With thanks to Hilary Pickering for the photographs

From M60 on age class numbers gradually decrease, so when I became M65 I looked forward to better performances. Logic should have told me it’s about the survival of the fittest, but no. At 95kg I did what overweight navigators generally do and gravitated towards the end of the results list. Gosh – I wonder why…

Day 1 at Gwanas starkly demonstrated my limitations in lumpy terrain. I thus felt intimidated before I began the 2.5km, 220m climb to the Start on Day 4. Fortunately there were 10 minutes to recover before call-up. But I was very nervous...

This time I made damn sure of keeping map-to-ground contact, and pace-counting & compass bearings were rigorous. I wavered once after the tricky descent and huge climb from 4 to 5 when, near to expiring, I briefly reverted to “It must be somewhere over there” mode. Otherwise good – slow but AOK.

I took 90 minutes finishing (predictably) near the bottom, but it wasn’t a mess like Day 1. Orienteering or Olympics, sport is about doing your best and the sense of achievement it brings. Only one person really knows how well you did.

So I’ll be back.

Mike Kite (course 12)

        
    Extract from Course 12 Extract from Course 14