1 October 2021 by emmsee Leave a Comment

The Turtle and the Lamb 2021 Race Report

For those new to the Turtle and Lamb scene: the race is traditionally a day/night race starting around 5pm Saturday arvo with runners hoping to summit the Lamb by sunset. I first entered this race in 2016 and I was instantly hooked. I absolutely loved descending the Lamb in the pitch black -there’s this strangely welcoming rush of adrenalin as you constantly question yourself as to whether you’re going in the right direction; that your head torch won’t fail you; and that you won’t trip over a sleeping cassowary in the middle of the track. It’s awesome!

When Chris White and Rob Miller decided to take a break (sigh!) from race directing towards the end of 2019, my husband and I put our hands up to help out as we didn’t want to see our favourite running events disappear. After lots of discussion, we made the hard decision to run Turtle and the Lamb as a day event as we’re a young family and also getting our heads around the big wide world of race directing. We thought it to be the best option for now and we hope you do too.

So here I am sitting on the banks of sunny node 5 Sunday afternoon going over some of the highlights of the day and I’m struggling to narrow them down to just a few (or maybe I’m just procrastinating getting into this icy cold water).

Was it watching the sprint finish between Lukas Zalkalns and Stuart Tindall -just 2 tiny seconds apart? Was it hearing the friendly banter between runners by the creek post-race? Or knowing the amazing (cue plug for Tablelands running club Red Earth Runners) on-course marshall’s were ringing their cowbells with such vibrant enthusiam -providing sweet, sweet relief that you had indeed (and at last) made it to the top of the mountain? Or how about seeing the sea of hands go up in the 6km event when asked who was a first timer? Or finding out that Linc Biggins has run at every single one of our Turtle and the Lamb races? Was it camping under the clearest nights sky and knowing you could roll out of bed onto the start line within five minutes?

What about the random prize draw where literally everyone got a prize (and yes I was clearly stoked to get my hands on a Feel Good Banana). Huge thanks as always to our incredible sponsors Adventure Equipment in Cairns and The Humpy in Tolga. Oh and where would we be without Rob Miller’s home brewed ginger beer? Or for that matter his hilarious contribution of the Humpy Dumpty award (commiserations though Rowan Wilson). How about the 19km results where the top ten finishers were all Masters (40+) or Legends (60+)? You know I could go on.. But seriously, what I love about Adventure Sport NQ events (besides how quirky and fun they are) is the community of beautiful people that come together and support every event. We LOVE you!

The Adventure Sport NQ crew would love to hear your 2021 highlights -did you, like Alice Fleetwood, see a cassowary out on the track? Or were you unfortunate like Bec Assman and turn up a day early BUT still be an absolute legend and complete the 6km loop regardless? Share your highlights in the comments -we’d love to read them.

Also, how good are these photos!! We were lucky enough to have a new photographer on the scene taking some awesome photos at Turtle and the Lamb last weekend. Maryna is new Mum starting up a photography business on the Tablelands and also got hooked on our rogaine events earlier this year. She’s pretty darn cool! Check them out -download your favourites, share them, and tag @maryna_buriak photo

We’ve got just one more trail running event for 2021. And it’s going to be a cracker – Bump to Bells 24th October.

See. Ya. There.

Jeralyn

P.S Race results can be viewed here

7 September 2021 by emmsee Leave a Comment

Crow in the Boot winners report

Crow in the Boot 12hr bush rogaine report.

I’ve marked on the map [below] with a yellow highlighter the route we planned on taking and the orange highlighter is the route we actually took.

The first few control points (30, 22 & 43) got knocked over pretty quickly as we were chasing a speedy Stru and Sue! From 43 onwards we took a different line and started climbing into the range. From control 11 through to 108 we made good time making very few mistakes. The terrain was varied on this section, with pockets that were burned making for easy walking, and others that were left untouched. Scenic views from many knolls along this stretch!

We dropped off the range into the dried swamp flats picking up 62 and 104. From 104 I got complacent taking a poor bearing missing 88. Being a flat landscape with poor features we decided to press on to get 90 and take a bearing back to 88. Some tracks in this area on the map did not exist or were intermittent in the swamp making the route choice more challenging.

From 88 we picked up 70 and pushed over a hill to try and pick up 50. Not really sure what went wrong here but ended up a lot further East on the railway line than planed and overshot 50 by a long way. Hit control 20, finally realised my mistake and decided 50 wasn’t worth going back for.

We had made good time by this point so we decided to go through town and start collecting the controls on the southern side of the range (86, 60, 106, 76, 98, 100 & 53) instead of returning on the Northern side,

This was my favourite section! Was a big climb up to the first couple of controls but the views were well worth the effort. There were rocky outcrops littered throughout the traverse which made for convenient rest stops from pushing through thick undergrowth and navigating through steep terrain.

We collected 53 on sunset and continued with the last few hours of the rogaine in the dark. After making a couple of silly mistakes on the Northern end of the map I felt my night nav was on point!

The night section of the rogaine was a lot of fun climbing dried waterfalls and following many creek beds that were our highway through the thick bush.

We made it back to the hash house with 10mins to spare.

Luke Smythe

11 August 2021 by emmsee Leave a Comment

Quaid Raid musings & results

The Quaid raid turned out to be another excellent Adventure Sport NQ hosted event with 22 teams lining up for the four-hour and seven teams in the six-hour with 86 participants in total. In the 8hr regular Townsville Rogainer Matthew Smith, second-time Rogainer Rhys Moine and first-time Rogainer, Claire Weatherly came out with a win with 1530 points. Second was “At it againe” (Sarah Molina, Russell Molina and Shay Latimer) with a score of 1130 points and third was La Mada (Matthew Dunnil, Laura Thorley and Daniel Green) with 1030 points. In the 4hr team Lost (Ian Wilson, Liam Connor, Jim Stewart) came first with a massive 990 points, followed by “Falling Apples” (Tony Webster and son Braith – 950) who managed to come second carrying a shopping bag and third was the Sly fox’s (Damon and Kia Fox – 840) and this was their very first Rogaine which is a fantastic effort.

There were lots of smiling faces when all teams returned and for those wondering yes “Scrambled Legs and Aching” did make it back at about 6:15 pm and although they managed to walk off the map they did all the right things by trying to contact the emergency number, they stayed calm and they made their way South back to the safety bearing of the road. A big thank you to those people who stayed back to assist with ensuring they returned safely and this is a good reminder to make sure that we all have our safety gear with us when heading out on these events.

I would like to make a big thank you to Cheryl Maddox for assisting with the planning, setting, administration and catering on the day it was her first attempt and she has said she will be setting an event next year so look forward to that. Also, thanks to Adam Fletcher who brought up the Portaloo from Cairns, collected random prizes and showed some new Rogainers the ropes. Thanks also to Gerald and Cordula Kath for the lovely pawpaws as prizes, to Miriam, Lydia, Natalie and Tabitha for assistance with catering. Also thanks to our two sponsors Adventure Equipment who are always hugely supportive of Adventure Sport NQ and the Petite cafe in Kuranda. Lastly, a massive thanks to Mike Coleman who does so much work for us in the background and we wouldn’t be able to do it without him.

A huge thanks go out to Chris Dayman, Jannah Dayman, Damon Fox, Clare Weatherly & Sandra Butler for collecting controls – invaluable help that means Chris can set his event in a more leisurely fashion.

Please join us at the last event of the year which will be the Crow in the Boot 3/6/12 hour Bush Rogaine on September 4th at Queensland’s highest town, Ravenshoe. Chris White is setting this event and he always puts on a spectacular course.

Results for Quaids Raid can be seen here

28 June 2021 by emmsee Leave a Comment

Speewah Legend 2021 – all the good stuff – right here!

Well, folks, the word legend can at times be ascribed a little too freely but if you were one of the competitors, volunteers or sideline cheer squad then you are now officially part of the Speewah legend and quite possibly a legend of the legend.
Now you can’t say that you were not forewarned as the winds and wiles of crooked mick have been swirling mysteriously in these crazy times.
With over a hundred can do, will do competitors and some of the most challenging and unique trails that FNQ can offer the stage was set.

In the 17K more than 60 intrepid souls accepted the challenge and interestingly it was the golden oldies categories that provided the biggest numbers and perhaps the biggest motivation to get out there and get after it. For the gents, it was the fleet feet of the ever-smiling Om Beacom-Halliday who is surely one of the best advocates for the joys of trail running blitzing the course in 1.29. Hot on his heels after recently crushing it at Cairns 70.3 was current Turtle and the Lamb champ Callum Ogilvie in 1.35 closely followed by Jeff Herbert at 1.39 who is in the middle of heavy training for August’s 120 km ultra so yesterday may only qualify as a warm-up.
Master’s males saw a packed field of old and new faces with Darren Wallace from the Gold Coast getting the family holiday off to a great start with line honours in 1.50 and in a demonstration of the categories competitiveness Lukas Zulkans was close behind in 1.51 with David Blakely shadowing him in 1.52 with even former race winner Ranger Rob Miller who was next narrowly unable to secure a coveted podium finishers banana. Great racing guys.
Legends category saw ever-reliable and always present Arnstein Prytz from Townsville flash home in 2.03 edging out Victorian Stephen Johnson at 2.17 who was allowed a temporary escape from the lockdown state and travelled here just to support our race for the first time and hopefully we will see him at future events. Well done.
Now to the ladies incredibly with 15 of the 16 competitors in the Master’s division, it was on for the not so old of heart. Another super effort from the always cheerful Akane Goode in 1.50 leading the charge though great runs from Karen Arthur in 2.00 and Janine Woodside at 2.09 insured it was no easy victory. In the open category sole entrant Helen McAllister still earned her accolades at 2.40 .
Inspiring effort by all the ladies and keep it up.
With strong numbers in the 8 km and 4 km and some magic in the air, the record books were re-written. In a pleasing, though not surprising result supermum and one of Adventure Sports hardest working volunteers Jeralyn Mawdsley breezed around in a slick 46.03 to establish the new all-comers female record. Not to be outdone was Junior Jesse Fotheringham in 47.25 also breaking the old mark and proving herself as another up and comer to keep an eye on.

With Sarah Molina coming in third overall at 57.35 after deciding on race day to double her fun by switching from the 4K to the 8K. Logan Bailey in 57.58 was second junior and fourth overall. Masters ladies Yui Taniguchi 59.36, Nicole Martin 1.01 and Sue Recklies 1.02 only tells part of the story with a gang of gals close behind and cementing the category as the fastest growing and possibly most hotly contested. Appropriately in the legends category and by definition a true legend who also set a new record or 1.02 was Stevie Johnson who must rank as one of the most dedicated and faithful competitors that FNQ has seen.
In the men’s 8K it was turbocharged Nick Fogale in 42.34 and keeping the records tumbling Bruce Madden in legends 44.35 and Brayden good grubs 45.08 have also etched their names in Speewah folklore. Masters division saw never say die Ian Grant at 51.04 get the better of a couple of other old warhorses in Bruce Hanson and Linc Biggins rounding out the podium.
With the top 10 a mix of grubs , juniors and masters it makes for an intriguing event.
Next stepped up a merry band for the 4 km with the steepest hill start to any race just a bump as grub Louis Williams in 24.50 smashed the old record and won in a sprint finish from Junior female Fogale Emalina only one second behind in 24.51. The next home was Grace Campbell in25.1 2 also claiming the new best time for female grubs.

WOW 2021 in the record books in more ways than one.

Now for the fun colour and slightly serious stuff.
In a sure to be infamous story, marshals Tony Liron and Dwayne Williams heading out to their posts were confronted with a Cassowary and her chick doing naturally what protective mothers do and charging the inadvertent intruders and sending them racing back down the track which unfortunately produced a solid tree that made serious contact with Tony’s forehead after he had a quick glance to check the whereabouts of his pursuer.

Luckily he was able to return to HQ where so swiftly and expertly did nurse Nicole Martin and her assistant attend to the situation that you could have believed that we had practised it the day before. A big thanks guys for saving the day.

And in true stoic fashion, Tony made his way to the hospital for six stitches as memento and campfire story rites for years to come.

Or newly minted North Queenslander Joel Widmar who was so enjoying his Sunday run that he created a new long course and having missed the Glacier Rock turn off & made it all the way down the Douglas track to Stoney Creek when the alarm bells rang. He found his way back and took it all with such good humour that he also gets a slot at the campfire. We will be assigning an armed guard there in the future.
To the volunteers who really are legends and make it all possible you guys rock.

Course marshals keeping you safe and mostly on track Adam, Hohi, Ryan, Dwayne and super-sub Ian who immediately answered the call to replace the injured Tony. The indispensable engine room of Mike, Kim and Jeralyn alchemise white noise into calm and order impervious to the many spanners that come their way.

Ever reliable Sonya who unfortunately for her but luckily for me sustained an injury and took over timing duties with a couple of able assistants and as always Ranger Rob brewing the ginger beer and providing backup and support whenever needed. Young Jake and a smiling mate who not only took on kitchen duties but also looked after baby Micah while mum Jeralyn was out breaking records and did so with such care that it was a pleasure to see.
To our generous and valued sponsors Mark from adventure equipment and Colleen from the Humpy in Tolga we are ever grateful for your support and hope our crew can return the favour.

Head over here to catch up on the event results and give this link a click to catch the 150 + photo’s and stories from the event.

Our next event is the exhilarating Turtle and the Lamb trail run – this link will take you to the event information and entry page – join us in September for a day of fun & vertical excitement as you hit the Turtle and crest the Lamb.

15 March 2021 by emmsee Leave a Comment

All Bustard’s are winners!!

Warning – award-winning photos below

Well, folks what can we say – the world-famous and always fabulous event is done and dusted with records busted.
A record number of participants (over 200) and more importantly a record amount of colour, enthusiasm, support and an atmosphere on a glorious Davies creek evening that only you guys could create.
Massive shout out to the super crew that makes it all possible: Mike, Kim and Adam the heart and soul behind the scenes; the can-do Biggins crowd Linc, Sarah, Xavier along with Kane and Jayden feeding the hungry hordes and countless other tasks.

The super subs Carmel and Kirk answering the last-minute call for help at sawmill flats and doing so ever smiling.
The gorgeous gals Jeralyn and Hohi on rego and timing calmly alchemising chaos into order and turning rubber bands into results.
Last but not least the evergreen Ian manning the outpost and sweeping the course to see you all home safe and sound.
Special mention to young Ethan Fox whose willingness to help out marks him as a future race director.

Of course, please do not forget our sponsors, Adventure Equipment and The Humpy, without whose support events like the Bustard Express would not be the success it is. Thank you Mark & Colleen!

An amazing effort saw the competitors amass 576 loops of the short, 84 of mid and 51 of the long with 3187.6 km run in total – those are some humungous stats!
With more highlights than can be mentioned let the results speak for themselves.
A couple of standouts were in quads Pace project (Jnr), Malanda misfits (Jnr mixed), and Loose screws (corporate) all running 17 laps for 54.4km total and separated by less than 3 minutes racing all the way to the line.
Also In no uncertain terms, the Kucci gang have surpassed the Malanda boy’s 2019 trios record of 59.2km with an astonishing 20, yes 20 laps for 64km.
Not to mention Jake Swindale blistering the opening lap in 10.54.
Truly superb effort by all participants.
To share the fun with all newly certified 2021 bustardos who have contributed to the biggest and brightest event yet was a real treat and long may it continue.
Can’t leave off without a sincere thanks to the OG and original creator Ranger Rob Miller for gifting us this event and still running around like a kid at a birthday party. Thanks mate.
If 2021 was big what’s in store for BE 2022? See you there and we will find out together.
Arohanui (much love)
Julian
Race Director

Speaking of results – here they are

8 March 2021 by emmsee Leave a Comment

Bustards are running this Saturday

Ok, bustardos if you haven’t done so already now is the time to enter FNQ’S answer to the running of the bulls.
Fortunately, as bustards are known for being typically cheery in disposition and finely mannered fewer casualties are predicted.
Is this to be your year?
As the usual contingent of international competitors is unable to attend due to covid the usual label of “world-class field” may still be loosely attributed here. Meanwhile, the entries are mounting up and the “hard cores” show why they earn the title with solo’s leading the entries so far.
This is fantastic and so is the chance to team up with some of your buddies and share in the fun.
In a recent and rare interview the Bustard, when asked about the impending cyclone, replied “ the faster the wind blows the faster I fly.”
So warm up your wings and start flapping.
The paparazzi have scooped an elusive shot of THE BUSTARD on one of his favourite trails and first to identify the view claims a prize (Albeit slightly minor) See you all there.
We’d love for you to share this post with your mates and form a relay team of Duo’s, Trio’s or Quadrupo’s to take on the Bustard.
Bring it on!!

3 VOLUNTEERS wanted
We could really do with several people to hand out lap bands (2) and a scorer.
Would you love to be involved and cannot compete due to injury or do you have a partner who would enjoy an evening on the Tablelands, dinner included?
Make contact with Race Director Julian Oates [0451 856 748] if you or someone you know can assist.

3 March 2021 by emmsee Leave a Comment

Bustard Express looms

Interest in the 2021 Bustard Express is high and entries from teams’ and solos are flowing in, and it’s not too late to get your entry in.

The Bustard, for those not in the know, is a Pony Express trail run.

A ‘Pony Express’ style event is one where competitors (solo or pairs, trios or quadrupos) complete as many laps of the course within the given time frame (4 hours in the case of the ‘Bustard’).
Teams compete in a continuous relay-style while solo participants… go solo! The Bustard Express is a four-hour event with a choice of three loops – a 3.2km, 7.2km or the trail-happy 14.5km loop.

Following the event, the Adventure Sport NQ crew will provide a megayumbo BBQ late dinner for competitors & spectators, who have pre-entered.

Click here to check out the web page and from there enter the event.

Entries close this Thursday at 2200.

Come join us for our first Trail Run of 2021