AROC Paddy Pallin Adventure Race

November 2007

We arrived by bus at the start area south of Canberra city only to be greeted by a torrential downpour! I thought that I had a minute or two to put my rain jacket on but half way into it, the start signal was given and everyone was off. Matt and Sarah were shaking their heads as once again we were starting an Aroc race at the very end of the field thanks to me. Leg one was a short rogaine through some open hilly area and streets, I started the nav on this leg and we picked up the first four CP quickly but with the rain not letting up my glasses were continually fogging up so I passed it over to Matt. We picked up our last CP on the way back to the bike TA surrounded by plenty of teams.

“Where’s PA?” Stixy yelled when the race got under way. As teams dashed off into the pelting rain, we found Pa hunched up under a tree, wrestling with a zip that just wouldn’t bite. His pack and race vest were in a puddle beside him and the frustration clear. No time for this zip, gear back on and we were off. Down the first street a little behind and it all feels good. Then the first uphill and Stixy clings to my pack. I’m not sure why cause my calves locked too and we’re walking to the top. 10 minutes later Pa flicks the map my way and I have no idea where we are? No compass at hand and rain still bucketing, it’s time to start guessing our way out of this one……

We hopped straight onto our bikes for the next leg which was mainly on gravel/clay walking trails behind the suburbs. By now with the teams ahead chewing up the tracks we were riding in slop most of the way. My Trek soon developed chain suck and I found myself walking up the small hills as I could not put any pressure on the pedals as they locked, riding in the big front ring helped on the flats. The checkpoints were all obvious as there was normally a big queue waiting at each one, still the rain came down, it was still fun sliding around the trails, no spills at least. We had to walk through a 50m culvert with our bikes, luckily there was no water flowing into it. Then it was along a few bike paths to the Scout hall at Garran for the next TA.

Two CP’s in the culverts had been deleted from the course as the water was rising in the storm water channels. The novice course had started from this TA and a few of the teams had taken a wrong turn or walked/crawled up the stormwater drains and had popped out near the hospital. Tom was a bit concerned as the rain was quickly filling the drains, luckily all the teams got out in time.

1.5km up a drain pipe in a fricken flash flood is hardly a wrong turn! Tom was having kittens until these crazy cats were found….

On this leg we were given a Frisbee and had to navigate around the park by throwing the Frisbee ahead, picking it up then landing it in a basket at each checkpoint. The team ahead of us lost their Frisbee in the stormwater drain so they had to stay with us for our lap of the course. I had the job of throwing the Frisbee which after a while tuckered me out, should have given the team running with us a go! It did not seem to take long before we were out of the park and crossing the main road at the lights. Back to the TA, at least the rain had stopped for a while.

This section was a short bike leg from Garran to Lake Burley Griffen mainly along main roads and cycle paths. We kept pace with a few teams on this leg, the light was fading quickly due to the constant drizzle but we managed to make it to the TA without lights. There were a few checkpoints on the way, once again these were easy to find. When we arrived at the TA we were then told the location of the next TA by the official.

A few twists of the on-the-fly adjuster and the Blur was back in business, but the Trek still ‘sucked’. Pa needed a push in the steep slop to keep it rolling, so Stixy got to work on her own. I was loving the slide and rued the return of bitumen….

We were now onto the kayaks for a short paddle to an island, on the way over we could see several teams swimming across from the island back to the mainland, bummer, as if I was not wet enough. At least it was our chance to wash all the mud off from the bike ride. When we arrived on the island we were told to leave our kayaks, pick up another orienteering map and swim back to the mainland. We had to obtain at least 175 points from the various checkpoints, then swim back to the island.

The swim over was OK , it was actually warmer in the water and it was still raining. I had packed the map case in my backpack at the last minute, at least we could keep things dry on the swim. I saw some teams with their map between their teeth as they swam over. It seemed to take a while to get over to the shore as I am not the best of swimmers. Matt mapped out the quickest way around to pick up our points and once again this leg did not seem to take long to get through. We arrived back at the lake just as the rain and lightning started to drift over the lake, it was an eerie feeling swimming back to the island as the lightning was hitting the mountains in front of us, Sarah really picked up the pace on the way back. A number of teams behind us were stopped from doing the swim as it was considered too dangerous with the storm overhead. We had a quick snack and were quickly back onto the kayaks as the wind was now picking up and it was raining heavier.

If lightening won’t improve your swim time, nothing will. I counted to thunder after every flash all the way across, relatively comfortable that we were safe, but Stixy shot through. Pa decided to dredge the lake with his Salomons, maybe to show the mud his lost whistle, so we took a few minutes more than the guns. At least the nav for 175pts was easier than trying to do the math, especially as we did it under the light of a glow stick…..

We could see the glow sticks of several teams ahead of us, I enjoyed the paddle into the wind as we headed towards the museum, then under the main bridge on our way to the next checkpoint. The lightning was still a distance away but I had been zapped by a lightening strike while windsurfing years ago and Matt had been knocked to the ground by a nearby strike in his younger days so we pushed as hard as we could.

We caught up to a few teams near the water fountain, we thought that we were wet any way so we may as well go under the fountain, wrong! The down draft from the water falling caused a weird mix of water and wind as well as the water was a lot colder, we paddled really fast to get out of it. We pulled up at the jetty checkpoint 3 minutes late for the advanced course cut off but we probably would not have kept going anyway. We passed two teams at the checkpoint only because their control cards had disintegrated and it took time to get them out where as ours was laminated, those little things add up.

It was nearly impossible not to ramp up my rating, given that the flashes were very closely followed by thunder, but memories of Homebush and Stixy popping on the paddle forced me to keep it calm. Zeus’s thunder stick doesn’t tickle and I didn’t need a refresher on how much he stings. The slower rating meant that Stix kept it on all the way….until Pa made her laugh that is. The spray from the fountain sucked more than Pa’s Trek. It was colder than a polar bears paw and about as brutal as one too. It snap froze the three of us and anyone else that ventured into its path….

It was then a short paddle to the other side of the lake, there were two teams on our tail and one just ahead. We quickly exited at the main jetty and ran up the hill to the finish line, and yes it was still raining!

Teams were not hanging around so the Aroc team decided to have the presentation at Mt Stromlo at 10am the next morning. The teams that were taken off the water had to run back to the bike TA and ride around the lake to the finish line, Tom and Alina were kept on their toes all night adjusting the course due to the weather conditions.

And that’s how it ended! Great fun in miserable conditions and then a fizzer of a finish line as everyone that stopped tried to fit into the timing tent. Mother Nature 1, AROC…1 and a half. I’m sure the old girl will smile on them at Avoca. For our part, it ended with a quick shower at the Hyatt and a wonderful warm meal before closing the curtain on another great hit out. We ended up 17th overall and 8th in the mixed class. Not bad considering Pa completed the entire course with a whistle in his shoe, I haven’t run since smashing my Tibia in August and Stixy didn’t eat or drink all race!

Greg & Matt Bacon
Team Hardtale.com