Race Evaluation
QOC Manassas: Red
Nadim
| 1. | I'd seen a few people starting off. It still took me a few seconds to orient the map and to know what I was going toward. I came across the hidden ditch that D. Onks stumbled on and a puddle which Peggy went around. In going around it myself, I missed the opening in the fence and then had to backup a bit to get to a spot where I could get through. Some kids were at the control. | ||||||
| 2. | +00:20 | I went across the creek on the double root/log, then cut right to use the clearer ground. Had I known it'd be so messy I might have gone around to the left but I climbed a spur and using what I could find of other elephant tracks (not much) I gained and passed a younger runner. I saw a control near the top and went toward it. My usual routine was interrupted however by two menacing dogs and an owner who seemed indifferent. I didn't check the code and turned toward #2. Only when away from the dogs did I realize that I shouldn't be on a trail yet and that I hadn't checked the control code. A look at my map didn't reveal any feature because the updated map hadn't gotten printed. I also realized I wasn't so close to the road so I looked in that direction and ran on to #2. | |||||
| 3. | +00:15 | I angled toward where the trail entered the woods and hit it pretty well w/o seeing it from far off. Once in the woods, I couldn't see the trail due to fallen leaves. I ran a rough bearing, hitting the trail at one point. I dropped off the left side of the ridge as I descended it and had to go much longer than I would have liked to go to get to the control. | |||||
| 4. | +00:15 | I ran up the stream a bit until it bent left, then I crossed. I saw a gap in the deadfall and took a chance. Without too much zig-zagging I got through and then saw the spur. I'd forgotten about the 3m contour interval so I climbed too high. Hitting the shallow ditch, I realized where I was and cut over to the control. | |||||
| 5. | +00:15 | Over the dam, then through the yellow areas. I was happy to stay left a bit, thus missing most of the thorns that I remembered being east of teh copse. Once in the woods, the running was better but I felt a bit tired climbing. I angled into the first ditch to cross it but got too high. | |||||
| 6. | I ran pretty straight and this time I didn't have to correct my bearing much. I didn't notice the broken stone wall but since it wasn't on my map, I didn't look for it either. | ||||||
| 7. | I ran straightish but cut right to avoid the clearing at the park headquarters becauase it was mapped using the same color as would be out of bounds on a sprint map. I took note of the time and was pleased that it only took 18 minutes to get this far. | ||||||
| 8. | I ran fairly straight. The medium green after the first clearing wasn't bad at all. I aligned w/the lake then crossed and almost fell as I tripped at a fence in the line of trees. I stayed left in the next field to avoid the thorns. After crossing the trail in the field, I could look ahead and see both the old machinery and the control. | ||||||
| 9. | +04:50 | What can I say about this but oops... I didn't evaluate the whole route much before starting off. I ran straight through the nice open woods and around the lake that's left o the line at about half way. I turned north at the deadfall which should have been mapped as fight instead of low vegetation. Before I got to the road, I seemed to hit an unmapped clearing. It confused me a bit but I didn't think much of it and got on the road anyway. I moved well just anticipating that the control was in a reentrant. Had I stayed in the woods a bit more, I would have been at the control, pretty soon. I was trying to guage my progress on the road by looking north, across it; however none of the intersections or fields north of the road were on the map. I came off at the reentrant and found a perfect depression just 20m off the road and similar to where #9 was. I didn't figure it out right away and had to convince myselft that I'd passed the control by running up the next ridge. I was slow coming back and stayed in the woods rather than use the woods. | |||||
| 10. | I stayed on the left side of the ridge and tried to keep from getting hung-up in the deadfall. Once in the field, I ran around the right side of the first pond so as to use the mowed areas. I crossed the stream and closed-in on the left side just after someone else was punching from the right. | ||||||
| 11. | +03:00 | I started off too fast. I felt that I knew what I was looking for; the end of the ridge by the stream. I drifted left partly by plan (to get around the green) and partly in error as I'd been doing most of the day. Things didn't look right when I crossed the stream but I didn't slow down as I passed some younger orienteers on the trail--I didn't recognize it to be a trail due to the leaves and if I had, I might not have made such an error. I crossed the ridge then went up the reentrant cautiously. I eventually punched at #3 again but didn't realize it. I only knew that the code was wrong. Only after passing #3 did I understand that there were two ridges and that I'd drifted so far left. I headed to cross the next ridge and soon hit the trail. I used the trail for a little bit but didn't see a bend that I wanted to attack from. I left the trail anyway and missed to the left; partly because the deadfall vegetation forced me that way. I spiraled right at the stream, then back into the control. | |||||
| 12. | +00:30 | Another guy got to #11 right after I did. I left the control quickly and didn't properly evaluate the trail option. Sticking to the stream, I slowed to be more careful and so as not to miss the right fork. I crossed back and forth as the running conditions changed. I should have cut out tothe field eventually but didn't until the very end. | |||||
| 13. | I was careful enough to observe the lake in my way and the edge of the white woods along the shore. I cut left a bit more to avoid a turn at the shore and saw Mihai Sirbu. I was happy to find an unmapped bridge on the left (west) side of the deep stream feeding the lake. I didn't like the missing line of trees SW of the control but chose correctly to go along the east side of them to the control. | ||||||
| 14. | Peggy had mentioned a leg using the road on her course so when I looked at this one the same thought ocurred to me. I came back in after the knoll with the clearing but came in a little bit too early. I hit what's mapped as an earthbank but didn't recognize it to be as such. I followed it to the control with another runner converging from the SW. | ||||||
| 15. | I ran out straightish but got a bit left as I tried avoiding what looked to be bad vegetation. Once in the first field, I was wish-washy. I started to cut across high grass to go on the right side of the white woods on the ridge ahead. I came back to an unmapped road/trail, the cut right at an unmapped intersection to go along the white woods. Next I decided to cross the white woods rather than go around them in high grass. It was a good choice but there was some deadfall in the way too. Once into the next field, I just kept straight, and crossed the next line of trees while noting a streamer on an almost hidden fence. Once into the last big field, I used the saddle to attack from, all the while closing in on another runner who was on my right. In the high grass, I kept my bearing and didn't pause like the other runner. The control was visible from far off. | ||||||
| 16. | +00:02 | I ran straight at first anticipating being able to cut through the trees. I made sure to stay on the side of the hill. I was running too fast so I didn't realize that there was a fence in the line of trees until I was almost on it. I cut around to the left side. I went to the edge of the knoll and quckly found it hidden in the bush. | |||||
| F. | I went straight but paused to make sure there were no more controls. I felt that I got my fee moving fast but I also had to control my foot placement so as not to trip. |
Total Time Lost - 00:09:27