re: autox

[Ron Katona <ron3b@xxxxxxxx>]

Craig Robson wrote:
> Any tips for a beginner hitting an autox this sunday? I already know 
> about don't shift gears unless absolutely necessary, go in easy (slow), 
> and be smooth. Any others?

Look up, look out, look ahead... then look farther up, out, and ahead.
Most rookie errors (overdriving slow parts, going too slow in fast
parts, getting lost on course) can be traced to not looking ahead. Most
of being smooth and carrying the proper speed through a turn come from
looking ahead.

Learning the course during the course walk(s) is a must. You should be
able to "drive" the course in your head with your eyes closed. 

One technique that helps with this more than just memorizing the course
is picking visual references and remembering those for your run. As you
walk the course, simplify it by selecting a visual cue for each section.
Each section may contain several gates. If the course starts with a
slalom that leads to a tight left hander, the left hander could be your
first visual cue. That's what you should focus on at the start, not each
individual slalom cone. You might have to slow down for the last slalom
cone to make the turn. By looking at it right from the start, you'll
know that instinctively and won't overcook it. Nor will you forget to go
left at that gate.

After that turn, what's your next cue? A light pole, another turn, a
pointer cone, a cone wall, etc. You can usually pick 6-7 points that are
easier to remember than every gate on the course. Memorize their
sequence. As soon as you're sure you're going to make it past one cue,
you pick up the next even before you've passed the one you were just
looking at. Sometimes you'll have to turn your head 90 degrees or more
to see the next cue. Sometimes you'll be looking at the exit of a turn
before you even enter it. That's good. Looking straight ahead is bad.

With everything else to think about on your first run, this will be
difficult. Sometimes it just looks like a sea of cones. But this is a
good habit to get into early on, so try it. After two years and about 30
events, I still fall down on this all too often. As others have said,
finishing all your runs on course is a victory for the first timer; make
that your goal and LOOK AHEAD!
- -- 
Ron Katona

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