Super challenge for top athletes

0 Comments | Taranaki Daily News; New Plymouth, New Zealand, Jul 27, 2010

Taranaki’s endurance athletes have something to aim for next year.

Organisers of Taranaki’s three premier endurance events – the 153km Round the Mountain cycle ride, the 3.6km Flannagan Cup swim and the 42.2km Mountain to Surf marathon will band together for the first time.

The result – a Taranaki Super Challenge. The challenge will be open to competitors who complete all three full events in 2011.

Neale Parkinson, race director for the Mountain to Surf marathon, speaking on behalf of the Super Challenge, said all three events were popular long-standing fixtures on the sporting calendar in their own right.

“All annually attract a huge array of competitors,” he said.

“Many of our local competitors actually almost see these events as a Taranaki rite of passage.

“For a number of years, the concept of the Super Challenge has been mooted within endurance circles.

“We’ve now decided to take it to the next step and make it a reality.”

Parkinson said the challenge, while a major undertaking for those up for it, was definitely possible. “Logistically, it’s straightforward.

“The infrastructures already exist in the various events and, from the participants’ point of view, the events are nicely spaced over a seven-week period from the initial mid-January cycle,” Parkinson said
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