Lakes 5 Days

[housewife]

I couldn't agree more with ianf. One of the reasons I chose to avoid the lakes this year was the memories of slogging miles, with two kids, to distant assembly areas carrying both the kids and all of the stuff that goes with them, and all my kit, and the picnic (for the whole family) and of course the heaviest thing of all, the water! 4k some poor families had to slog to get to the northern champs this year, which they had paid to enter, only for some to be too exhausted by the effort of getting there to want to run. After the kids themselves, the water is the heaviest of things to carry.

After 4 years agos experience, we went to the oo and bubo cup instead this year. 10 days of orienteering in excellent terrain for minimal entry fee. The whole 10 days organised, planned, mapped, controlled and staffed by the same 15 or so people, water points on all races, water at the finish. No walk to assembly at all for the bubo cup, the oo cup had no walk to assembly on 3 of the days, 500m on one day, and a 1.3k hill walk on another day, when all bags and toddlers were transported by the organisers. No need to man the drinks point - just leave water containers and cups. No need for plastic bottles - the fussy can bring their own.

[PhilJ]

One amazing fact about the croatia 5 day was the same planner and controller, planned and controlled EVERY day!! That was all the age classes for every day, 3 long, 1 middle and 1 sprint quite an achievement (ambush of lakes 5 day thread over).

[usuallylast]

Getting back to the subject, I'd like to thank LOC for a great day on Pike o'Stickle today. One of the most enjoyable I can remember.

Must have been a bit lonely up there - everyone else was on Pike of Blisco!

[RichardE]

Getting back to the subject, I'd like to thank LOC for a great day on Pike o'Stickle today. One of the most enjoyable I can remember.

Must have been a bit lonely up there - everyone else was on Pike of Blisco!

Thanks for that, 'usuallylast'.... I thought it was suspiciously quiet!

(Should point out that usuallylast is Mrs RichardE in real life!)

[graeme]

Its always been clear how the Lakes5 run their event. If you want things done differently with hoopla and extra stuff then come to RaceTheCastles (which is also cheaper).

There will be a goodie bag. For all full-package preentrants there will be free T-shirts, there will be free shortbread, there will be free oatcakes, there will be free porridge, there will be more great free stuff.

We hope that there will be no water at assembly, but this is Scotland in October so we can't promise ...

[ianandmonika]

Thanks for a good Lakes event. Enjoyed it. Good parking areas even if heavy rain.
Should map scale have been 7500 for older competitors on last 2 days; Eggerslack Woods was very difficult to read at 10000 scale. Did this account for the very high retired/missed controls on W65L(14 out of 34 starters) and the long times on the course.

[Duncan]

What is with all the "Excluded time" on several courses in the results today?

[BenM]

From what I heard, two controls had each other's codes and/or were in the wrong place

[Tatty]

I was told by a W55L that the last 4 controls on her course had been excluded because of a problem.

[SJC]

Two controls in the wrong place in the final piece of woodland (too high up the hillside).
All courses using these controls were timed as ending before the wrongly placed controls.

[sketchweppers]

Thanks for a good Lakes event. Enjoyed it.

Me too. It was great to have a variety of terrain over the whole week.
My only comment is about grouping the W45L on course 5 - only one of the 4 long days was there are winning time of less than an hour. The winning time on day 5 was over 70 minutes. This to me means that the courses were too long.
At least I managed to complete all the days and not come last, so I was pleased.
Thanks to all the volunteers who made it happen.

[charles2]

Good events, enjoyed them even if I made some big errors on a few controls.
Yesterday in Eggerslack Woods I would have appreciated 1:7500, or maybe it is time to change the prescription for contact lenses or to use reading glasses.

As to the excluded controls (204 (control 16 on course 2) onwards). It has been stated that the tripod (204) was incorrectly marked on the map, but it was one of the controls I navigated straight to!

[Tatty]

Echoing the comment about courses being too long. The W65L ran with W16/18/20. As a W45 I ran with the W18 and now I am 20 years older. Apart from Carol McNeil, who is amazing, the leading time on Day 5 was over 87 minutes. That really is too far. 50% of starters finished. I was not helpd by being out in a thunderstorm and deluge of rain.
Perhaps we can have some feed back from the planner on his thoughts behind the length and the course combinations. The M65L ran with M40/45S. If the women had done the same that would have put them on Course 10 or 11. On Day 5 Course 10 was 1kms shorter!

[awk]

Yesterday in Eggerslack Woods I would have appreciated 1:7500, or maybe it is time to change the prescription for contact lenses or to use reading glasses.

The maps at the Swiss O-week (all at 1:10000 except for one day on an exceptionally complex area), reminded me that the issue over scale is on most occasions down to the style of mapping and/or the printing. I struggle on many complex areas in Britain to read the map at speed, even, sometimes, with a magnifier. On equally complex terrain in Switzerland, I barely ever needed a magnifier (just as well given the conditions on occasions!). The standard of mapping - particularly judging what should and should not be on the map - was almost uniformly outstanding, and the maps were all properly (offset litho) printed. It was an absolute joy (and a pity that not more of those who voted on the AGM motion had experienced the same).

[ic]

awk > I wholeheartedly echo the sentiment of your post.