29 July 2011 - Sphinx to Roseville Bridge

Our big night walk!  After a busy week at work what better way to finish than an Oxfam Training Walk on Friday night?  We all finished work a bit earlier and headed to Roseville Bridge to drop off a car before heading back to the Sphinx.  After a slow crawl through the Friday night peak hour traffic (it is amazing how much more traffic there is around at 6pm on a Friday than 6am on a Saturday!) we arrived at the Sphinx and got set for our adventure.

16 July 2011 - Macfarlane Reserve to Roseville Bridge

This was our first night walk for 2011, and the very first trail night walk for Ian and Deb. There was certainly a chill in the air, but that soon disapperaed as we warmed up. The trail through this section, affectionatley known as "Fangorn Forest" is quite rugged with many tree roots and rocks to pick our way through. It is a challenging section during the day but at night it takes on a new perspective.

9 July 2011 - Brooklyn to Berowra

With Ian safely back from refereeing the Touch Football World Cup it was time to get him out on the trail.  A nice early start on a crisp morning is a good way to clear the cobwebs.  We tackled the concrete path at the start with little hassle so we progressed through the early parts of the first leg with confidence.  It was great to see some other Oxfamers on the trail.  There were a couple of stops to adjust some pre-emptive strapping so a first leg time of 3:15hrs was not unexpected.

2 July 2011 - Macfarlane Reserve to End

The time has come to get serious with some longer walks and with the prospect of a nice sunny day, what better way to finish a walk than with the section along Balmoral Beach?  So it was off to find Macfarlane Reserve (the replacement checkpoint to Kambora School) ready for a leisurely 0700 start.

25 June 11 - Roseville Bridge to End

In need of some exercise, Fred and AJ decided to tackle a couple of legs while the others had previous commitments.  After a leisurely 0800 start at Roseville Bridge we headed off towards Ararat Reserve at a good pace arriving in just under 1:30hrs.  After a quick break for a mandarin (or several in Fred's case) we set off on the last leg.  Being Saturday there were lots of people out at Seaforth Oval and also Balmoral Beach enjoying the good weather.  We arrived at the end checkpoint just after 1130 for a time of 3:35hrs for the

Cp7 – Cp8
Start Time: 07:50am
Duration: 1:30:32
Finish Time: 09:20am
Distance: 7.20km
Average Pace: 12:35 min/km
Average Speed: 4.8 km/h

Cp8 - Finish
Start Time: 09:33am
Duration: 1:58:11
Finish Time: 11:31am
Distance: 10.79km
Average Pace: 11:02min/km
Average Speed: 5.4 km/h

Total Time: 3:29:18
Total Distance: 29.33km

19 June 2011 - Berwora to St Ives

THE WALKERS:  AJ, Deborah, Fred, Tony R


Cp2 – Cp3   
Start Time: 7:23am   
Duration: 3:02:03   
Finish Time: 10:25am   
Distance: 13.83km   
Average Pace: 13:10 min/km   
Average Speed: 4.6 km/h

Cp3 – Cp4 
Start Time: 10:39am 
Duration: 1:23:18 
Finish Time: 12:03pm 
Distance: 6.71km 
Average Pace: 12:25 min/km 
Average Speed: 4.8 km/h 
Cp4 - Cp5   
Start Time: 12:09pm   
Duration: 2:17:07   
Finish Time: 2:26pm   
Distance: 9.32km   
Average Pace: 14:43min/km   
Average Speed: 4.1 km/h

Total Time: 6:42:28  
Total Distance: 29.86km

April and May - Independent Training

Due a number of extended absences the training during this period was independent.  Ian (our newest Team Member) was busy training to referee the World Touch Football Championships so he was getting heaps of good aerobic training.  The rest of us reverted to lunchtime walks in the Lane Cove National Park, stair training and the old faithful gym.

13 March 2011 - Cowan Station to Berowra

It was time to see if we could get through the tough second leg as well as we did the first leg.  This time AJ, Tony and Deb were joined by Deb's boyfriend Jacques.  We started the walk at Cowan Station and the completed the last part of the first leg before seetiing off on the second leg.  It was spectacular weather for walking with the freshness of the morning lasting through the toughest part of the leg.  All up it was a very pleasant morning and even the challenging climbs in this section did not seem so bad, although we did no hit them with quite the same intensity as we did during the Event last year.  By the time we got Berowra Community Hall we stoppoed the clock at 3:17hrs for the second leg - far from our best but a good start.

THE WALKERS:  AJ, Deborah, Jacques, Tony R

Cowan Station – Cp1   
Start Time: 6:57am   
Duration: 17:06   
Finish Time: 7:14am   
Distance: 1.59km   
Average Pace: 10.46 min/km   
Average Speed: 5.6 km/h

Cp1 - Cp2   
Start Time: 7:16am   
Duration: 3:17:01   
Finish Time: 10:33am   
Distance: 11.99km   
Average Pace: 16.26min/km   
Average Speed: 3.7 km/h

Total Time: 3.34:07  
Total Distance: 13.58km