16 August 2012

Rough by name, rough by nature


Rough by name and rough by nature
It is the last race in our summer league and the organiser warns:

"Rough Wood to North is old historic woodland previously mined. Complex path network. Competitors advised to avoid fight, walk, undergrowth areas so straight line may not be optimum route, but no controls used in difficult areas. Checked out early August.
South is Bentley Haye, planted reclaimed land. Some fight and walk but open areas runnable but often soggy"


Well it was a bit rough (it is August after all) and the controls were fair and I am now Harlequins Winter and Summer league champion.  I first won the summer league in 1996 - we orienteers have all grown old together and, almost, no one has come into the sport to push us oldsters down the results lists.  A 50 year old jogger should not be winning.   It is even worse in Radio Orienteering where 50% of the competitors in the Netherlands championships are over 60 years old


Harlequins Winter and Summer League Trophies
The controls are fixed permanent posts - so Barry cannot be blamed for the positioning of #21 nor the fact that the fence is now inside the woodland and there seems to be a set of isolated fence posts even further inside the wood:



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