The damp and chilly conditions at Rotorua did not dull the performance of the Whanganui crew at this year's 3D Multisport Festival.
Offering 10 events, the venue and atmosphere was second to none taking in a paddle across Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake), mountain biking through Whakarewarewa Forest and running beneath the giants of the Redwood Forest.
Whanganui Multisport Club had 27 members entered, with eight achieving podium finishes.
The surprising emerging age group was the female veterans section, with significant growth in numbers. The results did not disappoint, with Whanganui's Robyn Scott, Shona Hopper and Sally Foster winning the 50km team event, while Barry Hurley, Brett Humphries and Amie Simpson came second in the mixed team section.
The event also held a 2km and 5km kids run, in which Whanganui fielded seven young runners.
The 25km Grassroots Multisport race consisted of a 4.5km kayak, a 15km mountain bike and finishing with a 5.5km run under the redwoods.
The 25km race, also doubling as NZ Secondary School Multisport champs, had a large Whanganui presence.
The girls took centre stage at prize-giving, with 12-year-old Katie Foster taking out the U14 Girls 25km event, and she has a war wound to prove it.
"I took a tumble on the mountain bike," the youngster said, grinning from ear to ear while clutching her first place prize.
In the U19 section, more girls took centre stage, with second place to going to Sapere Simon and a brilliant first to Abby Hurley.
Lachie Cromar led strongly in the kayak stage out of Lake Tikitapu to come home second in the Novice Adult section.
The 25km Grassroots class is a great intro into multisport, with Katie Foster's mother, Bev, taking the "if you can't beat them, join them" approach, competing in her first individual multisport national event.
Club spokeswoman Lisa Chase said 3D definitely had something for everyone.
"The day was overcast but damp under the bush canopy of the pine and giant redwoods. The mountain bikers contending with pine tree roots and ferns, while the runners, with the dark under-canopy and gruelling topography, found it tough concentrating."
In the 50km Premier Multisport event, which consisted of a 9km paddle, 30km mountain bike and 11km run, the Open section was taken out by Trevor Voyce in 2h 43m, while Elina Ussher won the women's section in 3h 21m.
Whanganui had three entered in the 50km Premier individual event - Aaron Cox, Matt Foster and Kylie Gibson. In the Men's 40-49 section, Cox came second, not far behind international multisporter Marcel Hagenar from Ohakune. The two have trained together before on the Whanganui River. Cox was pleased with his result.
"This is a fantastic event in a class location. The club has had a great turnout and it's great to see whole families from the club competing. We had two families of three participating here, another family of four. You don't always get that in sport," Cox said.