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2017 Event

2017 Event As the dust settles on the inaugural Whitehorse Big Easy we would like to thank everyone who made this event possible. The amazing support that we received really highlighted what an amazing community spirit we have in Waimate. No one ever said no to requests for assistance, sponsorship, or time, with offers of help coming in thick and fast. The breakdown of the funding distribution is as follows (total $22,872.50)North Otago Asthma Society - $522.50KidsCan - $1,000South Canterbu...

Roger & David

Roger and David have left their run right to the end, joining just 40 hours before the race!! They are no easy beats however....... Roger has run the course both forwards and backwards, so kind of knows what he's up to. David has been laid off running at the moment, so is now a "reluctant" mountain biker. He has however seen the new course layout (and wasn't put off), so we're excited to see what he can produce! You can donate here The "Whitehorse Challenge" is an event where teams of two com...

Dave & Tim

Dave (running) and Tim (biking) join the challenge from Mike Greer Homes in Christchurch. Dave lost a bet, and having already pawned the children he really had no other option. We're told his hobbies include stamp collecting, chess, and scrap booking the Royal Family photos. Life of the party we're sure! With hobbies like this you wouldn't normally predict that his main running experience was evading the police in Ashburton (during his delinquent days). Tim meanwhile decided the biking was a go...

Ants & Nick

Anthony and Nick join the Challenge after a bit of dutch courage, plus some casual arm twisting (we're told the internet and drinking don't mix). Ants is the lead culprit. Having bought a bike for Christmas he's finally decided he better act on his good intentions and get fit so he can keep up with his son in years to come. Apparently life as a desk jockey and avid sports viewer (on TV) doesn't achieve the same outcomes! Nick meanwhile fondly remembers his glory days of running at school. While ...

St Pats enters the team challenge!

Stepping up to represent the mighty St. Pats are Gareth and Chavo. Gareth is taking on the bike leg, mainly because he's a good bugger and really couldn't think of an excuse not to. He's also putting a shout out to borrow a bike for the day – apparently he doesn't think the 10 year old heavy framed beast with no suspension will put him in for a good showing. We're sure that a solid diet of donuts will have him in peak shape come April. Chavo meanwhile is one of those sneakily fit runners likel...

Team Racing with Gas (Rachel & Sumo)

After losing their playground in the Porthills Rachel and Sumo have been looking for some great trails in different parts of the South Island (enter the Whitehorse!). Rachel has a history of hunting out unique running challenges, including a marathon along the Great Wall of China, and through a South African Game Park! She claims to be a plodder, hoping to finish with funds raised and a smile, but we'll see what happens when the competition strikes. It sounds like Sumo has been whipped into the ...

Tim & Brett

After a long period sitting on the fence, Tim and Brett have finally decided to take the plunge and enter a team. Brett, a local stock agent, is described by his friends as a "shit at golf, pool, and darts", but they did concede he can ride a bike (he likes to ride around lakes i.e Taupo for fun). Training hasn't been going brilliantly as he thinks he's done more brewery tours than bike rides in the past couple of months, but we're sure those historic events will pull him through. Tim on the oth...

Team NRG!

A Rotary Club has accepted the Waimate challenge and joined the race! Leon (running) and Aydan (biking) are members of the Next Rotary Generation (NRG) Club Invercargill which has the scary claim of having an average age of 28, and 80% female membership – not your typical Rotary club! The club is always up for a challenge and decided they were crazy enough to step up and support this Rotarian cause. They are especially keen to support Kidscan (one of our dedicated charities) in their fundraisi...

Team Waimate High - Buck’n’Simo

Stop the press people, the High School are now in the running. With very able representation from head boy Daniel Buckingham, and the mighty, esteemed, and revered teacher Matthew Simonsen they could be considered hot favourites. Daniel will certainly be one to watch on the bike – having helped make most of the track we're expecting him to know the course better than the Jamaicans in Cool Runnings (p.s if you're young enough not to have seen this great 1993 movie we'd highly suggest you watch ...

Team Crazy Mountain Warriors

With hobbies like climbing Mt. Cook for fun, it's no wonder we've nicknamed Lucie and Alan's team crazy! And that's just the warm-up act – Lucie is about to compete in GodZone, a mental 7 day event, covering 450km, with a vertical climb of 10km (all with only 2 hours sleep per night)!!! The only glimmering hope for the rest of the competitors is that there is a strong possibility that she may be incapable of actually walking afterwards……. Alan is no slouch in the Mountain Bike department e...

We warmly welcome Oamaru's first team!

Fiona and Ben Stratford are stepping up off the couch with the awesome goal of supporting fundraising for the North Otago Asthma Society (NOAS). The NOAS are committed to encouraging better health and wellness by encouraging asthmatic kids to participate in sporting activities. They are currently supporting and sponsoring 10 kids to a term of free swimming lessons. The money raised from this challenge will hopefully allow NOAS to extend this sponsorship to other sporting codes. Team "Breathe Eas...

Whitehorse Big Easy Update

Last night Peter & Connor Bootsma ran up the Big Easy and down the walking track and Peter said he had never seen so many people out running, walking and biking. There is certainly a positive buzz around town about the event, and it is fantastic to see people getting out training and using the tracks. Many people are working hard behind the scenes to make sure the tracks are in good condition. Planning is going well and we are getting fantastic support from all the community, young and old....

The Makikihi Movers

The Makikihi representation is now in play, with Andrea Meyer and Rob Alexander combining for the event! Andrea is on the run section, entering to support a great event, do some hill running, and partly thanks to a convincing, persistent friend. She will be well supported by all the kids at Makikihi School where she works (they are even planning on running a mufti day to help raise some funds). Rob also signed up after a bit of peer pressure, and describes his biking experience as "minimal" but ...

5km Course & Training Program

If you're considering running or walking the 5km course at the Whitehorse Big Easy Event on April 9 this year, the good news is you can try it out at anytime. The course starts and finishes at the Mt John Rd entrance to the A&P Showgrounds and follows public roads & tracks (see pink line on course map below). Start at the Mt John Entrance and turn left into Hunter Cres. At the end of Hunter Cre s you go onto Naylor's track, at the end cross the bridge and onto Garlands track. At the e...

Grundfos Pumps NZ Team - Jase & Rachel

Jase and Rachel have joined the fray, armed with $500 of sponsorship from Grundfos Pumps – great to see businesses getting behind the teams!! Jase takes on the bike leg, egged on to join by brother Brad. This brotherly battle could be a real vicious affair. Brad has already been smack talking claiming to have won "all the fights" when they were younger, and beat him hands down in their last bike race……… bets are on as to who gets bragging rights this year! Rachel is often seen running un...

Rotary Club of Waimate have stepped up!

The Waimate Rotary Club have decided to add a team into the mix for the Whitehorse Challenge. First out of the blocks is Dylan Murray on the bike leg. His claim to fame is coming 3rd in the South Island Mountainbike Novice race (admittedly back in 1989!). Now his hobbies include brewing beer, delaying knee surgery, and bringing "great hope but nothing to back it up"! Ryan Luckman puts his hand up for the run leg, with a longstanding reputation of signing up for running races and then forgetting ...

Waimate's Formidable Duo

The official home team has been entered! The formidable duo of Justin Chittock and Peter Trainor bring with them a formidable reputation as they lay down the challenge to surrounding clubs to see who will take out the inaugural challenge. Justin is taking on the bike leg and is generally considered "overly fit/ fit as a fiddle" by his friends (he's been known to head up Mt. Studholme after work to break the boredom!). Flu struck him down before his last big event so he's looking to make amends i...

Tom & The Stig

The unknown has entered the competition! Tom is rolling out the big guns, calling on a dark and mysterious, unknown downhill mountainbike expert to really give his team an edge. We know him only as "The Stig" (insert your own dramatic music breakdown here) and it is rumoured there are only few in this world that have actually seen him without a full face helmet! Tom Wilson, our local tame Scotsman and part time gamekeeper, is dusting off his running shoes that have not been used since Scotland s...

Dan & Von

Dan and Schiovan are a husband and wife team, putting both their bodies and marital strength on the line for a good cause. Dan is no stranger to a bit of uphill work having caught the running bug 3 years ago when he elected for an "easy" first challenge running up the Sky Tower! He apparently finds the guilt of having an event to do really helps get the training done. Schiovan meanwhile is a dedicated road biker (she loves riding round lakes!), whose last attempt at mountain-biking ended up with...

Brad & Johnny

Brad and Johnny have combined to make a gun team to compete for Waituna Creek School. They expect to punch far above the weight of the small school! Some call it bravery, some call it being an "idiotic man", but Brad is completing the cycling leg against his doctor's orders after nearly requiring back surgery. His team won "le race" (a 100km road race) this year, so he brings some heavy hitting credentials. Johnny is no slouch in the running department either. Having completed the Coast to Coast...

Ryan & Billie

Heeding the challenge from the Moore's, Ryan and Billie have decided to join the race. Ryan and Billie are Grieg's In-laws, so expect things to get fiery at the next kids birthday party! Ryan claims his biking experience is limited to a few rides with the kids, but with a brother in the Southland Stags and a sister who represented NZ at the Winter Olympics we are expecting the bloodline to pull through. Billie on the other hand likes to run from Hunter to Morven for fun! For her we may have to d...

Waihao Downs Whitehorse Warriors

Carmen and Reuben have put their hands up to compete on behalf of Waihao Downs School, and they challenge the other local schools and BOTs to enter too. They are really hoping the kids and community get behind them as they take on the hills! Word on the street is that Reuben is a bit of a running machine – he is even rumoured to have taken on the Coast to Coast. Not to be outdone Carmen has claimed to be a former competitive mountain-biker, who just happened to be based out of Christchurch so ...

Are you prepared to take on the mighty Moores?

The mighty Moore's have teamed up to take on the challenge of the Whitehorse hill. Hamish has keenly borrowed Greig's treadmill and has already been wearing out the incline button getting ready for the run. While in his 30's now, Greig still has vague memories of his time biking to catch the bus, and is really clinging to the fact that the adage about riding bikes is true! While less experienced (and fit) than many teams, they bring a VERY competitive spirit to the table. Anyone who has played t...

Waimate Harriers and Mountainbikers issue a "Challenge"…....

.....to find the best multisport team in the district! We are looking for teams of two to enter the Whitehorse Challenge, being held as part of the Quantum Advantage Whitehorse Big Easy event, on April 9 2017 in Waimate. The event is doubling as the launch of the stunning new Mountain Biking and Running tracks up the Whitehorse. With a variety of grades, and over 25km of trails, these will offer an amazing venue available for all weekend warriors looking to get their downhill (and uphill) fix....

Meet Team Anna & Scott!

We have our first team for the inaugural Whitehorse Challenge! The challenge is a team event, one team member runs 18km through the Whitehorse Big Easy tracks, and the other completes a 25km bike ride. The Whitehorse Challenge is part of the Quantum Advantage Whitehorse Big Easy, 'run it - walk it - bike it ' event to be held at the Waimate A&P Showgrounds on April 9 next year. Teams must fundraise $500 via a give-a-little page to enter, funds raised go to selected charities and to fur...