QO make it to the top competitions at the JK and British Relays! The Fieldhouse team of Adam, Robin and Robert carried the QO name into 14th position in the Men’s Premier Relay at Hutton Mulgrave and Skelder Woods last weekend. Only one other team south of the Thames appeared above them!
Here is a write up from Robert:
On Saturday the 13th & Sunday the 14th, Robin, Adam & Robert travelled up to the British Orienteering Championships near Whitby to compete in the M21E category. Steve Robertson and Mark & Finley Goddard also attended.
Saturday’s event was the long-distance champs, we had to park up in Lythe & catch a bus to the far start. The first section of the course was around “Skeldar woods” which was fairly flat but tough terrain. We then ran down the road to the map exchange & across some fields into “Mulgrave woods” where all the other courses were taking place. This terrain was no easier but much hillier, with some very steep and slippery slopes to navigate. The course was roughly 20km with 600 meters elevation, so very tiring. Robin finished 22nd with a very fast time of 131 minutes & Robert got around in 203 minutes. Unfortunately, Adam was forced to retire due to a knee injury he’s been nursing for a while. Some well-deserved and much needed fish & chips were consumed in Whitby afterwards.
Sunday’s relay was kicked off at the same place that the elites started yesterday (Skeldar woods). The runnable woodland mapped was no easy feat to run through, due to uneven ground & high vegetation; some felled areas proved difficult to trample through. Robin, Robert & Adam (QOality orienteers) entered the “Men’s premiere” category & finished in a respectable 14th / 22. Robin ended up running both the 1st & 3rd leg due to Adam’s knee not being up to the task, Robert ran the 2nd leg. Finley, Mark & Steve also did well in their “Mixed Ad Hoc” category, placing 7th / 27. As always, the parking field was soft underfoot & extremely muddy, meaning there was lots of pushing & towing. Overall, a very fun weekend!
Thanks for putting together a report Robert.