Last week six of our senior students, Joel MacManus, Karen Drysdale, Nick Allison, Kaylah Erasmuson, Tarras Glover and Tom Goodman competed in the final of the Genesis Energy Hillary Challenge in Turangi. The competition consisted of five days of both mentally and physically demanding challenges and, after a year of preparation, the team alongside coach Ed Rimmer, were eager to complete the final chapter of their long and exciting journey.
In the first two days there was a series of twelve one-hour long problem-solving challenges. Day one went reasonably smoothly and saw the team placed about the middle of the pack with eleven other teams chasing the title. However,the second day began with a huge shock when Nick Allison was injured on the first challenge and not able to continue in the competition for the rest of the week. The third and fourth days consisted of an eighteen-hour rogaine in Tongariro National Park. The last day was an adventure race designed to take between three to five hours. The race went well and the team spirits were high.
After a week to remember for the rest of their lives, everyone in the team went away happy despite the tenth place finish. The amazing opportunity to compete in such an intense and challenging competition would never have been possible for the students without the incredible dedication and determination of coach Ed Rimmer and the support of their families.
