Race Evaluation
2002 Billygoat Run:
randy
| 1. | +00:15 | My pre-race thoughts were - look to skip 1, and look to see who else skips 1. Turned the map over and 1 looked like a good candidate, tho not obvious as it was in the bubba goat. As most of the pack headed up the trail towards 1, I decided to look elsewhere for a skip, tho I noticed the CSU guys were conspicuously absent. Behind Eddie, Gregory, John F and a few others. With Nadim and ask him which was the one to skip. He jokes 1 -- I start scanning the map and narrow it down to 3 and 16. Easy trail run late in the race makes 16 look good. Feel good that that decision is out of the way tho worry that the pack will decide on 3 and I will have to think about it again. Basically let the pack drive, tho I see John F go off in a strange direction. Figured he decided to skip 1. Pack splits high and low on the approach, I go low (with Eddie and Gregory and J-J I think) and we boom south a bit. High pack (with Nadim and a couple of others) looks to have spiked it. | |||||
| 2. | Straightish. Pack running stronger than I and they start to pull away. See Gregory, Neil Dobbs, Ted Good, Nadim, and a tall runner in a red outfit ahead (who I believe was Michael Iles). Have to start navigating lest they drop me. No sign of Eddie. | ||||||
| 3. | Rough navigation and use the pack at this point. Collect on the marsh. The pack seems to boom a little left, and Eddie comes crashing in from the left while I'm still at the bottom of the hill. Know where I am and spike the control, tho the pack is fast leaving me in the dust. | ||||||
| 4. | Most go left, Gregory and Neil go rigth towards the trail. I remember Gregory had some hand in the mapping, plus it looks less rocky, so I go that way. They drop me and I'm totally on my own except for a guy in blue behind me. Sort of a straight line off the trail junct to collect off the pond, see Eddie come down the spur to the control, see Peggy and Nadim as I go into punch and I think Francis F comes in here also. | ||||||
| 5. | +00:15 | Think I see Nadim hesitate so I bust out of there. Francis F ahead. I boom one contour low, no big deal. | |||||
| 6. | Francis disappears, remember some other runners being around but don't remember who. River, marsh, reentrant, then lose contact and get on the unmapped trail. Tons of runners up here who I feel I should be farther ahead of. Hoped they had skipped 3. It was kind of cool to see the merging of the packs who skipped, and didn't skip, tho there was scant sign of my original pack. Ask Ted Good if he knows were we are, and he says something along the lines "I was hoping you were following someone who knew". Figure to run the ridge and someone will find it. I was wondering if Ted had skipped 3 but didn't feel like asking. Look for that weird rock feature to the SE and mistake something else for it. Bernie B finds the control. Alan Young shows up at this point too. Supress the urge to ask him if he has skipped yet. | ||||||
| 7. | Feel like I'm not having a particularly good race so far. Spooked by all the people. Not seeing many of the people I'd hoped to be seeing. Time to turn the concentration up a notch. Cut the left corner of the swamp with the pack. On the road run, see Neil cut straight thru. That's encouraging, I had thought those guys were way ahead. Decide on a lowish, straightish route. See the Good Bros go higher. Look behind to see if Peter goes high or goes the way I chose. He seems to chose my route which boost confidence. See Michael Iles, Alan Young and Vlad I believe on the hill climb, and spike the control. | ||||||
| 8. | +00:15 | I seem to be in the lead on the way to 8. Alan asks "where are you taking us". I say "to something orange". I go straight thru the green and the cliffs rather than on the (much better) reentrant. Some people follow, I think. I'm pretty confident going into the circle, yet boom one reentrant right. Misread the rock. Sheesh. | |||||
| 9. | +00:30 | I decide to go lowish. No one seems to follow. See Francis F to my right just as I get near the trail bend. He looks like he's looking for 8. I think the higher route to the trail is slower than my route to I try to run hard on the trail in a SW direction to try to lose people. Cut in south of the contour knoll and take the low route again to the circle. No one but Vlad seems to be around. Count the reentrants. Know I'm at the right one. No orange. Keep going. Hit next one. Go up the hill and the pack is punching in the one I was sure was right the first time. I thought the bag was way high. People taking the high route said they thought it was way low. Blew my chance to get ahead of some folks. Surprised to see Gregory again up here. | |||||
| 10. | Pack seems to consist of me, Alan, Vlad, Neil, and Michael. Ted said he was following me but I don't remember him. Down the trail. Surprised to see Eddie again come out of the control. | ||||||
| 11. | +00:20 | Trail running. The pack doesn't seem to want to take a break, I take a real quick one. | |||||
| 12. | Most direct trail. Pack running at its finest. | ||||||
| 13. | Eddie in the lead. Trail stream reentrant. | ||||||
| 14. | Right of the lake. Pick up Gregory somewhere along here I think. Eddie leaves the field in the dust on the up hill. I'm wondering if Vlad has skipped yet. Alan is running pretty strong and I'm hoping he has skipped. I'm wondering if I can get any of these guys on the long trail run at the end of the race. I don't feel it in me. Cut the corner on the trail run with Alan. See someone who looks to be in a CSU outfit coming down the trail the other way. That confuses me a bit. Cut in before the trail bend and use the stream. Punch with Alan at AY. Michael and Gregory up ahead. | ||||||
| 15. | Stay right of the hill on the white woods terrace and follow the spur in. Think I pick up some time here and punch ahead of Gregory and either right before, or right after Michael tho it seemed I ran the leg alone tho it is all a haze now. Time to see who goes off to 16 and who goes to 17. | ||||||
| 16. | Gregory, Neil, MIchael and myself are skipping 16. I'm not aware of anyone behind me. I seem to remember Ted being around but I don't remember him now. I have trouble getting out of 15 and Gregory gets ahead of me. I'm relatively weak on the trail run and these guys open up a 10 second lead. To make matters worse, Sergei pops out of the woods about 5 meters ahead of me, coming from 16. He's pretty fast, there goes another place ... | ||||||
| 17. | Easy control, no brainer with 4 strong runners 10 seconds ahead. | ||||||
| 18. | There is no hope of catching these guys now. I figure I'm set for about 15th place. Another easy control. | ||||||
| 19. | Careful not to follow the wrong trail, get back to the main one and the road. The mapping was a bit confusing here (wrong?), but I just followed the lake and keyed off the finish chute and had no problems. | ||||||
| F. | Dogged it in the finish chute a bit. Surprised to have finished 10th, and was pretty happy about it, especially being less than a minute behind the pack of 4 who opened it up on the trail run. Thanks to the course setter and the organizers. |
Total Time Lost - 00:01:35