Rocky Mountain Orienteering Festival Medicine Bow, WY; near Laramie. Day 1 on the Lights of Cheyenne map. Max and I did the Red course together. The gentle climb at the start of this mass start race was hard. Max and I were out of breath. The altitude was between 8,000ft ant 8,250ft. We later walked almost all of the uphills throughout the course. There was a line of people leading us into controls up to #5. People such as Gary Smith, Kathleen Lennon, Sharon Crawford, Kean Williams, Chris Beecroft and more were near us a lot. Max had gotten a side cramp earlier which prompted more walking. It went away later. He did pretty well getting through the distance—though he’s gone farther, I don’t think he’s done this distance as quickly before. I went his pace and waited sometimes but my own condition is not that strong. I did the navigating but pointed out features along the way to help him learn. The few places I may have lost us time were probably at #4 and perhaps at #5. Everything else was spiked. I needed a bathroom early on, and Max needed water earlier than control #10. It was fun being in this open terrain again and to be able to run and finish. My back held up well. Both of my feet were tingling and sort of numb, more than has been the case.
