MDOC Twin Peak Day 2 - High Dam

M50L was 6.5k with 235m of climb and 16 controls, and took me 55 minutes; and I visited all the controls today! I had a good run to 11, afterwhich I lost a bit of rhythm. Was well beaten though, by circa 3 minutes, by Donald Petrie who followed up his Day 1 victory with another fine run!

Donald Petrie, CLYDE, winner of M50L.



Results.
WinSplits.
RouteGadget.

Map with my course.



Map with my route.

MDOC Twin Peak Day 1 - High Dam

SATURDAY, JUNE 09, 2007









High Dam was the venue for this years Twin Peak event which is organised by Manchester and District Orienteering Club - the first orienteering club I joined when M15. High Dam is a lovely mix of woodland and fell, is located to the south west of Lake Windermere in Cumbria and offers some of the most challenging orienteering in England.

M50L was 6.6k with 310m of climb and 18 controls, and took me 71 minutes. I started badly, losing several minutes at number 1; but then settled into a good rhythm. Lost a minute or so at number 9. Things really fell apart leaving 13 when, thinking I was at 14 (- both controls were on crags with marsh to their west!), I set off to 15, couldn't make anything fit and got totally lost! I dismissed the download print-out showing my not having visited 14 as SI card/unit failure. Have only realised what I actually did now - a day and a half later! At least I can stop worrying about my SI card not working properly!!

Results.
WinSplits.
RouteGadget.

Map with my course.



Map with my route.

Isles of Mull and Ulva

MONDAY, JUNE 05 AND TUESDAY, JUNE 06, 2007



Ben More, A'Chioch and Beinn Fhada from Ulva.



Both my children went off on school trips on Monday morning, so Hazel and I took advantage of their absence to get away for a couple of days and to celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary. We got the ferry from Oban to the Isle of Mull where we went for a run up Ben More (- the island's only Munro!), A'Chioch and Beinn Fhada. The ascent and descent were wet, tussocky and rocky, and were really hard going; but the ridge in between was fantastic, giving plenty of scrambling and great views.

Monday's run.



We spent the night at the Calgary Hotel which serves lovely food and nice wine, and the following day (- Tuesday!) got the ferry over to the Isle of Ulva for a run around the island. The weather was superb and gave great view of many of the other islands in the Inner Hebrides - Iona, Staffa, the Treshnish Isles, Tiree, Coll - to name but a view!

Part of Tuesday's run.



Hazel on Ulva.



Me on Ulva.

MAROC District Event - Bogendreip

Bogendreip was used for last years Scottish Relay Championships during which I sprained my ankle. I've been competing in ankle braces ever since and felt at ease in the terrain, even the rocky areas, today. I ran the Brown (longest) course which was 6.7k with 225m of climb and 14 controls. I took 46 minutes and had a good run, only losing time with a small miss at number 3.

Results.
Splits.
RouteGadget.

Map with my course.



Map with my route.

ECKO Spring Series - Dunollie and Ganavan

I travelled to Oban tonight following an irresistable event flier! It promised "top quality terrain and undoubtedly the best views of any of our orienteering areas - from Mull and Lismore, to the hills of Ardgour and Glencoe, to Cruachan, to the Paps of Jura and to Kerrera." It went on to say "the Green and Blue courses offer extremely varied and very enjoyable terrain: heather, rough grass, bog myrtle, patches of native woodland, short grazed grass with clumps of gorse, crags, knolls, beautiful bluebell woodland, short bracken and small areas of marsh." Wet weather prevented the views from being as good as they might have been, but the area and course were first class! I ran the Blue (longest) course which was 7.4k with 20 controls and which took me 64 minutes.

The view from Ganavan on a dry evening.



Results.
Splits.
RouteGadget.

Map with my course.



Map with my route.

INVOC SOL 4 - Rogie

SOL 4 was at Rogie, a fantastic area between Inverness and Ullapool, and used for the short qualification race at the World Championships in 1999. With Eddie Harwood planning it promised to be special - and didn't disappoint! M50L was 7.7k with 245m of climb and 19 controls, and took me 64 minutes. I had a good run, only losing time because of a few hesitations.

Results.
Splits.
RouteGadget.

Map with my course.



Map with my route.

FVO Evening Event - Minewoods

Minewoods is on the northern edge of Bridge of Allan and is a steep beech/sycamore wood. Tonights event was organised by Gareth and Jan Bryan-Jones - two stalwarts of FVO! I ran the long course which was 3.3k with 12 controls and which took me 26 minutes.

Results.

Roger Goddard of WAROC warming down.



Map with my course.



Map with my route.

LOC National Event - Caw

Caw is just north east of Stickle Pike (- used for yesterdays event) and is similarly rocky with lots of contour detail. I ran M50L which was 7.8k with 385m of climb and 12 controls, and which took me 60 minutes. The course was really good, had far fewer controls than is usual in the UK and gave a number of long legs with route choice. 7-8 was particularly challenging and I was lucky to relocate on the boulder to the north east of the flag after failing to pick up the line of dot knolls and the rocky knoll to the west of the control. Other than that, I ran a good technical race, having a clear plan for every leg and maintaining good concentration throughout.

Results.
Splits.
RouteGadget.

Map with my course.



Map with my route.

BARRO Cumbrian Short Race Series Event 3 - Stickle Pike

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2007



This was the first event for new club Barrow and District Orienteering Club and the last of the Cumbrian Short Race Series. Stickle Pike is an area of rocky (- much rockier than the map suggests!) moorland with plenty of contour detail. I ran the M40+ course which was 3.2k with 125m of climb and 14 controls, and which took me 25 minutes. The course was great (- being both technically and physically challenging) and I look forward to competing at many more BARRO events in the future.

Results.

Map with my course.



Map with my route.



In the evening I went badger watching and managed to capture some of what I saw with my mobile phone.

ECKO Spring Series - Creag Mhic Chailein

Paul Frost's e mail put paid to painting the fence tonight! It advertised an evening event on one of the best areas for orienteering in Britain, with all the trimmings - pre-marked waterproof maps and sportident punching!

I took advantage of my employers (- Clackmannanshire Council) flexi system and finished work at 4pm so I could attend. Gerry and Jason of TINTO travelled even further than I did to be there!

I ran the Blue (longest) course which was 7.6k with 18 controls and which took me 55 minutes.

The event was well supported with lots of the newcomers to the sport and it was heartening to think that they must have gone away with a really positive impression of orienteering. Well done ECKO!

Results.
Splits.
RouteGadget.

Map with my course.



Map with my route.

GRAMP SOL 3 - Glen Truim

I have run at Glen Truim once before - when it was used for the Scottish Championships in 2003. Then I ran M45L, at todays Scottish Orienteering League event I ran M50L which was 6.2k with a whopping 400m of climb and 15 controls. I took 56 minutes and, other than being a bit hesitant into number 2, had a clean run.

Results.
Splits.
RouteGadget.


Map with my course.



Map with my route.