ELO SoSOL - John Muir Country Park

This was the fifth race in the South of Scotland Orienteering League and took place at the John Muir Country Park which is located close to the town of Dunbar, around 30 miles east of Edinburgh. A coastal site, it comprises wide sandy beaches, dunes, grassland and pine forest. The Park is named after John Muir, the famous explorer, naturalist and conservationist who was born in Dunbar in 1838. He lived in Scotland until the age of 11 when his family emigrated to the United States. His extensive conservation work led to the establishment of the US National Parks including, during his lifetime, Yosemite, Sequoia and Grand Canyon. He was also the founding president of the Sierra Club.

I ran the Brown course which was 9.5k with 21 controls.

Results.
WinSplits.

RouteGadget.

Map with my course.
Part 1:



Part 2:




Map with my route.
Part 1:



Part 2:

ESOC Scottish Night Championships - Kinneil Wood

Kinneil Wood is on the south side of the Forth Estuary, to the west of Edinburgh. I ran the M50L course which was 6.6k with 170m of climb and 25 controls, and which took me 44 minutes.

Results.
Splits.
RouteGadget.

Maps with my course.
Part 1:



Part 2:



Maps with my route.
Part 1:



Part 2:

FVO Night Event - Dumyat East

Fraser Purves planned a really good 5.4k course with 260m of climb and 22 controls. Ewan McCarthy and Ross McLennan got away early on and I was part of a chasing pack comprising Jon Coss, Jason Inman and Gary Longhurst. Jon finished just in front of me in third, but had forgotten to visit number 15!

Results.

Map with course.



Map with my route.

RR SoSOL - Elibank Forest

This was the fourth event of the South of Scotland Orienteering League and was organised by Roxburgh Reivers at Elibank - a tough forest near Peebles. Andrew Armstrong planned a testing Brown course which was 7.4k with 380m of climb and 24 controls. I started just after FVO clubmate, Will Hensman and caught him near number 3, exchanging the lead with him to control 20; afterwhich I managed to pull away.

Results.
WinSplits.
RouteGadget.

Map with my course.



Map with my route.

WCOC Northern Night Championships - High Rigg and STAG Knoll Kollection - Faskally

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 09, 2008 - WCOC Northern Night Championships - High Rigg



High Rigg is an area of detailed fell near Keswick in the Lake District. It is a very good orinteering area in day time, but at night it is superb - runnable and challenging! I ran the Blue course which was 5.7k with 170m of climb and 17 controls, and which took me 47 minutes.

Results and splits.

Map with my course.



Map with my route.



SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2008 - STAG Knoll Kollection - Faskally





The Knoll Kollection is a fun one hour score event with controls (65) on every ring contour and form line. SI punching was used, which, for those with older versions of SI, meant carrying three cards. I ran north and then anti-clockwise and got all the controls in 47 minutes.

Results.
Splits.
Map showing all knolls.
RouteGadget.

Map with course (and my route).

FVO Night Event - Sauchie Crags

Brad and Beccy planned a really tough course which was 4.7k with 18 controls.

Results.

Map with course.



Map with my route.

LOC Regional Event - Bouth

Lakeland Orienteering Club's Regional Event took place at Bouth and was planned by former British Team runner, Carol McNeill. I have run on the western part of the area once before (in 1975 as an M17 - see map below!) and the eastern part twice before. The middle section is a new orienteering area. I ran M50L which was 6.9k with 235m of climb and 21 controls. The forest was great, with quite a lot of young trees and scrub to reduce visibilty and a well planned course which made the most of the area.

Results.
Splits.

Map with my course.



Map with my route.



Map of western part of the area from 1975.

Ski Trip - French Alps

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 2008 - SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2008



Had a weeks skiing in the French Alps with FVO club mates Steve Nicholson and Dave Coustick. Stayed with Steve's parents in Villaroger, near Bourg St Maurice and skied at Les Arcs on the first 2 days, before spending a snowy day skiing at Megeve en route to Argentiere, near Chamonix. Whilst there, we had a day at the Grands Montet, a day at Le Tour and a day (on the other side of Mont Blanc) at Courmayeur in Italy. The weather was generally good - clear and sunny; with new snow mid-week to give some powder skiing. Steve's knowledge of Les Arcs and Dave's of the Chamonix area meant we did a few off piste runs, some requiring skinning; which, given I had a cold for the entire trip, I found hard going.

Links to piste maps:
- Les Arcs
- Megeve
- Grands Montets
- Le Tour
- Courmayeur

STAG Winter Score Event - Cathkin Braes Country Park

St Andrew's Orienteering Club, Glasgow organised a 60 minute score event at Cathkin Braes Country Park to the south of the city and advertised as "Glasgow's most technical area for orienteering." This was the second of a series of 5 such events taking place during January and February 2008! Controls 31-39 were worth 100 points, controls 41-49 were worth 200 points and controls 51-59 were worth 300 points. I got all controls except number 53 (- which I tried to, but couldn't find!) in 49 minutes.

Results.

Map with course.



Map with my route.

FVO Night Event - University of Stirling

Steve Barrett of Stirling Surveys planned a really good 6.0k course with 21 controls, which gave lots of variety and plenty of route choice. Fraser Purves recorded the fastest time - 43 minutes.

Results.

Map with course.



Map with my route.

INVOC Festive Frolic Score Event - Ord Hill

Inverness Orienteering Club organised a 60 minute Score Event (- advertised as a "Festive Frolic") at Ord Hill - on the north side of the Kessock Bridge, next to the Beauly Firth.

I have never run on Ord Hill before and greatly enjoyed my visit - save for one or two patches of dense forest. I got 18 of the 21 controls in 65 minutes - had intended to get all the controls and with more time would have visited 16, 18 and 2 after control 17!

Results.

Map with course.



Map with my route.