THREE women who took part in a challenging, 375 km, three day, multi-sport event have been crowned the fastest women's team in New Zealand's Goldrush competition writes Sam Hughes.

Kes Reid (née de Glanville), Kate Goodrick (nee White), both originally from Tavistock but now living in New Zealand, were joined by their friend Karen Muller, to take part in the event, an annual race involving kayaking, mountain biking, running and road biking, following old trails opened up by pioneers in their search for gold.

Kes said: 'Kate and I both lived in Tavistock during our childhood and just happened to end up living on the other side of the world in the same town, Christchurch. Our other team mate Karen is also a Brit, but has been living in New Zealand for about eight years now.

'Goldrush has been running for about 14 years and involves some of the country's top multi-sport athletes as well as "weekend warriors". The race involves camping in remote areas for two nights, and a lot of kit to organise - one kayak, two mountain bikes and one road bike as well as all the food and drink needed for each section. It's quite a logistical feat.'

Entered as a Veteran team, aged 35-45, the Brits beat all the women's teams by 50 minutes, completing the race in 20 hours, four minutes and one second.

Kate said she took part in the race to show there was 'life in the old girl yet'.

She said: 'I wanted to prove I wasn't over the hill once I turned 40. I felt exhilarated during the race, it was amazing to be mentally and physically fit and to be riding through such stunning scenery.'

Kes said she wanted to do the race after having a baby: 'It seemed like a great goal to try to get the old body back into shape post-birth.'

About winning the race, Kate said: 'I felt an overwhelming sense of achievement personally and for the three of us as a team.'

'I was ecstatic.' said Kes. 'It's always satisfying as an older athlete to beat the youngsters.

'My body was shot to pieces at the end though. I'd only had three months to get myself fit and the demands of the three days took their toll.

'As you get older, it certainly takes a lot longer to recover. I've passed the baton onto my husband now, it's his turn for training as he's planning to do the Goldrush as an individual next year — he's mad!'