Race Evaluation
Billygoat: Billygoat XXIX
mindsweeper
| 1. | After looking at the map for about 2 seconds and figuring out the rough direction of the first control I started following the main crowd of people. I passed a good bunch of them and was running with Brendan, Andy and Wyatt. We were running on the trails to the left of the line, which meant we had to climb down into the valley and back up again. Ross came running by on the trail just a few meters before I got to the top of the hill. I chose to follow Andy on the left trail by the marsh and started climbing along the first spur. That might have been a bit early. I punched in just after the Saegers, who must have taken the other trail to the right. | ||||||
| 2. | +00:30 | There was something wrong about the number of spurs, but unlike Samantha I wasn't confident enough to navigate based on spotting the green. I want around to the right of it just in cae... For some reason I had to climb back down again, whereas the control is mapped on the same contour as the green. | |||||
| 3. | Chose to run around on trails to the left. I was considering skipping 3 since I could now run directly to 4 without losing elevation, but decided that it would be tactically silly of me to skip so early. I don't think this was the fastest route to 3. | ||||||
| 4. | Climbed to the bend in the trail first - a good route I think. | ||||||
| 5. | +00:30 | To the towers first, then wobbling around until another guy spotted it and told me. | |||||
| 6. | All the way around on the road / power gate, trail. Probably not the fastest route, but pretty safe. | ||||||
| 7. | +00:20 | Didn't realize I had an option, so I went to the closest one. Avoided the dark green. I found the bigger reentrant with the mapped ditch and relocated. | |||||
| 8. | Mostly on trails to the N of the pond. | ||||||
| 9. | Went a bit slow to make sure I found the right spur. Hearing Ross' story that might have been wise. | ||||||
| 10. | Ran to the field as quickly as I could through the open woods, then turned slighly left and nailed it. Caugh Ross and Andy. | ||||||
| 11. | A police officer was stopping traffic for us. Sam and Hillary were leaving just as we arrived, and they were obviously not going to 12. | ||||||
| 12. | Followed Andy and Ross. | ||||||
| 13. | +02:30 | Down to the trail, Jonathan came running up behind us., and was looking for the wooded 'island' in the marsh. I didn't spot it however, and entered the hillside once I saw a conspicuous ditch. It turned out to be the wrong one, and Ross and I ended up wasting 2-3 minutes before decididng to head further E. | |||||
| 14. | Running hard to catch up with Ross, who was now slightly ahead. | ||||||
| 15. | With Ross. | ||||||
| 16. | With Ross, spotted Andy and someone else up ahead. I cut into the woods slightly earlier than them and gained some time. | ||||||
| 17. | Instead of running around on the trail, I climbed straight up the hill. I didn't gain as much as I had expected, and my route around to the right was slightly longer. Andy was ahead, but Ross was now behind. | ||||||
| 18. | I decided to skip 18, since the trail took me so close to 19. | ||||||
| 19. | Found it easily from the trail corner. | ||||||
| 20. | +01:30 | Headed out 45 degrees too far to the left, and ended up on the ridge at the end of the map. This way I didn't get to benefit from running along the park border, and after finishing the race it turned out it also cost me the opportunity to catch up with the Saegers. Punched in just after Jonathan, who had a better route. | |||||
| 21. | Running hard to catch up with Jonathan. | ||||||
| 22. | Decided to drop down to the road and run hard rather than through the woods. Jonathan missed to the right and I got ahead. | ||||||
| 23. | Went around on the road and Jonathan caught back up. Then he climbed high to the right, whereas I cut earlier and followed the edge of the green. I punched a few seconds ahead. | ||||||
| 24. | Contoured to the road. Might have been faster to drop to the trail, but I didn't see that option. | ||||||
| 25. | It felt natural to use the trail, even if it went a bit far to the right. Jonathan didn't seem like a threat. Saw Ernst for the first time behind me, not sure how I passed him. | ||||||
| F. | Ross, Hillary and Sam were catching their breath just as I finished. In hindsight I should have stuck with Sam or Ross through more of the race, but I didn't know how our running speeds compared. Ross was much faster than me on the sprints on the previous day. |
Total Time Lost - 00:05:20