Possum Trot XIII - Part I
Knob Noster State Park, in the beautiful state of Missouri, was the site of my first Possum Trot, way back in 2002. I think it was
just me, Ian, and Brian May at the time, and the other two had decent runs there. Which means Brian won, by a lot. In contrast,
I was overwhelmed by the map and the course, and ended up DNFing. But it was only my second year in the sport, and I was wasn't quite
in peak shape yet :) This year, I could rightly say I had a little more experience, particularly with Missouri style ridge-and-reentrant
terrain, and felt good about going back.
Sunday course - Possum Trot XIII at Knob Noster. Click to enlarge
And I ran well. Well, for the first 27 controls. I wasn't worried about the navigation this time, I was worried about the competition!
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What's That Running-in-the-woods Thing You Do Again?
For all the times I've been asked that question. This is some raw video from last weekend's Possum Trot.
Click on the still frame to play.
Some notes:
- I used an open back on the camera case, so the wind noise is pretty bad (who knew there was so much turbulence in front of my head?) I'll have to
try running with the closed back and see if that improves the audio.
- The Hero HD has a 1080p mode with 135 degree FOV, which I used in this video. There's also a 720p with 170 degree setting, which I want to try
for the next event. Then maybe I can get people to vote on which FOV they prefer.
- The weight is about the same as a typical headlamp, although concentrated in the front since there's no battery pack in the back. I could feel the difference
after dropping it off, but I think that was more because of the tight straps then the actual weight.
- It's almost funny how similar this looks to a video game. Bouncy video, darting looks, plus regular map consultation. (Maybe I could complete the
comparison by recording a paintball game?)
- Wait for a more-produced version too, with soundtrack and maybe some map overlays. Woo!
By the way, watching this is a LOT of fun, and I'm really tempted to wear this camera for a lot of the stuff I do... yes, I'm a geek. With pride.
Report from Possum Trot XII
This year's Possum Trot was on the south side of the Bluffwoods CA (PT IX was on the north half of the map.)
We had nine people going down in two cars - Mike, Julia, Ian, me, Molly, Justin, Tom, Jerritt, and Jim. We represented well
at all three of the weekend events - Justin and I placed 1-2 in the Saturday sprint course on the campus of Johnson
Community College, and Ian took his age group. The next day we placed 2nd-4th in the 13 km Possum Trot, and Tom
took 6th. On the women's side, Julia took 3rd behind Anna S-S and Sharon (that's her running to the finish.)
The Christmas party was a lot of fun this year as well - back at the pizza joint from a couple years ago. There wasn't as
much stealing during the white elephant gift game, though, somewhat of a disappointment. I ended up with the box of chocolate
goodies that Ian had brought, so we had something to share between the vans on the long drive home.
The true geekery commences below the fold.
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