MULTISPORT - Nice-bloke Blythen does himself proud

Gorden Blythen made a name for himself as a Northland axeman worth more than his weight.
Now he is known as the nicest bloke in multisport.
Blythen, a fencing contractor who now lives in Matakana, finished second in the 243km Speights Coast to Coast multisport race at the weekend, charging through the field from 15th place early on to cruise past some of the biggest names in the sport in 11h 58.12m.
But when he reached the finish line he was greeted by one of the biggest, if not the man who is for the moment THE biggest name in the game, Gordon Walker, and given a big bear-hug for his troubles.
Moments before Walker had won the event, and had just finished telling a horde of journalists that he owed much of his success to a man called Gorden Blythen, who had given him a winning edge.
Walker and Blythen were training partners, and had spent the last three weeks repeatedly training on the run section of the course with Walker listening to Blythen's race tips.
"Gorden was really generous with his knowledge. He showed me a few shortcuts, I found a few more and it all adds up to saving a few minutes here and there," Walker said.
"We are rivals but also have become very good friends."
It is obviously a training regime that works, for soon after Walker had been heaping praise on Blythen the third-placed athlete, Dwarne Farley, trotted in. He was the third member of the pre-race training trio.
"Some guys you get a bit twitchy about showing your knowledge on that run, but it is quite good just to be open about it. I showed Gordon a few shortcuts on the run and he showed me a few lines on the river. It actually was all worthwhile in the end," Blythen said.
Still grimacing with the effort of it all, Blythen was obviously happy to achieve his second podium finish in as many years. He finished third last year and was not discussed as a threat in a field stacked with talent this year.
But Blythen is a renowned kayak paddler and is now an experienced adventure racer as well, a sport that tosses athletes into rugged country sometimes for days on end.
"I wasn't really worried where I came. I was pretty relaxed about it.
"I was a bit obssessed with this race for a while, but I seem to have gone a bit better now I am a bit more relaxed about it," Blythen said.
The race marked the 25th anniversary of the event and had a record entry of athletes from overseas involved, including a group from New Caledonia in the one-day event and several Australians.
The race involved is split into three main categories _ the one-day competitors, the two-day individuals and the two-day teams.