Orienteering race 1:05:27 [3] *** 5.9 km (11:06 / km) +195m 9:31 / km
spiked:17/24c
Emery Park 90-minute score-O
Pre-race: Decided to go out towards #23 and proceed clockwise. The advantage of this was that it would leave the lowest scoring group to the end so I could cut whatever ones I wanted out and would also make #1 a natural "re-entry" to the staging area. I actually thought that I should be able to get them all, but thought that either my ankle might act up or I might be misinterpreting the course.
Start -> 5: Big crowd, almost the same leg as Sprint #1. Second to control. 1:18
5 -> 4: Quick as possible to mowed lawn, cross road, disc golf path to control. 1:42
4 -> 14: Out of streambed towards road. The one guy in front of me was veering right, obviously on a different plan. I thought about it and realized that the leg between 15 and 14 would be the longest (avoidable) dead run of the course. Changed plan to start at 14 and go counter-clockwise. Veered right at the 18th disc golf tee and only had a small problem in the wet field. 2:40
14 -> 8: Very short leg on which I lost a bit of time as the flag was "in" the vegetation and a bit low. :49
8 -> 23: SE to road junction, up road to avoid stream; overshot a bit before turning in, but could see the flag almost immediately after entering the woods. 2:13
23 -> 7: Contour across the slopes, then down the steep stream bank. Was able to see the flag from above (S side of stream bank). 2:30
7 -> 13: Out to road, paving vehicles no longer in site. Saw someone coming up towards #7, but then he turned off (towards #12?) before we passed. Almost overshot, but turned in at just the right point, 2:07
13 -> 12: Debated taking the road, but figured that the woods were open enough. Down several disc golf fairways, right to it. 2:22
12 -> 2: Up to road, but couldn't really find the trail to #2. Eventually found a "clearer set of woods". As I approached, I saw Mike Lyons come in from my right. He looked confused, and I was bummed because I knew that I was "showing" him the trail. 1:48
2 -> 6: Road to junction, then right it. LOTS of folks in the area, including Doug Kennedy. I saw two of them punch before I got there. 1:11
6 -> 1: Out to road to hill I hated on the sprint. The good news is that I'd been here before. 2:26
1 -> 11: Back to road, saw a pair on the trail above the site. Ran right past and spotted the flag and then saw Stina Bridgeman coming in from the left. Said "hi" as we punched. 1:45
11 -> 22: The conversation with Stina flustered me (apparently) as I veered left and ended up having to make a major correction. Again, saw someone else coming out as I went in. 2:26
22 -> 20: Up the hill, using the steep bank as a reentrant. Passed the gentleman I'd seen leaving #22 and almost caught another guy. 2:27
20 -> 21: Had to figure out how to cross the ravine, but the guy in front of me was most of the way down, so I figured he had a good way. I went NE to follow him and crossed the stream. Went up onto the spur on the other side, but he seemed to think he was near the correct reentrant. I could see the field and knew that we were one reentrant north. Veered right to the flag. 3:30
21 -> 19: Just run along the ridge. Saw a couple of folks coming from #19 who were looking one reentrant too soon (from their perspective). Beautiful running. 3:20
19 -> 3: Down and up. Spiked it. 1:15
3 -> 24: This is the field that I always hate. I debated to take the road and cut directly in. Decided to go through the field. There was an unofficial truck path that seemed to be going okay, but then veered off. I decided to head straight to the control, but the vegetation was high and i misjudged the distance, so lost time. 5:25
24 -> 18: Started down a "herd path" that ended up taking me to the clearing by the road. Across Emery Road through field and up to the road. Cut in at the clearing and followed the stream up, but this was a mistake because there was so much "slash" on the ground. Did see Mike Lyons going the other way. 6:43
18 -> 10: Out to road. Saw Tom Rycroft (sp?) who asked what the time was as he hadn't started his watch at the start. Around shelter to bridge to control. 1:49
10 -> 17: Downhill towards it. Saw it early, but once again the footing was bad due to downed trees. 1:04
17 -> 16: A good bit east to go around on the road. Heading up the road, I saw Stina crossing it on her way out of the control. Didn't say hi this time. 4:58
16 -> 15: Swung south and came in from SW to control. Starting to rain, now... 3:10
15 -> 9: Dirt road to park road to field and a direct approach from the SE. 1:57
9 -> Finish: Out to road to park entrance at Emery Road, now realizing that I should have left #4 and #5 to the end as I am about to run right by them again. Crossed and veered left towards house (not mapped as OB) and was surprised to find a (tied up) dog in the back yard who clearly did not want me taking that route. Veered wide and ended up coming in from the other side of the tennis courts. Kept running a bit, but could see that no one else was in sight of the finish so I didn't push it too much. 4:23
My time is off my watch, but the overall times seem to be about two minutes higher. Came in about 90 seconds behind Tom and about five minutes behind Mike in third place. A decent number of people got at least 335 out of 350 points. The score-O would have been much more interesting with a 60-minute time limit. So it goes.