Training Log Archive: Thraws

Don't normally run at the final as the kids need bossing about, but this was such a long drive I felt I had to justify the petrol. I was less bothered about orienteering well than with getting round in time enough to be on the starts for the first juniors. After a run along a track I dived into the ferocious undergrowth for the first control, little realising at the time the whole area was like this. I'd already decided to stick to paths, though, and there were a lot of these to 5. The first of the infamous gulleys around 7 and 8 went OK, but the map around the second lot near 10 was pretty rubbish. Things improved a bit in the southern half of the area, but you still had to be careful not to be tripped, scratched, poked in the eye, poked somewhere else or even impaled, stuck, or have a lens whipped out. According to winsplits I lost most time on the last few legs. I messed up 16, but not much, and can only assume my route choice was all wrong. But I'd switched out of orienteering mode because of the battle with the vegetation. Just loved Mark's question of the officials afterwards : 'I don't want to seem rude, but don't you have any areas better than this?' Why make so many people drive so many hundreds of miles for such an unbelievably rubbish forest?

Another first-class SOG event. The forest was pretty well perfect and the controls had been cunningly placed either side of a huge spur so we had to keep crossing it. I lost about a minute to 2, preferring to attack from the north as I was worried about relocating after the grot. Needn't have been. Was too left for 3 but realised, and should have contoured to 4. Completely spiked 6 but drfited a bit to 7 and just couldn't catch Lu. Got caught here and tried to stay ahead, so sped up a bit and saw Lu leaving 11. She helped me (us) with 12 but went an odd way to 13. Even so, I couldn't overtake, even on the hill to 14, and I slightly missed 15, as I knew I would. All orienteering should be like this, and not wading through heather or battling holly, or trying to find knolls in the middle of marshes with a map that doesn't match the ground.