Race Evaluation
28th Annual Billygoat Run:
jjcote
| 1. | Turned map over, and was dismayed to see that I was going to have a tough time figuring out where the course went, due to the combination of the odd printing and my colorblindness. No idea where the start triangle was when I headed off with the crowd. Managed to find it, and decided to save some climb by contouring to the right. Mikkel Conradi and somebody else were doing likewise, though they apparently got sick of the talus and went up. I stayed under the cliffs and eventually crossed the southern spur, not sure where I was. Saw a stone wall, but I couldn't match it up with anything on the map, so I just kept going until I saw people coming in from my left. Arrived just behind Susie DeWitt and some others. | ||||||
| 2. | Just following the crowd, trying to discern enough of the course to pick a skip. Decided that 25 was good enough. | ||||||
| 3. | Still a pretty good crowd around, went to the right and crossed the stream early, passed Scott Turner, and had Bob Lux in sight up ahead. Could also see Rich Kelly up there as we picked our way through a surprise patch of barberry. | ||||||
| 4. | Leaving the control, BL asked what I thought of skipping #4. I pointed out the fork, and observed that the left fork was on the way to #5 anyway. Ahead of BL at the end of this leg. | ||||||
| 5. | Tried to save a little climb by contouring to the left, and that was just plain dumb. It's only an extra line or two to go over the top, and I got pushed down by some vegetation in my way and had to climb at the end to get to the saddle. BL ahead of me. | ||||||
| 6. | BL ahead, and Jeff Saeger ahead of him. | ||||||
| 7. | Joe Mokszycki caught up when I stop to deal with my loose shoelace. Down to the cairns with no trouble, but maybe there were some extra cairns or something, because pretty soon we saw a stone wall to our right. Joe was thinking that it was the one WNW of the numeral 7, but I could see that it was too big, and had to be the one S of the numeral. Down to the trail, easy attack from there, and a crowd of people arrived right behind us. | ||||||
| 8. | With JM and Jim Eagleton on this leg, went left around the marsh halfway there, and spotted #16 going up the hill. Climbed a little, and found a marsh with a boulder next to it in what looked right the right place, but no flag. Scratched our collective head, and Jim realized that we were in the marsh in the green two lines low. Several people at the control when we got there. | ||||||
| 9. | Following the crowd. | ||||||
| 10. | #10 as a skip hadn't occurred to me, so I took off for #10 behind JE, and wondered why everybody else was falling so far behind. Leaving the field, JE headed straight into some barberry, while I got on the "trail" (which I mistook on the map for a stone wall), and had an easier time. | ||||||
| 11. | JE ahead of me at the beginning of the leg, but he got hesitant at the end, while I knew exactly what I was looking for. | ||||||
| 12. | Ahead of a few people, I think, followed the contours nicely and spotted the control just to my left as I got close. | ||||||
| 13. | Peggy Dickison up ahead, had to close the gap a bit before I could tell who it was. Almost caught up to her by the control. | ||||||
| 14. | Arrived at the garage with PD, going to the right of the house. Still a couple of wineglasses left for us. | ||||||
| 15. | On the driveway, Peggy asked if I still had my skip ahead of me (she had skipped #10, and assumed I hadn't skipped yet). That was the first notion I got that #10 was a good skip. Caught some other people near the control, including Jeff Saeger, who was on the trail just S of the control, and asked if we were still on our way to #15. | ||||||
| 16. | Smoked this leg. Went past the marsh/rock that I had seen on the way to #8, and knew exactly what I was looking for. | ||||||
| 17. | Felt like I had a stick under my right heel inside the shoe, and stopped to dig it out. Realized that it was the shoelace aglet, so I paused to retie and leave less slack. A number of people caught up. Was running with JE, and we saw a knot of people up ahead, so naturally we headed toward them. JE was outraged when we got there and there was no control: "What? All these people and this isn't it?" A quick glance to the left showed that we were really close, though. | ||||||
| 18. | A little right of the line, through the deepest part of the saddle, with a cadet a little to my right. Saw JM up to my left; apparently I had made up the time he had gained by skipping #10, but I didn't know that. Followed him down the hill, and Kat came in from my right, moving well. Arrived just behind those two. | ||||||
| 19. | Down to the nasty rotten logging trail, but lost interest in that pretty quickly, and headed into the woods, navigating by stone walls, with JM nearby. Crossed the stream at the same place that I crossed it going to #4, took the trail a short way, then headed up the hill. Realized that I was looking for a charcoal terrace, not a boulder cluster, and yelled to JE who was to my left, "Okay DVOA-man, finding this one is your job!". I was right on target, as as soon as I popped over the lip, it was right in front of me. | ||||||
| 20. | Big crowd right behind as I went straight up the hill. JE seemed to go off to the left, I probably should have gone directly over the top, but I climbed just enough to get off of the steepest part of the slope, and stayed right. Saw a couple of boulders as I crested the spur that the control was on, but couldn't identity them. I was pretty sure I was above the control, so I just headed down and looked for a big rock, which I found no problem. JM right behind me. | ||||||
| 21. | Down in the right direction, and kept my eye open for a terrace with a rock on it. Sweet. | ||||||
| 22. | JM right behind, crossed the stream early but still got caught in some mucky stuff on the far side. Got up to the trail, and cut the corner when I got to the stone wall. Tried to navigate by the big barberry patch, keeping it on my left, but it was kind of vague. Successfully went through the gap, and was surprised to see JM at the control (I guess he went on the other side of the thicket). | ||||||
| 23. | JM stayed low, I went a little higher, but was still kind of to the left. When the contours swung to the right, I looked right and saw the cliff just above and behind me. | ||||||
| 24. | The next control was lower, so I contoured along pretty level, planning to just let the trail come down to meet me. Jeff Saeger pulled in from somewhere, so there were three of us to reinforce each other's confidence. The sidehill finally got steep enough that we had to climb a couple of lines to get on top of the spur. I said, "Jeff we need an attack point!" when he hesitated. Fortunately, there was a big cairn right in front of us. JS and JM went diagonally from the cairn, while I took the trail just a bit further and came in from the other and of the little hill. Spiked the control, though JS had a hard time arresting his descent as he got there, and it looked like he might drag the sapling that the control was attached to down the slope with him. | ||||||
| 25. | Skip! Wasn't positive if the other guys had skipped yet, but was pleased to see them heading for #25. | ||||||
| 26. | Headed on down diagonally, hoping for an unmapped trail or good running down by the stream, but instead I found extensive barberry. Managed to find a reasonable path through it -- I was worried that I might get trapped, but at that point was willing to just blast though it if I had to! The woods opened up closer to the control, and it came up a little sooner than I expected. | ||||||
| F. | Couldn't see anybody ahead, and didn't hear any footsteps behind, so I just cruised in without looking back. |
Total Time Lost - 00:00:00