| | ACT ROGAINING ASSOCIATION BULLETIN | | | 2025 World Rogaining Championships | | Mixed Youth World Champions, Oliver James and E Wen Wong | | The 2025 world championships were held over the weekend of 5-6 July, in Quintanar de la Sierra, Spain. ACT rogainers produced some excellent results. Congratulations to Oliver James and E Wen Wong, world champions in the mixed youth cateogry! Another standout performance was David Baldwin and Julie Quinn, who won the silver medal in mixed veterans, and a very impressive twelfth overall. | | | David Baldwin and Julie Quinn planning their route. Image credit: Event organisers | | A World Away - Stephen Goggs In my travels in Spain over the years I have found it to be a land where what you see is what you get. If you order a tempting cheese platter you might receive slices of cheese on a plate; a refreshing orange dessert is an orange with a knife. So it was with the rogaine in the aptly named Sierra de la Demanda!
An impressively large band of Aussies made the journey to northern Spain via various circuitous routes, a pattern continued at the event itself. While shivering under your doonas in Canberra you may have read that it has been hot hot hot in Europe already this summer, with temps in Madrid in the mid-30s for weeks. Luckily for us an almighty summer storm broke over the event village of Quintanar de la Sierra the night before the start, which had the effect of bringing the average temperature down somewhat (only two hots not three) and softening the ground under foot. It also turned some of the forest trails into forest rivulets, but in the main we would discover that the understorey was easy going anyway, so no worries on that front.
The going was much more ‘demanda’ when it came to elevation. The average profile of the course ranged from 1000 to 2000m high, and boy didn’t we know it - Julie and David reported over 5000m of climb in their 24 hours. The trade-off for all that height gain was that the ridge lines were often bare and easy running with some splendid views in multiple directions - or they were until night fell of course. | | On the course. Image credit: Event organisers | | The forecast had been for more rain on the Saturday of the event, but despite distant rumbling the rains held off. It was still at least one level hot on the Saturday arvo, but some of us even had to break out a warm layer over night. Jon Glanville and I had a cunning plan for a mostly downhill-in-the-trees route on Sunday morning, which worked a treat. It’s just a pity certain 60+ yo legs and lungs had not been up to all the planned uphill challenges the day before.
Other Aussies, old and young, fared much better though, and while my own pace was more pedestrian than presidential, we were thrilled to celebrate ACTRA President Ollie James’s win with partner E Wen Wong in Mixed Youth and former pres Julie Quinn’s 2nd with David Baldwin in XV and 12th overall, not to mention (oh ok I will mention..) the ageless Geoff Lawford and Rod Gray taking out MU (again!) and Aussies 2 and 3 in WSV, 3 and 5 in MSV and World WY Champions Joanna and Abi George, who also gave a great shoutout for WRC2027 in the Flinders Ranges.
I could go on describing the highs (lots) and lows (actually there were none of those), but will instead finish with thanks to all those here and following along at home for your support and companionship, not forgetting of course ACTRA’s very own international WRC course advisers Jean Douglass and Ron Simpson. What a great team we make! | | | | Tallaganda Boulders 4 Hour Results | | | For those closer to home, it was great day out in Tallaganda National Park. First time event coordinator Daniel Harvey, and first time course setter, Kelvin Meng, put on a great event. Making things even better was the smell of sausages on the way back into the hash house, cooked by the volunteers at Hartley Lifecare who have returned as our event caterer.
Congratulations to Susie Sprague, Heather Logie and Selina Stoute as the overall winners, well ahead of the field on 1320 points. Sophie Radajewski and Natalie Miller came second overall with 1190 points, and Haining Chang and Milo Morrison-Jones third overall with 1160 points.
A big thank you must also go out too all the volunteers, and people who stuck around to help pack up. With an oncoming storm providing plenty of motivation, the hash house was fully packed in a record time of 40 minutes! | | | | Metrogaine call for volunteers | Setting for the 2025 Metrogaine is well underway, however we still need some more volunteers! Roles include control hanging and collection, and general help on the day. If you would be interested, please contact Wendy. | | | | Committee member profile: Kelvin Peh | | | Hey, I'm Kelvin and I've joined the ACTRA committee this year, having travelled the well trodden path from the ANU Inward Bound committee into ACTRA.
My rogaining story actually starts in the womb, with my pregnant mother being convinced to come along control collecting. Apparently, she felt quite unwell and had a horrible day. Despite the early setback, I returned to rogaining (on my own feet) in 2017 as part of training for Inward Bound, and it's a sport I've very much fallen in love with.
Highlights for me include my first 24 hour rogaine at the 2019 ACT championship down on the south coast, and attending the 2023 world championship in California.
I've recently been passed the baton of putting together the ACTRA bulletin. If you have any ideas of things you would like to see, please let me know! | | | | | | | | | | | |
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