Jason Rutkowski is doing his best to dispel the cliche that accountants are boring.
The 42-year-old Winmalee resident doesn’t dabble in double-entry bookkeeping in his spare time, or pore over business activity statements. Instead he prefers to run, cycle, swim and kayak in preparation for a gruelling 50-hour adventure race in Slovenia next month — a challenge that also includes abseiling, canyoning, and rollerblading.
It will be Rutkowski’s second attempt at European adventure racing after he competed in a similar event in Germany last April.
Teaming up with leading Victorian racer Jarad Kohlar, the pair performed strongly in the 32-hour Harz Adventure Race until a navigation error cost them dearly near the finish.
They will compete in the four-person category in the Slovenia Adventure Race from June 21-24, teaming up with Victorian athletes Maria Plyashecho and Sergey Kurov.
Rutkowski said the new dynamic should benefit their performance.
“The plus side [with four people] is that if somebody’s feeling down you’ve got the other three to boost them and take a bit of the load. You’ve got more eyes and more motivation,” he said.
In a race with many different disciplines, each team member brings different strengths to the table: Rutkowski’s is consistency.
“Whereas they’re strong at the start, I’m stronger at the back end [of the course] because I’m consistent. I’ll take on the navigation at the back end,” he said.
The team from Australia will compete against athletes from Europe and the United States in the 440km long event which includes 50km of trekking, 325km of mountain biking, 17km of kayaking, 8km of rollerblading, and 2km of swimming and skiking (like rollerblading with pneumatic tyres and skis).
Rutkowski, whose chartered accounting practice is located in Penrith, is training up to three hours each day during the week and longer on weekends in the lead-up to the race.
