A Wet and Wild 24 hours: the crew's perspective

As race week approached, the excitement grew palpable as each of us embarked on our journey across the country to converge in Australia’s capital. It felt like a reunion of old friends for John, Maree, Michael, Alicia, Matt, Cassie, Jenny, Grant, Su Yi, Jono, Justin, and me, warmly welcoming newcomers Luke, Lauren, Gemma, and Phil to our team.

The newcomers quickly adapted, and initially, we found ourselves engrossed in socialising, momentarily losing sight of our purpose for being there. My primary responsibility? Keeping Maree and Michael in top shape and ensuring they stuck to their race plans. No pressure, right?

My duties kicked off early on Thursday morning when they were scheduled for a press conference. While both are comfortable talking underwater, facing the camera posed a new challenge. I had a mere 15 minutes to provide media training and equip them with talking points for the conference. They did quite well - here’s the link if you’d like to watch!

The remainder of my time was consumed by meetings, food shopping, and preparing Michael’s meals. Luckily, I found time to fit in a few runs around Lake Ginninderra—a stunning body of water teeming with wildlife, and a popular spot for Belconnen residents to get their daily exercise. But back to the food prep—some athletes fuel on gels and liquids, but not Michael. Mashed potato, sandwiches, fried rice - the Jet Boiler proved its worth tenfold!

The day before the race, excitement mounted with the Opening Ceremony as our athletes, dressed in their green and gold attire proudly carried our flag across the AIS grounds and onto the stage alongside fellow competitors. Afterward, we bonded over a delicious team dinner, sharing laughter and camaraderie before returning to our accommodation for final race preparations and some well-deserved rest.

Our accommodation initially felt dreamy—comfortable beds, all the amenities, conveniently located—until it turned into a nightmare when the smoke alarm blared at 11:30 pm, and we were all evacuated from the building. Who doesn’t love a spontaneous fire drill right before a big race?

Come morning, we dragged our tired selves out of bed into pouring rain at 7am, lugging suitcases and equipment across the AIS track while the athletes stayed dry at the hotel.

Setting up camp amidst puddles and rain, we transformed our humble marquee into a crew tent fit for an F1 pit stop. Not wanting to get too wet, our athletes arrived fashionably late, and we sprang into action to assist with final preparations for the gruelling 24-hour race.

Now, let me paint a picture of this race for you: imagine running around a 400m track for 24 hours—a feat of mind-boggling endurance, made even harder by Canberra's unpredictable weather, which experiences four seasons in a day. We experienced torrential rain for the first 4 hours of the race followed by blazing sun, 22 degrees Celsius, no wind, and 79% humidity. At the first sight of sunshine, we rushed outside the tent to hang out the athletes' wet clothes over makeshift clotheslines and chairs, only to hurriedly bring them back in 3 hours later as the weather shifted once more, and the rain returned. For the remainder of the race, rain persisted throughout the night.

Despite this, our athletes began the race strong. However, as the weather shifted, so did the challenges they encountered. Throughout the gruelling event, our athletes confronted a myriad of obstacles—cramping, dehydration, injury, nausea, and even bouts of exorcism-style vomiting.

Right from the start, poor Grant was hit with a sudden quad injury, while Alicia faced persistent foot issues that kept Lauren and Justin on their toes throughout the race.