Sunday Sixes

[awk]

6. black hole: is this one not just a synonym for "I had a crap run and I blame the map/planner/area/weather/missing beer tent etc"? .

No. I had quite a decent run at Loch Ordie. Didn't like the area, but it wasn't helped by an uninteresting course.

Darwin - whether you liked Dalruzion or not depended on your start. Those who are listing Dalruzion as 'black holes' are generally W45-55s, who got the short straw start (OH wasn't impressed by her course either). Those listing Dalruzion as a favourite, were at one of the two further starts (I had one of these, and enjoyed my run).

[SeanC]

I don't travel much, so this might be a little boring.

1. What was your favourite classic O' course of the year?

The best event by far was orienteering in 4 inches of powder snow at night in Mereworth Woods, though that was a score event.

2. What was your favourite urban O' course of the year?

I'd be grateful the London city race could be moved to a Sunday please. Otherwise see answer to 5.

3. What's the furthest you've travelled for the purpose of O' this year?

JK relays, though we were visiting friends too.

4. And what's the closest?

Mereworth Woods.

5. Where did a planner do an amazing job of polishing a turd of an area?

I thought SO's night event at Tilgate golf course/Crawley/The Hawth was great. Individually each bit had limitations, but together they made a really interesting race.

6. Which black hole of an area will you never be returning to after this year?

None, though I would like an army escort, or a lot more points, to visit controls in the Mangravet Estate, Maidstone, next year.

[ba-ba]

1.) Leg 6 at the Harvester. Least experienced O'er on the team=only team member quickest on their leg. Best/most useful thing I've ever done at that time in the morning...
2.) No contest - ShUOC City Chase. Went to few (Manc Uni, Cambridge) and the housemate and Rockealdo executed 2 fantastic courses better than anyone else could.
3.) Scottish/BUCS (dissapointingly, the parties at the former were vastly superior, although both produced fantastic banter!) Tour to Aviemore, but did very little useful training...
4.) SPOOK Relays - in my 1st year back garden/Ralph's current back garden (and he didn't even turn up!)
5.) SYO event at Sandallbeat. 10km on an area worth 4km at most. With a hangover I didn't notice I'd run round it 4 times!
6.) Kyloe. Although Loch Ordie was pretty tough after 5 days of 'racing'

As for next year, I'm looking forward to:
1.) Bristol putting on one helluva BUCS, (and not getting lost chasing after Scott and not reading my map in the relay...)
2.) JK and the accommodation (when we get it sorted out)
3.) Lakes5+WhiteRose if I can find the machete for the last weekend.
4.) Being named Sheffield Uni Club of the Year...

[Marco Polo]

1. Graythwaite- but small sample size..

2. British Sprints, but Sheffield a close second

3. Graythwaite

4. Like to say British Middles, but Loughborough outwoods are a bit closer.

5. As many have said 'not that this was a turd of an area' , but the LEI summer league urban at Ibstock really made good use of a small area.

6. Which black hole of an area will you never be returning to after this year?
There's nowhere that i've visited this year that i wouldn't go back to.

Having said all of that, my favourite events/courses this year were both middle distance- Clydach Terrace and Cademan.

[Jethro]

1. Loch Ordie! - perfect end (for me) to a tough weeks competition - it's the competition that counts.

2. Not into urban O - nursed a cold on a walk/jog round Edinburgh

3. BOC, Hampton ridge - worth the effort for a good competition

4. Organising - on my doorstep (Teviothead)
Competing - last weekend on Selkirk hill for a fiendish micro O

5. CST at Fineshade where the planner made the best of an "average" area

6. I sometimes mump and moan about certain areas at the time but I will always go back, if the competition is right - it's the competition that counts!!!

[Sunlit Forres]

1.The Moray Mix classic at Culbin (OK I'm biased).

2. Scottish Sprints at Lossie (OK I'm really biased).

3. November Classic (great event despite being under water).

4. Culbin Classic... 500 yards (life's tough sometimes).

5. Got to admit that the planning at Day one of the S6D was top notch. Far too good for me at least.

6. No bad experiences this year that weren't my own fault. Not at all impressed by GRAMP's weather at Bennachie the other week though. Still, underfloor heating at registration/results did compensate a bit!

[Neil M40]

1. What was your favourite classic O' course of the year?
Beaudesert next Sunday - well I am hoping so anyway. Of the races I have actually done it is between Dalrulzion and Graythwaite. I'll give it to Graythwaite because I got a trophy and that's what I care most about.

2. What was your favourite urban O' course of the year?
Only done one - the Yellow course at Cambridge (with my daughter). My least favourite was Newcastle, where I didn't run but I did get to savour the atmosphere at the finish - hemmed in between a shopping centre and a civic precinct with the scent of cigarette smoke and fast food in the air. Honestly, I prefer forests.

3. What's the furthest you've travelled for the purpose of O' this year?
Scottish 6 days

4. And what's the closest?
I planned an event in Meanwood about 500m away, and I have walked around the permanent course at Beckett Park with my daughter - 750m away. Next nearest would be Danefield or Esholt 6 miles.

5. Where did a planner do an amazing job of polishing a turd of an area?
I really enjoyed Sandall Beat which looks like nothing at all on the map - there are no contours, just ditches and patches of green. It's not really a turd of an area though. The white forest is lovely, and the planner gave us plenty of opportunity to go straight through it.

6. Which black hole of an area will you never be returning to after this year?
I would happily run in all of them again.

[graeme]

Classic : Culbin, same as last year. Maybe Jukola, classic distance relay.

Urban: Stirling Uni (results merchant ).

Furthest Travel: BOC (New Forest).
Though I did manage to sneak out of work meetings to Jukola and Fair Hill, MD

Closest: KB. Where I'm sitting now.

TurdPolish: Witch Craig Wood (it being Christmas, we'll ignore the Beecraigs bit)

NeverGoinBackAgin: Craigmillar, anytime between April and October.

[Fourth]

.

[Big Jon]

1 - BOC M45 - good use of a middling area (and I won!!)
2 - didn't do any
3 - Southhampton for BOC
4 - Dess Woods - house is on map
5 - BOC New Forest
6 - Auchingarroch SOL

[Jayne]

1. What was your favourite classic O' course of the year?
I've done very little "proper" orienteering this year but I think I'd have to say my leg of the Harvester.

2. What was your favourite urban O' course of the year?
London, so hard.

3. What's the furthest you've travelled for the purpose of O' this year?
Strictly for the purpose of O was the Carcassonne weekend, though the furthest away I've orienteered is Stockholm

4. And what's the closest?
Queens Wood/Highgate Wood/Hampstead Heath event.

5. Where did a planner do an amazing job of polishing a turd of an area?
Hmm, again hard to decide with little orienteering but I've been very impressed with some planning of park races in London - making interesting courses out of very small areas.

6. Which black hole of an area will you never be returning to after this year?
Kidnalls in the Forest of Dean. Admittedly it was just a Sat morning local event, but the planning took us straight through all the brambles and it was just horrible. If I didn't know better I wouldn't have wanted to orienteer ever again - and I generally love the FoD too.

[Patrick]

1) Classic: Dalrulzion was a real challenge (especially as I hadn't run uphill in the previous 10 weeks). Honourable mentions to Tullochroisk and SOL2 at Ardnaskie which were both really enjoyable runs.

2) Urban: Oban - the only one I ran.

3) Furthest: BOC in the New Forest.

4) Closest: Would have been Kelvingrove Park on Sunday if I'd been able to run...probably one of the other STAG park events.

5) Planning: Probably the CST Final at Fineshade, simply because my expectations were so low to start with. I haven't been on many bad areas though, except...

6) Auchingarrich - ugh!

[Ed]

1. Classic: are we defining this in the sense of classic (i.e. forest as opposed to urban) orienteering, or in the sense of a long course? For the former I would say the Warrior Winter Warmer middle in a tough new bit of Grizedale, closely followed by a LOC evening event on Tarn Howes. For the latter probably Graythwaite, although the WAROC O-Trial and the Berlin regional Ultra-Long also come close (the latter for the sheer novelty of almost 2 hours of playing "spot the contour"), although they're both ultra-long rather than classic length.

2. From a field of one, the JK Sprint. Entertaining to be racing around an area I know/knew rather too well.

3. Probably the JK would count as this, although in terms of a trip just for O down to Dresden for the German middle champs.

4. As competitor, about 40km down to Güstrow. As planner, about 10km from home - or about 300m from work.

5. Haven't seen any really bad areas this year.

6. See 5.

[madmike]

Ed,
interesting point on Classic, I took it to be a long, cross-country races i.e. Regional/Championship event.

I understand orienteering doctrine is likely to be amended for next year and will not talk about classic distances but will have long, middle and sprint which, of course can all be further classified urban, forest, moorland, mixed......

Not sure about sprint as a term because i still think there is a danger that it puts off people.

and back on topic: Grizedale - what have they done to make it so good - cut it down?

[Ed]

Classic as a term for long cross-country O has been officially 'out' for a good 5 years or so - they're now called "long", and what was long (i.e. a bit longer than a classic) is now "ultra-long"...

The Moor Top area is part of Grizedale west (I think most of east, which many know and fewer love, has been cut down!). I'm not going to pretend it was delightful runnable forest, because it mainly wasn't, but there's fun to be had in a hard fight, and it enhances the technical challenge. The fact that the marshes were all half-iced and there was still a bit of snow around just added to that.

As for whoever it was criticised Burn Banks - classic Lakes area I'd say, and I can't remember ever not enjoying it (even, or perhaps particularly, the time it was so windy you could hardly run in a SW direction - I think my brother retired on the way to the first control as although he could see where it was, he couldn't physically get there!)