The final round of the Trailblazer Series took place yesterday and rather than competing I took on the role of course planner. Since this was the last event of the series I had the longest time to prepare the course over pervious planners and this gave to an opportunity to fully explore the back roads and lanes around North Down. I decided early on that the event HQ would be best located at the White Spots County Park. This park is located between Bangor and Newtownards and it also divided the map up nicely with the flatter countryside to the east and the much hillier west side. At first I though of using the area further down the Ards Peninsular, but Strangford Lough and the coastline was limiting the route options and made the area too compact, especially for the 4 hour course. After completing a number of scouting rides I soon realized the area was perfect for trailquests. The area between Bangor, Newtownards and Donaghdee was a maze of quite country roads and lanes and, of course, on the west side you have the Holywood hills, and the forests of Cairnwood and Clandyboyle. The was also Scrabo, which was just south of Newtownards, which I knew was not bike friendly, but was too good a feature to leave out.
I wanted to try something different so I decided to cover a slightly bigger area and have about 32 controls. This lead to a problem that 32 controls divided into the max score of 600 lead to most of the controls being lower that normal scores. In fact there was only one 40 pointer. I was also aware that using a bigger area meant the chances of teams collecting all the controls were greatly reduced. My main reason to using 32 controls was route choice. I didn’t want an obvious route to stand out, but wanted teams to think more about the terrain, points, control locations and their own riding ability, before deciding on a route that best suited them.
But nothing goes according to plan and I did come across a few problems even before the race began. First one was the map – it was so out of date, even the 2009 edition showed lanes and tracks that were no longer there. I had to redraw some of the map and add/delete lanes and mark clear ‘no go’ areas where lanes cut directly through someone’s front yard. Another problem was the vegetation. About 4-5 weeks ago all of the trails and rough country lanes were all ride able and fast. When I 
checked some locations last week the grass and nettles had exploded into live and made some of the tracks a nightmare to get through. Even the windmill base on top of the hill at CP123 was easily visible a few weeks ago, but when I when up to put out the control on Saturday evening the surrounding trees and bushes had basically doubled in size and completely obscured the windmill from the laneway. I also hoped placing two controls within Scrabo Country Park would not cause too many issues. That is why I placed them at the quarries rather that putting them higher up on the main paths where most of the people would walk. Scrabo was too good a place to miss out, so I did take a gamble as the area was a ‘no cycling’ area (like most parks/forests in Northern Ireland). However, some teams did meet the warden and gave them a bit of an ear full, which I have to apologize for. I think in future I will simply have to leave Scrabo alone, which is a pity.
Since the event and with going over the map again I learnt the following lessons;
32 controls are too many (especially when I have to gather them back up at the end). I think 24 controls should be the max for these events. Mainly, because, people like to go and will make the effort and collect a high scoring control, but understandablely feel cheated when after so much effect to ride up a hill they only get 20 points. Having 24 controls divided into 600 points will give the option of a few high scoring controls to play with.
Control location is a continuing problem with most events, including mine. I think as planners we need to understand that the main idea behind a trailquest is to pick the best route between the controls and navigate to them. I think if you have to search for a control for longer than 2 minutes, then that control is not well placed. A trailquest is not about hunting for the control once you arrive to the control circle on the map. Adding to the fact that the 1:50000 OS maps are not the most detailed, then once you ask people to navigate to a control which is not clearly marked on the map is asking for trouble. At this stage they purely have to rely on the description you provide…..and someone interpretation of a description can be different to another persons interpretation. For future events controls locations must be clearly shown on the map i.e. bends, junctions, trig points etc. If the control is located off a track then the description must be from an obvious ‘attack point’ i.e. on tree 5m north of bend, inside ruin house 10m east of track junction. In these examples ‘bend’ and ‘track junction’ would be clearly marked on the map and once competitors arrive at the locations then they should easy follow the description to the control kite. Of course to simply have the control kite on the bend, junction would be the best answer, but this cannot work all the time.
Finally the course on Sunday covered too big an area. Of course as a planner you do not want teams to get the full 600 points. For a winning team, we should design the course so the winning team gets about 500 to 550 points. Most top teams with cover about 65-75 km in four hours. So to clear a course the distance to do it in should be around 80-85km.
However, Sunday was a great day and I think everybody enjoyed the riding around North Down. I got some good feedback and took note of any negative comments and will use them to improve the event for next year.
Finally a big thanks to Ivan Millar, who without is his commitment to start a MTBO and trailquest series would have make our Sundays slightly more boring. The Dromara CC with be starting their popular Winter Trailquest series around November/December time – so hopefully I will see everyone there.
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Sunday morning was a very civilized affair. No early morning starts (anything after 8am is a sleep-in), a relaxed breakfast and a stress less 30 minute drive up to Belfast and the start to the 5th round of the Trailblazers series. The weather was overcast, but warm – it was a perfect day for trailquesting. This event was based around the Lagan Valley Regional Park and the hills between Carryduff and Lisburn. The HQ was within Barnett Demesne and a total of 23 teams signed up for the event. The course area was slightly smaller than pervious rounds, but some of the navigation was planned to be a bit trickier with the use of the Lagan Valley Regional Park orienteering map as well as the 1:50000 OS map. The idea was to hopefully make teams be more careful with their route choices and for them to rely more on their navigation skills as well as the bike handling skills. The edge was definitely with the orienteer’s and riders with local knowledge. Because some of the controls were on the Lagan tow path, bells were mandatory. Also, to help miss most of the afternoon crowds of joggers and dog walkers on the tow path, the start kicked off from 10:30am rather than the normal 11am.
Again looking at the map, the main route choice with either going clockwise or anti-clockwise around the main 1:50000 map. I decided to go clockwise, by heading to the hills west of Carryduff. First I decided to get two controls within the grounds of Barnett Demesne, so I did not have to worry about them at the end. By map memory, I knew were the control circles where located, so had the 1:50000 map facing up on the map board first. CP 115 was down beside an obvious large tree stump. Not realising to grass path lead to the car park I turned around and went back onto the road and then down to the start of the tow path. I soon realised this was a mistake and that the grass path in deed lead directly to the tow path…..silly!! CP136 was on the first bend, slightly up from the main track. I hit it dead on, but could not see the control. I thought it must be slightly farther around the bend, so I went quickly back down to the main path and followed it around about 20m before realising that I must have been right and I was in deed at the right location, so back I went to my original point and I still could not see it. I turned around and there was the control point, right behind me. Again silly!! Back over Shaws Bridge and up the road towards the Giants Rings. I paused at the first junction to double check the map and then continued on. It seemed to take me 5 or 10 minutes to get my navigation head on, but now I was happy where I was and where I was going. The trails up to the Giants Ring were good fun, but overgrown with nettles on either side. CP134 was on the trail itself and the control at the Giant Ring needed a quick compass reading to check which side was south. Now it was back out onto the roads. Riding up to CP123 my bike was making clicking noises all the way up the hill. ‘This bikes falling apart’ I thought. I stopped for a few seconds to check what was clicking, but I could not see anything obvious. I rode on, ignored the clicking and increased the pace. CP123, CP143, C124 and CP143 went quickly by without any further problems with the bike. I rode as fast as I could, trying to take advantage of the good road surface. Next I went down to get CP132 before heading back up and then down to CP112. The overhead powerlines criss-crossed this area and made homing in to the controls quick and easy. The small ruined building in the field was next and then it was back to get CP144 on the foot bridge going over the Lagan. From here I had my first proper route choice. I decided to ride along the road to CP126 rather than follow the tow path. I guessed the tow path would be slower with the people on it and on the road I can simply concentrate on speed for the first section. I made good progress on the road until I hit the bridge and the access point back onto the tow path. However the access point was closed off and I had to carry the bike over the locked gate and down the narrow steps. I was not expecting that. Back on the tow path I was about to continue on when I doubled checked my compass – I was starting to head in the wrong direction. It seemed right at first, but I trusted the compass and turned around. After about 20m I passed an old man walking and I shouted out if this was the way to Shaw’s Bridge. He said I was right so I thank him and sped on. My bell was continually dinging along the tow path, before every bend I was dinging the bell, hoping to warn anyone coming the other way. Of course bells don’t work with people wearing ipods and really if you do hit them, it is their own fault. Luckily I did not have too many delays along the tow path (apart from the 60 kids out for days walk with some group). CP113 and CP133 where quickly found and it was now on to Lady Dixons Park to collect CP141. The control was basically out and back along the Ulster Way which run along the west side on the park. Of course it was not marked on the ground and it was only by my knowledge of doing O events in the park that I knew roughly where the control was. Back on the tow path it was quickly round to get CP145 and then up, leaving to tow path, onto the Mary Peter’s Track.
From here I was on the orienteering map. I quickly headed over to the control circle where CP116 was and dropped the bike. On the map it looked like the control was just on the track within the trees, so I rushed in looking for the control, but again I could not see it. I checked another path, but again it was not there. I rushed back out to the bike and took out the control descriptions from my pocket; ‘beside sand pile’. I was standing beside it and there it was – right beside the sand pile. Silly!! This is one of the problems I find when riding solo compared to riding as a pair or a team. As a solo you only have one set of eyes to look for controls at the various locations. Normally you find them ok, but the odd one or two controls are slightly harder to home into and can be a nightmare to find on your own. The same is with the control descriptions, usually as a pair one person has the map and one person reads out the control descriptions. Again on your own you get lazy and try to find controls without double checking the descriptions, which is usually stuffed into a back pocket somewhere. There is nothing I can do with only having one set of eyes, but for future events I needs to find a way to attach the control descriptions to my arm so I instantly look at them.
Next, I headed out to the main entrance of the House of Sport and onto the Malone Road. I took a gamble and decided to head for CP146 at Lagan Meadows via the road rather that cutting though and along the busy tow path. I was off the map now, but knew the entrance to Lagan Meadows. However, I was not too sure which turning to take down from the Malone Road. I ending up taking a slightly longer route around to it, but I still think it was quicker than the tow path. I hit CP146, but hesitated as to which direction to exit from. I started to go back up the hill, but decided the other would be quicker to CP111. Down on the tow path I headed south until I was able to cut left onto a track leading to CP111. I think moving from a 1:50000 map to a 1:10000 map hadn’t clicked with me soon enough as I found I had over shot the track and ended up at the south entrance. Silly!! It meant I had an extra 400m to cycle back to get CP111. I need to be more careful! Crossing the wooden bridge I quickly headed up to the main Belvoir Forest car park. I cut across and followed the trails over to the east edge of the forest. CP122 was at the old grave yard and easy to find. Heading north I raced down the wide trial as quickly as I could. At a junction I took the right turn and headed down the track. Soon I realise I made a mistake and that the CP135 was only down that main trail less than 50m. I quickly continued on my small detour as it looped down onto the main trail and there at the junction was CP111. I rode back up to the main car park and continued out the entrance until I was able to cut out right over the football pitches until I hit the far corner of the main artificial pitch. I meet another pair looking for the control. We split up…I checked a tree, but it was not there. One of the other pair shouted out that he had found it and luckily I dibbed the control a lot quicker that if I was looking for it on my own. Back into the main forest and to CP114. I had one more control to get so I sped down the trail out of the SW corner of Belvoir and back onto the tow path at the Lock Keeps cottage. I followed the path around and crossed the river and back into the Clement Wilson part of the Lagan Valley Regional Park. I remembered CP125 from the WEE series and hit it dead on. Instead of doubling back to the main path and heading to the entrance of Clement Wilson park, I continued along the trail from CP125 to the road thinking that it lead out of the park to the roundabout. After about 20m I realised my mistake and quickly turned around back into the park and up onto the correct path which lead out at the north entrance to the park. From here it was a quick (but careful) dash across the dual carriageway and into Barnett Demesne and the finish. I cleared the course and beat the 3 hour mark. Jon and Julie (Maryland 2) where just in ahead of me as well as Ivan and Steve (CCAR) ….it was going to be close. Jon and Julie beat me by 7 minutes and I beat Ivan and Steve by 1½ minutes. We all had taken different route choices which was great, but Ivan Millar was disappointed that he had a few more new members to the 600 club.
Overall, I really enjoyed the course. I was a bit short, but it did suit the good navigators. I did a few silly mistakes, but nothing to really get upset about. I’ll try the next time to have the control descriptions a bit more handy to get at, but other than that I was happy.
Next Sunday is the last Trailblazer event for the summer and unfortunately I’m the planner. Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!!! (Evil laugh)
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Tonight was the 8th WEE event of the year and the final one before the July break. The location was Tollymore Forest and you could not have asked for a more perfect summer’s evening. The Planner made a slight error with the map scale and the 4.8km long course was actually half the distance at 2.4km. The short course also suffered a similar fate. I was one of the first runners out and was not aware of the mistake. I paced my run for 4.8km and as I neared the last couple of controls I guessed I was heading for a sub 20 minute finish time – this was not right for a 4.8km course and I thought I had missed a couple of controls – but, of course, I hadn’t.
This was not much of a problem as my pace would have been only about 30 seconds per km slowly than I would have run if I had known it was ‘basically’ a sprint. My problem was I made two mistakes running from CP5 to CP6 and from CP10 to CP11. Going from CP5 I cut north to hit the track that lead through the green to the main trail. However the green was very thick and forced me to go around left more than I hoped. I joined the trail at a junction, but I was not 100% which junction I was at. After about a minute running round I worked out where I was and soon I was on the correct trail to CP6. The other mistake was running over the rough open ground to CP11, I overshot my entrance back into the forest and ended up running further along the track that I should have. I quickly turned around and hit CP11 before running off to CP12. These two mistakes cost me about 5 minutes in total and over a 4.8km course I could have gained some of that time back, but unfortunately with a shorten course this was not possible. Oh well, not to worry…it’s all good training. I came 15th with a time of 19 mins 43 seconds.
After the finish I decided to run the course again and soon realised one of the problems with the WEE series and large numbers of runners. I ran mainly using map memory, but nearly at every control there was someone at the 
kite or moving away from it. It meant homing into the control point was straight forward. It clearly meant following other runners was too easy to do and took away from the actual skill of orienteering – mistakes or no mistakes. By the time I was running down to CP11 (catching two runners in front of me), there was a very obvious trail made through the long grass leading directly to CP11 – no navigational skill was required, just follow everyone else. Of course this was a problem that was ‘overly’ highlighted because of the shorten course. On the longer 4.8km course runners would have been more spread out and should not present the same issues. But one advantage when doing a WEE race is to start near the end of the night after most of the runners have gone before you – as they make nice, obvious tracks though the green. Without my two mistakes I got my time down to 13 mins 22 seconds – not too bad after giving a pint of blood in the morning.
Anyway, the next WEE event is not until the end of July. I didn’t run well over the June series, making too many silly mistakes. Hopefully I will get time over the next few weeks to get some old maps out and practice running with the map. I seem to run hot and cold at the moment. Leading up to the start of the summer this year I was running well, but suddenly started to do silly things. Just need to get my head sorted out and get back to running well again.
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Kilbroney Challenge ‘09
Summer time is now well and truly with us and events just seem to be flying out of the wood work. It wasn’t so long ago that you would have been luckily to get an event every other month. Now there is some ‘adventure sport’ event happening every week. By the time November arrives I’m going to be knackered and probably divorced. Last weekend it was the return of the Kilbroney Challenge. After last years storms (and I mean STORMS!!) the race was guaranteed a good forecast and on Saturday morning 35 teams from both north and south of the boarder congregated at the race HQ at Killowen Yacht Club. This race is organised by the local MTB Club ‘Not the Sunday Race’ and after three years running the event it is quickly turning into a classic one day adventure race. The course was slightly longer this year with the first bike section continued further up along the old Ulster Way track until it reached Leitrim Lodge. I wasn’t planning to do the event this year as I only competed in the Mourne Way Marathon 7 days ago and my Achilles was still feeling a bit tight, but at the last minute I was persuaded by Rowan to team up with Ivan Millar. Ivan is a long time orienteer, but this would be has first ‘adventure race’. We were both looking forward to it and looking around at some of the other teams, there was going to be some great and close competition.
The start was a slow ride following Rowan’s jeep until we cut off left from the main road. Up the short steep hill we turned left through a small open gate and following the rough trail which lead us to the south east edge of Rostrever Forest. Up onto the main forest tracks it was a fast ride until we hit the main track that followed the old Ulster Way north along the side of the river valley. Ivan and I were keeping up with the leaders ok, but the stronger MTBers (including Melanie Spath) were able to slowly pull away along the 6km section to the first TA. We dropped the bikes at the track/stream junction just south of Leitrim Lodge. The run took us up to the summit of Rocky Mountain. Ivan was in front and decided to simply take the direct line to the top rather than follow a small path which contoured around slightly before heading to the top. We caught and passed one team and on the run down we were able to catch another team. In fact, back at the bikes we jumped up to third, but with 3 or 4 teams only 
seconds behind us. Riding out of the TA, Ivan showed me his bike and his saddle…..in his hand. His saddle fitting had snapped off at the top of the seat post. Bugger!! This was going to be interesting. There was no way of even doing a quick repair to the saddle, so it got thrown away. We quickly decided to carry on and see what happens. Ivan did a sterling job of riding the bike ‘saddleless’. He was standing up all the way back until we hit the first big hill leading to CP12. We both pushed the bikes up until it started to level out and Ivan was able to pedal the bike again. At this point his thigh muscles were screaming and we swapped bikes until we hit the next TA point. I walked/ran most of the way with the bike as standing for me for any length of time was torture. We passed Billy and Gerry fixing a broken chain, but they soon overtook as we arrived at the TA.
Dropping the bikes we heading off for the 10km run which headed over to the small transmitter and down to the end of Knockshee. We were able to get in front of a couple of teams along this section, which was good. From here it was back north until we could cross the Watergap river and down to the ruined cottage for a special task. This year it was forming a square out of different cut shapes. It took us a few minutes to get our heads around it, but soon worked it out (I think it was more luck over brain power). The run continued up the track to the forest edge at the Rowans. From here it was simply follow the edge of the forest south west until we were able to cut back into the forest and the TA where we left the bikes. The last bike section was mainly downhill, but first we had to push/ride the bikes up and over Slievemartin until we could join the singletrack that lead down and over Slievemeen and Fern Gully. This section of the course had some of the best mtbing of the whole area. The ride down Fern Gully was very steep and nerves and good brakes were essential. At the bottom you still had the treat of the technical singletrack down through Ballyedmond Wood. This year is was all dry and was a joy to ride (if I wasn’t in a race I would have cycled back up and rode the thing down again). Back on the minor road it was a short 1.5km to the 
junction where we had to cross the main road to get onto the beach. We should have blasted down this road, but the lack of a seat on Ivan’s bike made it very hard work to get any real momentum going. The beach was very stony, which we were quiet glad about. We had to run with the bikes over the stones until we reached the slip way. Dumping the bikes it was out for a short paddle around a buoy. The original planned paddle was cut short due to the choppy sea conditions, but the paddle was brilliant fun, with waves crashing over the front end of the boat soaking the both of us. Back at the slip way it was a short 50m dash to the finish line.
Wow, that was a great day…..hard, fast, but great fun. Ivan and I finished 5th overall and with our little epic with no saddle it was a good result. Rowan, Henry and ‘Not the Sunday Race’ crew again organised another fantastic event. After the disappointing weather from last year, they had perfect race conditions this year on the hill. I’m already looking forward to next year’s event.
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The 7th event in the WEE series took place at Gosford Forest, just outside Markethill. This would be my first time running in the forest and even with the threat of heavy showers when I arrived, I was looking forward to it.
From the start I quickly decided to take the track just north from the starting triangle. I ran down the track counting the junctions as I went until I come to the left turn I was looking for. However, something did not look right. I thought I had over run the junction so I cut down through the undergrowth hoping to find the track, but it was not there. I cut down to the track that run north/south along the stream and ran back up to there I first was – and there was the control on the other side of a bush from where I first was. This was a good start! Back on the track, over the small foot bridge, across the road and then up the hill until I was able to cut left into the wood and there was CP2 on the south side of a small knoll. To CP 3 I continued up the track and followed it around until just before the track bent left and I was able to cut in right, this time to hit the control at the north side of a small knoll. CP 4 was a short distance away, but you had to be careful picking the right track junction to the CP. I left CP4 and headed north to the road and then hit the track that I followed around to the north edge of the map. Again as the track started to bend left I cut into the wood and quickly found CP5, which was located sitting on top of a knoll. From CP5 I started to head directly to CP6 through the forest. I stopped and checked the map again and decided the track again around to CP 6 would be quicker. Nearing CP6 I cut back into the wood from the track. The control was at a small boulder, but I could not see it. I run around and eventually found it, not far from where I first was – must get my eyes tested again! From CP6 I took a gamble and cut directly through the forest. I was heading for a track that ran parallel, so I knew I could not miss it. There were a couple of deep ditches to get over and in hindsight going around the track south of CP6 would have been quicker. At CP 7 Declan caught me up, I guess he followed the track from CP6. We both had the same route idea to CP8 and it was then simply to follow the track to CP9. I don’t like following other runners and I try to overtake if possible. Looking at the map the rest of the controls follows the tracks so it was going to be difficult to pass each other – unless one of us made an error. Well, this time it was my turn to make an error. Leaving CP9 I had one eye on Declan (which is natural to do) and one eye on the map. The exit out of CP10 was simply following the path west and then south at the path crossroads. Running along I hadn’t turned the map around and on the map I was following the wrong track. When we hit the crossroads and Declan turned left, I looked at the map and there was no crossroads on it. This was not right. I could not ‘just’ follow Declan not knowing where I was, so I had to quickly run the short distance back to CP9 and I then worked out my mistake. Following the right path on the map (and the ground) I was soon at CP10. The run to CP11 was along more tracks, but I was careful this time to keep my eye on the map as I counted the junctions. CP11 was just behind a large tree and would have been easy to run past it. The run to the finish followed my same route in from the start. At that point I realised I had forgotten to hit the start button on my Garmin – very smart.
Over the whole course I made four mistakes that I could/should have avoided. The error going for CP1 was down to not reading the scale of the map before the race started (especially when it is a new area). From CP5 to CP6 it was the hesitation in the route choice at the start of the leg had cost me lost time. Not seeing the boulder at the end of the leg was I think just bad luck. Again it was a wrong route choice to CP7, any path is going to be quickly than trying to ‘slow run’ through the forest. Finally the error from CP9 to CP10 was a straight forward map error and lack of concentration – where have I heard than before. Overall it was a good course and a great little forest – a bit far to travel from Bangor for a 34 minute run, but still worth it.
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Mourne Way Marathon
Last Saturday I took part in the Mourne Way Marathon. This was a full marathon run based on the new Mourne Way Trail from Newcastle to Rostrevor. It was also one of Rowan’s projects and one of the reasons why he was been so quiet on the blog front over the last few months. There were four events on offer; the full marathon, a half marathon, a 10K run and a challenge walk (which followed the full 26 mile distance). The organisation was spot on. The registration was quick and easy, getting the coach to the start was hassle free and the start was dead on time. The weather was hot and sunny – in fact it was a perfect day to head for the hills.
I never did any preparation for the race. ‘Sure I’ll just use it as a wee training run.’ I enjoy running in the mountains and knew if I keep the pace steady then running 26 miles would be ok. At heart I’m not a runner so I was free of any pressure to do well in a pure running event. I simply run my own race and just see what happens. My only concern was the heat. I sweat buckets and need to be very careful with my fluid intake. Over the length of the course there where five water stations, so I had no real excuse to get too dehydrated. Just take is easy was the key.
The start was at the first bridge within Donard Wood. With 150 odd runners being squeeze along the narrow trail a fast start was going to be important to get away from the main pack. I started with the front runners and slowly after a km the pack started to spread out. The run through Donard Wood was steep at first and was probably a shock for most ‘non’ fell runners, but at least it gave me a chance to break away within the top 20 group of runners. It got hot very quickly and I was glad of the shade when running through Tollymore Forest. The first water station and dibber box was at the car park at Tassey. The next section was following the Ulster Way around the base of Meelmore, pass the reservoir at Fofanny Dam and up onto the road until the next water station at the Ott Track car park. Leaving the water station the Half Marathon runners just started ahead on me. I was following and passing the back markers as I run down the Spelga road. Near the bottom we cut off left, across the foot bridge and back on to open mountainside. The singletrack was easy to follow with yellow arrows spray painted onto the grass. The only problem was, it was difficult to pass people and so it slowed me down at bit, which is never a bad thing anyway. The next dibber point was at the bottom of the Hen track. The route followed the track up the valley until you were able to cut across and up over the saddle to Leitrim Lodge. The run up the Hen Track was the worst part of the race for 
me. There was a strong headwind, which was just enough to make running up the hill that little bit tougher. I slowed to a fast walk and looking around me I was glad to see nearly everybody had the same idea. Finally passing Leitrim Lodge it was the last 10km back to Kilbroney Wood and the finish. At this point I was worried about cramp. It had been a very hot run and to be honest I was surprised I was still able to run ok, but I now started to feel the odd little twinge in each leg. I continued to keep the pace very steady and tried not to over extend my stride length. This worked until I hit the last 100m until the finish line and (as you do) when I quicken up the pace – ‘bang’ – cramp hit me in the left tight. It was not too bad, but after a quick 10 second stretch and a gulp of water from a nearby spectator I crossed the finish line with a time of 4 hours 32 min and 29th place. I was happy with that… and it wasn’t a bad training run either. In fact I small part of me actually enjoyed it…especially when my only race goal was to beat the Powerade runners, which I dutifully did with about 30 minutes to spare.
Congratulation to the Eoin Keith, who won the event with style and in a relaxed time of 3 hours 19 minutes, but a big congratulation to Rowan, Ian and their team for a first rate event, which no doubt will become a classic to tick off on all runners’ event calendars.
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By my standards (which are not very high at the minute), I had a poor run tonight with two major mistakes costing me about 8 minutes and dropping me down to 12th. It was the best ‘headless chicken’ routine I’ve done for a long time. However, it reminds me why I like orienteering so much and why it is such a hard sport to do well at. Running fast helps, but it is the navigation that is key and the ability to keep your concentration and focus on the map is so important. To compete you cannot be ‘casual’ doing this sport. If you don’t or can’t focus on the map you will simply spend most of the race running around the forest not having a cue where you are…and it is so easy to lose your concentration; just letting you mind wonder for even a few seconds can cost you dear. The compass is just a tool to help you orientate the map ever so often, but other than that it is little used – you don’t have time to take bearings. Tonight 
I lost my concentration because I was on an easy trail and just thought I knew where I was going without following the map – I thought I was heading in one direction, but actually was running in a different direction – how simple a mistake…what was I doing tonight!! It is a great lesson to learn and is quite humbling when you run into the finish knowing you have cocked up big time.
So lessons learnt tonight (in no particularly order) were:
1. Learn your control features. Know the difference between a spur and a re-entrant, so when you are at the control circle you’re looking up instead of looking down.
2. Spending a couple of extra seconds looking at the map can save you minutes on the run.
3. Try to learn and read the terrain and help use it to navigate to the control.
4. Check the controls numbers and that you are at the right one.
5. Use the control descriptions, especially the location of the control at the feature i.e. west side of boulder.
6. Always check the map and know where you are on the map at all times.
7. Running is the easy bit, but don’t run faster than you can navigate.
I ran the course again at the end and even though I still did a few minor errors and tried a couple of different route choices, I finished in a time of 28 minutes 36 seconds. Next week’s event is at Gosford Forest Park. This will be a new area for me and hopefully I can get my act together and start reducing these silly ‘big’ errors.
Well, on the bright side, at least I didn’t MP tonight 
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The third round of the Scottish O League was hosted by Roxburgh Reivers at Teviothead. The terrain consists of fast open hillside, grazed by cattle and sheep. The hill tops have intricate contour detail with small runnable areas of marsh. Mapped marshes are soft, but there are unmapped areas of rushes where the ground is firm. There is a scattering of natural rock features, generally small but prominent and some small quarries, depressions and re-entrants. There was a full list of colour coded courses available and I entered the Black (11.0k 475m of climb) course. The weather was fairly grey and drizzle hung in the air with the odd shower threatening…not quite what you’d expect for June! The first control went reasonably well, slow and steady navigation to get a feel of the area. I hit the second control slightly high and must have nearly passed over it only to be corrected by a couple of lone trees on the map. An uphill slog to 3 followed before contouring round to a marsh at 4. From 4 I took a quick bearing and headed for the direction of 5, however turned my ankle slightly and as i hobbled a bit must have changed direction!! I’d say i wasted a good three minutes on this leg but was eventually bound for the long leg to control 6, which posed no problems at all. I was slightly hesitant down to 7 before the longest leg to control 8 which i felt i navigated very well. Control 9 was probably the simplest of the day before a steep descent on the way to 10. I felt very strong down the hill and was covering ground very quickly. From 10 i nearly headed to far to the East of 11, however just caught a glimpse out the corner of my eye. I think i then slightly switched off for control 12 probably losing another three minutes. The first half of the leg to 13 was easy as there was a mandatory crosing to aim for. Once on the other side i found my self on the wrong knoll next to the wrong marsh, however was quick enough to correct myself thus not losing too much time. 14 and 15 went smoothly enough, however i then hesitated on control 16. the raminder of the course then went very smoothly indeed and i felt i could have done with a few more legs to make up for lost time earlier on. Overall i was pretty happy with my run finishing on 79 minutes exactly. Next is back to the streets of Edinburgh for Thursday evening sprint O.
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Edinburgh Street O Series
A Thursday evening Street O kicked off over here last week in Edinburgh. Run rather like the WEE series however, for some strange reason, it dosn’t seem to attract nearly as much interest! The first two events have been and gone though and i ran at them both. A rather hectic life style recently has meant training has almost been non existant, and i would say it was almost a couple of weeks since my last run before the first event! The first event was in Liberton in South Edinburgh, a mainly residential area. I felt i ran well enough however lacked speed and aggression in and out of controls, all down to rusty O skills and hesitations. It was a very enjoyable run though and left me looking forward to the next. The second event started on the Meadows in Edinburgh and headed up into the alleyways and old buildings of central Edinburgh. After a fast, flat start the steep steps, that litter the narrow alleyways, beckoned. Control 6 was placed on an upper level that had me slightly confused at first, however after checking the control descriptions it became fairly obvious. Plenty of route choices were on offer, and I often forced myself to choose a different route if i saw another competitor running that way…as long as it wasn’t miles out of the way! Control 11 brought my only major mistake as i counted the alleyways slightly wrong and went one too far. It would have been fine hoever took me a minute or so to realise and nearly ended up off 
the map! Tricky route choice to 12-14 before a simple route to 15. Of course 15 was the one where i made a small mistake as i headed to the end of the fence presuming it would be on the fence corner, the control was in fact inside the fenced area on a tree. Hesitation on 17 as body and mind began to tire, i was also staring at the map and went down a complete dead end much to Ken Daley’s amusement. A simple and fast finish, but an excellent course. I think this area has to be the best sprint area i’ve ever run on. I’ve learnt that although sprint O is more simple, paying attention to control descriptions can save valuable seconds. I’m hoping the muscles in my lower legs recover in time for the weekends O, SOL3 at Teviothead.
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Trailblazers Round 4 – Belcoo
The area north of Belcoo was the location for the 4th round of the Trailblazer series. The area consisted mainly of the large forests of Ballintempo and Belmore, with a highly percentage of riding on forest tracks than roads. The area was also hilly with a lot of short, sharp climbs and some very fast downhill sections – especially around Belmore forest. I was hoping to do well at this event as the terrain suited my riding strengths, especially the loose uphills and descents. There was an excellent turn out with a total of 19 teams competing on the 4 hour course and four teams doing the 2 hour course. There were a few riders who made to visit from Dublin and it was good to meet up with some old friends from my climbing days. The HQ and start of the event was literally in the middle of nowhere. I think I had been through the area a few years ago doing an adventure race, but other than that the terrain was new to me.
Looking at the map the area was divided by two big forests – Ballintempo to the west and Belmore on the eastern side. The start location of right in the middle. I decided to head for Belmore forest first, then cut out south before heading west to collect the remaining controls in Ballintempo forest. I started south down the road and left at the junction. A few hundred metres along the road I turned right into Belmore and headed to CP126 at a stream/track junction. At the location I could not found the control. I looked at the map and I was at the right place. I cycled back a bit to check a smaller stream that crossed the junction, but again nothing was there. I searched for about 5 minutes and decided to ride on. Not a good start which soon got a lot worst. I rode back to the junction and turned left to go up the hill towards CP132. At the start of the hill I dropped into my middle ring and applied some leg power to the pedals – nothing happened. I dropped down a few more gears and then into the granny ring and my legs still would not turn the pedals. The hill was not that steep! Eventually I had to stop and get off the bike and start pushing – even this was a struggle to get the legs moving. This was worrying!! I was not even 15 minutes into the event and my legs were dead. What was wrong? – did I eat enough the day before; was I starting to come down with something; or did a fall I had on Thursday cause a few more problems that I had first realized. All I knew this was going to be a long and frustrating 4 hours. I quickly took a gel and half an energy bar to see if that would help.
I carried on and got CP136, before heading left up the trail to get CP115 and the 40 pointer at CP144. Then it was back down the trail to the quarry and up towards the east side of the forest. CP133 was on a bend up a short hill and again the legs were refusing to work and it was another bike push. Throughout the rest of the day any incline reduced my legs to jelly. I only got relief on the fast downhills, which I made the most of trying to get back as much time as possible. Once I reach CP147, instead of doubling back the whole loop section of the trail I cut slightly SW out of the forest to do a 10 minute hike a bike to reach a farm lane. From here it was a quick down hill run to the road and then back west along it until I was able to cut back up to get CP131. I had second thoughts about going to 131. It was back up the hill and I knew it was going to be slow for me, but it was a 30 pointer and I decided it was close enough to put in the effort. I followed to farm lane up expecting to see the marked trail cutting into the wood, but nothing was there. I continued up passed the old ruined house as the map showed the lane turn left and seemed to join the other trail I was looking for, but again there was nothing. There was no obvious access into the wood and when I went down to the fence line and looked into the wood it was very over grown. This was cutting into my already limited time. I decided to leave it and head back down. On a bend just pass the old house I saw a stile over the fence. I when over and looked in…again it was just thick wood and there was no sign of any obvious track. 20 minutes wasted…not good and again luck was not with me today.
C
P115 and CP144 were quick to collect and it was up to road heading for Ballintempo forest. I joined the Ulster Way and went straight up the trail to CP143 and then on to CP125. At the junction I cut down left about 200m to collect CP114. From here I would have continued and followed the track down and back to get CP134, but I knew my legs would have died again getting back on the ‘slight’ hill, so left it. Back at the junction I continued up and got CP124 and CP123. The riding in Ballintempo forest was much easy than Belmore forest with the trails relatively fast. I simply did not have time to go to CP137 and CP113 and so I headed for the finished and collected the last 40 pointer at the CP142. This was the last steep hill and even though it was short I still had to push the bike up it. Finally I had 10 minutes to get CP111 before hitting the finish.
I cannot say I was disappointed, just more frustrated and worried why I lacked so much energy today and from so early on. Over the last three events I was averaging over 70km for the 4 hours. Today I barely got over 50km. My arm and legs were aching throughout the day and I can really only put to down not eating enough over the last few days to replenish the energy I used on during the ‘increased’ training/racing I did during the week. Too many late dinners is, I decided, not good of you. The next Trailblazer event is on the June 28th and will be back in the Greater Belfast area…….I will be ready!
Finally, a big thanks to Damian for introducing a great MTB area and no doubt an area that will become very popular for future trailquests.
Filed under: Races, TrailQuests | 1 Comment
Recent Entries
- Trailblazers Round 6 – Planners Report
- Trailblazers Round 5 – Lagan Valley Regional Park
- Orienteering – WEE 8 – Tollymore Forest
- Kilbroney Challenge ‘09
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- Mourne Way Marathon
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