Men's Open winners report
ACT 8/24 Rogaine Championships Ian Booth Memorial Event, 14th May 2011
Hamish Leslie, posted on 24th May 2011
Ben and I had a great time on the 24hr. We ended up winning the Men's Open title which was a bonus.
I think we basically went the opposite direction to all other 24hr teams. We went north straight away and did this big loop in the daylight that took in all the farm controls up north. We were the first at all those stations (including 102 right up in the NW). After 102 we stayed on the range and headed south towards the pine forest.
Typically we screwed our first control up just after dusk (81). We went ok through the night but it was a bit lonely - we only saw the another team for the first time at about 12am (we started crossing paths with the pack heading the opposite direction - there appeared to be about 3 teams trailing each other). From 81 we came down and got 75 and 80-something on the river, then back up on to the western range slope then down again and up the eastern side to get 86. Went south along that range, then came down eventually to get the south west water station (23 maybe). Picked up the 80 and 70 nearby then headed back up onto Doctors Flat road, then we head down south east again for a 70 and 80. At sunrise we were at Pig Hill 100 pointer then we cleaned up a few more easy stations, dropped into the hash house then headed out on the easy farm loop to the east of the HH to finish (?).
Physically I thought we held up very well. Distance wise we were probably the hardest running team - we clocked up 58 kms control to control (but we were definitely not strategically smartest) - we basically ran flats and downs all night even in scrub and then in the morning with new enthusiasm we started running uphill as well. During the night we had no choice but to keep moving due to the intense cold (my camelbak tube froze!). Ben is super fit so he just kept going and I was able to keep up.
So what did we learn? I think we underestimated the density of scrub. Until we are super navs we will run with the pack (its just too easy an advantage to give up). We probably underestimated the size of the course (although we did successfully complete our loop). We learned that some points are high scorers due to nav difficulty, some due to physical difficulty (we wasted time on nav stations that we could've better used to get to some more peaks etc). We also learned that some stations which are challenging but makeable at day (due to long distance eyesight) become super challenging at night (need to be careful when approaching these). And we probably also learned a whole bunch of other stuff to too that I can't remember!
I'd say Ben and I will do another one in the future. Definitely let us know if Phil and Sarah unable to make Perth! Thanks to all the organisers for a great course and a great weekend.
Hamish Leslie and Ben Greenwood