It's 1976 all over again!

The Victorian 50^th anniversary rogaine, Tallarook, Fri-Sat 25-26^th September, 2026

Content thanks to Neil Phillips and Phil Giddings

The folks at the VRA are currently planning their 2026 Nigel Aylott^## Memorial 24-hour Victorian Rogaining Championships. The course will be centred on the Tallarook Plateau in northern Victoria —recognising the birthplace of the sport 50 years ago. This event will have a roving 15-hour option plus a 6-hour rogaine as well.

Save the date:

25-26^th September 2026 (Friday – Saturday)

To commemorate the occasion, perhaps we could turn this into a NSW-ACT vs Vic interstate challenge!

This is a truly magnificent area for a rogaine. Most of the Tallarook State Forest is a plateau and the course is planned to also include surrounding farmland off the edge of the plateau as well. The Hash House is planned to be centrally located.

A little bit of history

Victoria is the home of rogaining. The first ever event was in 1976 in the Tallarook State Forest. The first Hash House was located in the township of Tallarook itself. The format was the now familiar 24-hour cross-country team navigation event. Its organisation was an alliance between the Surrey Thomas Rovers of Brighton and the newly formed Victorian Rogaining Association.

After 1976, rogaining events became a regular feature on the Victorian Rogaining Association calendar with 200-400 participants at rogaines in most months. Over the next decade the sport spread to every Australian state. Soon after the 1976 rogaine there was debate whether a special class for veterans over 40 should be introduced with some doubts about the potential interest (note the demographic in the photo above!). Today, rogaining caters for teenagers to octogenarians with classes for novices, families, veterans, super vets, ultra vets, and even 'legends'.

From the late 1990s, rogaining went international with events and participants from over 30 countries. The pinnacle of competition is the World Rogaining Championships with the 20^th WRC to take place in South Australia, set for September 2027.

Map reproduction from the first rogaine: 1976

Entry details

Entries will open about 1 month before the event. Early bird entry will be available until Wednesday 9^th September 2026, with regular fees applying from Wednesday 16^th September until entries close on Wednesday 23^rd September at 11:59pm.

The entry fees for the 6-hour, roving 15-hour and 24-hour are the same as follows:

For the most up to date info and to enter, visit the entries page on the VRA website.

Course enquiries can be directed to Phil Giddings philg@rogainevic.org.au or Nick Somes nick@rogainevic.org.au.

^##Who was Nigel Aylott? Nigel was a rogaining world championship winner, a VRA Committee member for 15 years, and a dedicated volunteer. In 2004, he died at age 38 in an adventure racing accident in North America.