peak offers a great opportunity either to race as an individual or in a team. While the top of the field battles it out for individual honours it is the teams' event which always creates the most interest and camaraderie."
The North Face New Zealand Sales Manager Jackie Murray says the Peak to Peak is the ideal event to showcase the The North Face range.
"Being a multisport winter event it covers all our gear from footwear to running and biking clothing and ski gear. The race is an icon event, the organisation is fantastic and we have an excellent association as title sponsor," she says. "What we love about the Peak to Peak is that all the competitors, at what ever level, get so much enjoyment out of participating."
The race begins with a 2km ski or snowboard on The Remarkables down to the access road and is followed by a 17km mountain bike down the gruelling high altitude road to the shores of Lake Wakatipu at Frankton.
A 7km paddle on the lake is completed in Queenstown Bay where the changeover is made for a 9km run from Queenstown, through Arthurs Point to the Coronet Alpine Hotel near the Coronet Peak turnoff.
The last stage which
is always hotly contested is a 9km cycle up the challenging
ski area road to the base building and the finish line.
Race categories include male, female and veteran
individuals. The teams' sections includes female, mixed,
business house, school or veteran.
"Every year there is
growing interest in the Peak to Peak," says Hunt. "We are
seeing more women and more teams taking part in particular
and there is always a huge buzz around the event. There is
something about standing at the top of The Remarkables and
looking across to Coronet Peak at the finish line, and
knowing that is the goal to achieve."
"People who
complete the race for the first time find it hard to express
just how satisfying that achievement is."
Entry forms are now in all outdoor shops and available on the web site www.southerntraverse.com/Peak2Peak
2007 results:
1st
Men Open Category, Dougal Allan 2.17.06
1st Women Open
Category, Sarah Fairmaid 2.41.48
1st Team Open:
PhysioMed, 2.08.06
The North Face Peak to Peak is sponsored by The North Face, the Remarkables and Coronet PeaK. Associated sponsors are Summerfields's Pharmacy, More FM, Smith Optics, K2 Skis, R & R Sport, Queenstown Gym, Dalbello Ski Boots and Whittakers Chocolate. Support sponsors Kawarau Jet and Peak Projects.
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