Training Log Archive: graeme

With Claire off on some 10 min km plod, no Scottish champions available as training partners, it was off round the old Meggetland summer 10 with James. Forgotten quite how nice this route is, glorious views over town. Hard work early on the steady climb then settled into a nice pace, James looking pretty comfortable cruising ahead. Hot by the end, with some gratuitous twiddlage to get the distance up to half marathon.

C • Jeez Graeme 3

With Jane, After much faffage, out via Figgate, Musselburgh, Prestonpans ove rthe big hill back to Dalkeith.

A bit silly-hot at the moment. Braids, Blackford and some extras.

Sunny evening exploration run over Craigmillar to Greendykes and Robin Chapel, out through the new developments in Niddrie, back on th eInnocent railway and home. Nice.

In, via chez kitch

Coordinating the Scottish Champs II

We've been using Gullane for 30 years without a problem but now, suddenly, its been invaded by peewits. This is the problem with Nature reserves - you pop up a sign and every bird that ever there was will gather there for certain because. So no, you can't use the western bit because the golfer-immune, barbecue resistant, dog repellant, mountain-biker dodging, peewits are scared of orienteers. And don't you go waving yer Outdoor Access Code at me. Grr.

Well, to be fair, I did find some nests when out for a stroll in 2016 and they were indeed on the ground and May is indeed peewit nesting season. And I found that the collective noun for auks is a "wreck", so it wasn't a total waste of time. Ho hum, maybe we'll get in one February down the line. Still SNH were happy for us to use the North area which is well used but still good.

Gullane Bents car park can be a busy place in May, so we weren't so keen to base the race there. Yellowcraigs has a vast carpark at £2 a shot, but the Rangers didn't want us there, presumably because they're chronically overfunded. So we took a deep breath and went off to ask Archerfield.

Archerfield, eek. Archerfield is famous for the lengthy legal wrangling about denying access to the beach through the estate, and the f*ing great chainlink fence which ultimately got taken down once it became clear that not only had they no hope of winning the case, but the good burghers of Dirleton had begun to notice that clause in the outdoor access code which allows you to cross fairways. So a forelock-tugging Max approached Lady Elly Douglas-Hamilton, who turned out to be absolutely fabulous (in a good, Lord Moray of Darnaway, way) and also runs a super tearoom in the walled garden. Sorted.

C • Thanks, and lapwings 3

Home over Braids and Bburn park, and on to kismot for Lorna's 50th curry.

Erskine Williamson day, so stuck in a 4 miler in the only free window before dinner.

Coordinating the Scottish Champs I.

As in athletics, Scotland's orienteering is split into three regions, East, West and North. Every three years the Scottish champs is allocated to East district. Unlike athletics, East doesn't include Deeside or Stirling. As a consequence, ESOA has essentially no decent areas. Normally we drive up past our northernmost club (TAY) and its northernmost members until eventually we get to something. Finding volunteers to plan and organise and even help around a three and a half hour there & back drive isn't easy. In 2017 INT are 6day central coordinating club so everyone is organising stuff even further away on Deeside.

So I decided to pitch to hold SOC and SRC at Gullane & Aberlady, the only area in East Lothian remotely credible. I thought that coordinating might be fun like RtC was. Also, it would allow us to get the maps sorted out. I wrote a little A4A grant proposal to secure the finances to do the mapping and off we went.

Binning Wood Relay
The first choice for the relay was to do both days on Gullane, but once we lost permission for the southern extension this became unviable. Second choice was a bijou relay on Yellowcraigs. Probably two laps would be needed. But when we lost even more of Gullane we needed that to for the individual. Third choice was Riccarton, but the idea of an urban relay got slapped down. Fourth choice. Binning.

After the ELO event in September was not universally well received, the queue to plan was zero, so I took it on. The ongoing rhodo work meant delaying the planning until very late, and the main rationale was to funnel the courses through the nice bits, continually changing the required orienteering style. A bit of gardening and ungardening created the control pick in the little maze of paths and the final loop gave something for spectators to watch.

The handicap was mighty close as always, Tullie just taking Musgrave on the last loop, with the Maroc Juniors a minute clear. Women's open had 9 teams finish within 10 minutes.

Generally pretty pleased with how it went. The D course and LG were a tad too long, D deliberately so to get the maximum time in the nice but far away bit of wood (Reiver still ran sub-29).

Braids, Fairmile, bburn, back over the south rim of Hermitage