X-marathon 2011
Adventure Junkies at X-Marathon
Thorlene Egerton (Team Sutmap) / 03.01.2012
For their X-Marathon weekend there was a choice of 4hr Lite course, 12hr Adventure course or 24hr Pro course. The latter attracted a small field but five of the 12 teams had members who were in top 10 teams from the recent World Champs held in Tasmania.
The Pro course began with a brain teaser. Teams had to solve 7 puzzles with a navigation element and only once they had the correct total score could they move onto the next stage. The kayak stage was on Lake Nillacootie near Benalla. The trek and bike stages in nearby Mt Samaria National Park and state forests contained steep country with considerable opportunity for off-track navigational challenge.
Team Sutmap and Team Blackheart problem solved the fastest and hit the water first with Team Peak Adventure not far behind. The order quickly changed with Peak Adventure’s kayak speed putting them in the lead by the end of the stage.
Team DNF and Team Thule were in touch with the leaders at the start of the stage 3 trek but the Thule Adventure team (current World Champions) and another strong Aussie team led by Blackheart team member had the added challenge of misinterpreted instructions and went to an extra kayak checkpoint by mistake. This error lead to a gap from the lead teams that they were never able to bridge.
The trek was mostly off track and there were some big climbs (with spectacular views) with some patches of thick vegetation to negotiate. Careful navigation and good route finding, plus being comfortable up-close and friendly with the local spiders were necessary. In the midday heat, the less fit and experienced teams found the stage very tiring and with plenty more challenge ahead a few decided retirement was their best option.
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