Latest ONSW News
The DuO Adventure Series this weekend has extended its online entry deadline to cope with a last minute rush from the adventure racing community.
Canny marketing by the team has seen recent bulletins going out to the adventure racing community, in particular through Max Adventure which hosts the Kathmandu Adventure Series, the Tough Bloke Challenge and the Urban Max. In order to make sure everyone can have a chance to race the deadline has been extended to 6pm on the 9th February. There will be limited entries on the day too but to be sure of your spot, online entry is your best option.
With entries already up by 60% on the first event at Killingworth this is shaping up to provide racers with some serious competition - come and join in the fun!
NSW had representatives over in New Zealand racing against some of the best down under in the Sprint the Bay carnival, an intense sprint festival that boasts '6 races, 3 days, 1 winner'. Goldseekers Matt Parton will have felt the trip to New Zealand for the sprint carnival based around Hawkes Bay, was definitely worth it when he came back with a 3rd place overall. Kasimir Gregory, ex NSW Carbines member and current NSW Stinger, was also racing gaining a very creditable 21st place.
For the women NSW had Summer Series racer, Lisa Grant. Obviously all those Sydney hills have been great training as her final position was 9th overall, a terrific result racing against orienteering legends Hanny Allston, Rachel Effeney and Lizzie Ingham.
Sydney Sprint #6 at Georges Heights treated orienteers to gun barrel views of the Heads as they navigated their way at high speed around the 2.7km course. Old defensive positions, complete with cannon, provided quirky control sites as well as great photo opportunities.
Explosives Reserve was the name of the map for Sydney Summer Series #19 but there wouldn't have been much left in the tank after the 45 minute score event on Wednesday for most runners. Racing around Castle Cove competitors were faced with plenty of choices between distance and climb, and making the wrong choice was severely punished as anyone looking at the results and all the time penalties incurred would see. Lee Coady and Chris Frain deserve special mention for valour in the face of steep hills, chasing down perfect and near perfect scores before time penalties. Planner Andy Simpson tempted many a seasoned racer into 'just one more' in a cleverly planned course which didn't give too many obvious route choices. Anyone interested in what the optimal routes might have been can see what the computer thinks with Chris Brown's Summer Series Solutions here.
This event was the first in the three events which Big Foot are promoting with their February Competition. The DuO race at Western Sydney Regional Park is the second and with numbers almost double that of the first in the DuO series it looks like there are plenty of people looking forward to a dinner for two. Runners from Wednesday who haven't signed up for Saturday can be reassured that there will be some entry on the day. After all, you've got to be in it, to win it!