Dambusting
High on the Hills
Race Directors: Ashleigh Van De Meulengraaf and Natali Heil Koerbel
Course Setters: Ciaran Lane and Kieran Wilson
2023 saw Inward Bound return to the mountains, with Endpoint located at Humes Crossing Campground on the eastern shore of Blowering Reservoir. With the courses returning to pre-COVID distances, reaching Endpoint was a monumental challenge. Runners were treated to plenty of elevation change, including the knee-crushing descent into Endpoint, which gained the not-so-affectionate name “Heartbreak Hill”. Teams also had to tackle frosty river crossings, the “Bridge of Death”, tricky pine forest navigation and brumby encounters.
You can relive all of the action on Inward Bound Live!
Division 1 – Tantangara Dam Wall (Kosciuszko National Park)
Sunset to Sunrise (plus some)
As soon as Division 1 runners removed their blindfold at Dropsite, they knew they were in for an IB experience like no other. To follow was the most difficult Division 1 course in years, featuring a distance of around 105km with more than 3500m of elevation gain.
It’s typically taken as a given that teams will be dropped under the cover of darkness – that’s what they’ve trained for, strategised for, and mentally prepared for. In 2023, however, Division 1 runners were dropped before the sun had set.
Did this make for an easier race? With increased visibility, teams had no problem spotting the nearby Tantangara Dam and locating their positions accurately and quickly. Still, can an easier scouting period outweigh the increased mental challenge of knowing that you have a full eleven hours of running in darkness ahead of you?
From Dropsite, teams largely followed two routes. The northern option was slightly longer and less navigationally complex, while the southern route involved following the Australian Alps Walking Track, being careful not to inadvertently venture onto the adjacent forestry roads.
Having chosen the southern route, Bruce quickly stormed ahead. However, at around 11 pm, they drifted off course for about 2 hours, setting them far behind their competition as B&G took the lead. Meanwhile, along the northern route, Griffin’s consistent pace and faultless navigation allowed them to gain ground on the southern teams. By the time the forked routes reconnected, Griffin boasted a comfortable 30 minute lead. Unfortunately for Griffin, however, an injury forced them to withdraw approximately 10 km before Endpoint.
In the end, B&G was first to make it to Endpoint, absolutely soaring down Heartbreak Hill and overtaking numerous lower division teams on their descent. Wright battled to claim 2nd place, and the final team to finish was Bruce, who recovered from their navigational errors just in time to reach Endpoint 15 minutes before cut-off. Johns and Ursies, despite valiant efforts, were unfortunately unable to reach Endpoint.
Division 2 – Tates Road (Wee Jasper State Forest)
Pyne Time
When Division 2 pulled over for a quick pit stop a few hours into their blindfolded bus trip to Dropsite, they expected that they’d return to the bus with plenty of time to have their dinner, enjoy the on-board banter, and maybe even try to have a bit of shut-eye. Alas, the Race Directors had other plans, treating the runners to a short 15 minute shuttle to their Dropsite in Wee Jasper State Forest. This left some confused runners proclaiming: “we haven’t moved, have we?”, “this can’t be drop, they’re just messing with us!”, and “you’re joking aren’t you?”.
Despite the shock of an early drop, and the notorious difficulty of navigating through pine forests all teams successfully picked Dropsite and headed south along Wee Jasper Road grouped tightly together. Bruce stormed into the lead after taking a risky shortcut that flirted out of bounds by heading along Argalong Rd and onto the northern Hume and Hovell walking track route option (Wright also took this option, albeit later). B&G lost some time taking an inefficient route towards the Coterills Fire Trail, bypassing the now infamous Bridge of Death.
Bruce went on to comfortably win the division, having reached the top of Heartbreak Hill over an hour before 2nd-placed B&G.
Division 3 – Port Phillip Fire Trail (Kosciuszko National Park)
Dam Risky?
Dropped on the distinctive Port Phillip Fire Trail, Division 3 teams picked Dropsite quickly. Teams forked early on, with B&G and Fenner choosing to skirt the northern edge of the Tantangara Dam, and Ursula, Johns, Burgmann, Wright, and Bruce risking the crossing.
Bruce then followed the swampy Mosquito Creek Trail to join the teams up north, their stronger legs allowing them to quickly pull ahead of B&G and Fenner.
Down south on Long Plain Road, it remained a tight tussle between Wright, Ursula & Burgmann, until Burgmann missed the turn-off onto Spicers Creek Trail and took the scenic route up to Peppercorn Trail.
Despite running a longer distance, Bruce claimed a convincing victory with a 1.5 hour lead over Wright and Ursies in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
Division 4 – Blue Waterholes Fire Trail (Kosciuszko National Park)
Feeling Blue?
Division 4 was dropped on the Blue Waterholes Trail and runners were forced to go west, quickly passing through the Blue Waterholes campground. Most teams opted to take the shorter, quicker southern route along Spicers Creek Trail.
A pair of Division X runners quickly stormed ahead, while out of the college teams, Wamburun was setting the fastest pace. Unfortunately for Wamburun, a navigational error left them stuck in a pine forest, allowing Bruce to temporarily overtake and Griffin and Fenner to follow close behind.
Division 4 remained hotly contested right up to the end. Wamburun temporarily regained the lead just before Heartbreak Hill, then, in the sprint (or, perhaps, slide) to the finish, Fenner came from behind to ultimately claim 1st place with a 20 minute lead, followed by Wamburun, with Ursula in 3rd.
The Division X team that had been ahead by a significant margin throughout the entire race finished more than 3 hours before the first college team and were the first team out of any Division to arrive at Endpoint.
Division 5 – Barnetts Road (Bondo State Forest)
Taking the (Mica)long way
Dropped in the Pine Forests of Micalong Swamp, Division 5 faced a maze of forestry roads to tackle as soon as they left Dropsite.
John’s, Yukeembruk, B&G, and Wright opted to avoid the trickier navigation and instead took the longer southern route down Barnetts Road onto Stokes Hut Trail and towards the Coterills checkpoint. Meanwhile, the remaining teams took a variety of routes to get onto the Hume and Hovell walking track.
Despite being the shorter option, the additional navigational difficulty and the more challenging terrain of the northern route (not to mention the Bridge of Death) meant that the teams who had chosen the southern route pulled ahead as the race progressed.
John’s maintained their lead throughout the entire race, though only by a slim margin, just pipping B&G by 9 minutes. The John’s team were later awarded the Doherty-Banks Navigation Award for their flawless navigation throughout the race.
The real highlight, however, was Lodge excitedly proclaiming at the finish line that they had seen “BRUMBIES!”.
Division 6 – Long Plain Road (Kosciuszko National Park)
Brain vs Brawn
After learning of their incredibly short 7-minute scout time at the Runners’ Briefing the week of the event, many Division 6 scouts were boasting that they had an easy task ahead of them. Sure, they didn’t have to expend energy running long distances in the scout window, but would that really make their job easier?
Rather than being a relaxing experience, the short scout period instead invoked panic in the Division 6 teams. One scout made it back to Dropsite with less than 10 seconds to go, narrowly avoiding their team’s disqualification.
The teams that chose to go south from Dropsite were handicapped, having to run an extra 5km along the more navigationally-complex Australian Alps Walking Track. Yukeembruk, Wright, Ursula & B&G, having taken the northern route out of Dropsite, tussled for the lead along Peppercorn Fire Trail, with B&G eventually pulling out ahead.
Meanwhile, however, Bruce & Wamburun duked it out for the lead along the AAWT, with both teams arriving at Heartbreak Hill just before B&G and whilst despite having the extra km in their legs Bruce would hold out for the win finishing 8 minutes before Wambam and 14 before B&G.
Division 7 – Goobragandara Powerline Road (Kosciuszko National Park)
Go Yuke’s Own Way?
Rather than enjoy a cushy bus ride the whole way to Dropsite, Division 7 runners were shuttled by 4WDs for the final leg of their journey. This left Division 7 runners waiting by the side of the road in paddocks (blindfolded, of course) for up to 2 hours before they were eventually dropped on Goobarragandra Powerline Road. Teams could choose between a northern or southern route, with both options covering just over 42km (to allow all teams a chance at running a marathon). All teams bar Yukeembruk headed north, the slightly hillier choice. In this footrace, B&G quickly stormed ahead, reaching the intersection with the southern route 30 minutes ahead of Yukeembruk. Despite working hard to close the gap, B&G held out to finish in first, with Yukeembruk just 12 minutes behind. Not bad for the new hall’s first run!
Race Maps can be downloaded here.
[ If you have any stories or images that you would like to contribute, please feel free to send them through to [email protected]].
The results of the 2023 edition of Inward Bound were as follows:
*Penalty Applied by Race Referees
This led to a grand points total for each college as follows:
A special congratulations to the Doherty-Banks Navigation Award Winners, Johns Division 5, and Bill Packard Trophy (Division 1) Winners, B&G, as well as to B&G for winning overall for the 6th year in a row!
If you want to relive the race, check out the Inward Bound Live tracking page.