2012-04-28

5 Peaks Rattlesnake Point

One of my favourite races of the year. And the first one that I will have missed due to ass injury. But when you can't race, you have to volunteer and cheer.

Turns out everyone I know and the kitchen sink was also racing here, and my buddies formed an impromptu team to collect points towards a prize. Team AttackPointAR was mostly made up of orienteers and adventure racers - and apparently me, as I had sold my entry to my buddy CK but got left on the list - which was great, cause I added a few volunteer points without even trying.

I walked out onto the rocky Escarpment course with a small group of over volunteers, each sullen from also being too injured to run. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and made notes of the ridiculously dangerous detours the race director and my friend ES had flagged for the course the day before! I managed to drag my leg about 1 or 1.5K out on course and then decided to plant myself on a particularly menacing chasm that we all agreed would result in a pile-up of dead bodies if a marshal did not direct racers on a safer track. The last course flags literally led people towards an invisible 12-ft deep crevice requiring about 6ft of air to jump it. Mr. 5 Peaks did not seem to find this problematic, but he did like ES's suggestion that the crevice ought to have been filled with water and turned into a snapping alligator tank. I guess it's going into the suggestion box for next year's race.

Once I'd staked out my marshaling spot, I hobbled across a narrow swath of forest to the path, on which the racers would be starting their trip through the park. So I got to cheer all my friends out and get a feel for who would place where. Then at the Chasm of Doom I cheered on ES and JR on the sport course, and then the rest of the team on the enduro course, which wasn't lagging far behind despite having to go more than twice as long. I only managed to snap a photo of our first racer, as directing traffic was a bit of a job.

Several of our people medalled in their own age categories, which was fantastic to see. Then the team points were added up, and we got 2nd place! I guarantee this will be the only 5 Peaks medal I will ever get. Sometimes it pays to be injured. :P

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