The only real shocker is that this didn't happen sooner. There have been many times when the group has darted ahead and leaving me to run solo at the back of the pack. But fortunately there have always been official or unofficial "sweepers" to check on my progress (and the progress of any other turtles in the pack), and the group has been pretty good at stopping at major intersections to ensure all runners know where to go. Besides which, I always carry a map of unfamiliar trails. Just in case, you know?
This last run was more of a comedy show than a serious run for me. Good thing we were all laughing!
To start, our fearless leaders of the day were...well, a little bit lost. I think we stopped twice (or maybe three times) within the first 3k. And this became a common sight...
Which way is north?
But with no trail head signs, it's an easy mistake to make! Still, the group as a whole decided to rib our leaders as much as we could. And we were all having a great time! I especially was grateful for the number of stops we had - what a great run to catch my breath and have a drink! There were lots of new faces and old faces that were new to me, since I hadn't really talked to them yet. So I spent a lot of the time yammering to the others. The atmosphere of the group was energizing to be around.
Not all of our breaks were because we were lost. At the top of a big hill, this was merely a rest stop.
The trouble began at around 7k. A few of our runners fell behind. We waited at an intersection for them, until everyone took off. I felt guilty about leaving people to get lost, but I didn't want to get lost myself so I pushed on. When I spoke with another runner, I found out he was familiar with the area and we came up with a plan: he'd wait to make sure the others made it to the intersection, while I kept going and would stop at the next intersection to point out the way.
In theory, it worked! In practise however, we hadn't considered a small factor...in taking the time to set this up, we had fallen behind the troupe! I waited at the second intersection as promised. My fellow runner came up and informed me that the others weren't coming - he figured they'd taken a short-cut to catch up with the group at another point.
No problem! We rounded the corner and came to a third runner standing at another intersection. But the trouble was she had no idea which way the group had gone. It appears that this particular intersection was over-looked as a potential point of confusion. Bummer.
We called out a few times but didn't get a response (not that we expected any). My fellow runner who knew the Toohey Forest trails suggested we go left. Having no idea where we were at all, the other gal and I quickly agreed. So long as someone could lead us back to the cars, I really wasn't fussed how we got there or how long it would take.
We soon hit the road - a prime spot to meet up with the group.
Only they weren't there. Hmmm.
Our guide suggested we go up another trail to give it a try, so off we went.
It dead-ended. Hmmm.
The only option was to back track. At this point I think all of us had figured that we should have gone right instead of left.
We started back and just as we came to our last intersection (where the trail hit the road), I saw the familiar red-orange shirts of my fellow Brisbane Trail Runners. Success!!!
Like a bright beacon of hope, the red-orange trail running shirts are hard to miss
There were a few happy cheers as we were all reunited (and yes, the other runners we had initially waited for had taken a short-cut and met up with the group before us! Ah, well.) And of course, a little bit more teasing to our fearless leaders - who apparently hadn't noticed there were some crew missing.
It was a fun adventure. If I had been alone and lost I may have been a bit stressed - but I'm careful to take a map with me.
Group shot!
In the end, I don't regret asking others to wait with me for some of the slower runners. First, because the group is awesome! Everybody is in it together and nobody minds hanging back for the slower among us. And second, because I've been a slower runner - I'm still a slower runner, and I know what it's like to be left behind.
No comments:
Post a Comment