Orienteering race 37:23 [2] 3.8 km (9:50 / km) +140m 8:18 / km
14c
Training day - Strathfarrar
After sorting out an entry to W20S, got to my start far to early, but got to chat with Mary Nixon for a bit to pass the time. Lots of juniors heading out on their courses too. I was doing the course just for a chance to switch it up to thinking in a woods-orienteering manner. Both just what you’re using on the map and the scale is so different from sprinting. But I think if a bit of the sprint mindset may be kept about fiestiness and making sure, easy executable descisions it would be good...
Anyways, here’s thoughts on the course:
1 - A bit confused by the overprinted red fence, which was told to be imaginary in the meet notes. Because there was also a black fence underneath and it was there in reality. Ran low and then up the streamy reentrant to the control. Was lower than I thought I would have been.
2 - First through the mandatory crossing (many were crossing where the fence was low earlier on, tsk tsk), then out into the openess of heathery marshy stuff. Stayed high for a bit, ran the right direction, picked out the hill with actual green marked on it. Wasn’t 100% with my compass, but then picked out the distinct boulder in a saddle and made myself run on the proper bearing and then everything made sense.
3 - Compass to go right direction, yep, there’s a saddle between two hills, pass between them and control was easily visible.
4 - Compass to go right direction, right of first hill, then onto the bigger hill, through little reentrant, between form line hills and dropped into the reentrant.
5 - Went pretty straight, but a bit too far left at the end, should have just climbed that last hill along with the first two. One of the mashes on the way there was pretty tough to get through with the bog heather. Now I notice that it actually has solid marsh lines instead of broken ones.
6 - Used the stream, but maybe should have just gone along it for the first bit and then headed up that reentrant.
7 - A choice of how to go to get to the mandatory crossing. I went through the woods, avoiding climb (rest day!) and starting to check out how the woods were mapped. First dark green was downed trees and would have been very slow to get through. Medium green had a path through it and wasn’t so bad at all. Yellow bits were grassy and distinct. After crossing, went down stream to 7.
8 - Out to trail on diagnol, then off it to pass between the two hills to the N and then compass and pace counting to the cliff. Stopped just short before seeing it. Using edge of the medium green probably possible for this one.
9 - Dense green lines were downed trees here. Could get through, but slowish. Saw the cliff in the middle of them (with a control on it). My control on the top of a hill was very visible.
10 - Hmph, lots of green woods on the way, I didn’t feel like fighting uphill through it, so I took the trail to a white ride, then contoured through medium green (not too bad), until another white ride, which I followed down pretty much to the control. Slight issue of being at the top of the cliff when the control was at the bottom.
11 - On bearing, went straight through the dark green - just dense pines, not impossible to go through. Faster than downed tree dark green. Came out in yellow, followed that, then on a N bearing. Hesitated at some earlier cliff-like things.
12 - Hadn’t read ahead what to do next, but then saw the white ride and opted for that. Was quite easy to follow once you knew it was there and were looking for it, but not so much otherwise. Slight hesitation since control was to side of spur and not right on it, like I’m more used to.
13 - Through the mandatory crossing, and then probably should have just followed the tracks immediately into the bracken, but I stayed on the path for a slightly longer but braken-less route.
14 - Easy last control at end of the tape in the field.