Report from Stewart Johnson
The 2007 Australian Rogaining championships were held in the MacDonnellRanges, East of Alice Springs, on the 28th-29th of July. Beginning this year, the Nigel Aylott Memorial Scholarship Fund has generously provided funds to establish an Australian intervarsity championship, to be held along with the Aus Champs each year. As well as providing trophies, the fund sponsored one university team from each State and Territory to attend the event.
Nigel Aylott was a keen rogainer and adventure racer, who for a long time advocated the reintroduction of rogaining into the Australian Uni sport calendar. He was killed tragically while competing in the United States in 2004, and the fund was formed in his memory. Shelley Bambrook and Stewart Johnston were very fortunate to be selected for NSW. This is their report.
It was with great enthusiasm that Shelley and I took up the offer, and on Friday July 27th we flew from Sydney to Alice Springs via Adelaide. It was the first time in the territory for either of us, so the prospect of having 24 hours to explore a part of central Australia in detail was exciting. The flight from Adelaide to Alice is interesting in its own right. After taking off from rainy Adelaide, we flew out over the sea, heading directly away from our final destination in the heart of Australia. Turning northwards, inland, the lush green that skirts the coast turns quickly to brown, as you cross the harsh arid lands of South Australia. The view then gradually softens into the ancient hills and plains of Central Australia.
On arrival in Alice Springs, we indulged in a rare luxury – a hire car. This would allow us a little more flexibility, especially as we had more exploration planned after the competition ended. En route to the hash house we noticed something interesting about the terrain. In the ranges it is obviously quite hilly, but also quite flat on the plains between the hills. In other words there are no valleys for some sections! It is so unlike our local East Australian terrain, where you slog up the hills (and through the scrub), and get lost in the valleys.
The hash house, at Ross River Resort, was located close to the centre of the course. We arrived early on the Friday afternoon before the event. There was plenty to do in preparation – dividing up the food we bought in Alice springs, fixing gaiters, spinifex-proofing our shoes, and second guessing the course setting and weather to figure out what to take out on course. The course organisers had warned us about the needly spinifex that covered parts the course. Most rogainers would be familiar with gaiters, leg protectors made of strong canvas or similar, which attach low around the shoes, and extend up to just below the knees. They are only partly effective though against Spinifex, which will always poke through anything that it decides to poke through. The best method for dealing with this is to harden up and keep going.
Shoes are a slightly different matter. Most runners these days have an open weave around the toes, which seems to be designed to ease the ingress of dirt and water. The best way to spinifex proof these types is to wear something else. Failing that, you can plaster them with lots and lots of sports tape, which is what I did. A few spikes still came through to get me, but otherwise they were ok. Shelley decided to go with some stiffer, heavier type walking shoes, which solved the spinifex problem, but did cause other problems.
The course was well set, with a good level of difficulty. We first received the maps at 9am, three hours before the start. Route choice was tricky, with a large area, complex terrain, few tracks, and certainly no ‘soft’ options. Eventually we decided to concentrate on the eastern side of the course, with a flight plan that twisted and doubled back numerous times between controls, when there was often no straightforward way to connect them. Our plan was conservative, aiming to get back to the hash house in the dark hours, with time to rest quickly, and then venture west for a quick second loop in the morning. We did manage to complete our ‘conservative’ loop; it just took us 24 hours to do it!
Holding a 24 hour event at this time of year ensures a close balance between daylight and dark hours. The first six hours are especially important, as navigation is much quicker during daylight. It is important to keep moving as steadily as possible during the 12 or so hours of darkness, and then make the most of the final 5 or 6 hours of daylight to come home strongly on the second day.
The first 4 to 5 hours went smoothly, with some of our easiest navigation (owing to the nature of our planned route). The terrain through these parts was mixed, with sharp, weathered rangelets (generally where the controls were located), interspersed with flat sections. Towards dark, we ran into much steeper country, with creeks that began to resemble canyons, and rocky sides that made it difficult to determine the cliffs from the almost cliffs. One particularly hard control, worth 120 points, the highest on the course, took us a while to find. We eventually found it perched on a slight spur, between two rocky scree gullies. The setters’ notes warned against attempting this control at night. They were right, it would have been nearly impossible. It was as hard as any control that I have seen on a rogaine.
This event was timed to coincide with the full moon, which was just as well for us. We found ourselves faced with some tricky navigation in the early hours. One area appeared as a nearly random assortment of lines on the map. Thankfully the land itself was a little easier to read, but it was still slow going, carefully using the moonlight and our compasses to guide our way. As we went we saw the headlights of other teams flicker on and off occasionally. In the powerful moonlight it was often better to the leave the headlights off, save for an occasional glance at the map or scan for a control.
Despite the moonlight there were still moments of confusion at times about which tiny spur, knoll or batwing we happened to be on (serious, there was a hill shaped like a bat wing on the map). After emerging from this maze, our last few hours of darkness were easier going, as we moved back into the steep hills and flat plains that we had passed by during daylight. We decided to rest at around 3am, but not for long. Our jumpers and space blankets didn’t protect us much against the desert chill. Our desire for sleep was quickly replaced with a desperate need to keep moving and get warm again!
As usual, the arrival of daylight revived us, and we managed to keep it together fairly well during the morning on our way home. It is difficult to keep fatigue at bay, and keep concentrating after so long out on the course. At one stage, a few hours from the finish, Shelley broke into a run. When I caught up, I mentioned that we were ok time wise, and that there was no need to run. Shelley replied that it wasn’t the time that she was worried about; she was running because it hurt less!
In the end we finished well on time, pleased with what we had achieved. Our final results were fourth in the intervarsity competition (of nine teams), tenth in mixed, and 29th overall. Next year the NSWRA will host the championships, hopefully with the full backing of the Australian University Sport. We hope to see some you there!
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