Mike and I participated in the SLOC Cuivre River Score O yesterday. Yes, it was a three hour event. The attendance was good (about 30-40 people, including beginners). Mike Shifman and Dan Meenehan were also there. The weather was cold and rainy; good practice for the Possum Trot next weekend! Rick Armstrong set out 40 contols all over the park. He did a good job of speading things out. No one was able to get all the markers in 3 hours, and people took several different routes through the park. In the end, Rich Ruid beat Mike by only 20 points (markers were worth 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 points each). Dan was out for only 80 minutes, because he had to get back to St. Louis. I managed to keep moving for three hours, which is an accomplishment for me. I don't recall how Mike Shifman finished. All in all, it was a lot of fun, and worth the trip.

Mary

-- Mary Jones (maprunner@juno.com), November 26, 2000

Answers

This was really a fun event. It might have been the best SLOC event in years.

The format made it a bit different. I had to think about the race in a different way.

What to wear? It was cool (35-40) and wet. A gentle mist fell most of the time. I ended up wearing a light polyester T-shirt, a long sleeve polypro top, O' top, light nylon O' pants, and O' pants. I also wore neoprene socks. It turned out to be just right.

What to carry? I decided to carry light gloves, a head band, and a light weight polypro balaclava. I wore the gloves and head band at various times during the run. I also carried a water bottle and three packets of "gu." SLOC had put out several water stops, but for such a long event, I thought it was a good idea to carry a water bottle so I could sip water when ever I needed it. Another pack of gu would have been nice. I ate some gu at 40, 90, and 130 minutes. Of course, I also carried my spare "clip on" compass. I never wore the balaclava, but it was nice to know I had it if I needed it.

What route to take? The event used master maps -- so you had time to plan your route. I made a general plan. I would head west to pick up some high point controls in an area of the map I'd never been to. Then head to the south end of the map, another section of the map I'd never been to. I figured my route would give me two ways to get back to the finish. One way would give me plenty of road running but relatively few points. The other way would give me more points, but tougher running. I picked a specific route that I planned to follow for the first 12 controls. My plan was to get those points, then see how much time I'd been out and plan my next set of controls.

How hard should I run? For a regular O' race, I have a feeling about how hard to run. But, I knew I couldn't go out at my normal race pace. I know I can't keep that pace up for 3 hours. My strategy was to go easy for the first 60 minutes, go steady for the next 60, then see how I felt. I figured I should walk all the biggest hills, especially in the first 90 minutes. I also planned to take advantage of any easy running opportunities -- push it just a bit if I hit especially nice forest or trails. I pretty much followed my plan. I got very tired after about 2:15-2:30.

The navigation was easy. The map is good and the visibility was good. I did have one "boom." After about 90 minutes of running, I made a parallel error. After crossing a flat area, I matched up a cliff, a steep hillside, and a mostly dry pond. Unfortunately, I hadn't noticed the parallel cliff, hillside and marsh. So, I went up the wrong reentrant. It probably cost me 3 minutes. I didn't have any other booms on the course.

Thanks to Rick Armstrong for setting up a fine event.

-- Michael (meglin@juno.com), November 26, 2000.