Orienteering race 1:44:51 [3] **** 12.08 km (8:41 / km) +315m 7:41 / km
ahr:141 max:159 shoes: Jalas Black FLX
Partly sh*te.
National Event, Brown Clee - M35L, 10.3km +230m.
Set off just hoping to get round, and I did, albeit slowly. This event we started at the north end of the map, straight into the dodgily mapped intricate slope S and E of the main hill top, which I remembered from JK05. I was ultra-cautious through the 8 controls here, and didn't really slip up too badly anywhere - just 30s here or there. On the longer leg to 9 I jarred my bad ankle in the tussocks and things slowed down from then on. A bit of grotty forest with lots of windblow, causing a 2 min backtrack/diversion, then out onto the ominous newly-mapped moorland. Memories of the thick heather in the previously mapped area there were not encouraging, but the new bit turned out be pretty runnable (joggable). At least until the course went into the aforementioned heathery bit, yuk. I was tiring by this stage, and missed the pit in the heather and the bingo pit in the heavily brashed area immediately afterwards. After that it was pretty boring, which must have been bad if I noticed how boring it was! I was just pottering by then. Still, I got around. Well dehydrated by the end.