World champion rogainers Geoff Lawford and Rod Gray have spent almost 50 years travelling the world facing sleep deprivation, wild animals and periodic fainting
Midnight in the Czech Republic’s Ore Mountains. Australians Geoff Lawford and Rod Gray pause for food, a brief respite after a punishing 12 hours of racing through the forests. Another 12 hours of competition remain. They turn off their head torches to conserve their batteries. It was pitch black, Lawford recalls. “Although Rod was only two metres away, I couldn’t see him.” And then they hear it, the sound of a large animal running through the forest towards them.
Competitors had been warned of possible encounters with wild boar or deer. Lawford senses the animal stop in front of him. Scrambling, he turns on his head torch to discover the maw of a “solid German shepherd cross” inches from his face. “Thankfully, the dog proved friendly,” says Lawford. “We had no idea who owned it, but it followed us for the next hour – through the Czech Republic and on towards Germany.” It’s one of countless anecdotes the two have amassed since teaming up nearly 50 years ago.
