The rain held off till the drive home and we ran much of the Kooyoora event under blue skies. Only 47 runners, but they got their moneys worth. This was probably the hardest navigation in the history of Bendigo local events.
The attrition rate was high on A course. Results, splits and route gadget now up.
http://www.bendigo-orienteers.com.au/mediawiki/ind...
As per the last event here, opinions were polarised. Just like the testimonials I cited form the last event here, we had one orienteer (a good friend low on blood sugar) who tried to argue this terrain is bad for the sport, and a couple who thought this the best event of the year.
I think quite a few were unused to the demanding technical challenges and in particular the need for constant concentration. Most of the mps in the A course happened well into the second loop. The terrain closer to Bendigo allows mental breaks. There was none of this today. It was orienteering forever on the edge. Bendigo orienteers serious about improving their skill need more middle distance style course setting on true middle distance maps such as this one. I think I may run an event like this next year and make more explicit the demanding nature of the terrain and emphasise the personal challenge of maintaining concentration for a whole race. After all, this constant concentration is part of the guidelines for middle distance course setting as per IOF. Next week it will be long style courses courtesy of Jools. The IOF guidelines for the long discipline emphasise edurance, strength and stamina as requirements of the discipline. Once again I expect there will be those who don't see eye to eye with this style of course setting.