Race Evaluation
QOC: The "Beverage of Your Choice" Chase
TimGood
| 1. | Slow drinker (Beer) so had a good crowd to follow when I started running. Ted looked like he was forking the first control but I stayed with the main group taking the trail off the corner of the parking. To crowded so dropped right to follow Ted who had revised his direction. | ||||||
| 2. | Straight out to trail and noticed everyone was taking the trail instead of crossing it. Looked a the map more closely and saw it was a fork. Headed down the trail to take the right fork. Trail and then contoured in the reentrant. Leaders have gotten away. Know that Jon, Eddie, Ted and Nadim are in front of me. I am with Tom Strat and Dave Onkst. Jon comes running back and I assume he is going to 3. | ||||||
| 3. | Route to 3 is not where Jon is going but he quickly passes by again and leaves me behind on the uphill. Dave has gotten ahead and I am with Tom as we cut in from the trail bend. | ||||||
| 4. | Straight. Started down the reentrant then along the left side. | ||||||
| 5. | Chose the left fork. Right looked like some extra climb or some side hill running. Plus we got to run across the stream on the left fork. Took the trail around. Tom is still just in front of me. We passed Dave at 4 but he is just behind us. As is Tom Nolan. | ||||||
| 6. | Back to the trail. Pass Tom and try and speed up a bit to string out the pack that is forming behind us. Feeling pretty tired and do not speed up much. Leave the mapped trail just after the high ground pulls away from the stream and take a smaller unmapped one. Tom has dropped back a bit. Dave with me. | ||||||
| 7. | Leaving 6, I realize that one reason I am having trouble running is that the sole of my left shoe has come unglued. The front half is loose and hanging down and catching on the vegetation. Had not thought ahead that a stream crossing would require crossing back at some point but seems obvious now. Much more tired now and the crossing is slower. Run to the pit and see the control in the gully where I should have been looking. | ||||||
| 8. | +01:00 | Plan to go straight then up the spur on the trail then contour and drop into it. Not paying attention and turn R on the first trail. Looks like Dave is going around low as he does not follow. When I realize I am not climbing but am in fact getting closer to the stream, figure I have taken the wrong trail. No wonder that Dave did not follow. Just go straight line from here and attack from the cliffs SSE of control. Slow side hill running has cost me a lot of time. Tom Strat comes in to the control just as I do and Tom Nolan is visible climbing from below. | |||||
| 9. | +00:40 | Tom S and I are together again and do not see the bag as we reach the ditch. Run up to high, see the fields and have to run back down. Tom N cuts into our lead as we flounder. | |||||
| 10. | Slog up hill trying to keep from getting completely out of breath so I can drink when I get there. | ||||||
| 11. | Beer. Tom is an even slower drinker than I so I am out first. | ||||||
| 12. | +00:20 | Road to the far parking then intend to take the trail from the corner. Looks like a party so I go around to the left on the road. Tom does not and makes up all the distance I got ahead on the road run. Tom cuts in to early and gets slowed in the crappy stuff. I stay on the trail and get lucky when the control is visible from there. | |||||
| 13. | +00:40 | Lead is short lived as I am to tired to do anything but walk up the hill. Also contour around to much but fail to angle back to the NE. We come out at the rock SW of the control. If we were going to do that, should have just taken the trail around. | |||||
| 14. | +00:40 | Another short leg where I end up to far left. Tom gets back ahead. | |||||
| 15. | Start on the Left leg then Tom changes his mind and goes to the right. Right does seem a lot shorter now and with less climb but I wanted to get out of the woods and the vegetation drag on the damaged shoe. Also thought I might try and get away from Tom when I was not there. Uphill was not to bad once I reached the trail and the control was easy. | ||||||
| 16. | +01:00 | Met up with Tom again at the trail jct W of the control. Nothing gained or lost. But then we went down to quickly and came out south of the control. Michael Warlters slipped in just ahead of us. | |||||
| 17. | I tried to slip away to the right side in the semi open but gained nothing. The deadfall in the reentrant slowed us down and we were still together at the control. | ||||||
| 18. | Why is it always uphill to the beer? Jon, Eddie, Ted and Nadim are already in and cheering. | ||||||
| 19. | Thought I drank this quickly to get a cushion on Tom but Michael is away first. | ||||||
| 20. | Last loop looks easy. Just need to run hard and be ready to drink at the end. Follow Michael to the first control. | ||||||
| 21. | Consider running along the woods but instead cut up quickly to the short grass. Look at the fork for 3 while running. Decide on Left. | ||||||
| 22. | Michael goes Right. Quick dogleg to the control. | ||||||
| 23. | Coming back I see Tom S and Tom N both taking the Right fork. Run hard in the grass and hit the trail just as Michael goes by. He gets a better approach thru the bush near the bag and punches first. | ||||||
| 24. | Then pulls away. I chase but am to tired to catch him. Would probably lose on the drinking anyway. | ||||||
| 25. | Last uphill to the beer. Michael is there first . . . | ||||||
| 26. | and chokes on his beer. I have a shot. The cheering masses are all yelling encouragement as I get half the cup down. Michael continues to have trouble as I move to the epunch and prepare for the final gulp. Drink it, throw down the cup and punch. Victory! | ||||||
| F. | +00:05 | Crowd continues to yell. Punch the finish! What finish? I go back to the pre-beer epunch and am directed to the tree with the finish boxes. I missed a lot of the prerace instructions because just before the start I noticed I had put my compression shorts on backwards. A quick change corrected that but I had to retape the shoes and was at the car during the finish instructions. |
Total Time Lost - 00:04:25