Winmalee’s Jason Rutkowski will fly the flag for Australia at one of the world’s toughest adventure races in Germany this month.
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The 41-year-old accountant will team up with Australia’s leading adventure race specialist, Melbourne’s Jarad Kohlar, in the 32 hour 215km Harz Adventure Race from April 20-21.
As the only Australian team among a field of European professionals, the pair will be the surprise package in the endurance event which combines cycling, running, navigation as well as archery and rope skills.
Rutkowski has set his sights high in Germany following an intensive three month training schedule in the lead-up to the event.
“With the effort I’m putting in and with Jarad’s ability I’d like to say we’d get a podium finish but top 10 would be ok as well,” he told the Gazette.
But the local dad is well aware the unpredictable nature of adventure racing could derail any team’s best laid plans.
“If you have a good race, if you don’t have any mechanical issues, you navigate well, your nutrition is on the money, there’s no reason why we couldn’t [perform strongly]. But everything has got to go well,” he said.
Although he has competed against Kohlar before, this will be the first time the Blue Mountains athlete has joined forces with the high profile adventure racer. Their communication will be crucial to the teams’ success.
“Team work, communication, how you race together, what he expects from me and what I expect from him — that’s all new. It will be a steep learning curve for us. We will have to adjust to that,” he said.
For more information about the Harz Adventure Race visit www.theharz.com.
