Sue and David Hands write of their Boxing Day adventure with the grandchildren...
Do we all have folk memories, of being dragged off as children for long "healthy" walks on Christmas or Boxing Day when all we really wanted to do was stay in the warm and play? And do the present generation of youngsters not want exactly the same, only more of it?
Apparently not, on the evidence of the club's annual Boxing Day canter through Ringwood Forest. The event demonstrates that there is still a zest for sharing a common experience, particularly if there are little treats along the way. Jonathan, aged six, gravely told his grandparents on Christmas Day that "it would be nice to go for a walk tomorrow" and older sister Olivia, nine, was happy to hear the canter was on.
In this winter of perpetual rain, Boxing Day even brought - well, not sunshine but at least a break in the clouds as the competitors gathered. Sue exchanged running shoes for welly boots and we took Jonathan along while Olivia went with Jenny, her mother and our oldest daughter, who has herself been jogging regularly over the past year.
Always a good thing not to walk far to the start: the children may be keen but they do like to get into it straightaway rather than hike for a mile first. Route choice? Easy for me - leave the decision-making to Sue and make encouraging noises at any sign of flagging, not that Jonathan made that necessary, buoyed as he was by ambition to find the Christmas fairy (or, as on this occasion, a whole family of fairies) and a sweet.
Jenny and Olivia started off in the opposite direction, so that the children could enjoy an element of competition with each other. Long-legged Olivia has quite a turn of speed but, as even us non-orienteers know, if you aren't heading in the right direction...and Jenny, for her sins, does not recognise all the land marks on the map because of our disgraceful neglect of her education during the formative years.
So, we found the Christmas tree and then the fairy, picking up valuable points. We headed for the tree trail, what to do, what to do? Stay on the ground and go to the far end before climbing up to the control? Quicker but not so much fun as going the length of the trail so up we went and Jonathan duly punched before we headed for the long leg and the 50-point control.
Now, though, we started to find that Jonathan was slightly under the weather. The poor little chap, normally an enthusiastic walker, was developing earache so we told him that we must find Father Christmas, a view he shared despite complaints that "everything hurts". So any flash of red in the middle distance had the glib grandparents telling him "that must be Father Christmas, just through those trees" and he kept going.
The pace fell off, however, not least because of the need for a comfort break behind a convenient tree. There were concerns that we might not succeed in Sue's planned route within the hour. Strategic manoeuvring, however, allowed Jonathan to plod on while the oldies darted off into the undergrowth to pick up controls away from the beaten track. Sue's wisdom in following the paths in the forest rather than taking short cuts was evident because Jonny didn't have to climb over fallen trees or negotiate boggy ditches - he could, in effect, see where he was going.
And there was Father Christmas (grandparents never lie) as we headed up the finishing straight. The end of the line gave Jonathan fresh hope and we made it with three minutes to spare. More importantly, where was his sister? We downloaded and were told that mother and daughter had yet to be seen. We returned to the finish line, saw no sign of anyone but then received a call on the mobile.
Were they lost in the heart of Ringwood Forest, weeping sadly? No, they were waiting for us at the download tent but had they scored better? To Jonathan, 290 points, to Olivia and her Mum, only 190 so we were allowed to share the chocolate bar that Father Christmas handed out. We reached the car just as the rain returned and by the time we had emerged onto the high road, there was a steady downpour and we congratulated ourselves that we had to look after children rather than help bring in all the controls.
In the afternoon, Jonathan was in a bit of a heap and needed TLC. Olivia, full of beans, had a cousin to play with as well as her younger sister, Abigail, three, who has yet to be lured to the canter. There's always next Christmas.
Helen Bridle (3rd overall and 1st woman) reflects on her strategy...
The Boxing Day Canter 2012 was unfortunately reminiscent of a couple of years ago when I also found myself running back, late and alone, along the wide open ride from the north of the map working out how many points I was losing:( 9 mins late was a record though!) Hopefully next year things will be more like the year when I got back in 59.59. I was surprised to end up 3rd given my poor timekeeping or more accurately my midway through over optimism in my running speed.
In the "2 mins" to look at the map at the start I thought about going north first but rejected it as I thought there might not be time to get them all and that going south would get me more controls. There wasn't time to check the relative points of the various controls. The problem with this strategy was that with 15 mins to go I was halfway up north with no good route back via controls. Therefore I decided to chance getting the northernmost 50 pointer.
Where my tactics really went wrong though was a bit earlier at the bush I headed to after Jack's Garden when I made a quick decision to go from there to 147 and then get 136 and 137. If I'd stuck to the original plan of going west directly I could have returned through these controls near the start at the end. Things were going well at this point though and I was working out a optimal route around all the controls, planning I'd come back to the finish via the eastern controls.
At least my detour got me a few more minutes of hard training (much needed after a lazy autumn) although I was frustrated to think if I'd managed to put together a better route I might have had my first Boxing Day win. It was interesting to compare where people went, looking at the results, and I think a sign of good planning that there were many different strategies. I noticed that I was never running with anyone else for more than a couple of controls.
It was great to be back at the Boxing DayCanter after not attending last year. I think 2011 was the first interruption in a 30+ year series of attendance, though my dad would have to confirm if I was there as a toddler. It has been a Bridle family tradition for as long as I can remember and there were some close family battles this year. My sister was just beaten by my boyfriend, though I should point out she was ill and my brother-in-law's family just pipped Madeleine. Am looking forward to the next Boxing Day Canter already and determined to be back on time then!
Results RouteGadget
