OK – when I say “Top 10” I mean I was 10th… and there were only 15 finishers… and I would have been 11th if Mikko hadn’t subsequently been declared non-competitive… but anyway, that’s mere detail! Saturday night was the British Night Orienteering Championships held at Mytchett. There was a clear sky and frost on the ground as I got ready beforehand but it was warm enough once you started moving. Matthias was back from his run just as I was about to start. He thought his 87 minutes was slow and wasn’t sure where the time went. I managed to take five minutes longer so here’s where I think I lost it (you can follow along on RouteGadget – just select Course 1 and my GPS track) …
- A hesitant start. Not really sure what I’m looking for on the ground (turns out to be a massive slit trench) and veer too close to the road.
- Not bad.
- Oops – lots of other holes in the ground on this hillside. Should have listened to Matthias when he said to be careful on the bearings. Notice I have lots of bubbles in my compass (any excuse!).
- Clearing provides a nice handrail in.
- Can feel all those peanuts I ate in the car as I work to get up the hill. Lots of people in the vicinity of the control so an easy ending.
- Easy enough.
- Ditto.
- End up at another similarly sized (unmapped) thicket about 15 metres away.
- Fail to hold my bearing through the conifers but pit is easy to find from track.
- Just aimed for the large open area. Control was easy enough to find from the path junction.
- Follow Peter Smith in to the control.
- Should have followed him out again as I mistakenly turn right on path. Quickly realise what I’ve done wrong.
- All that green stuff just before the control rather got in the way.
- Nice easy leg and some good running.
- Too lazy to take the more direct uphill/green route.
- Easy.
- Not so easy. End up too far down the slope and too slow to realise.
- Fine.
- Finally getting a bit of rhythm going.
- That’s a long one! Took it straight enough and easy to find at the end.
- 90 degree error when I hit the ride had me heading off down in to the wrong re-enterant. Made for an easy approach to the control once I’d worked out what was going on.
- Haven’t I just been this way?!
- Fine.
- Good.
- Yes.
- On another roll.
- Oh dear – so close yet so far away…
- Just a sprint round the paths from here on in.
- And Charles Bromley-Gardener appears to chase in.
- Spiked that one 😉
So yes, there were two or three occasions here I was blundering around but really I think the problem was a) running too gingerly through the forest in the dark and b) a little hesitancy times a lot of controls. Certainly if you look at SplitsBrowser then I’m on more of a steady decline than a series of steps. Perhaps I’ll just put it down as good training.