IB Live

Cutoff having occured here is a final list of provisional finish times not taking into account any penalties that may arise… Read more.

B&G's Div 4 team is in marking the final B&G to reach EP. Will it be enough for them to hold on to the overall title noting them having to overcome the challenge to make up the loss of points in their Div 3 DNFing. They took the definition of a suboptimal route deciding first to go south before heading up to the northern route their path is shown in light blue is 8km and has 200m more metres of vert than minimal (see dark blue)… Read more.

See photos from the course just before endpoint!… Read more.

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Photos from out amazing volunteers!… Read more.

Bruce Div 3 may have won but they did so based on stronger legs more so than route choice which was OK but not optimal (see purple) having the same vert (not flatter) as the quickest route (see Blue) but being 4km longer. I stand by our comments of it being suboptimal. However, having confidence in your route choice is a beneficial technique as you do not want to be doubting your decisions on the course unless they are disastrous, as this can readily impact team morale. Being out on your own for some teams is also useful to ensure they go at their pace not push too hard or be lulled into a false sense of security… Read more.

Continuing with the pro cycling references I'm imagaining this video being the dynamic between B&G and Yukeembruk on the run down "The Slope of Doom"... It's yet to be seen which one is Vinegaard..… Read more.

Ursula 7 are back on track after a significant overshoot. Serious resilience from them!… Read more.

Bruce 2 is almost at EP, with B&G not too far behind (~10-15 mins) but unlikely to catch them. Much Like the tussle between griffin and B&G in Div 1 these teams have taken alternate routes to get here with Bruce taking the sketchier but shorter Hume and Hovell walking track and also having to fae the mentl anguish of crossing the 'bridge of death' (See Dark Blue). Whereas B&G has taken the longer but more friendly southern route on firetrails (See Light Blue)… Read more.

B&G and Griffin Div 1 have not seen each other since drop. With B&G taking the flatter but harder-to-navigate southern route and Griffin taking the northern with a bonus trip to Cooleman Plain. It seems they are going to converge onto the slope of doom at approximately the same time according to our Race predictor. It seems Griffin is going to rack up over 100km lets see if that hinders them on the run home (see light blue). As opposed to the navigationally challenging AAWT south option which is equally as long (dark blue), but has about 1 black mountain run up (200m) less of climbing… Read more.

Taking a break from commentating for a second to put a call out for anyone interested in helping run IB Live in the future: specifically the tech side of things… Read more.

As predicted the big challenge for Div 4 as Peppercorn firetail is out of bounds was having to choose the much quicker south option (~78km) (Blue) once they reached Long Plain Rd. However Burgmann Div 4 is clearly up for the challenge having take the significantly longer and hillier north option (~90km) (Green), like an artic navigator. Wamburun is seemingly on track to win the division continuing to power ahead after re-overtaking bruce after navigational quirk… Read more.

So you may have noticed that the Race Predictor results change spontaneously this is as primarily we only get tracker updates every so often and when we do they have a major impact on estimated average GAP. We calculate the time teams are expected to get into endpoint by mapping their tracker data to a series of route options if they are close enough and then access the speed and terrain they traveled across to estimate an average gradient-adjusted pace which it applies to the remaining optimal route to endpoint. It does not and cannot account for nav errors or fatigue… Read more.

Or rather lack of vision… thanks to Tom Fitz for taking these… Read more.

The sole catering vendor at endpoint… the coffee van. A truly captive market… Read more.

Another Robot Update, Trust it at Your peril. Teams DNFed in Red and Teams forecast not to make cutoff in yellow, Leading Teams in Green… Read more.

Your venerable race commentary team gets its first view of Blowering Dam!… Read more.

Bruce Div 5 and Wright Div 2 at around 30 mins ago passed through the TBT endpoint where they were greeted by our fantastic team of volunteers and committee members… Read more.

We have reports that some Emu chicks have made an appearance at Endpoint!… Read more.

Beep Boop Beep Boop New Predictions have been made… Read more.

This bridge on the Hume and Hovell Track that some Div 2 and div 5 teams are crossing reminds us of a scene from Monty Pyhton and the Holy Grail let's hope they have read up on the terminal velocity of unladen swallows and their favourite colours. Teams crossing this bridge must do it one at time to get across the fast-flowing and deep Goobagandra River, teams cross here just after going through a race checkpoint where they will be briefed on how to cross safely… Read more.

It seems perhaps to an affinity for Adelaide, Burg Div 6 have taken a bonus trip into pine forest, hopefully their nav is a fixer and will fix it quickly… Read more.

All the teams are in the race predictor system now, including div 7 it has B&G just ahead of Burgmann noting that it's tracker hasn't pinged as recently as other teams… Read more.

It seems all the Div 7 teams have left drop with all taken the northern Route option except Yukeembruk. Both routes on paper are similar with the south option (Green) taking in a bit less vert and probably marginally quicker option as opposed to the Northern Route (Blue). It looks to be challenging Div 7 with teams having to cover a marathong no matter which route they choose… Read more.

It seems in Div 4 the Race Predictor is showing a tight tussle between Bruce & B&G with only a ten minute gap forecast between them at EP. Div 5 has the predictor a bit confused about what Griffin is doing, however is suggesting Burgmann is in the lead preferring the teams who took the southern (green) not western route (blue), although the teams going west look to have made more progress. And finally, in Div 6 the predictor has Fenner ahead of Yukeembruk by 10 minutes with Ursulaonly forecasted 5 minutes at EP behind with a footrace evovling… Read more.

On the trackers it looks like B&G has overtaken Griffin Div 1. Has the extra Black Mountain of vert caught up with Griffin 1? They are now forecast to finish an hr behind B&G but that gap if the trend contiues may grow. Johns and Urusula are fighting the cutoff time of 430PM… Read more.

Johns is looking in pole on the trackers, however, 2nd place is hotly contested with B&G and Yuk and Bruce close behind on different routes. Attached is the race predictor results showing the gap… Read more.

It Seems Griffin Div 1 are taking the marginally longer scenic route route across Cooleman Plain, featuring a less defined trail. Lets hope those old huts to be seen there distract them from the fact they made a suboptimal (but far from disattourous) route choiceFacts from Harrison: Mapping these out, looks like the route Griffin is taking has ~100m of vert vs the Purple line's 200m. (first photo is the long route, second photo os Cooleman Plain route)… Read more.

Seems of the teams the trackers have leaving drop all so far have left the right way. The big challenge for the teams as Peppercorn firetail is out of bounds will we choosing the much quicker south option (~78km) (Blue) once they reach Long Plain Rd and not the significantly longer and hillier north option (~90km) (Green)… Read more.

Div 2 got dropped in Pine and seemed to navigate just fine. We have a few photos of the drop attached'… Read more.

They may be the last team to leave send-off but that does not mean we do not have more IB interviews from them. Hopefully, the reception they got at Endpoint helped remedy the loneliness of being the last teams to leave… Read more.

Attached is bunch of photos and videos from Div 1 drop… Read more.

Good News the race predictor is working and doing it's thing. It seems to think Bruce is storming ahead to win div 1 right now but I'd take it's predictions with a giant grain of salt right now as we do not expect teams to come in until closer to 10am… Read more.

With a relatively straightforward scout, thanks to some handily located road signs, div 3 is a race of route choice.These Div 3 teams have opted to cross Tantangara Dam, which looks great on our online map, but looks very full on the course map (screenshot attached).While a shorter route, navs need to have faith the water is low enough--or that they can find a bank.Fortunately, with most of the teams heading in this direction it all seems to be working out okay… Read more.

That's right everyone, we're going to the beautiful Blowering reservoir. "Beach" IB for a second year in a row… Read more.

Thanks to the Tom’s for driving (and race directing last year)… Read more.

Shout out to the lead drivers keeping runners safe out on the roads!… Read more.

Griffin 5 are ready for both… Read more.

Will it be rainy? Salty? Humid? Arid? Hot? Cold? One thing is for sure: these runners do not know… Read more.

Captured earlier today, Unilodge Div 2 gives us a masterclass in preparing their bodies for the arduous task of sitting on a bus for an ungodly amount of hours.This is a severely underrated technique I am sure will catch on in IB 2024… Read more.

The energy is palpable! Pop tunes blare and foam rollers are rolled. A Div X team member is caught manifesting the start of the bus ride…… Read more.

Maybe they'll bump into Division 1 out there... 🤔… Read more.

I wonder where they will go...Div 3 is being sent-off at 4pm. Be there or be square!… Read more.

Div 1 are on their way... Hopefully none of them get cramps on the bus, because they’re gonna be running for a long time… 🏃‍♀️🏃🏃‍♂️… Read more.

A little delay after the bus took a wrong turn to send off… Read more.

Division 2 and Division 5 teams will make their way down the H&H Track all the way down Thomas Boyd Trackhead Checkpoint… Read more.

Division 2 and 5 really are in for a treat with multiple river crossing with no risk of getting wet feet. More than we can say for other divisions… Read more.

Sometimes on course you just need a little sit down. If you want to hear about the time we nearly stuck a car down a fire-trail come find us at IB Afters… Read more.

As teams finally finish the descent from Cliffords Creek Trail, they will be delighted to discover one final little hill for them to climb just to really seal the deal before Endpoint… Read more.

Hopefully Division 1 and Division 3 won't be spooking any campers as they make their way through Ghost Gully Campground in the middle of the night… Read more.

A variety of teams will be coming through the Long Plain Corridor throughout the night so sadly won't be able to experience views like this… Read more.

Teams will be treated with views of Endpoint and the Blowering Reservoir as they make their way down Cliffords Creek Trail. Hopefully they are able to put the pain aside from their quad busting 1000m descent… Read more.

Views of the Port Phillip FT at sunrise. Shame teams will be going through here in the middle of the night… Read more.

Division 2 and 5 teams are the only teams not to be dropped within the Kosciusko National Park and will face the daunting task of being dropped with the confines of the pine forests to the northern end of the park… Read more.

View of the powerlines under the Michelago Trail. Hopefully teams don't misunderstand the powerlines track and miss the actual trail… Read more.

Typical to Kosci, there are many trails that seem to disappear into nothingness or are just faint enough to follow. Hopefully everyone has sharpened up their nav skills ahead of this year… Read more.

Views of the Kiandra Goldfields. While no teams will be going through, at least we hope, it would be rude not to showcase even more of Kosci… Read more.

Sadly while Mt Franklin Road didn't make it into our course this year (speculate what Division is could have be) we still thought this would be a scenic picture to include… Read more.

The reason why a fear of heights had to be added to forms this year. Division 2 and Division 5 teams will be tackling this bridge just after reaching the Thomas Boyd Trackhead Checkpoint… Read more.

A key intersection of the course for multiple teams, including Division 1 and 3. Hopefully no teams decide to take Horseshoe Trail..… Read more.

Even more views of the H&H Track - hopefully teams enjoy the change in scenery and keep an eye on their feet as they descend… Read more.

Division 5 teams that choose the southern option through the Cotterill Checkpoint will get some very soggy feet early on in the race as they go through Emu Flat Creek. Bets on who will take their shoes off?… Read more.