GREAT LEGS

ROSS BARR

NOL Sprints, Gold Coast, Queensland, April 2022

Griffith University, ‘Men Public Competitive’ Course 2a

David May come on down!

Accompanying the NOL (WRE) Sprint Final events on this magnificent campus map, were a handful of other courses to cater for the non-elites – among them the 2.6km oddly named ‘Men Public Competitive’ (no, not convenience!). This course, seemingly alone in Lorenzo Calabro’s suite of excellent courses, included a sensational, across the map long leg, that would have scored a ‘Quality 3’ in David May’s Sprint classification system – legs that offer ‘complex route choice/ detailed navigation/many decision points’. While the elite courses were all longer, and complex, and all with many ‘Quality 2/3’ legs, none had the sheer bravura or 450 metre length of leg #1-2 (fence, E end, to building, W side) on course 2a. A ‘Great Leg’ in my opinion, and perhaps worthy of a little reporting. From the map box, in drizzly showery conditions, a short burst to the triangle while folding the map and making the first decision – hard right and the zig zag path, or straight on for a curving approach. The zig zag was the better choice, but kept you concentrating as you approached #1, and then, unfolding the map out again – whoa, look at this!! Across the road into the building canopy or around it, or perhaps running north along the road, still trying to grasp what was ahead of you, had runners in a complex of paths and stair options as you tried to figure a route and way forward. Looking at the splits and some Livelox routes