The Anaconda Adventure race National Series is unique as a sporting pursuit: where else does a weekend warrior – or even a beginner in the sport of adventure racing – get to race alongside world champions, Olympic athletes, elite triathletes and Ironmen?
Okay, so you're only 'alongside' them at the starting line, the pros being quick to disappear into the distance once the gun goes, while the rest of us huff and puff around the course enjoying the wild scenery.
Nevertheless, the Anaconda Series represents a duality in that it is about the everyman as much as the superman (or woman!).
Yet it's always good to have the inspiration of following those athletes who are at the top of their game. And so, in recognition of their talents and dedication to the sport of adventure racing, we have created a new Top Flights category of racing, nominating six of the best likely to battle it out for top honours in the Series for us to follow.
This loose category denotes a collective of semi-professional athletes racing each other on an even footing, with each athlete committed to three of the four races as a minimum, each being able to drop their worst performance if they compete in four events.
The collective of six will vie for a title win in what is Australia's oldest ongoing and most elite series in the shorter, one-day style adventure races; it is the only truly national AR series having east and west coast instalments, and it is the largest adventure racing series in the Southern Hemisphere.
Ergo, for the Top Flighters, the Anaconda Adventure Race National Series is one worth winning.
Below we present our Top Flight Athletes plus we profile two guest Top Flight athletes from New Zealand. Along with regular Top Flighter, Richard Ussher, they will represent their country in the Augusta round (Nov 6th) of the Anaconda Adventure Race National Series for the biggest team showdown of the competition: Australia vs. New Zealand. It'll be bigger than a full blown barny at the Bledisloe...