Harvester Relays

[Homer]

[quoteCracking weekend, cheers to BOK/SWOC for cracking events in cracking areas, ][/quote]
......and not forgetting MDOC for the Stockport race!

Not quite as difficult as I had feared. Congratulations to the planner for his carefully planned courses for the night legs.

Congratulations also to FVO and EBOR juniors.

[ifor]

Yes a great night. I personaly don't understand why people try and sleep, half the point is to go without sleep for the night. Weather was great which is just as well as with the fog down we could of all had an even more chalenging time out in the dark.

[Gnitworp]

Further to LostAgain's Post

Superb battle of the ages and sexes throughout. One for the annals.

JEP - Ist leg TVOC Handicap

[LostAgain]

Superb battle of the ages and sexes throughout. One for the annals.

This must have been just how the original "Organisers" had hoped it would come together on the "B".

Top class Juniors, racing with the elite women and Senior Orienteers. Excellent race. A great experience for the Juniors and hopefully for the others

[Barny of Blandford]

Thanks to everyone for two excellent events - I really enjoyed the weekend

It was nice to see so many juniors at the events and particularly to see them all out on the night legs having a go and enjoying themselves. Hopefully they will be our future in Orienteering and in 10-15 years time will be planning and organising events like the Harvester

May we have many more Harvesters to come in the future - looking forward to next year already (although I am not so sure I thought that at 3.30am yesterday)

[eddie]

top class. rarely do i brick it before a race but concentration ruled the day and i got round (with a couple of scares).

congrats to Forth Valley and South Yorks.

[PhilJ]

Ifor

I personaly don't understand why people try and sleep

Quite agree, as club captain I had to make sure the 1st and 2nd leg runners for the A course were ok, watched the A course start - then had to sort out my daughter (W16) who was running the 1st leg on the B course. 2nd leg runner on B course did not have a head torch !!argh Son (M14) was 4th leg on A course so was going to be off at 3:30 - 4:30 ish, watched the B course start - 1:30 - I was running last leg on B course 6:00 - 7:00 ish .....So I had 1 hour sleep - between 23:45 and 00:45..then when we got home at around 10:00ish I went down to Whiteford Burrows (lovely mix of sand dunes and forest on Gower - would make fab middle race area) and checked 45 control sites for a league event next weekend over a 5 hour perid - got home at 19:00 - updated OCAD - bit tired today
Middle race on Saturday was the first I had done and I must admit my brain was frazzled at the end. I did the Black - 5.4 easy Blue (was in my head before I started) but it was a constant change in direction, trying to race every leg at full speed, totally exhausted at the end - definately NOT an easy Blue as my time showed.

[Scott]

get yourself accommodation off site & just turn up for your run

I'm not sure that would have been feasible on Merthyr Common.

[Spookster]

I would love to have stayed up all night listening to the commentary, watching the live GPS tracking of runners on the big screen TV, checking progress at radio controls and soaking up the atmosphere ( and noise ) of the assembly area. Unfortunately the Harvester doesn't have all that - you have to go to Tio or Jukola for those luxuries.

But it was very well organised and planned, on superb terrain, and the result was some really great head-to-head racing on both courses. On the A course there never seemed to be more than a couple of minutes difference at the end of each leg between FVO and SYO (apart from leg 1, where Charlie ran away from the whole field ), and the outcome was still unknown right up to the end. Good win, FVO!

Well done, and thanks!

[SeanC]

Sitting on the fence slightly, I guess something that puts people off is the thought of a long drive home following a restless night. But it would be a poor team event if the winners weren't getting a little excited.

For next year there's a station at Eridge, just over 1 hour to Gatwick/Central London. No idea how far from the station to the event, but it's bound to be taxiable with a few sharing. Why not sleep it off on the train/rail replacement bus service?

[JennyJ]

Great race and weekend BUT I am absolutely shattered - not much use at work today!
I still think the whole thing would be improved be starting earlier in the evening and finishing late night with a social atmosphere as team-mates are up to cheer each other on and then a short race the next day.

[buzz]

Fantastic event all round maps/planning/views.

Well done to FVO for coming all the way down from Scotland and fending off the old men of Sheffield.

Does anyone know if the SYO A' team managed to survive the other all night event (Craney's stag do) ?

[LostAgain]

It was suggested in our team transport that maybe the format could be changed. The idea proposed was to start earlier and finshing in the dark (early hours of the morning).

Target winners to finish at 1-2 am with a party afterwards to watch the other teams come in. Then off to bed to get a sensible amout of sleep before heading home.

This would have the effect of making team leg selection interesting. Do you put fast capable orienteers out first to try and get as many legs done in the light or save the most competent to do the definate night legs?

The proposal was made as a suggestion to try and make the event more accessible to those who object to a disturbed nights sleep They are also one of our more senior members.

[SeanC]

I guess the problem with starting in the light is that weaker teams/slow runners could end up having to complete their runs in the dark which would deter clubs with insufficient night orienteers or with slower runners, and the event needs the numbers. I think people would have to see the fine detail esp. how mass starts would work.

Any examples elsewhere in the world?

[redkite]

The only way I could see an earlier start working is to have a series of mass starts for each leg, perhaps say predicted winnings time plus 25% for each leg.

By doing this you could control the time of when teams finish fairly tightly. You would also give more runners the opportunity of head to head racing.