eNewsletter 217 - Sunday 1^st March, 2026

G'day fellow rogainers,

In this newsletter

• It wouldn't wanna get much hotta than this!
• Time to enter the 6-hour Explorergaine, Mt Victoria, Sun 29^th March
• For March only: Get fit & raise money in the AHF's Trailblazer program
• Running visionary Keelan Birch crowned Coffs Harbour Citizen of the Year
• Combined NSW & ACT 2026 Rogaining Calendars NOTE DATE CHANGES
• From the rogaining archives

Results: the Swans, Sea, & Caves Minigaine

An expectant crowd gathers...

Ironically, the headland by the entrance to Lake Macquarie was once known as 'Reid's Mistake' after Captain Reid made a navigation error. But thanks to guidance from the local Awabakal people he was able to locate the coal he was looking for. Today, some rogaining experiences can be a bit like that too!

It was a pretty hot day with the high humidity and lack of a sea breeze adding to the challenge. However, the course was bordered by the ocean and Lake Macquarie so there were pleny of chances to cool off and one team reportedly fled into the sea seeking relief, resulting in a very successful second burst of stamina.

Being the first for the year, the Minigaine is always one of our more popular events. Despite the heat we had a total of 422 participants consisting of 339 in 123 teams, plus 83 solo entries. These made up 20% of the total and many were from the local orienteering community, so you are to be thanked for your support.

We finished the hot day at the Swansea High School and in accord with the conditions, returning participants were greeted with thirst-quenching Zooper Doopers, a bottomless supply of icy cordial, and fruit and sliced watermelon along with a range of sandwiches, exotic desserts, and cakes.

Sun, sea, & surf with food included -- what a great start to 2026!

Results

Team winners:

Congratulations to the overall winners, the Mens Superveterans team of Martin & Kevin Smith, and Michael Bower, who clocked up 1820pts out of a possible 3390pts with just 59 seconds to spare. (Would these guys be experienced course planners, do you think?). Second at 1790pts were the Mixed Superveterans team of Nicole & Andrew Haigh, and third were the Under 23 team of Bill Klein and Tarana Stubenrauch with 1760pts.

Team winners by category:

Solo winners:

Congratulations to Jake Evans, the overall winner who clocked up 2300 out of a possible 3390pts with just less than 3 minutes to spare. Second overall at 2140pts was the winner of the Mens Veterans Sergey Pikuz, and third overall was Mens Superveterans winner Geoffrey Barnes with 2060pts.

Solo winners by category:

Comparing the two sets of results tabulated above, it is clear the competitive elites chose to go solo!

Links to the full results are available from the event page.

Acknowledging our volunteers

It is the volunteers who make rogaines happen and we should thank the following people responsible for making this year's Minigaine run so smoothly:

Particular thanks has to go to locals Marg & Rob, and Jack from Paddy Pallin, who all stepped up at the last minute and took on the daunting job of getting this rogaine underway. Well done!

We would also like to thank the following organisations for their support and providing essential services:

• Swansea High School for providing the spacious amenities capable of comfortably holding more than 400 people -- in the shade,
• Paddy Pallin for their sponsorship and provision of the category winners' prizes,
• Java House Cafe in Epping who supplied the sandwiches and cakes, and
• Rochelle of Harmony Beans for supplying the coffee van before the start.

Control 103 looking west

For a lot more photos by Bruce Sutton, Michael Watts & Julian Ledger, see the event page.

6-hr Explorergaine, Mt Victoria, Sun 29^th March

For your calendar: add the event date & add entries closing reminder

Entries are open

The Explorergaine will be held on Sunday 29^th March on Mt Victoria and Mt York, situated on the western edge of the Blue Mountains about 1 hour 45 minutes drive (~120 km) west of Sydney. The rogaine will be mostly on bush tracks.

The event has a strong historical theme and explores the first routes (known to Europeans) off the western side of the Blue Mountains. It is also a fundraiser for the Australian Himalayan Foundation^#. Greg Mortimer, one of the first two Australians to successfully climb Mount Everest, will attend as a special guest.

Views over the Megalong Valley, Hartley and west to the Great Divide are outstanding and expect a surprisingly complex choice of bush tracks both close to the Hash House and for the fit and strong down to Hartley Vale.

The Event HQ will be at the Mt Victoria Public school (105-107 Great Western Highway) which is an excellent venue and has all facilities.

There is a mix of accommodation available in the Blue Mountains towns and nearby Lithgow, including campgrounds, holiday lets and motels.

Key info at a glance:

Course times:

Sunday 29^th March 2026

^*There'll be a dual start/finish option on either side of the Great Western Highway, removing the need to cross this major road in a crowd.

Enter Here

In case there are any late changes, stay up to date by regularly visiting the event page on the website.

Info for novices with advice on what gear to bring for a bush event and other information can be found on the website.

Final Instructions

Final Instructions containing more event-specific info will be posted on the event page after entries close.

Event related queries can be directed to: admin@nswroganing.org

^#The Australian Himalayan Foundation (AHF) is an independent, nonprofit organisation with DFAT accreditation that works to improve quality of life in remote areas in Nepal, Bhutan and Ladakh. The AHF partners with trusted local organisations to deliver long-term, community-led programs across education, healthcare and the environment. A portion of the rogaine entry fee (we hope $15) will be passed on to the charity.

Grab your walking stick and dog,
and join the AHF's Trailblazer program

Contributed by Julian Ledger

The Explorergaine (above) doubles as a fundraiser for the Australian Himalayan Foundation but commencing next Sunday on the 1^st of March the AHF also have their own month-long distance-sponsored event, called the Trailblazer. This will be the second year this event has been run. It could be used to train for the Explorergaine and at the same time raise even more funds.

The AHF writes:

The Trailblazer runs 1–31 March. Walk, hike or run 130km, the distance of the Everest Base Camp Trek. You can tackle it however you like: exploring a new mountain for the first time, 4km a day along coastal trails, on bush walks, walking to work or even on the treadmill. Whether you take it on solo or form a team, this is your chance to get outdoors, connect with an inspiring community and challenge yourself, all in support of vulnerable families in the Himalaya. Together, we can move mountains, one step at a time.

The idea is to invite sponsors, and if you complete the 130km and someone sponsors you at 10 cents/km, then that's $13 raised and so on. That amount goes a long way in remote Himalayan communities. Learn more and become a Trailblazer today.

Keelan Birch, Coffs Harbour Citizen of the Year

In NSW Rogaining circles Keelan Birch is well known as a regular champion of many of our events, and he recently organised the 2025 NSWRA Autumngaine held at Bucca in the Coffs Harbour hinterland.

But Keelan has achieved a lot more than that!

He has been feted Coffs Harbour Citizen of the Year at the local Australia Day Awards ceremony for putting the Coffs Coast on the map as a destination for sports tourism. He has been the prime mover behind a number of ventures, and as Event Director of the Coffs Harbour Running Festival, he shaped it into one of the North Coast’s most significant gatherings, attracting thousands of participants that in 2025 raised $90,000 for local charities.

Well deserved congratulations go to Keelan.

View the original announcement on the City of Coffs Harbour website.

NSW & ACT 2026 Rogaining Calendars

Below is the latest state of play as the NSW and ACT calendars continue to firm up. The dates for two more very important interstate rogaines coming up in 2026 have also been set and the 2026 NSW ‘fridge-friendly’ printable calendar (pdf) is ready to download.

CALENDAR UPDATE: the dates for the NSW Championships and Nightgaine have changed (flipped) due to the possibility of hazard reduction burns in the Watagans in Autumn.

Planning an interstate trip? Check out the ARA's National Rogaining Calendar.

In all cases, remember to check the respective websites should there be any changes since some of the events are many months away.

Two young Turks -- who might they be?

Posing as proud setters of the 2004 Paddy Pallin rogaine in the Upper Colo, and seen again last Sunday as team I be pro fun for all!

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