MDOC Website

[Gnitworp]

I'd always prefer 2 'Classic' (Long) Races like you always used to do. I came on the Saturday because it was Masters Cup as, I suspect, did many others. However, I know of at least 2 people who either didn't come at all, or didn't run on Saturday because it wasn't 2 'Long' Races. Personally, if it hadn't been for the Masters Cup, I'd have come for 2 'Classics' but probably not for a (short - 26 min winning time for M65) 'Middle'[*] and a 'Classic' (Long). When I run in the Lake District, I want prolonged enjoyment, not curtailed enjoyment!

[*] Middle=30-35 min winning time for all technical courses?

[pete.owens]

I enjoyed both days.
However, as a fan of middle distance races (I prefer the mental to the physical aspects of the sport) I too preferred the second day as the terrain seemed more suited to middle distance style planning.

Day 1 felt like a short long race (if that makes sense!); it was physically tough but not long enough to be a test of endurance.

Day 2 felt like a long middle race; sustained fine navigation for much of the course.

[Gnitworp]

Day 2 felt like a long middle race; sustained fine navigation for much of the course.

Lets have a few more of these and get rid of the semantics!

[mharky]

Both black courses made a full and good use of the areas. Both courses were technically challenging, and it was the EUOC runner with the cleanest run who came out on top each day. I think Saturday will go down as one of my favourite races for a while. Tough conditions, deceptively technical course, high standard field, and close racing (well, for EUOC anyway...)

[Gnitworp]

Does Mharky's reaction support the notion that the concept of 'Middle' and 'Long' (and Spint) is well suited (having originated at WOCs) to Elites, but perhaps less happily translates to all the other classes? For example, does a W70 ever (or ever want to) run a true 'Long' style race with very long route choice legs each comprising perhaps a third of her course length. Doesn't she probably want sustained technical challenge, i.e., 'Middle' style orienteering every time she turns out?

[DM]

MDOC site running again now.

[70plus]

Not here it's not ...

[Tatty]

Thank you. I was able to access it at 10.16pm

[Tatty]

Yes it is! I was able to access it at 10.16pm

[70plus]

Mdoc.org.uk is still unavailable, but Day-2 results are accessible on the MDOC-members website. At least from here, and now ...

[graeme]

I think they got as much out of each area as they could. Quite hard to get any decent route choice on Torver Back Common, and 19 controls in the wood pretty much exhausted the options. We didn't have controls in the complicated bit on Saturday - be interesting to see if the planner felt the map wasn't up to it.

One suggestion for improvement: if you are going to offer a 44min winning time course
with no legs of 4mins or more (i.e. M45L), please don't misadvertise it as a long course.

We've had a few big races lately on dodgy old maps, it was quite notable how good Julian Birkinshaw's 1984 survey on Torver Back still is: just the occasional vegetational oddity after 27 years.

[Gnitworp]

I think they got as much out of each area as they could.
One suggestion for improvement: if you are going to offer a 44min winning time course
with no legs of 4mins or more (i.e. M45L), please don't misadvertise it as a long course.

What would you advertise it as, graeme?

[mharky]

An orienteering event, perhaps?

[Gnitworp]

Sounds good.

[awk]

I'd always prefer 2 'Classic' (Long) Races like you always used to do. I came on the Saturday because it was Masters Cup as, I suspect, did many others. However, I know of at least 2 people who either didn't come at all, or didn't run on Saturday because it wasn't 2 'Long' Races.

And I'm in completely the opposite camp, much preferring the combination of middle followed by long(er). If I'd had to choose, I would have chosen to run Saturday rather than Sunday (even in hindsight), but much preferred running both. Indeed, one of the joys of orienteering now is the greater variety of offerings - I would hate to go back to what we always used to do - one 'long' race after another, ad infinitum (I almost gave the sport up a few years ago for just that reason).

I agree with Graeme about the fundamental survey on day 2 - a good one. I found the vegetation mapping thoroughly irritating however, especially when expected on more than one occasion to be able to differentiate between one mapped thicket and a number of closely adjacent unmapped ones. No excuses though - all the mistakes were mine, and I made too many of them. I would also have preferred a longer course on Sunday - a winning time of 49 mins for M50 was too short.