Motocross: Off road marathon family affair

Whakatane's Waghorn family have more than just their surname in common.

Kane, Michelle, Ashley and Jordan Waghorn are all dedicated Bay of Plenty motorcycle enthusiasts and all talented off-road bike riders.

This year the entire family lined up to tackle the annual Tarawera 100 dirt bike marathon, something they believe has never been done before by a family.

"One of us is normally injured each time the Tarawera 100 is on ... and normally that's me," said Kane, the 42-year-old finishing 41st overall out of 179 riders.

Although the family entered the event together, they said they did not see much of one another during the four-hour race.

Seventeen-year-old Jordan (Yamaha WR450) finished 58th overall, good enough for ninth place in the U19 category.

Nineteen-year-old Ashley (Yamaha YZ125) finished 113th overall while her mum, Michelle (Yamaha YZ250F), was placed 118th overall.

The mother and daughter pairing earned seventh and sixth place respectively in the women's class.

For Michelle, this was her 14th assault on the Tarawera 100 and she believes this may have been her toughest yet.

"[Mainly] because my motherly instincts came out and I was constantly worrying about the others," she said.

"In the end, I just tried to concentrate on what I was doing and I knew we'd all get together at the end of the day to share our experiences."