Discussion: Billygoat 2007

ONA is out with the ad, but the EMPO site is not quite ready with the Billygoat announcement, so I'll put what IS known here:

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Empire Orienteering (EMPO) invites you to Billygoat XXIX on Sunday, May 20th at John Boyd Thacher State Park, Voorheesville, NY (west-southwest of Albany). The race will mass start at 11:00 am. There will be a walk to start (about 10 minutes), with a mandatory briefing session to follow. T-shirts and bragging rights are awarded to all competitors who finish in 3 hours, 30 minutes or less.

Two sprints are planned for Saturday, May 19th, to be held at Camp Pinnacle adjacent to Thacher Park (see below).

BILLYGOAT ENTRY:

Send your name, gender, date of birth, T-shirt size, O-club, address, phone number, e-mail, and a check payable to Empire Orienteering Club, to Janet Tryson, 1052 County Route 32, Malden Bridge, NY 12115 (jntryson [at] aol [dot]com).

BILLYGOAT FEES: $18 if postmarked by May 5; $25 if postmarked later; $35 day of event if maps are available. Receipt of registration will be provided by e-mail on or before May 14.

Some recreational courses (White/Yellow) may be available; no pre-registration required for recreational courses.

DIRECTIONS:

From Interstate 90 in Albany, take exit 4 onto New York State Rt. 85 west. Continue on Rt. 85 through the villages of New Scotland and New Salem. Turn right onto NY Rt. 157.

For the Billygoat, continue on Rt. 157 through the park (please observe 30 mph posted speed limit) to the Knowles Flat picnic area.

For Camp Pinnacle (Saturday sprints and possible overnight accommodations), turn left off Rt. 157 onto County Road 311 (Beaver Dam Road) and follow it up the hill; turn left at first intersection onto County Road 303 (Pinnacle Road, again uphill).

DAY OF EVENT:

Registration will be at Knowles Flat picnic area from 9:00–10:30 am to pick up your bib number, punch card, and Billygoat information sheet(s); and for last-minute registrants (if maps are available).

Walk to start begins from Knowles Flat at 10:40, with a briefing session to follow. Mass Start at 11:00 am.

MAP AND COURSE:

The map will include parts of Thacher State Park and Camp Pinnacle (private camp located adjacent to Thacher Park on north side). Both maps, drawn by Mark Dominie, were used in 2006 for the US Middle and Long Distance Championships. There will be the usual Billygoat rules with one control that can be skipped and this year's course will include a forked control. A manned aid/refreshment station is also on the course. Standard pin-punches and punch cards will be used.

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BILLYGOAT SPRINTS, SATURDAY, MAY 19

Camp Pinnacle
County Road 303, Voorheesville, NY

EMPO is planning two Billygoat Sprints on Saturday afternoon with starts between 2 and 4 pm at Camp Pinnacle, adjacent to Thacher Park. Accommodations (camping and/or dorms) and meals may be available at Camp Pinnacle (see directions above).

Both sprints are part of the 2007 Sprint Series, worth 40 points each for the winners.

At this time we may use SportIdent electronic punching for the Sprints only (not the Billygoat). Therefore, please provide your e-card number (if you have one), or indicate whether you need to borrow one for the sprints (to borrow, you will need to sign a release form stating you will be responsible for a $35 charge if you lose the rental e-card).

Pre-registration is requested (see Entry above) -- $12 covers both sprints if postmarked by May 5; $15 if postmarked later; $20 day of event.

Thompson's Lake State Park may also have camping available. It's located a few miles outside of Thacher Park (on the west side). For other accommodation ideas visit our 2006 A-meet page.

Will Neil be there to hand over the Goat? Will any of the aging Canadians have the guts to show up this year?

Let the trash talking begin.

That reminds me - I've had a very hard time replacing the style and color of the Swix jacket that someone borrowed without returning at the long-o champs last year. If it by some means turned up in an Attackpointer's possession, feel free to return it anonymously:

72 Lansing St
San Francisco, CA 94105

(Please send the rental car keys to Enterprise directly.)

Hmm, it appears that I actually have the goat, as it never quite made it to Neil over the course of the year. Not sure what to do with it now...

boris, it's not even like you are faithful... i heard about the sheep chasing.

john, you're not getting any younger either... but don't worry, grey hair doesn't preclude winning

John ! some aging Canadians will..BTW when you are on top is hard to stay there, and is only one direction you might go.your guess. too bad some aging Canadians, have aged knees too.

So the excuses have already started. Too bad...

I guess I won't even mention my achilles thing...

Johnny F wrote:

>Will Neil be there to hand over the Goat? Will any of the >aging Canadians have the guts to show up this year?
>Let the trash talking begin.

Win 5 Billygoats in a row Johnny and then Eric W and I will consider some trash talk.

http://www.billygoat.org/statistics/pointsm.html

The Billygoat.org web site is worth a visit. Especially the Jock stuffer awards. Hey Nick! Remember this?

Nick Duca Jockstuffer award winner (2000)

Nic had it all together, he had multi-year winner Mike Waddington in his sights for most of the last part of the race, and it was going to come down to a sprint. Okay, so he probably wasn't doing much following. And he particularly wasn't following when he left control #22, pulling away from Mike with just one control to go. Or was there? Nic had one more control, but… Mike hadn't skipped yet! And Nic didn't realize this until he was approaching the finish chute, and Mike suddenly appeared up ahead, coming in from the right, having taken a faster trail route that bypassed the last control. The cry of anguish was reportedly really something.

The point standings can use an update, though.

The goat could be eaten...

good point Hammer, regarding John's comments. yes I remember that year..actually swisscheese was 3rd that year( probably only time that i beat him).
I also can brag that I compete 3 times at Billygoat and finished on the same place ...every time was a Canadian ahead of me...ha..ha...maybe I should give a chance to any Americans to beat( at Billygoat) me before I retire..or maybe Jon or Wil can say "nay"..let's keep it the same way..

All statistics on billygoat.org have now been updated. (My bad—I put together the updated spreadsheets shortly after last year's race, but neglected to send them to our webmaster.)

Thanks, J-J.

The first entry has arrived at the registrar's mailbox! Who will be #2?

The earlier you enter, the more likely that we will have a T-shirt in your size when you finish. Late-late entries are not guaranteed a shirt on race day...

Entry information above, and here.

To all Billygoat wannabees: (2nd try)

The web page for this year's Billygoat has been updated with accommodations information. You can camp, stay in a dorm, have dinner and/or breakfast at Camp Pinnacle, just 3 miles from the start of the Billygoat (via the roads) in Thacher Park near Albany, NY. These options might be especially convenient to those attending both the Sprints on Saturday, May 19, and the Billygoat on Sunday, May 20.

There is also now an entry form provided for your convenience that you can print and use to enter, to make it easier for you to see all the options. If anyone wants a PDF version of the entry form, let me know and I'll send it to you.

The initial entry deadline is May 5, and later entrants may not necessarily receive their earned BG T-shirt on the day of the race (though anyone earning a T-shirt will certainly receive one, eventually). Entering earlier also helps ensure that I won't be slaving over a hot computer on Mother's Day. :-)

how long are bilygoats? i dont tend to run anything as long as a highlander...are there woods upstate? i thought it was all concrete once you got past harriman

Billygoats are usually around 12-13 km. That's before you skip a control. ;-)
Albany has some lovely woods; Thacher tends to be fairly open (tho not like Harriman) with some hills & small rocks. It's pretty fun.

Billygoat Statistics

Fastest time should be around 90 minutes; time limit (to get your shirt) is 3 hrs 30 minutes and most people finish within that time period. Check out the statistics on the link above.