We’re on the hook for organising the string course at the November Classic spurred on by the fantastic courses on offer at the Scottish 6-Days. The event will be based at Round Hill campsite in the New Forest and we headed down there today to do some surveying for the map and plan a course. 
Despite the morning showers we were treated to some beautiful blue skies and, as well as discovering lots of exciting control sites, we filled a few tubs with the end of season blackberries. 
I also managed to squeeze in an hour’s run so all in all it was a good day out. Let’s hope the day itself is equally enjoyable.
Archive for the ‘Sport’ Category
Classic Preview
Sunday, September 29th, 2013Hursley Headache
Sunday, September 22nd, 2013
It was the Hursley 10K today and this year the weather was a bit kinder to us. It was my turn to run in the main race and I felt pretty good as I set off out the field in second place. The guy out in front just continued to pull away and eventually finished two and a half minutes clear. I and another run exchanged places for second up until around 6k where I started to get a splitting headache. This was bad timing as I just couldn’t push myself up the hill on the gravel track. There was then a steady stream of runners passing me and I ended up finishing in 8th place. My thanks go to the runner from Lordshill who encouraged me on across the last field which meant me finishing time of 38:45 was still marginally quicker than two years ago. Still not sure what brought the headache on (it still hasn’t quite left me yet). It may have been a lack of fluids (it felt very humid and I was certainly sweating buckets at the end) or it may be the start of a cold (I’ve certainly had a sore throat the past couple of days).
Emma was entered for the fun run and was determined to run round on her own this time. However, she met a school friend when warming up on the bouncy castle (!) and they ran round together. She had a big smile on her face at the end which is the important thing.
Not the club picnic
Saturday, August 17th, 2013
We headed along to the SOC event at Knightwood Oak today which was doubling up as the club’s picnic. I had an enjoyable run round the green course although there’s no denying that the head high bracken impinged on the runability. More so for the children! Having decided the yellow was a little long for them on top of the walk to the start, Christine opted for the score. There was apparently still a fair amount of grumbling from Emma and Duncan. As you can see, Emma had chosen an outfit that wasn’t entirely appropriate for fighting through the undergrowth. Sadly we didn’t get to stay for the picnic either as we’d left ours on the kitchen table! It did mean we had a little more time to pack for our holiday though.
Mixed Moray
Friday, August 9th, 2013
This year’s Scottish 6-Days was around the Moray Firth and, after much juggling of options, we eventually decided to fly up from Luton (near my parents) to Glasgow. This meant that Duncan would finally get to experience flying without the pain of long haul! It also meant we could take in some Scottish scenery, stopping in Stirling on route to our caravan site on the outskirts of Nairn. Christine’s cousin and family were staying in the adjacent caravan so the children would often disappear next door during the week. Unfortunately, due to the weather, we did really get to make the most of the nice sandy beach just 50 metres from the door.
Day 1: I had a reasonable start to the week finishing in 12th in the coastal dunes at Lossie. RouteGadget shows my main blunder was at the 8th control where, having just nipped off the path for each of the earlier controls, I actually had to do some fine navigation. A few smaller blunders towards the end at 16 and 17 where I had fallen in with Roger Goddard (interestingly, RouteGadget seems to show that he slowed down to my pace rather than my gaining from running with him!). It was pretty wet and, post run, I just sat in the car with the children waiting for a decidedly damp Christine to return.
Day 2: This time we headed west along the coast to Carse of Ardersier. I had a good run if a little lonely. Once again, RouteGadget shows a small miss at six and again at 21 although my route choice to 26 left a little to be desired as everyone else I spoke to had spurned the heather in favour of legging it round the path.
Day 3: Another nearby coastal location, this time Culbin. This was my best run of the week with a 5th place and, perhaps not coincidentally, was my first late start. This meant I got to take the children round an excellent string course which had activities at each control (bean bags in the bucket, blowing bubbles etc.). RouteGadget shows a pretty steady run except for an overshoot at the fourth control.
Rest Day: We spurned all of the orienteering activities and went just up the road to Fort George where the children enjoyed the talk by a redcoat, displays, and just generally running around a working army base (complete with ‘armies’ as Duncan likes to call soldiers). We then had a fun afternoon at a JOK birthday bash.
Day 4: Loch of Boath was billed as ‘classic Highland forest’ which is always a bad sign in my books, particular when combined with another early start. RouteGadget really just shows too many fumbles to highlight any in particular and I came tumbling down to 17th place.
Day 5: Today there was the excitement of parking on a taxiway of what was once RAF Kinloss (now Kinloss Barracks) and I got to partake in another fantastic string course with aeroplane related characters at every control in a fantastically runnable piece of mossy forest. Unfortunately this was the high point of the day at Roseisle as I had a terrible run. Thankfully I forgot my GPS so you can’t see the point at which I found control 14 when I was looking for 9 where I realised I hadn’t been to 8! That cost me around five minutes and there was more time lost just a control later. On top of which, the Inov8s that I had bought to replace my (dis)Integrators left me with a massive blister on my heel. At least things improved again with a trip to the beach at Findhorn.
Day 6: The last day was always going to be a disaster at the point at which we decided that, rather than having a late start, I should use my punching start to get out early so we could make a quick getaway. Coulmony was another ‘classic’ forest with a mix of bilberry, marsh and head high bracken. Interestingly, although RouteGadget shows some noticeable blunders, SplitsBrowser appears to show a pretty straight line so I must have been uniformly bad throughout! The only remarkable thing is that, despite taking 10 mins/k, I still had a 14th place to count towards my best four of the week and a 14th place overall.
Despite having already confirmed her 3rd place on W35L, Christine still managed to pull out a win on the final day! We didn’t stay for the prize giving though, instead setting off West to head down towards Glasgow via Loch Ness, Fort William and Glencoe. Unfortunately the rain had returned in force and we only stopped for a couple of short leg stretches on the way to our B&B. The return flight from Glasgow the following day was pretty uneventful, Emma being engrossed in the in-flight magazine for most of the journey!
All in all, it was a good week with enough sunshine to make you forget the rain and (some) excellent areas. Most importantly, the children enjoyed themselves!
Sizzling end to Summer Series
Saturday, July 20th, 2013
It was the last event of SOC’s Summer Series today, taking place at Royal Victoria Country Park. The temperature was still soaring but there was a pleasant breeze today, amplified by the proximity to the water. 
Christine went out first and I went round the yellow with the children which was mercifully short and I managed to get Emma and Duncan round without any bribery! At one point we dispatched Emma round one route whilst Duncan and I went the other. Needless to say, when we reached the control, there was no Emma. She’d found yet another of the many paths that don’t appear on the map and, after calling to her, she reappeared rather tearful. We quickly agreed to stay together for the rest of the course, arriving back at the finish at the same time as Christine.
I didn’t have a great run, starting with a poor route to the first control. I’ve had a lingering headache for the past couple of days but thankfully it actually seems to feel better after running. I certainly felt better than the guy I came across lying on the ground groaning. He claimed to be okay but, as I took the wrong road at the next junction, I happened to pass by registration and dispatched someone in his direction. At one point, I nearly repeated an error from a previous event here: running off the map. I just stayed on but did spend a while wading around in a marsh that I needn’t have done! I just about managed to top the results but less than a minute ahead of Christine.
There was a club BBQ afterwards along with the prize giving for the summer series. Despite not having done the requisite five out of eight events the children received certificates and medals which was a nice touch. Kevin seemed keen that no-one should go home empty handed and Christine and I were also awarded medals for some reasons made up on the spur of the moment which I now forget! We then made the most of the venue, doing a tour of the crazy golf (more like hockey when Emma and Duncan are playing), beach and ice cream van. Perhaps not unsurprising that Duncan was asleep before we got home.
Sports Day
Sunday, July 14th, 2013
I made it along to Emma’s sports day this year. After a selection of non-competitive activities we got to the main events of the day: the running race, the egg and spoon race, and the bean bag race. Emma seemed particularly aware of the other competitors in her races i.e. she spent more effort looking around than moving forwards! This didn’t stop her loitering after the finish line in the hope of picking up a sticker even if she had been well and truly been beaten out of the top three. She did scrape a bronze in the egg and spoon race having launched her egg over the line!
Hoggs at Hursley
Sunday, July 14th, 2013
Duncan, Katy, Emma and Ella at Farley Mount
Andy and I then battled it out on the Light Green where I made the most of the home advantage. I don’t run round the site very much and it reminded me how lucky I am to work at such a beautiful location and how I really should make more of it (more play, less work!). Christine joined us after her University open day and we lazed around in the sunshine before relocating to the back garden and the paddling pool.
On the Sunday, Andy and I ran up to Farley Mount where we met up with the others, playing in the woods. The combination of the heat and an abortive attempt at all sleeping in the same room meant that the children’s tempers were a little short but everyone still looked to be having fun. We waved them on their way to Exeter, not knowing when we’ll see them again. Such a shame that there are usually 10,000 miles separating us!
Harvester
Monday, July 1st, 2013There was more camping to be had this weekend as we made the short drive over to Longmoor Camp near Liss for the Harvester night orienteering relay. SOC had managed to put together two teams this year with Christine and I both running in the A class. This started shortly after midnight by which time the children and I were safely ensconced in bed. Christine was on second leg and didn’t have too long to wait as Tim Morgan came back in second place!
We settled down in to the middle of the running order after that but when I got up shortly after 6am we were still in shooting distance of third place in the handicap class. I was therefore slightly dismayed that, after having eaten a reasonable breakfast, they declared that there would be a mini-mass start for all remaining runners in half an hour. Still, it meant I had plenty of company on the start line which I made full use of as I bounced around in the circle for the first few controls.
My luck wasn’t to hold out though and on the way to 13 my tired brain decided to head back towards number 9. I was then on my own for the rest of what was a long course (10 miles with my additions). My only consolation is that the other handicapped teams had also put out strong runners on the previous leg so I would have had to take 10 minutes off my time to make any difference to the final results.
We stopped off at the National Trust’s Hinton Ampner on the way home as it seemed a little unfair that the children had been dragged out just to spend the night in a tent. It was the perfect day for wandering around lazily in the sunshine enjoying the floral displays.
RSS - Posts