CAIRNS man Andrew Graham was more than happy to divert from plan A when things got a bit sticky on Sunday.

“I dropped into IGA during the bike leg to buy a ginger ale because I was so thirsty,” he said, explaining his interesting decision to dismount during the second leg of the Challenge Cairns.

While Graham was slurping down his soft drink, another local trio were out to prove they were the better half, literally.

Team Girl Power’s Nicky Barrie, Gwen Hobbes and Anita Gori had two reasons to celebrate when they crossed the line on the weekend.

Not only did they win the women’s team Cairns Half, but they beat their husbands by eight minutes to secure ultimate bragging rights for at least the next 12 months.

No less remarkable was the efforts of the inspirational Adele Wright, who finished her Cairns Half individual in 6.48:07 hours less than a year after fracturing her vertebrae in the RRR Mountain Bike Challenge.

Then their were power trio Matt Herrmann, Michael Crawford and Matt Carman, who made their rigorous training regimes count when they crossed the line and ticked off huge personal milestones by completing the full distance Challenge Cairns.

Physiotherapist Tom Maher conquered it as well and in doing so the once-feared fast bowler proved he had more stamina than most quicks.

In a special touch, Maher and Crawford both crossed the line with their family running beside them.

Melissa Akmentins got home as well, while Sue Crowe made it a local clean sweep as her and Mike Le Roux won the 35-39 women’s and men’s category respectively.

Not to be outdone, Gary Bryant finished under 10 hours and collected third in the 40-44 year category.

Lincoln Murdoch, who swum the leg for his winning Cairns Half team All Sparks (with fellow Babinda Electrics workers Ryan Kopittke and Julian Oates), said the experience inspired him to do more next year.

“I’ll be lining up early to do the individual next year, it was a special day,” he said.

The participation of these, and so many more, Far Northerners escalated the event from good to great, according to Challenge organisers.

“There were so many good stories – too many to tell all at once,” project manger Tammy Barker said.

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