rogaining race (Upside Down Spring 12 hr) 5:00:00 [3] 16.0 km (18:45 / km)
shoes: Asics Gel 2140
I'd had difficulty mustering enthusiasm for an overnight 12 hour rogaine, especially one out Saunders Gorge way (for anyone who drove to the Aust Relays via Mt Pleasant, when you come down the escarpment and hit the plains, the gorge goes back up into the hills north of there). Hash House was in the very southeastern corner of the map, the Marne Gorge in the northern end, and lots of rolling (read:steep) hills in between, with looong grass cleverly hiding all the rocks which are underfoot just waiting to be tripped over.
Only 16 teams did the 12 hour, starting at 7pm; lots more did the 6hr starting at 5pm, and so we enviously watched them all starting off while there were still 3 full hours of daylight left. Zara and I planned a 40km straight-line loop which seemed conservative (having covered nearly 60km in previous 12 hour rogaines), and we left out the Marne Gorge, but included most of the controls between the HH and the top end of the map, so there was a fair bit of zigzagging, and in hindsight we didn't think enough about the opportunity cost of some of the low pointers we were going to.
We started with the SW corner, which probably had the longest grass :( First 3 controls were running on the road but by the time we'd got the next couple up in the hills it was nearly dark and just as I was thinking about getting my torch out, I tripped, on a rock so small I never saw it, and nearly rolled forward down the hill but my landing was cushioned by larger rocks strategically placed under my knee, shoulder and elbow! I had a brief "I want my mummy" moment but there was no blood, just good bruises still coming.
About 10pm we started seeing teams from the 6-hour heading back towards the hash house and doubted they'd make it in time. (We also saw Steve & Dave and they were motoring along.) Then at about 11pm, which was 6-hour cutoff, going along a ridgeline, a team asked us where they were and we tried to direct them to the safety loop track figuring that since they were already going to be disqualified for lateness they may as well at least get a lift back. A couple of hours later, crossing the same ridgeline again, we saw vehicle lights coming and figured we'd better stop to talk to the safety vehicle, which was indeed looking for that team, but had just heard that they had made it back safely.