An epic Terra Nova 24 weekend with a wild start!

WOW! What a weekend – it ws certainly touch and go for the few days leading to the Terra Nova 24. We watched the forcasts hitting re-fresh every few minutes, had lengthy discussions with National Parks, the local council and emergency services and adjusted the course several times in the days leading up to the event.

We pushed the start time out to 12:30 and while we were quietly confident (hoped, prayed) the weather would clear, it certainly came down to the wire with the rain only just clearing as we started the race. All this combined to create a dramatic and nervous start for many – but in true adventure racing style – almost all the registed teams turned up at the start line to get the job done.

The Kioloa locals and officials were amazed to see these crazy people head out into the muddy trails and many acknowledged they were in the presence of some of Australia’s toughest people.

As the race unfolded it was awesome to see the comaradrie on course especially with many of the creeks very swollen as teams helped each other cross. Many teams commented afterwards that the sense of community out on the course was very unique and incredible to be part of.

Big highlights for many were the rogaine sections in South Durras with both a trek and paddle leg on the southern section of the course. Teams talked about turning off their lights on the paddle and being overwhelmed by the stars in the milky way and depending on the time the rise of the moon over the ocean.

An epic hike-a-bike climb on the final leg was rewarded by 10kms of downhill to the finish with plenty of smiles as teams crossed the finishline.

In the full course Line honours went to team Jungle Edge just narrowly beating the Bolting Ningas and It’s Been a While who crossed second and third.

On the half course it was Son on a Bung who won in a very tight three way contest with Transition Trolls and Tiger Adventure Racing Maniacs.

An extra special thanks goes out to the team of volunteers that helped make this event a reality – they set up and managed the transition areas and finish line in some pretty tough circumstances. And also to the local park ranges and emergency services who allowed the event to go ahead.

We’ve got a great lineup of events in 2024 with a few cool announcements on their way with location announcements and possible new event on the horizon.

Full results are available at www.terranova24.com/live

Check out the event images at www.facebook.com/wldnco

Terra Nova 24 Hour Adventure Race sets off from Kioloa this Weekend

The Terra Nova 24 hour Adventure Race will return to the Shoalhaven region on the weekend of April 6/7th, and this time the race will be based in the coastal hamlet of Kioloa, on the South coast of NSW.

Kioloa is located half way between Ulladulla and Batemans Bay and known for its beautiful beaches, ocean front camping, family-friendly atmosphere and lookouts to spot migrating whales and other wildlife.

It's close to Murramarang National Park, and has stunning views of nearby Belowa Island which protects the beach from big swells, making it a great beach for fishing, families and most importantly for kayaking!

Chris Dixon, Wild & Co Event Director said, “We’re very excited to be heading to Kioloa at the southern end of Shoalhaven. It's the perfect location to start and finish an Adventure Race and gives us access to the ocean and some of the best trails the region has to offer.

“We've got an exciting new course and can't wait to show off trails Terra Nova has never been to before. For something special, full course teams have an ocean kayak leg to start!  After the success of the ocean kayak at the Legend Expedition Race in February this is an experience we want to offer to teams whenever we can.”

The race is part of the Adventure Racing World Series Oceania calendar and is the second of 5 overnight or multiday races on the Wild & Co calendar this year, running alongside a series 6 hour sprint races.  Terra Nova is now in its 5th year and growing in popularity, and will once again have a record entry with 93 teams of 2 and 4, and 264 racers taking part.  (That’s more than the population of Kioloa at the last census!)

Terra Nova is always held in the Shoalhaven region, which has easy access from both Canberra and Sydney, and offers an amazing variety of landscapes, making the area a perfect adventure racing destination.  (In the past the area has staged the Adventure Racing World Championships.)  Previous Terra Nova races have been held from Huskisson, Callala Bay, Kangaroo Valley and Ulladulla.

Racers will not know the full course until the briefing just before the start, but do have a race planner to work from.  The full course will have 8 stages, including the ocean paddle, a river kayak, 4 cycle stages and 3 treks.  Transitions between disciplines are frequent in Terra Nova and well organised teams can gain a lot of time while they are going nowhere! 

Transition speed and experience will count and so will navigation.  Dixon promises some off-trail travel deep into the local forestry and says, “Full course teams should be ready to take a bearing and push their way through dense undergrowth.”  Dixon’s courses always have stages where checkpoints can be visited in any order, allowing teams to use their map skills.

There will be some coasteering of course, as the area is well known for this, and Dixon added, “There will be a bit of adventure along the way too, with creek crossings on bikes, some beach riding, an underwater check point early in the race (depending on conditions) and at least one section where teams will have to ford a body of water carrying their bikes (full course only).”

The race website does say “Expect this to be tough – this event is only for those who can race and complete a hard core challenge.” The challenge is what everyone is signed up for and all of the teams will experience a fun weekend in the great outdoors and have the chance to explore new places as they work together to reach the finish line.

Some will be racing for the win and the race line up looks competitive, but it isn’t easy to find a favourite.  There is a new generation of racers coming through to take on the established teams, with a growing base of experience at Wild & Co races to draw on. 

‘Resultz Racing’ placed highly at Top Dog 24 last year and at Terra Nova 2022, ‘Jungle Edge’ will be looking to defend their title and the ‘Bridge Jumping Brothers’ with Stephen Maskiell and Jamie Cohen racing will be chasing a win after placing second overall at the Hells Bells race.  ‘Team Bolting Ningas’ is the most experienced Premier Mixed pair with Josh Street from Team Thunderbolt racing with Kathryn Morland, who was on the winning team at the 2022 Terra Nova.

The race begins on Saturday morning with teams dropping their bikes off and registering, followed by a race briefing before everyone gathers on the start line and the race begins at 11.30am. 

For those watching from a distance there will be live web coverage and tracking which you can find at https://www.terranova24.com.au/live and on the Wild & Co. Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/wldnco

Terra Nova is made possible with the support of major sponsor Mountain Designs, and you can find out more about the race at:https://www.terranova24.com.au

Terra Nova 24 headed to Kioloa in 2024!

Kioloa, located on the southern end of the Shoalhaven region has been announced as the official start and finish location for the 2024 edition of the Terra Nova 24 Adventure Race. 

Date: 6-7 April 2023
Location: Kiola NSW, Australia
Duration: 24 hour event
Entries: Enter Here
Team size: 2/4 person
Part of the ARWS Oceania Series

Over 400 people including competitors, family and friends from around Australia and the Asia Pacific Region will attend the Terra Nova 24 24hr Adventure Race from 6-7 April 2023.

The race is held annually on the first weekend in April in the Shoalhaven region. The location of the course is moved each year to a different area to pose exciting new challenges for competitors. 

This year’s location of choice, Kioloa, is just off the Princess Highway and around 2 hours south of Sydney. 

Located half way between Ulladulla and Batemans bay, Kioloa is known, for its beautiful beaches, ocean front camping, family-friendly atmosphere and lookouts to spot migrating whales and other wildlife.

It's close to Murramarang National Park, and has stunning views of nearby Belowa Island which protects the beach from big swell, making it a great beach for fishing, families and kayaking. It has a small boat ramp at it's southern end and Butlers Creek and Butlers Headland at the northern end.

Chris Dixon, Wild & Co event director says, “We’re very excited to be heading to Kioloa at the southern end of Shoalhaven, it's the perfect location to start and finish an Adventure Race. It gives us access to the ocean and some of the best trails the region has to offer.

We've got an exciting new course for Terra Nova in 2024 and can't wait to show off trails Terra Nova has never been to before. For something special, full course teams should be ready for an ocean kayak leg to start!”

Terra Nova 24 involves 24hrs of non-stop endurance racing in the major adventure racing disciplines of trekking, mountain biking and kayaking. Mixed gender, Male and Female teams of two or four must navigate their way through an arduous 120+km course that is only revealed to them the day of the race. 

The "Terra Nova Half" runs simultaneously with Terra Nova and covers just over half the distance but teams have the full 24hrs to complete it. The legs will be challenging but with the additional time available to complete the half course, teams have a greater chance to reach the finish line before time is up. 

Early Bird entries close 31 December 2023 and the final window for registration closes 4 April 2024. Accommodation can be booked through the Visit NSW website at: www.shoalhaven.com

For the latest information on the race please visit: www.terranova24.com.au

The event is made possible thanks to major sponsor, Mountain Designs.