Report by Yan Jiehui & Wilson Low
Our team, WanGoDo Edge Woodlanders, have put together this race
report on the 24hr Rogue Adventuregaine, a weekend adventure race that saw us
navigating, trekking, kayaking and mountain biking in the Sunshine Coast
hinterland of Queensland, Australia.
We, together with our fellow WanGoDo Edge squad members Luke
Su and The Boon King, traveled with mountain bikes, paddles, and other assorted
adventure gear all the way from Singapore, our one chance to do a race with all
our favourite elements, that was heavy on navigation, and relatively
straightforward for logistics. Our non-stop adventure through the bush saw us
racing against several strong Australian teams in the men’s as well as mixed
categories in the following stages: 20km of down-river paddling + 7km of
trekking; a massive 80km mountain bike rogaine, a 19km trek; and a 18km paddle
on a dam + 5km of trekking.
Here is our story.
‘First Checkpoint-it is’
Jiehui: The race started with Wilson running away from the
track to CP1. I pulled his arm back and told him to follow the rest because
Liam has repeated at least twice the track is the best route. I could picture
those question marks above his head especially when all teams were running
towards the track that I pointed at. It must have been the adrenaline from his
‘first checkpoint-itis’ that he sped off (without me) towards CP1. I was
probably still startled at the speed teams are taking off in this 24hr race and
decided that falling at those rocks before CP1 can justify my slowness through
the race. The result: a grazed and bruised shin accompanying me for the rest of
the race!
Wilson: I initially dashed in the opposite direction of
where most people were going, convinced that the open terrain up high was
preferable to going along the watercourse – obviously the advice of Liam the
race director had fallen on my deaf ears. I spent the next minute being dragged
by Jiehui down the track which soon disappeared into a streambed lined with
deadfall and big puddles. Of course, the dreaded ‘first checkpoint-it is’, a
malady that plagues many an adventure racer in the frantic opening moments of
competition, assured that our team, along with several others, overshot the CP
by almost 100m. We also separated as we went our individual routes along the
riverbed; a quick turnaround saved us as we doubled back, crowded around the CP
flag, and punched in. It was then off to the kayak launch point. It was only
when we had jumped into the boat did I realize that Jiehui had injured her shin
in a fall when we had been separated in the mad scramble for that first CP.
Paddling & Portaging
J: it was a lovely kayak down Yabba Creek and we were lucky
to go through most obstacles without getting out from the boat. There were
times Wilson has to get out and push me down some shallow surfaces which I tried
sucking in my stomach assuming I will be 10kg lighter for him. Looking at how
he gritted his teeth in a painful look, I guess I was no lighter sucking in my
stomach then. Portaging has always been my weakness, I can’t keep the boat up
for even 10seconds and I am cursing on every single portage and hoping my
teammate wouldn’t think that I am too slow. Glad that Wilson is so skillful and
we managed to pull through many weird-looking rapids and glide ahead some teams
using less effort.
W: Paddling downstream and picking up checkpoints, we realized
our boat could accelerate, turn and traverse shallow rapids much more easily
than boats paddled by teams who were physically larger. I found accelerating
the boat a breeze with Jiehui and me being so light; our boat could bump down
shallow pebble races that had larger teams stalling and pushing. My task as
front paddler was simply to be alert and call out direction changes and other
instructions. Jiehui would steer in the rear position, and generally do her
best to match my strokes. My favourite move on this paddle was the ‘limbo’ -
floating UNDERNEATH some fallen tree trunks lying horizontal to the river by
lying flat on our backs. We got through several such potential show-stoppers,
our toes and noses whizzing just centimetres away from the tree bark at times! Thus
we avoided what bigger-sized teams often ended up doing – climbing out and
getting wet and/or portaging through these ‘strainer’ logs.
Not Following the Crowd
W: Ditching our boats to attain a couple of land-based CPs,
we found the critical one (CP6, at a watercourse junction) only because Jiehui
alerted me to whether my direction was ‘good’ or not. At first I thought she
was asking me whether I FELT good! A couple of teams had joined us at our
decision point to attain CP6, including a team that was looking for CP 5, but
had obviously gone way of-course somehow. I realized something was amiss as the
other teams headed downstream, seemingly confident of their route choice. A
quick consult with map and compass had us turned in a different direction from
the other teams. With all the commotion around us, I fought the instinct to
blindly follow them to where they thought CP6 was… and we were shortly rewarded
with sight of the CP flag!
Earning a 100-Pointer
J: On to the bike leg. It was such a long long long long
hill. I learnt that you should never praise the terrain until the race ended.
Earlier in the stage, I was complimenting that Imbil has many climbs but
thankfully they are all long and gradual instead of some Oh-My-Tian climbs.
Indeed, Imbil (or is it the Rogue race organizer) decide to show me what they
have up their sleeves – a massively long climb to this 100-pointer CP. It feels
good to see people feeling as shitty as you going up this hill. I can’t be
bothered with Wilson who is still riding it like a piece of pancake; he has just
finished Cape Epic after all. I constantly look out for Luke and BK for some
consolation. We made it up there and have decent fun going down after all the
hard work.
Route Error
W: Our bike ride was smooth until we went into some forestry
tracks that traversed the side of a spur. As soon as the track turned off in a
direction that was not reflected on the map, alarm bells started ringing in my
head. To summarize, we found a straight track with a few junctions to the left that
led us out of our pickle. But it took a firm decision by Luke to follow this
track and have us rejoining a known ‘handrail’ feature – in this case, a main
fire-road – without getting distracted about possibly exploring those left-hander
junctions. Navigating by ‘cutting our losses’ is inherently better than going
gut feel, and the great thing was that we still managed to get our target CP,
and sweep the entire 80km+ bike stage as well!
Wee-hours Trekking
J: I have been a strong runner but not in terms of Rogaine-style
trekking, all the contour bashing or downhill running just killed me with the
lack in confidence in the bushy, rocky and steep terrain of the Rogue. I remember
flying down Bukit Timah Hill back home in Singapore like nobody’s business (even
with a heavy pack), but became the chicken along the Rogue’s contour treks. I
was stumbling my way through to keep up with Wilson who was navigating at the
same time. I keep consoling myself that i had a fall earlier and it was also
dark. The end of the trek concluded with a long, steep, and loose-surfaced
track down to the HQ. I saw Wilson run down with style while I tried imitating
but failed miserably. In the end, I squatted down and slid all the way downhill
to HQ.
Sleepmonsters
Sweeping All But One
W: What an invigorating, if cold, early morning paddle!
Interspersed by little trekking sections, our team moves decently well. The on-water
navigation is methodical as we do not want to overshoot the little inlets where
the CPs are located, or paddle in curves when a straight line approach will do.
However, we find ourselves seemingly short on time and Luke suggests we skip a
70-pointer CP located on a knoll some distance from the water’s edge, in favour
of some higher-scoring ones. We don’t question this decision until we pass the
CP on the way to the 100-pointer on this leg (interestingly, this CP was tied
to a dead tree, one amongst hundreds scattered about the middle of the dam!).
At this point, I’m more concerned about missing the 100-pointer entirely,
considering the fact that we are on the limits of our sleep deprivation. Of
course, we soon realize that we have more than ample time to get that last CP.
A Pleasant Surprise
J: We came in an hour earlier than the cut-off and I was
still agonized at the fact that we let ONE CP off. We could have swept the
course – if only we made a better decision, if only I could hike faster, if
only we didn’t make a navigation error on the bike leg. Too many factors to
account for this and I believe it was the unpredictability of the race format
that keeps me racing. I enjoyed the race and coming in first in mixed category
is more of a bonus.
W: We were kept guessing as to whether other mixed teams had
swept the course as there were still several teams still out there when we
reached back over an hour before the cut-off time. Luke and BK arrived some 5
minutes later and as expected the analysis of our decision to pull the plug on
the one remaining CP ensued. Feeling kind of dejected, Jiehui and I started
washing our kit. Only when the first rounds of applause emanated from the loose
circle of racers at the awards ceremony (itself a low—key affair) did we wander
closer. Then, the announcement that Jiehui and I were winners of the Mixed
Category simply astounded us!
Our team raced hard on a 24-hr course that was demanding both
physically and mentally in equal measure, in an environment that is so
different from what we are used to in Singapore. With a strategy of efficient
navigation and minimal faffing, plus collaborating with our squad mates Luke
and BK proved largely beneficial, we came out tops. The fact that we beat
several strong Australian mixed teams on their home turf is something we will
be talking about for some time to come.
A real ‘racer’s race’ with a grassroots
vibe, on a beautiful course in a scenic location – our Rogue Adventuregaine
gained us valuable race experience, lessons to do even better in future, and of
course good memories!
Great read. Great effort.
ReplyDelete