orienteering race (Easter relay length) 1:06:17 [4] 5.6 km (11:50 / km) +260m 9:36 / km
shoes: Inov8 Oroc spikes
Such a cool (slightly chilly) arena overlooking the cherry farm which we walked through to get from the parking. I'd seen people running along the main road as we drove in, so was prepared to consider it as a valid route choice even before starting. Sure enough, the first leg was nearly 1.5km long and could be made longer, but simpler, by belting straight east to the road then north up the creek until reaching the correct side gully. My mistake was in following the spur rather than the gully to the road but I still think it was a good choice, and I felt better running than on the other days this weekend.
I'd heard rumours of a ladder up a cliff somewhere on course but was sure that this would affect the men only, so was slightly horrified to turn around after punching 1 and see the ladder in front of me and even more horrified to realise that above it was a rope with knots in to pull oneself up by! I must have verbalised my horror because I heard Clare Baker making encouraging noises behind me (which is how I knew she had caught me 2 minutes). We were both a little high on 2, after bashing through the scrub, then I deliberately stayed above the cliff line on 3 which I am not sure was the best option. Going over the spur to 4 was not the best option but I saw WATash and a NSW girl doing it so I followed suit; Clare was smarter and went round the bottom, then we were both running down the broad flat gully and tripped over a Hong Kong girl - well, not quite. She tripped and bashed her shin on a rock and looked to be in pain so we both stopped but she insisted she was okay.
I lost a bit of momentum there but wouldn't have been able to keep up with Clare along the track, and was seeing her gradually edging ahead when we went through the butterflies. Reeled in a few other people through this section and was similarly overhauled by Marina although I think she was one butterfly earlier than me. Each scramble up the hillside to a big rock got tougher and tougher but it was magical terrain and I was rather sorry when it ended and I was faced with another 1.5km leg, because my legs decided to die at this point. Consequently I took rather too wide a route choice to avoid the climb. Running through the cherry orchard somehow reminded me of orienteering in Europe, but the final climb over the last hill was through classically Australian stringybarks. I got stuck getting through the fence on the way to the last control; that's where I lost the 5 seconds that Clare Brownridge beat me by :(
Scrambled up some more rocks in the late afternoon as Blair & George & I went out to Dunn's Swamp, which is one of my favourite places and the views over the Cudgegong River from the top of the sandstone pagodas are truly impressive.