On a year of Rogaines

This year I’ve taken every possible chance to rogaine, and have participated in the following events:

• Tuggeranong 3hr
• Gudgenby 6hr
• Virtual Parkes and Parks 4hr
• Belanglo 6hr
• Tallanganda 4hr
• Springwood night 4hr
• Navshield
• Bondo 12hr

These experiences don’t form some massive arc or narrative, but I have learned a few things across the events. Some of the lessons have been reinforced (or re-learned) over a few events.

I have done the majority of these events with my mate Eamon, and our curse is that we are near the front of the field. This means we live at the margin, with every decision being the one that could have cost us that next place. An unspoken goal has been to get onto the overall podium for a rogaine - but we haven’t gotten there yet. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a great problem to have and - “on any given [Saturday] you’re gonna win or you’re gonna lose. The point is - can you win or lose [well]?”

Eamon and I have both been stricken with Proximal Hamstring Tendinopathy this year. As a result of this, I have learned the walking is often faster (and more fun!) than running, provided there is a enough off track navigation. Walking is slow enough to ensure the navigation is precise, and you don’t have to stop as often. You can also take a lot more shortcuts. During the Gudgenby rogaine we were using a run/walk strategy but we struggled to overtake a Super Veterans team that was only walking. Since switching fully to walking, we have become the old walkers mowing down the uni teams.

Whilst walking is less intense than running, off track walking and navigating requires a substantial amount of fuel, way more than I expected. Following a contour on steep terrain at a reasonable pace can easily be zone two or three, and that’s not even gaining elevation. The concentration required to walk off track - even through open bush is very draining. Since we aren’t running or riding I have not put much effort into eating, and have repeatedly paid the price. However, I am a recent convert to drink mix. Since off track walking is still slightly less intense than running, rogaining may be one of the best formats for chocolate milk drink mix.

We’ve rogained with a few other people across the year, and we found smaller teams are much faster - but it is good to have other perspectives in the mix. However, three is not the magic number as there will always be an odd one out whilst you chat and navigate. Carpooling and camping at the rogaine may be a better way to extend the team while still getting to run your own race.

One thing I have learned from rogaining with other people is that better navigators aren’t putting more effort into navigating, they are just putting right amount of effort in at the right time. There are many situations where you can navigate imprecisely and the terrain will guide you in to the control.

Conversely, it seems that knowing that you are actually lost is almost as hard as knowing why you are lost. And finding yourself once lost is way harder than normal navigation - once you realise you aren’t where you think you are, you start to question basic reality. Cutting your losses is often the right call but I find this hard to do this before it’s too late, as it feels like giving up. Basing your choices on what moves will give you the most new information is usually the best approach, but it’s always tempting to just “look harder” in the same spot.

I am often guilty of second guessing our route and trying to add more distance so that we get more points. But it turns out that Eamon is a pretty good route planner, and has a pretty good grasp of what we can achieve. Route choice isn’t about plotting a winning route but plotting the best route that you can execute. Similar to my experience bikepacking, those planning on “doing better” than you think is possible are either complete dreamers or are going to absolutely dominate - either way, you don’t have to worry about these people.

It seems like sore feet is truly a staple for rogaines - no matter if things are going well or things are going badly, my feet are always sore at the end of a rogaine. Unsure if this means I need beefier shoes or stronger feet, but I’m yet to lose a toenail!

There have been many good times this year, but here’s a few highlights:

• Seeing Bek and Lucy just before the start of NavShield, and then seeing them again as we all walked in to the end point at the exact same time (depicted in the featured image).
• I dropped my map while following a bearing at night during NavShield, but we were able to take a back bearing and retrace our steps exactly - and after only 5 minutes of walking we found the map!
• During the Bondo 12hr we got quite lost - to the point where we were guessing random locations within 3 square kilometers. However, after a few good scouting walks, we pinned down our location and walked to the checkpoint.
• Honestly the whole 12hr rogaine was great. This is my new favourite duration. Long enough to be slow, and have some night navigation, but not so long that you lose sleep.
• Our course for the Tallanganda 4hr was almost entirely off track and we only saw a couple of other teams - this was a great walk in the woods.
• Our run/walk in the Gudgenby 6hr was extremely satisfying - we extended our route by about 15km because how far ahead of the plan we got, and we made it back just in the nick of time. During the last 10 minutes we were running all out, near max heart rate - it felt like we really squeezed everything out of those 6 hours.

Overall, it’s been a great year of racing and learning, and I’m looking forward to taking on more rogaines next season.