David Currie

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.

There 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.

We were booked in to all four days of the JK this weekend just gone. Given the recent weather conditions we were grateful that, although cold throughout, it was at least dry and we even had bright blue skies on some occasions. For the sprint on Friday at the Reading University Whiteknights campus, Christine’s parents were around so we both had early starts. You can see from my route that my only real mistake (repeated twice) was missing the gap in the hedge that I could have used from 11 to 12 and 17 to 18. That said, the navigation was pretty much all just left or right of the building. I did, however, have all sorts of trouble with my right calf that was very painful during and after the race.

We retired to our accommodation at the rather plush (for a Holiday Inn) Holiday Inn (J4 M10). My calf was sufficiently sore that I wasn’t sure that I was going to run the next day but things had eased up a bit by the morning and I set out on first split at Hambleden. The calf actually eased up as I went round but, more generally, I had no energy and found myself walking up most of the steep inclines. Other than a few wobbles in the control pick round 15 – 19 my navigation was fine but without the speed I was over 10 minutes down on the winner.

Having failed to find any Easter eggs in Henley, we all had a swim in the hotel pool when we got back (1.2m throughout so not all that small child friendly). Duncan was coughing during the night but didn’t seem too bad for the early start with clock changes and a drive over to Cold Ash (near Newbury). Fortunately our status as family/helpers meant that we didn’t have to use the bussing system. It was still a fair trek to the string course though. Emma shot round in just over 5 minutes. Duncan was a bit more sedate but suffered no truck when it came to punching first at the controls. He didn’t look too happy sat in the club tent though when I handed over the reins to Christine. I had another average run, with no major blunders but once again 10 minutes down. It was till enough to give me a respectable 8th place on M35 over the two days (Christine’s third place was more impressive though!).

Unfortunately, as I returned to the car I was informed by a club member that Duncan had been sick in the car. He looked better for it but we binned the JOK meet-up and headed back to the hotel where he slept for most of the rest of the day. Having tucked in to a fry-up on Monday morning (not his first choice but he wanted what Emma was having) we concluded he was well enough to go to the relays back at Hambleden. It was bitterly cold though and both children were complaining as we watched Christine come in third (again) on first leg of Women’s Short. I was third leg on Men’s Short. I didn’t have much company by the time I went out but had a reasonable run, making just one error as I ran up the wrong valley and wasted a couple of minutes.

Everyone was warming up back in the car when I returned and although we’d all had fun, we were glad to get home. Sadly we’ve now all come down with Duncan’s illness with Emma being sick today. Anyone would think we were on holiday!