IB Live

Now that all of our teams are on the road to their Dropsite and with Division 1’s arrival imminent, let’s go over some of the concepts I’ll be referring to in posts throughout the night.

If you’re a friend or family member who’s keenly supporting a runner but don’t really know what Inward Bound is, this post is for you!

So far, you’ve seen colleges pass through Scrutineering, where they have had their equipment checked against the mandatory gear list. You know that they waited in isolation next, where they weren’t allowed contact with anyone other than other runners and Inward Bound volunteers. You then watched Sendoff, where teams were celebrated as they exited isolation and began their journey to the start of their course.

Next, runners are driven around the ACT/NSW for an undisclosed period of time. They are blindfolded throughout this journey and the windows of the vehicle they are travelling in are blacked out - there is no chance of any runner knowing where they are after this journey!

Buses will take runners to Dropsite. This is where the race starts. At Dropsite, teams are given the course maps (which I’ll make a post about later, if you’re curious in knowing a bit more about what these look like) and the location of Endpoint, the finish line of the race.

The aim of the game is to make it from Dropsite to Endpoint as quickly as possible, without taking any disallowed routes. 

Remember, at Dropsite, teams do not initially know where they are on the map. So, how do teams attempt to locate themselves.

Each team is comprised of four runners, two of whom are officially scouts, and two of whom are navigators. Navigators have had to complete events throughout the year to ‘qualify’ for this position.

During the first portion of the race, the scouting period, scouts will go for a short run away from Dropsite. This is the only period of the race where team members are allowed to be more than 50 metres apart. The scouts’ goal is to draw a small map of the terrain around them which they can then attempt to match to the course maps. 

The scouting period is a different length of time for each Division. It is really important that scouts return back to Dropsite before the end of the scouting period. Otherwise, their team will receive a significant penalty (though they won’t know this until the end of the race).

Teams are allowed to leave Dropsite before the end of the scouting period if they choose. Some may have already figured out where they are and planned a route to Endpoint. Others may not know exactly where they are, but choose a direction to run in until they gather enough information to locate themselves.

From here onwards, teams must navigate to Endpoint using only their maps and compasses. Not only do they have the physical challenge of running up to 110 kilometres, but also the mental challenge of having to keep their wits about them for the whole event.

I hope that makes some sense! It’s a little complicated, so don’t sweat it if you’re not quite sure about some of the details. You’ll pick it up over the course of the event :)