Orienteering 1:01:44 [4] ***** 5.3 km (11:39 / km) +220m 9:39 / km
spiked:12/16c shoes: VJ Falcon
IOC MIddle
Competitor Name: Ruairi Short
Course Name: M21E
1. (2:00, +0:19) (2:00, +0:19) Started out knowing I needed to take it handy for the first 1 or 2. Did just that.
2. (1:35, +0:05) (3:35, +0:24) Was a little left leaving 1 but looked up and I saw the re-entrant the control would be in. Chose the best running line to it then.
3. (1:41, +0:27) (5:16, +0:26) GPS strap broke leaving 2 as I fell over so I just threw it on the ground beside the control as I had no way to carry it. Could see the rock with 3 pretty straight away.
4. (2:41, +0:20) (7:57, +0:03) Kept my height along the hill and got to the rocky area. Dropped in from there. Easy.
5. (0:47, +0:02) (8:44, -0:17) Compass, straight down the hill. Thought "which rock will this be on" looked up. "that one" that's where it was.
6. (2:11, +0:04) (10:55, -0:13) Contouring along the hill, kept a eye out left to track distance covered. Saw it was on the east side so knew to stay to the east and I saw it.
7. (3:30, +0:26) (14:25, -1:15) Legs were a bit asleep at the start of this climb but they really built into it. Saw Darren running towards 8 and I had a fleeting thought that I was doing well here. Aimed slightly left and when I hit the detail, turned into the control and got it perfectly.
8. (2:35, +0:38) (17:00, -0:59) Thought this would be easy. Along the contour look out for the marsh. Saw the rocks ran to the crag. Hadn't actually read what crag I was looking for so it was the wrong one and I had to climb back to my one. Dropped ~20s.
9. (23:37, +18:19) (40:37, +16:29) Let's not talk about this... >15mins dropped
10. (3:05, +0:28) (43:42, +16:08) Had been to this control already but motivation to run was pretty low.
11. (6:54, +3:10) (50:36, +18:39) Another long leg across vague mountain side. I used more features to find my way but when I was close to the circle I thought I was lower than I really was. After attacking the control once I went back and tried again, getting it the second time.
12. (2:14, +0:12) (52:50, +18:46) Compass. Saw the boulder to the south, in the re-entrant and spike.
13. (1:08, +0:11) (53:58, +18:48) Compass. Saw the boulder before it and then the control.
14. (2:57, +0:56) (56:55, +19:34) Compass, except no nice boulders this time. Was just a little too low, saw the march with the peat hag and back into the control.
15. (2:30, -0:01) (59:25, +19:21) Compass. Up the hill. Fastest split what?
16. (1:57, +0:18) (61:22, +19:33) Up past the big rock and into the control
17. (0:22, +0:03) (61:44, +19:32)
I'll have to deal with it sometime:
No. 9:
Looked at the control. Thought "this'll be tough, Sure i;m going grand just compass it and relocate when you get there. The boulder should be obvious" Set off on my compass. 1/3 of the way along I see Marcus looking very lost. "Oh, I must be near it now. He can't possibly be looking for 11, he is waaaaay to low. He's not that bad". Hesitancy creeps in. I start to see re-entrants and spurs that match the map. "No sign of the rock, I'll just check this pit quickly, nope. Ah there's the rock!". Run to the infamous rock. No control. No way of knowing I've only gone about half the necessary distance. Look at map. Only rock is waaaaaay past the control. "must be there, Colm Moran is searching waaaaaay to far past the control" (he was not, he was only slightly too low" At this point I'm still ahead of Dave and had I gone straight to the control I could have been there or thereabouts.
"I'll go back, cause I've clearly gone too far". Oops. Went back and up. Found some stuff. Quickly realised I had no idea where I was. Then realised I had no way to find where I was. Stopped momentarily. "So much for middle champion, I guess I'm running to the top of the hill". Then I did that, in a slightly roundabout fashion. Worked out where I was, and found 10. Ok I got this. Head down the valley, Stephen Linton comes up it, "oh yeah, gonna get this, there's the rock and a pit, ooooooh yeaaa SUGAR! (i didn't say this exact word)" Back up towards 10. Relocate and try again. This time it works...