Entries are open for Garingal's innovative Goanna 'goat race', which has moved into the winter calendar.
This year the event is at Macquarie Uni Sportsfields on Sunday August 24, with a mass start at 10am for the 3 moderate courses.
Goat races are a wacky form of line orienteering in which:
* there is a mass start (10am)
* following is allowed (this is usually a no-no)
* you may skip a control (yippee!)
* there are forked controls (you go to 'a' or 'b')
* in the boxed section you visit the controls in any order
This novelty event is the brainchild of GO member and ONSW marketing and communications officer Ian Jessup, who wanted to offer something unusual but still an O challenge in its own right.
There are 3 course lengths (GeckO 4.3km, DraGOn 6.2km and GOanna 9.6km), with the standard varying between easy and moderate depending on where you are on the course.
Have a look at last year's Goanna to see what you are confronted with.
Tactics have to be made up on the run - which control will you skip?, which fork will you take?, and in which order will you do 'the box'? The first two Goannas generated a lot of discussion about strategy, and great enthusiasm for the format. A 'fun' run in its own right.
Entries close 6pm Thu Aug 21 via Eventor. Please note the Very Easy and Easy courses are Enter-on-Day and will have a start window of 10-11am as part of the Sydney Junior League.
