They came, they walked 75km and discovered 47 controls, and took home an Australasian Rogaining Championships title.
Blue Mountains rogaining partners Andy Macqueen and Ian Brown won the men's super veterans (over 55s) category at the championships on Tasmania's east coast earlier this month.
Rogaining is extreme orienteering, with the aim to collect as many points as possible from an array of checkpoints within 24 hours, using only a map and compass to navigate. It's a test of fitness, nimbleness in rough conditions, endurance, navigation and strategy.
"We were a bit surprised in the end," Macqueen said when asked about the win.
"There was a team of three from Victoria with a good record rogaining and orienteering, and they're just a couple of years younger than us."
There were 17 teams competing in their category, and the duo scored 2730 points, 250 points ahead of the second placegetters from Victoria.
The Mountains men covered 75km in 24 hours, navigating their way to 47 controls. There were lots of rocky outcrops and boulders, fallen timber, creek crossings and thick vegetation to push through.
"We were spot on with the navigation most of the time, especially in the dark which is tricky," Macqueen said.
"It was a bit of luck and a good bit of skill. We wasted no time."
They barely rested during the 24-hour event.
"A couple of times we stopped for 15 minutes. We had a bite to eat when it was dark and got the torches out," Macqueen said.
"It keeps you going, rogaining. You're focused on the task in hand, finding the next control, it may be only a few kilometres away. When you find it, it's an adrenaline rush."
The win has qualified the pair for the World Championships in California next year but they've chosen not to attend, preferring to contest the Australasian Championships again - this time in South Australia - instead.