AROC 24 Hour Urban Adventure
AROC 24Hr Urban Report
Phil Walker from Team LJP – J + C / 15.03.2005
After racing in the AROC adventure racing sprint series for two years, it was inevitable that Team LJP would go in search of a new challenge with even greater demands and rewards. So it was that we took up the challenge of competing in the AROC 24 hour adventure race conducted in Canberra on 5-6 March 2005.The membership of our team had changed somewhat through the summer as our fitness levels improved and we sought a third team-mate who would be compatible with Leigh and I. Our regular team mate Jason stood down after the sprint series and we were lucky enough to be pointed towards Chris Whitburn, a local mtb’er who had taken up adventure racing over the past year. A planning meeting with Chris earlier in the race week confirmed that he was going to be a good partner in crime!
Tom and Alina as usual had done a ton of preparation for the race. The AROC website was being updated regularly with general information, equipment lists, registration and support details, hints, bike drop off details, schedules and other useful bits of information. The website would even show live results as the race unfolded. The race weekend approached quickly but with all the information and preparation that had taken place, we felt that we were ready for the challenge.
I must confess to harboring some doubts over the last few days before the race started. At nearly 47 years of age, I wondered how my body would react to operating at high heart rates for 24 hours and how my notoriously fickle metabolism would cope with the effort. While I had run marathons and ridden in endurance length bike rides, this kind of event was still new to me. Would I fall in a heap after 6 hours and leave my team mates stranded? A few sleepless nights didn’t deliver the answers that I sought. Only time would tell…
Race day dawned cool and windy after a week of hot, clear days. The forecast was for a “vigorous cold front� to move in through the day, bringing rain and strong winds. Standing by the side of the lake a few hours before the start, it certainly looked as if the met guys got it right this time.
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