Best event of the year

[haloite]

Best Forest - YHOA Long Champs, Pillar Wood (HALO) an intelligently planned course keeping you in the forest and off the tracks for most of the race - a beautiful, almost 100% runnable woodland with gentle slopes
Best Urban - middle day of the August Bank Holiday trio of events in the South, Beggarwood and Hatch Warren (Basingstoke), a lovely clear map and excellently planned course keeping you on your toes throughout (Didcot the following day probably a very close second!)
Best Sprint - Holt Park Estate (AIRE) YHOA Sprint Champs Prologue - a very intricate mish-mash of identical looking blocks of housing interspersed with the obligatory small residential car parks and open spaces linked together through alleyways and underpasses (sorry - couldn't get to JK Sprint as this was probably very similar - other (better!) half otherwise out of action!)

[awk]

Best forest: I'd probably have to agree with those who went for Craig-a-Barns: everything Britain's premier event ought to be. Loved the Compass Sport Cup Final too, as well as both British and JK Relays.

Best urban: difficult one - there are several on a very finely balanced short list, including Edinburgh, Malvern, Settle, Beverley. Settle by a very short neck, with the variety/quality in the planning edging it.

Best sprint; a string of really good ones this year; in fact there's not been one that I've not really enjoyed. Holt Park just edges it from the Sheffield prologue (one or two minor glitches with the map aside, i thought the planning in the latter was outstanding); Golden Acre, with the butterfly planning, made for an excellent contrasting partner to Holt Park. Scottish Sprints was worth the trip too!

Best novelty; perhaps not 'best', but have to agree with Spookster here: Venice was a once-in-a-lifetime (I hope!) experience, never to be forgotten.

[Freefall]

[quote="awk"]Best forest: I'd probably have to agree with those who went for Craig-a-Barns: everything Britain's premier event ought to be. Loved the Compass Sport Cup Final too, as well as both British and JK Relays.

I will send you the £10 later.
JK Coordinator

[andypat]

Bets Urban for me was Dunblane. Felt like a championship urban race to me not just a run on the mill one. Really enjoyed the JK sprint and the British Sprint this year too.

Terrain. Purple Thistle for me. Enjoyed the challenge and the social aspects, not the midges though.

Forest - Preferred the Scottish Champs over the Inchamrnoch middle distance race - couldnt get going in the rough stuff being a heavyweight!

I'm sure Craig a barns was nice but for obvious reasons I cant pick it.

m1-2 m4 w5 m7-12 Andy Paterson CLYDE (GBR) M45 54:44

[ianandmonika]

Pillar Woods v Craig a Barns - really!

[awk]

Pillar Woods v Craig a Barns - really!

Having run at Pillar, I can understand why haloite nominated it. No, it's obviously not as technical, but it was a really enjoyable event, well planned, in a lovely wood that allowed you to run through it pretty much all the way, with enough to keep you on your toes throughout (I certainly made mistakes). It wasn't my favourite, but it was well up there, and certainly worth the trip (and worthy of a stronger turnout than it had).

[haloite]

Pillar Woods v Craig a Barns - really!

Not having gone to JK I felt that I could not really nominate it - I was not aware that you could nominate events / areas that you had not run / competed on - new one on me that one!

[Mrs H]

Yes but you did come to Malvern and I saved you a special parking space and you still haven't chosen it - does customer service count for nothing?

[sloaner]

Best Urban - St George and Troopers Hill

Best Forest - New Beechenhurst (BOK Trot)

[haloite]

Yes but you did come to Malvern and I saved you a special parking space and you still haven't chosen it - does customer service count for nothing?

LOL - Malvern was, indeed, an EXCELLENT event - only spoiled by my inability to navigate across a small open area to the required exit point thus causing total confusion (on my part) and running off the map (first and only time - to date! during an Urban event). The sun shone, the competition was top notch, assembly/start/finish very spectator friendly (for significant other for whom parking space had been reserved!) - trouble is there were SO many VERY good Urban events this year - you can only choose one "winner" - but Malvern would definitely be very high on the list - hope that makes you feel at least 8% better than before this posted reply - in fact I would love to come back to Malvern again to right that wrong!!!!

[ba-ba]

Best Forest: Craig a Barns (must go back and do it justice)
Best O weekend: High Dam
Best all-round O experience: WOC selections middle
Biggest Challenge: Voose (Tallinn O week WRE middle and 100cp race)
Best Urban: ShUOC chase (seeing as I can't vote for Barnard Castle )
Best Volunteering: Great Malvern
Best run: High Rigg Cumbrian Galloppen, just ahead of BOC (special mention to Greno as it was post-SPOOK but reasonably successful)
Best MTFU: 4 Glenshee munros followed by WOC sprint selection.
'Best' Brambles: Midlands Champs.

role on 2013!

[Ali Wood]

Bit like Cluedo this - trying to identify all the contributing 'handles', by the events they've been to... a difficult process of elimination... but I've got a sneaking suspicion who "EddieH" might be...

[Mrs H]

Well I didn't do a lot of the "big" events this year so here's my pick
Best Forest Event - Cookworthy (why am I the only person who really likes it?)
Best Urban/Sprint - Aberystwyth
Best Novelty - Wheal Florence
Best EVO - Croeso - particularly the Photo O
Best Series of events - NGOC Summer Series.

[awk]

trouble is there were SO many VERY good Urban events this year - you can only choose one "winner"

agreed - my terrain choice was pretty straightforward, my urban one was very difficult.

[Ali Wood]

agreed - my terrain choice was pretty straightforward, my urban one was very difficult.

After Sunday at Bethecar my moorland choice was made more difficult. Wonderful stuff.