British Champs.

[craggy]

Firstly, I think it has to be said that NATO and NEOA did a great job, considering all the problems which arose prior to the event, so congrats to them
I have to agree that even though on the long legs route choice was offered (which is where i messed up) there was some bad planning involved. Looking at other courses between some of them there may have been the same format as to where the course was planned. Being:
From the red start (what was the start layout doing on that steep slope???), there were a few controls in the woods, then a big long leg south crossing the fence with the xing point to a control in the rocky area
Then a short leg east to another control
Then another big long leg east (offering route choice) across the fence and marsh to a control just short of the road
Another long leg north east ish to a loop of 3 east of the big hill to the east
And then a long leg north west to 4 spectator controls on the finish slope.
I can't remember seeing very many controls on my long legs, only near to where my controls actually were. Does this back it up??
Even so, navigation wasn't rocket science, I think for a british it wasn't terribly well planned.
controllers??!?!??
Could anyone else agree with all of this?
However having said that, I enjoyed my run, even despite the driving wind/rain.
Tip: I took money zipped up in my cag on my run. OK this is risky but even so you can get a nice hot Wilfs when you finish

[awk]

Have to agree with Becks and Chris, the planning on our course was a shocker. After a reasonable first 600m or so, we were provided with two legs that took up about two-thirds of the course split by a reasonable turning control, and followed by 3 controls on the run-in to the finish, which were all near as makes no difference inter-visible. Of the two long legs, the first had quite an interesting choice to make, but once it was made the navigation was very simple, the other didn't really have even much of a choice. I didn't look at the map for almost 15 minutes on that last long leg, as there was no need, and the rest of the course was already planned.

Incidentally, Becks, I did go round to the west. Would have been quick if I wasn't so unfit.

Andrew

[andy]

the planning wasn't brilliant but i think the mens uk cup course wasn't all that bad.
The first bit in the forest was excellent and i tried to make sure i didn't lose too much time, i took it fairly easy to ensure my navigation was spot on. if you chose the route that passed the blue start on 6-7 (the 3km leg) then you were fine, over the top was bound to be slower due to much excess climb and round south side of the hill was longer, but i did consider it. the planner could have done a lot better in trying to force people to take a different route, but quite a few (looking at the splits) didn't take the easy route and must've gone over the hill... the bit at the end was fairly easy but if you didn't have your wits about you it was easy to make a mistake (looking at the splits some people lost quite a bit of time, esp at 14).
our course didn't use the area to the south of the fence, i thought they could have taken out the long leg and put a couple of controls in here, then forced us back over the hill again. this would certainly have been more of a physical challenge as a lot of the 275m of climb was taken out by going round the hill on the long leg.

[Nails]

UKCup Mens: Yes a pretty poor course on the whole. The best planning was definitly the first loop (start to 6) in the thick wood. Vaguely technical with low visability....even then the control sites stood out a mile. Also some of the thick green woodland....which i ran through....had loads of features which hadn't been mapped....surely if your not going to map a section of wood, and put it down as green, then you shouldn't have a course going through it. At on stage i dropped into a 2m deep gully, which wasn't on the map! As for the long leg...3km of track running....nice....theres a misconception that a long leg always gives route choice and is difficult....but if you cross a [nope] off big fence halfway, you can switch off until you get there.
As for the final loop near the finish, it could have been considerably better, as godders said, you could see controls miles of, whats this thing about hanging the flag on the side of the feature, from the direction of approach....
some cack planning, and surely the contoller should have picked up on all these...they should have paid bilbo to do it!

Apart from the course well done for coping in such jobbie conditions... and thank goodness BEOC wasn't there!

[distracted]

any chance of anyone putting some of the maps up online so us peoples who couldn't be bothered to trek up to Northumberland and get blown around on a hill can have a look at this 'interesting' planning.

also, could the lack of controls near these long legs be because they were planning to use those areas for the warm-down event? although thinking about it that does seem a bit stupid as the BOC should be the premier event and make the best use of the area.

burnham beeches was quite nice today... anyone else there?

[Braddie]

naaaa, Went for a long run instead - haven't done one of them for ages. Because I have been orienteering every weekend for months

[Nails]

any chance of anyone putting some of the maps up online

probably could, but the map is in such a state for reasons:

1) Map case fell open after 1km.
2) Laser printing was jobbie, where ever you made a fold colour came off...lareg open areas look like they are covered in patches of woodland now!
3) Screwed map up alot and clutched it really tightly, to avoid loosing it in the wind.

[Mrs H.]

I feel very sorry for NATO - they've probably lost shed loads of money this weekend one way or another and it must be very disheartening for all the people who have worked so hard - but at the end of the day there was always a significant risk of bad weather affecting the event so far north in March and in such an exposed area - I suppose they had nesting birds or somewthing to avoid - but was the area really so special that we could not have gone somewhere else in May? My course was poor with control sites visible from a considerable distance across the blasted heath. I gave up trying to be competative about half way round having tried to help a third distressed child. there were several more after that - even near the finished where they just looked bewildered and shell-shocked at the bombardment they had received.
The finish and commentary should have been really good - thanks guys for announcing me in - it was a real boost - but of course most of it was lost to the wind - as for the car park - well I believe Jon Musgrave is a marked man after spinning his wheels and showering the helpers with mud I know it's really hard to fix a date for the British but I think it should probably be early May bank holiday ( do you get that in Scotland) June is too late - hay fever, school exams etc. I know you students will be in the thick of it but the only real alternative to that would be October half term week - and then there would be undergrowth.......

[gross2004]

JM tyres would have been ok for kicking up mud... afterall snow tyres are a bit unusual when you travel so far SOUTH

[Steler]

The organisers did a great job to get the event to run at all. If I had been controller no children under M/W16 would have been alowed out due to hyperthermia risk (I have been told that 2 landed up being taken to haspital by ambulance) and the fact that a lot of the older adults who had courses similar to the juniors had to give up competitive runs to help out youngsters in distress, This happened to at least 3 members of my club.
My course was poor, three controls I could see from 400m and another two from 200m. More like a fell run than a British champs.
Surely we need to make the British the major event of the year with everyone there which means that late spring, early summer is probably the only time it could be run ( exams out of way, undergrowth not to bad etc).

[rocky]

alll this talk of planning being poor, but a cursory glance suggests that the favorites still won.... hmm.

im saying nothing tho, i didnt even bother ntering cos i knew what to expect

[Ed]

Since its easy to be right with hindsight, here's a view which may be wrong with hindsight - wouldn't the area have been great for the relay they couldn't find an area for? In case nobody noticed - the planner had included some excellent spectator legs at the end.

I think the issue would have been that it would have been well-nigh impossible to get good junior relay courses using that assembly area - which is why everyone had to trek to the start for the individual. I think plan C for the relays was to have them on that area, but using an assembly the other side of the hill (just to the right of where the UKCup men's course crossed the road in those fields) but they couldn't get permission to use the fields.

I have to say I enjoyed the course - ok, our long leg was a bit dull (although the planner's were expecting more people to go all the way round to the right and thus avoid any climb rather than just beasting it along the forest road), but for largely open fell I thought it was pretty good. On the other hand, I knew pretty much what to expect...

[the duncan]

well i had a lovelly weekend up in Speyside, where ths sun shone for a bit on Saturday, and wasn't too wet on the whole, got a nice 2hr ride in.

Then a great 80 min session on Rothiemurchas on sunday with Ewan and Jon, sun streaming out the Sky

Gutted i missed out on the NEOA's finest weather

My dad said it was the worst weather he has ever run in, and the loos sounded fun!!

[graeme]

Maybe I was lucky to get one of the better-planned courses (M40), but I think some of you are confusing poor planning with a poor area. We had some technical short legs at the start, a long route choice leg (left through the heather, waaay right on paths and over all being options). After that the planner used the shape of the hill so you couldn't see where you were going until you got almost there, opening up the possibility of getting too high or low. The very fast section at the end penalised anyone who set off too fast.

For the longer courses, it would have been better to have the forest bit in the middle to break things up, give a bit of variety and a chance to get into the map, but that would have compromised the shorter courses.

I haven't seen the UKCup course, but Ed's post suggests that most of you did a long, boring track run which wasn't the fastest route. You can hardly blame the planner for that!

I know it's really hard to fix a date for the British but I think it should probably be early May bank holiday ( do you get that in Scotland)

No, we dont. Despite the exceptional circumstances its pretty annoying to YET AGAIN have the so-called British relays held on an ordinary working day in Scotland. And to see our students being obliged to skip lectures to attend.

Because the team depends on each other, relays are the WORST thing to have on a working day. Having to miss an individual race doesn't spoil anyone else's chances.

Graeme

[i-pod]

Very easy to be wise after the event, but if the NE had had briliant sunshine on Saturday, I for one would be kicking myself that I hadn't made the effort to travel up. True, March in the NE was likely to be 'brisk', but would moving BOC to later in the year really assure better weather? The last two big events on High Dam (inlcuding last year's BEOC) that I have been to have been plagued by ghastly weather and sticky mud in the parking fields; these were in late May and June.