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What Happened- An Organiser's Report
Hope you enjoyed your run around Belfast Castle and the foothills, or not-so-foothills, of Cave Hill.
Plenty of new faces kept our experienced members occupied, setting everyone off on the right track. I'm pleased to say that at the last count we weren't missing anybody, so they must have taught you right!
Results have been uploaded. Take some time to look at the results for the event and see how you did. We also run a league over all 5 WEE events in August, based on a handicap system. See the link down the left hand side.
So, if you're still a junior, or you're not as sprightly as once you were, you will get a handicap based on your age and can leap-frog others above you.
Any questions about the results or if you think your age class isn't right for calculating your handicap, please email me and I'll see what I can do to help. I'm learning as I go with the software, and it would appear that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. However, I am open to excuses, to persuasion and to good old-fashioned bribery to amend your result, so get in touch if needs be.
The courses tonight were physically tough at times, and a test of your hill-climbing on the long course. Some found that the direct route is not necessarily the fastest, and some deserve medals for perserverance in the face of adversity! Next week, at Lady Dixon, there are fewer contour lines and not nearly so many cliffs, which will make for faster running and quicker decision-making.
A point to bear in mind for next week. We had several people who set off on their merry way without the formality of punching the start box. They have been issued with a 5 minute split to the first control. Please make sure you clear and check your dibber, and then punch the start box to start recording your time.
Hope to see you there next Wednesday 8th August at Lady Dixon. Check the event webpage for directions & final details (as well as the link for pre-registration, if you would be so kind!)
NB results revised on Weds 8th August to include a 15-minute penalty per control for those who mispunched or missed a control on the night. Don't panic! You will still be part of the league, and if you complete enough events you can drop your lowest score.
Susan
And from your planner, David Wilson:
Belfast Castle is a pleasant place to be on a summer's evening- if you
are
sitting in the bar with a G&T. If you are out on an orienteering
course,
things can be a little more intense.
The original course plan
envisaged the
short course following a path-based route around the forest, with the
long
course sweeping further into the woods. However, a route inspection
showed
that, whilst the short course was fine, the long course would only work
if
we either equipped the entire field with machetes, or persuaded the US
Air
Force to spray the area with Agent Orange and napalm. After appeals to
the
LVO finance committee and the Pentagon failed (the Pentagon were more
polite), a change of plan ensued. This involved the long course
following
the general route of the short course through the forest, then breaking
out
on to the open mountainside for a few extra controls.
One consequence of this change in plan was that we now had to use the
1:10,000 map for the long course- although all the controls fitted onto
the
1:5,000 map, the path linking controls 8 & 9 was truncated, which would
have
encouraged runners without local knowledge to attempt a suicidal direct
route across the brambles. Interestingly, some hardy souls decided to
go
for this route regardless, and returned to the car park sporting a
significant down-payment on the "death by a thousand cuts". Indeed, I
was
impressed by the number of people who decided to go out on the course
wearing shorts; they either had no idea what the area was like, or had
a
touching faith in my desire to protect their legs from harm. They will
regret that the next time I plan...
Anyway, I hope that everybody enjoyed the course- whilst it may not
have
been the longest or most technically demanding of courses, I am fairly
confident that it will feature more climbing than any other WEE course
this
August. And, looking at the results, it still managed to catch a few
people
out who should really know better. Many thanks to Susan for her tips
on
course planning- suffice to say that the good ideas were hers, and the
bits
you disn't like were down to me. Further thanks to Susan, David and
the
boys for all their hard work on the night- without them, the course
would
never have been set-up on time, nor taken down at all.
And a big
thank-you
to all who took part- if it wasn't for all of you, I would have been
sitting
in the bar drinking G&Ts.
David
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