Despite the hot weather, Tasmanian rogainers did very well in this year’s Australian Rogaining Championships in Goobang National Park, NSW. The night before the rogaine reached sub-zero temperatures, but the cold wasn’t to last long. The temperatures during the event reached 34 degrees, with an overnight low of 17, testing some of the cool-loving Tasmanian teams. With most of the creeks running dry, water drops were an essential part of the planning process. Given many of the hills were covered in unusually thick regrowth with a rocky base, these dry creeks were also key thoroughfares, even if the odd cliff face complicated matters.
The Tasmanian recipients of The Nigel Aylott Memorial Sports Foundation subsidy, Will Whittington and Xavier Scott, won the intervarsity competition, as well as the M under 23s, with 2080 points. Thorlene Egerton and Jonathan Sutcliffe won the XSV category with 2320 points, and Bernard Walker and Sara Brain followed close in second place with 2040 points. RT president Gary Carroll and his trusty partner Ken McLean were the top scoring Tasmanian team, coming 11th overall with a whopping 2570 points. They also came second in the MSV, and third in the MV category.
The trail running trio, comprising Mandy Mcintyre, Jacqui Guy, and Toni Spinks, lived up to their team name of "Mandy's Minions" by fulfilling Mandy's desire to stay awake for a full 24-hours, resulting in a score of 1250 and a 6th place in WV. Neil Hawthorne and I took the opposite approach, enjoying a luxurious 1am-8am pitstop at the HH. Thanks in part to a midnight visit to the 100 point cliff checkpoint, we ended up with 1440 points and 15th in XV. The same cliff forced an early retirement from power duo, Meisha Austin and Mick Cooper, but not before gaining a worthy 310 points in tricky terrain.
Thanks to the NSW Rogaining Association (NSWRA), for organising a challenging course in an unusual national park. And hey, at least the scrub wasn't horizontal.
Visit the NSWRA website for results and analytics.
-Lucy Hawthorne
