State League 4 was set on classic kangaroo country and the forest was hopping with them. Although Planner Andrew Lumsden had left parts of the forest unvisited by orienteers to give the roos somewhere to retreat, it seemed that they were quite happy mixing it up with the best of NSW bush orienteers at Falnash. One animal flushed from the forest came through the assembly area and into the string course, causing an orienteer to duck as she sat on her camping chair. He didn't stop for his string course lollies, though, disappearing into the distance at high speed.
High speed was the order of the day, with many of the young guns enjoying the fast terrain and bringing in plenty of sub 7 minute/km speeds. Lachlan Dow running in M21A took first place in 36.17mins, clocking an overall speed of 5.51mins/km and disappointing Greg Barbour and Jock Davis into 2nd and 3rd place who with their sub 7 minute/km times must have felt like they had a real chance of winning before they saw the results sheets. Good to see Michele Dawson back on form, who has been having a quiet season until now, trying to overcome injury to get race fit for the JWOC in June. Scott Charlton, NSW Carbine, was back too proving that a successful season of sailing doesn't stop you from keeping orienteering fit over the summer.
