Turf zone – ArgylePlaza
El Staminatore, the medal awarded to the intrepid turfer who takes 200 zones during a 24-hour period. Must say I cannot help but think of El Staminatore as grand name for an old-fashioned 60’s spaghetti western, like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, starring Clint Eastwood and directed by Sergio Leone. Then there’s the sequel, Staminatrix, which sounds like one of those under-the-counter publications that are kept in plain brown wrappers and feature weird people paying good money to have scantily clad ladies of negotiable affection do unusual things to them involving equally unusual devices made from stainless steel, leather and rubber. Or so it is said, usually in whispers.
Yes, El Staminatore, 200 zones in 24-hours. That was in my thoughts today as I enjoyed a turf session around Bonnyrigg and Dalkeith, mostly taking zones from new turfer turbosmith. Oh dear, what a shame, never mind. Evil chuckle to self. Just how should one go about tackling such a challenging endeavour? I’ve already achieved Stamina 50 and Staminator 100, both without much deliberate special effort. However, El Staminatore is another packet of Kit-Kats entirely. And the Staminatrix, which is 400 zones in 24-hours is Mission Impossible. Probably.
I guess the first suggestion might be to simply get out there and do it. And I can see the attraction of doing just that. However, that’s just not how my mind works. I like to think things like this through and plan for the best possible outcome. My thinking at the moment is to work my way into East Lothian as far as Prestonpans taking zones along the way then return through Musselburgh. I reckon this would give me about 130 zones. On the way back home, Dalkeith/Eskbank would add another 30 or so, and Bonnyrigg another 40. That gives me 200 and all in areas I either know like the back of my hand or have at least turfed a few times previously. I want to finish close to home to avoid having to cycle home after a long day.
Next question, when to start. My immediate thoughts, as an early riser, are to start early in the morning and simply keep pedalling until finished. One interesting suggestion was to spread the El Staminatore over two days, say, starting at 2.00 pm and turf until late, head home for bed and rest, then start again next day, finishing by 2.00 pm. My own take on this would be to start at 12.00 noon, this gives me approx. 6 to 9 hours, which should be enough to really dig into those 200 takes. Might even be enough to take all 200 zones. If I start again next day at 6.00 am, that still gives 6 hours for the remainder.
One good thing about the El Staminatore is that you don’t have to keep hold of the zones, like you do for the Greed medals. In fact, it might even be an advantage to lose zones and be able to take them again. What else? Well, keeping hydrated is important and carrying enough rations for the session equally so. Turfing in daylight is probably best though night-time is usually quieter, so either or. Pacing myself is also a wise move and not go too crazy early on and run out of steam later on. Now I just need to pick a day and get cracking. Back soon.
Copyright ©2023 Gary Buckham. All rights reserved.
