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Home›Orienteering runners›Rogaining is gaining popularity, prompting participants to rediscover their own backyard

Rogaining is gaining popularity, prompting participants to rediscover their own backyard

By Debbie Fitzgerald
August 24, 2021
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It’s a sport that sends teams into the bush with an unmarked map and a time limit.

Rogaining is gaining popularity in Tasmania, with a record number of participants attending a rogaine in Hobart this weekend.

Rogaine organizer Lucy Hawthorne has set up 75 checkpoints throughout the Hobart foothills.(

Provided: Lucy Hawthorne

)

It combines off-road navigation with a scavenger hunt style point system.

Hobart-based organizer and art writer Lucy Hawthorne said 355 attendees took off from Lenah Valley, in the kunanyi foothills / Mount Wellington, for a three and six hour rogaine on Sunday.

“This broke Rogaining Tasmania’s attendance record for any event,” said Dr. Hawthorne.

She spent months preparing for the class, wanting to show off some of her favorite Hobart backyard features.

He led the participants to hidden ruins, mountain refuges, street libraries and public art works.

“A lot of people who participate don’t do it to win,” said Dr. Hawthorne.

“Although they love the challenge of surpassing themselves, it is also about discovering new places.

“With this one in particular, it was all about seeing your backyard.”

A “sport of reflection”

Rogaine participants chase points from various checkpoints within a limited time frame with a blank map of an area.

Dr Hawthorne has set up 75 checkpoints and said winning isn’t just about speed.

Two young boys in the bush wearing hats approaching some ruins
Participants Rogaine Jess, 10, and Jonathan, 13, find a checkpoint.(

Provided: Sally Hill

)

“It’s not the distance you run, it’s what you do with those miles, it’s really a strategy,” she said.

“It is a sport of reflection.

“People who walk can do better than those who run.”

It has attracted all ages, from several four year olds to one of 79 years old.

Dr Hawthorne said rogaining is becoming popular with trail runners, but also walkers and orienteers.

Three women sit at a fold-out table with maps, highlighters and calculators on it
Mandy McIntyre, Carolyn Davis and Jacqui Guy get ready for the rogaine.(

Provided: Mandy McIntyre

)

Find special places to share

Participants receive the checkpoint map two hours before starting the rogaine to plan a route that is most efficient and within their physical limits.

While the winning team has covered 40 kilometers, the distance and altitude will vary from team to team.

The weekend rogaine included bush and suburban streets, so it was well known as metrogaine.

Each of the 75 checkpoints was worth different points, and Dr. Hawthorne spent months preparing as he walked his dog around the Hobart foothills.

“We were just going to wander around and look for things and observe,” she said.

“I found all kinds of things I wanted to share with people.”

photo of an unnamed card
A travel card does not have place names on it.(

Provided: Gary Carroll, Rogaining Tasmania

)

Rewarding challenge for beginners

Newbie Emily Gannon said she loved the experience, but was grateful to her team for having local knowledge.

“The three of us are regular trail runners, but having the added challenge of navigating and looking for checkpoints was a lot of fun,” she said.

“There were high fives all along as we ticked them off.”

Lachlan Clark also made his debut for another team and said he “absolutely loved it”.

“There were a lot of families there and it was a really fun way to explore Hobart in a way that I didn’t have before,” he said.

“We would definitely do it again.”

A group of young people standing in a bush glade dressed in walking gear
Newbie Lachlan Clark, right, with his team Rach Chong, Jemma Herbert and Jefferson St John.(

Provided: Lachie Clark

)

The sport first appeared as “rogaine” in Australia in the 1970s, after evolving from a 24-hour bush walk in the 1940s.

It takes its coined name from three college students who invented it: Rod, Gail and Neil.

There are renowned clubs across Australia and abroad, with national and international championships being held.

three people in walking gear on a suburban street
Emily Gannon and her team loved their first rogaine.(

Provided: Emily Gannon

)


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