Quarries Park 60/90/120 minute event

In spite of the rain overnight, the conditions for the Nillumbik Emus Sunday Special event earlier today were almost perfect. Although it was a little colder than one might have hoped for and the running was quite slippery, the rain held off until the early afternoon. The organisers had been assured that there had never been more than 70 people to a Sunday Special - and were more than a little surprised when around 110 people turned up to take part. Yarra Bend is a popular map in a central area and there were few other running activities on that day - so attendance proved to be higher than expected.

Our trusty organiser, Ian Stirling, had ridden off on his bike almost 2 hours earlier saying that he would put out the controls on the other side of the Yarra. Unfortunately, the track in question was certainly not rideable and as a result he had to carry his bike a fair portion of the way. Everybody that has ever set an event on Yarra Bend discovers to their horror that it is almost certainly the most difficult metro map to set as so many of the 'good' control locations are not easily reachable by car. Meanwhile back at the start location we suggested that runners keep an eye out for Ian in case he had come to grief - we went so far as to offer bonus points for spotting him out on the course. In answer to the question "what do we have to do to prove we've seen him?" one (Greenwood-shaped) wag responded "why...we should treat him like any control....and punch him".

The course-setting by Bernie Shuttleworth was excellent (Bernie couldn't make it on the day as he had come down with the flu). Although the controls seemed quite close together in some places, this provided a more exciting run as one quickly moved from control to control. Five runners got the lot - well done to Bruce Arthur who completed all 40 controls with 21 minutes to spare. Other comments received on the day included:

• "Wow, great event! That goat track along the Yarra was something special! Certainly slowed down the run rate while I almost fell in about 6 times! The event format and map is great. Should be an annual event. You could be a little more lenient on late penalties. Perhaps 2 points per minute instead of 3? (BTW - I want to lay claim to the suggestion that if we find Ian Stirling on the course we should punch him! There is no way you could take a bike along the Yarra track. I'm surprised he got back only a few minutes after 10am!)"
   

• "You should rename the event the Nillumbik "Annual Slip and Swim" - I was sure that I was going to slip off the track and tumble down the embankment into the water."

Thanks to Joyce for bringing the lollies and also to whoever brought the chocolate teddy bears!