QOFL2 - Blackborough
Sunday 16th October 2016
Mike Kite writes:
October is a feast of orienteering in the varied forests and moors of the south west! So far, we have enjoyed the Quantock/Devon Long-O at Belstone on 8th-9th and the Quantock Forest League event at Blackborough South on 16th. We now look forward to the Devon League event at Holne Moor on 23rd and the KERNO Galoppen at Craddock Moor on 30th. And if you're up for more in November, look no further than the WIM Stonebarrow event on 12th, the Devon Galoppen at Fernworthy on 13th and the Quantock Galoppen at Ramscombe on 27th. How fortunate we are to live amidst all this enterprise!
Blackborough South is centred on Forest Glade caravan park where assembly and decent campsite facilities were located. The event terrain is a forest/rough open mix bounded by fierce wooded slopes along the western edge and extending to 10 hectares of clear-felled conifers in the southeast. This area has been meticulously mapped by Bill Vigar, who used GPS to assist in accurately depicting long lines of tree debris and many depressions.
The Green course was 4.1km. Elizabeth Horsler, our rapidly improving W14, had never tried a Green and this looked like an ideal opportunity to go for an informal taster. Informal, yes, but QOFL events are never a picnic and this would be a tough test!
Astonishingly, Elizabeth came 11th of 31 Green runners, most of whom were experienced (albeit older!) orienteers. Her time of 62 minutes compared creditably with the winning time of 45 minutes. As first attempts go, this was a cracker! The rest of the story is hers...
Elizabeth Horsler adds:
Since I became a W14 I have been running the light green. However when I went to Quantocks Blackborough South I did my first green course. The light green was 3.3k; the green was 4.2k so I ran nearly 1k more than I usually do. The green had 85m climb and the light green had 70m climb.
It took me 62:10. I came 11th out of 31. it took me the first two controls to get into the course. I took 10:52 on my first control and it was slightly marshy!
Numbers 3, 4,5,6,7 and 8 I found relatively easy navigation but harder on the ground. 8 to 9 was difficult and the control I found the hardest because I went over lots of rough open and I fell over a couple of times.
Luckily I completed the course. It was harder than a light green both in a navigational way and a running way. I enjoyed doing the green but I may stick with light green for the time being!