SLOWprint 144
JUNE 2003
ALL PHOTOS DELETED TO SAVE SPACE!
Andy Jones winning the M45 British relay
http://www.sloweb.org.uk/
Club Officers 2002–2003
|
Chair: Chris Robinson, : |
Secretary: Don McKerrow, : |
Ladies’ Captain: Karen Jones, : |
|
Treasurer: Liz Armitage, : |
Mapping Officer, SEOA Rep.
and Fixtures Secretary: Andy Robinson, : |
Club Kit: Teresa Turner, |
|
Men’s Captain: Peter Huzan, : |
Publicity Officer: Paul Canham, : |
Social Secretary: Vicky Robb, : |
|
Membership Secretary: Ginny
Catmur, : |
Beginners’ Rep. and Training
Officer:
Heather Walton, : |
Equipment Officer: : |
|
Archivist: Sue Lumas, ( |
SLOWprint Editor: Sarah Brown, :Red |
Webmaster: Andrew Trimble, : |
Copy date for Issue 145 will be early
September 2003. Letters, event reports, articles, cartoons, gossip,
scandal, notices, small ads, court circulars, births, deaths and marriages
should be posted to Sarah Brown (address above); electronic copies via e-mail
are particularly welcome.
New Members: If you are new to SLOW, you
might not know about ... Training:
PLEASE READ PAGE
5 .
…
and Transport: we can organise lifts to events: ring any of the
club’s officers, as listed above, and one of us will sort this out for you.
|
MIDGE'S MUTTERINGS |
The big events have now been and gone and SLOW has had some great
performances at the JK, British and Harvester relay. Particular noteworthy is Amy Willis's first
place in W21L at the British, keeping up a fine SLOW tradition in winning the
trophy previously won by several SLOW members: Mary Armitage, Lindsay Elliott,
Chris Sloan/McLeod and Kate Thomas.
As a result of his good performances this year, James McMillan has been
selected to go on the GB Junior Squad tour to Lagganlia in August. Congratulations, James. He will be joined on the tour by Chris Fry
and Caroline Catmur who will be attending as coaches.
Several SLOW juniors have benefited from the opportunity to attend these
GB camps in the past, including the UK's current number one, Heather
Monro. I'm delighted that Heather has
now rejoined SLOW. On page 6 is a
message I received a while ago from Heather which I thought SLOW members would
like to read. For those who don't know,
Heather was a member of SLOW from a very early age, living near Hammersmith
Bridge and attending St Paul's Girls School.
She was a great club member, winning valuable points for us in
CompassSport Cup matches and helped SLOW ladies win British and Harvester relay
titles. Now one of the top orienteers in
the world, it's lovely that she wishes to keep in touch with us. Good luck in the World Champs, Heather.
Closer to home the club has been involved in staging the Surrey Hills
Races and O courses and we are now into our summer programme of Tuesday evening
events and training. The Trail Challenge
on Wimbledon Common attracted 50 participants, most of whom were new to
orienteering. The aim of the Trail
Challenge series is to have some fun head to head racing, with simple route
choice, rather than complex navigation,
and giving runners a taste of
easy orienteering. Paul Canham has been
spearheading the promotion of these events to running clubs in the vicinity of
Wimbledon/Richmond. The next two will be
goodies not to be missed, using a new map of Ham Riverside and the rare opportunity
to orienteer in Richmond Park.
We have also been given permission to hold the Yvette Baker Trophy in
Richmond Park in October, when we will provide courses suitable for university
students who are beginner orienteers, as well as the usual courses for juniors
competing in the YBT.
Also on the home front, Andy Robinson planned an event on Wimbledon
Common in April for Wandsworth schools, at the request of
Our emphasis on providing for juniors was continued by another
well-attended coaching day on 22 June on Reigate Priory. Adults as well as juniors could choose from
seven different exercises in the morning followed by a cunning team event in
the afternoon. Many thanks to Chris Fry
for planning and Heather Walton for organising - and for the jelly babies!
Chris Robinson (Chair)
SEE PAGE FIVE FOR KEY DATES
|
COACHING CORNER
from Heather Walton |
This will probably reach you after the next coaching day on Sunday 22nd
June on Reigate Priory. Many thanks to
Chris Fry and Linda Pakuls (GO) for planning the exercises. Thanks also to the coaches that have offered
to help on the day.
Congratulations to Jon and Angela Darley on the birth of a baby daughter
Aimee. Many of you will know Angela and
Jon from previous coaching days. I am
sure Aimee will be joining us on coaching days in the twinkling of an eye!
There has not been much coaching activity since the last SLOWPRINT – it
has been a time for applying the skills you have learnt and you seem to have
been doing this very effectively. I
summarise some highlights of junior performances below but that does not mean I
have not been following with interest the progress of adults who have attended
previous coaching weekends.
Firstly, congratulations to James McMillan who has been selected to join
the BOF M14 training week at Lagganlia in
I look forward to seeing you all at the coaching day and to watching
your results in the weeks ahead. Have a
good summer,
Heather
Heather Walton
|
SLOW CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS AND
BBQ
Sunday
31 August Holmwood Common, South of Dorking, followed by
the club BBQ nearby at the home of the Turners. The
orienteering will bear a remarkable resemblance to the Trail Challenge
courses run on Holmwood in March.
Food and drink will be good and plentiful. £5 for adults,
£1 for juniors to cover cost of food, payable on the day. Please let
Chris Robinson know if you are coming |
.
|
SPORT IDENT
TRAINING Saturday 6
September Sport Ident training, venue likely to be Please let
Chris Robinson know if you wish to attend |
|
SLOW members’ news, April-June 2003 from Ginny Catmur,
Membership Secretary |
With this issue of SLOWprint you will receive a new members’ list, accurate as of 14 June 2003. Please check it and let me know of any errors and omissions.
Thanks
Ginny Catmur
SLOW members’ news, April – 2003
Welcome to the following new members
Juliette Wiles (W40)
Andrew Cook (M40)
Elliot Norton (M21)
*********************************************************************************************************************Jane and Gavin are happy to announce the successful arrival of…
A sister for Rachel (5yrs) and
William (4yrs)
***************************************************************************News
from Heather Monro
Life here is hectic as always. I was pretty pleased with the 2002 season
(6th in the World Cup) and have had a quiet autumn at home. We have finished
doing up downstairs in our house and have embarked on a new project...upstairs!
We are building a bathroom at the moment so I'm learning all about plumbing!
I've also just started in a new job; the World Masters O Champs is in Halden
next July and I am working part-time as secretary. Mostly registering entries,
accommodation and answering enquiries. I hope you will encourage lots of SLOW
members to come. I can guarantee fantastic terrain and maybe even a barbecue in
our garden! (But the spare rooms were booked up months ago!).
You may remember that I mentioned rejoining SLOW, possibly as a local member.
Well, I've had a think and have decided to join as a fully blown first claim
member. (If you'll have me that is!). As an ex-pat I need to have a British
club and I feel that I have less and less connection to WAROC, having only
spent the one year in the Lakes 10 years ago! Looking back I really appreciate
the support and encouragement I got from SLOW as a junior and growing old is
obviously turning me nostalgic as I feel that it would be nice to keep up to
date with the club's development. I only
run a few British races a year and the last time I ran a relay for a British club
was 3 years ago, so don't go pencilling me in for all the relays!
Looking forward to hearing more from SLOW in the future! Love Heather
‘The Vancouver Chronicles’, vol. 2
Dear all,
It is nearly 3 months since my last
newsletter back to the UK for which I apologise. We have been pretty active in
that time though, so that will have to do for an excuse.
Elisabeth was accepted on probation for
Elektra; a very professional women’s choir. She then had only a few weeks to
learn her parts in the Russian language concert they were giving in a Cathedral
downtown. They performed the concert twice, in front of 700 people each time,
and it was also recorded by CBC for radio broadcast next Easter.
Elisabeth and Nicholas both took part in
the Vancouver Sun Run 10km road race on the second Sunday in April. Nicholas
obviously didn’t do 10km, there was a children’s 1.5km which he did in a very
creditable 9.39. Elisabeth’s 60.49 placed her 12341st of 49734 entrants.
We all went to Kamloops for the British
Columbia Orienteering Championships. To get to Kamloops you would drive most of
the way to Kelowna, then take a left turn and continue for another hour. We
took our tents, and camped for two nights in a little place at the top of the
hills just south of Kamloops. It was cold, but dry, except for the hail when we
were out on our courses on the Sunday. It was the (Queen) Victoria long weekend
and instead of relays which would be normal for a third day of orienteering in
the UK, we had short races, having said that, it was a very hot day so we still
took nearly as long as the previous day!
Having missed training on the Monday
evening I took up the PwC office challenge and attempted the ‘Grouse Grind’ on
the following Wednesday evening. This is a gentle trail to the top of the cable
car on Grouse; one of the ‘North-shore mountains’, about 3km with 993 metres of
climb! It is a bit of a cult thing here, people will buy a season-pass for the
cable car and climb ‘The Grind’ weekly, timing themselves of course. They then
download on the cable car. Of course some mad souls run back down as well (mad
because it is bad for the knees, hips, back etc.). The record for the climb is
something like 27.5 minutes; I was delighted to post the best PwC time so far
with 49.02. !
We have a busy summer ahead of us with
family visits extending from early August to the end of September. We have done
quite a bit of research, so if you are going to come to BC let us know and we
may be able to help with your plans. I have also put a page of useful links on
our website http://www.slioch.org.uk/
- keep going back to it, because we keep discovering new and exciting places to
visit!
Finally, I have just discovered a way of
satisfying our craving for British radio (BBC 4 and Five Live in particular). Most
BBC radio is broadcast over the Internet, to which we have an always-on,
broadband connection. There are these excellent gadgets available which plug
into any headphone socket and broadcast the sound on a selected wavelength
(between 88.1 and 88.7 FM). The range is just good enough for us to set the
computer playing ‘The Today Program’ and listen to it in the kitchen or
basement.
David, Elisabeth, Nicholas, Andrew and
Jackson
|
FUTURE TEAM EVENTS
from Captain Pete |
The main team events for adults for the year have now finished, and 2004
feels a long way off. There are still some junior competitions & I would
like to know soon of people's availability for the Peter Palmer Junior Team
Relay.
Forthcoming Junior Competitions
-------------------------------
First up is the Peter Palmer Junior Team Relay on 20/21st September at Sutton
Park, Birmingham. This is an 8 person relay for ages up to M/W18. There are
courses from yellow through to green standard. There is an additional trophy
for individual clubs with combined age groups <= 120, which fits in with our
current junior age profiles. SLOW will pay for your
entry so this is a free weekend away! The weekend will consist of an optional
fun event on the Saturday afternoon, a 5-a-side football competition, a trip
nearby for an evening meal, before some sleep, breakfast, then a 4:30am start
for the first leg!
The legs are: 1. Red 5k, 2. Red 5k, 3. Light Green 4k, 4. Yellow 2.5k, 5.
Orange 3k, 6. Orange 3k, 7. Light Green 4k, 8. Green 5k. The first and maybe
the second legs will be in the dark - the club will arrange headlamps some training for this if necessary. This
should be a really enjoyable weekend away, so it would be great if we were able
to enter a team. We need to have 8+ keen juniors (at least two girls) for this.
We can have three runners on leg 5 - the first back to count!
Also the juniors should put a date in the diary of 12th October for the Yvette
Baker Trophy Regional Round at Richmond Park - that's quite local! Juniors of
ALL standards from yellow upwards are welcome at this team event. More details
later.
Harvester Night&Day Relay (14/15th June, Longshaw, Derbyshire)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Our A Handicap team came 10th out of 20 teams & were 2nd handicap team out
of 10 (509 mins), not far behind a very strong
for some tough vegetation & midges! Congratulations to both teams for
picking up points in the UK Relay League - at the final reckoning, the Men were
22nd (11 points) & the Women were 18th (14 points). Next year the event is
in Sussex in May - I hope we shall have a few more teams. About half the people
need to be able to orienteer at night. Remember that there are several low-key
night events in the south-east in the winter to practice.
CompassSport Cup
----------------
We came 2nd to Southdowns in the Regional Round in March. Then Southdowns went
on to come a close 2nd (251 points) to Nottingham (266 points) in the National
Final in May. Well done to Southdowns for an excellent result. That means the
south-east club in the final has achieved: 1999 SLOW 2nd=, 2000 SLOW 3rd, 2001
no race, 2002 SO 4th, 2003 SO 2nd. We are still capable of beating Southdowns
& doing well in the final *IF* we have a full strength
team, so let's try for that next year. You may not remember the dates: 14th
March 2004 - Regional Round at Esher. 9th May 2004 - National Final in East
Yorkshire!
British Relays (18th May, Greno Woods,
-------------------------------------------------
We had eleven teams competing, and there were some fantastic results. There
were victories in W45 (Chris Robinson, Diane Leakey, Sarah Brown), M45 (Paul
Street, Andy Robinson, Andy Jones), & M50 (Alan Leakey, Charlie Turner,
Mike Murray). There were also mug-winning performances in W40 (2nd: Karen
Jones, Kate Thomas, Kathy Haynes), & M14 (3rd: Michael May, James McMillan,
Ralph Street). Our Women's Short team came 5th (Nicky King, Ruth King, Amy
Willis).
M14 3rd:James McMillan,
Britsh Relays 1st W45
Diane Leakey, Chris Robinson, Sarah Brown
British Relays: 1st M45 Andy Jones, Andy Robinson, Paul Street
South-East Relays (11th May,
-------------------------------------------------
Congratulations to SLOW Club Juniors (James McMillan, Charles McMillan,
JK Relays (12th April, Hambleden)
---------------------------------
There were podium placings in W120 (2nd: Monika Bonafini, Sarah Brown, Diane
Leakey), M120 (3rd: Stephan Rudolf, Mike Murray, Urs Zinniker), and MW40- (3rd:
James McMillan, Robert Jones,
Karen Jones, Kathy Haynes, Chris Robinson) In addition there were good runs by
Michael May (MW40-), Mark Vyvyan-Robinson (M Short), David Catmur (in M120
taking over from Oli Buholzer, ex-World Champs runner in 3rd place!), & Kathy
Haynes (W120).
JK2003 MW40- 3rd: James McMillan, Ralph Street. Robert Jones
British Individual Champs (17th May, Wharncliffe,
------------------------------------------------------------
There were placings for Amy Willis (W21 1st), Mike Murray (M55 1st), Chris
Robinson (W45 2nd), Sarah Brown (W50 2nd), & Robert Jones (M12B 2nd).
Championship Standards (9 people): Mike M, Chris R, Sarah B, Kathy Haynes (W45
21st), James McMillan (M14 7th), Ralph Street (M14 9th), Andy Robinson (M45
20th), Charlie Turner (M50 4th), Alan Leakey (M50 6th). To get hampionship
standard you must finish within 25% of the winner on the A/L
course. Ed Catmur also performed very well on the UK Cup course to come 4th.
JK Individual Champs (10-11th April, Hambleden & Star Posts)
------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations to winners Heather Monro (W21E), Alan Leakey (M50L), Mike
Murray (M55L), and Monika Bonafini (W50L). Ed Catmur was 8th on M21E. Championship
Standards: The above, Ralph Street (M14 5th), James McMillan (M14 8th), Stephan
Rudolf (M40 12th), Urs Zinniker (M40 15th), Peter Haynes (M45 15th), Andy Jones
(M45 28th), Andy Robinson (M45 29th), Charlie Turner M50 8th), Karen Jones (W40
18th.), Diane Leakey (W45 7th), Chris Robinson (W45 11th), Sarah Brown (W50
4th), Teresa Turner (W55 12th.).
|
North Downs Way Relay from Dick Clark |
Mid-summer’s day saw this year’s North Downs Way Relay run, and there
were 6 teams competing, which augurs well for the continuing of the event for
future years. There may have been seven teams but CROC and LOK combined their
resources when it became clear neither could raise a full team. In many ways
the event followed the usual process whereby SLOW put in a number of solid but
unremarkable performances, whilst other teams put out numbers of good runners
and we suffer in the placings as a consequence. However we never lose touch
with the leaders and this means our later runners can pull us into the lead
where we tend to stay until the end of the run.
But “unremarkable” is not exactly fair. Both Andy and I ran our best
times for a few years and Jeremy was called in at the last moment still
suffering from a tough run in The Welsh Castles race the week before. And the
determined runs by Chris, Mike and Vicky should also not be written off so
readily.
Matthew ran a fine leg and I’ve noted his time as a record as the new
route is about 500m longer than the old one. The Medway-Vigo leg also saw a new
record from Tom Mendum of GO, beating the previous time by other 3 minutes, a
terrific performance. It was at this stage the class of our faster runners
kicked in soon putting us in first place, a position we never then
relinquished. LOK/CROC had been in the lead before then, but their failure to
field any runner at all on leg 10 scotched their chances once and for all.
Encouragingly we had 4 new runners in the team, Mark, Karen W, Jon and
Charlie all of whom ran very well. If Charlie had found the time to recce his
route he would probably have broken the record for the leg.
The new format of having fixed start times was controversial but seemed
to work well and was welcomed by many on the day. We finished in good time and
a good few of the runners and friends visited The Good Intent in Puttenham for
refreshments making a very pleasant conclusion to a long day,
My thanks to the ineffable Andy for his help throughout the day and for
keeping accurate track of the times, correcting the several errors in my
spreadsheet along the way.
So well done to all in the SLOW team, and congratulations to the leg
winners. It was once again a proper team performance where our strength in
depth won the day.
|
Start place |
Runner |
km |
Record |
Act Time |
Win Time |
Pos |
Cum Pos |
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Dover |
Dick Clark |
12.0 |
49.23 |
00:57:48 |
00:51:26 |
5 |
5 |
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Castle Hill path & road jn. |
Andy Robinson |
13.0 |
53.49 |
01:08:00 |
01:02:35 |
4 |
3 |
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Stowting (The Tiger) |
Chris Owen |
11.0 |
46.51 |
01:03:00 |
00:52:45 |
5 |
3 |
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|
Wye (Level Crossing) |
Jeremy Denny |
11.0 |
40.49 |
00:55:04 |
00:48:20 |
2 |
4 |
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Charing (A252 Jn) |
Mike Garvin |
12.0 |
50.56 |
01:02:06 |
01:00:54 |
2 |
4 |
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Hollingbourne (X-roads) |
Matthew Lynas |
17.0 |
76.30 |
01:19:29 |
01:19:29* |
1 |
2 |
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Bluebell Hill (Picnic site) |
Vicky Robb |
8.0 |
28.26 |
00:45:28 |
00:32:01 |
6 |
2 |
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Medway Bridge W (Car Park) |
Mark Vyvyan-Robinson |
13.0 |
57.55 |
01:08:42 |
00:54:44* |
2 |
2 |
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Vigo Inn (X-roads by pub) |
Mike Murray |
14.7 |
64.35 |
01:08:49 |
01:08:49 |
1 |
2 |
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|
Dunton Green (Rose & Crown) |
Karen Watson |
9.8 |
44.14 |
00:52:45 |
00:52:40 |
2 |
1 |
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|
Betsom Hill Farm (road X-ing) |
Jon O'Donnell |
11.0 |
49.47 |
01:05:36 |
01:02:56 |
2 |
1 |
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|
A22 (footbridge East Side) |
Karen Jones |
11.5 |
46.33 |
00:56:59 |
00:52:13 |
3 |
1 |
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|
Reigate Hill (Car Park) |
Mike Farmery |
11.8 |
46.41 |
00:54:53 |
00:54:53 |
1 |
1 |
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|
Stepping Stones (West side) |
John Dowty |
15.0 |
61.22 |
01:13:55 |
01:10:48 |
2 |
1 |
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|
Newlands Corner (road X-ing) |
Charlie Whetham |
12.4 |
47.54 |
00:48:42 |
00:48:42 |
1 |
1 |
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|
Puttenham ( by Car Park) |
Jeff Armitage |
10.6 |
44.25 |
00:51:15 |
00:49:28 |
3 |
1 |
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Farnham (A31) |
|
193.8 |
|
16:12:31 |
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* new record |
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1. SLOW
16:12:31 |
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2. CROC/LOK
17:06:18 |
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3. GO 17:07:02 |
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4. SAX/SN 17:21:22 |
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5. Loose Valley/Tadworth 17:46:06 |
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6. Canterbury Harriers 17:57:46 |
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Of the lightning strikes at the British Champs this year perhaps the
least expected was the M45 relay win by a SLOW team. Not so much that a SLOW
team won, because SLOW does consistently win veteran relays, more that this
particular SLOW team won. They, well actually we, were a considerable surprise
to most, us included.
I‘ve always enjoyed relay days because of the atmosphere created by the
crowds, the competitors, the colour and the commentary. It’s the main chance I
have to spectate my sport. Whilst the children were young, because of the way
assembly areas were designed, it was a time you could give them free rein. I
take the chance to catch up with friends. With the help of the commentaries I
get to put faces and running styles to names. And there’s often drama in
spectator controls, good and bad runs, sprint finishes, and disqualifications.
This year it rated to be particularly good as the whole family were running,
and we would have the big new SLOW tunnel as a base. I wasn’t taking any
interest in a competitive run myself. I can’t read maps on the run like I used
to, I’ve done little training around the commuting I’m doing and a few things
are getting wonky. 95th in the individual the day before was a fair
reflection of my performance. But Sarah and Ralph were part of strong SLOW
teams in W45 and M14 respectively which would be interesting, and Greg always
feels strongly about his run.
I had said to Peter I didn’t mind what I ran, and I was surprised to
find myself first leg for “License to SLOW”, running with Andy Robinson and
Andy Jones. It turned out that Peter Haynes, the obvious choice, was injured.
There’d been a team reshuffle and I’d been promoted. It’s true that I have had
some good runs in relays in the past. I do tend to find other runners helpful
rather than off-putting, but it’s more because courses are shorter and the
areas used often have maps that I find easier to read. Newcomers to the sport
might find the same. Nevertheless this was not an obvious selection based on
form. Actually I think it might be Greg’s fault I got in that team. He was
giving Peter a hard time about where he would be running, and that may have
caused the captain to take his eye off the ball.
The start pen was surprisingly crowded with 6 classes were starting
together, including M50 and M18 running the same courses as us. It gives
runners more company and adds to the sense of excitement. The runout was 50m,
to a gap where a stonewall was broken down, and entry thence to the wood. I put
myself at the back, so I didn’t have to try and look at the map at the same
time as competing for a safe crossing of the wall. Apparently the crowd in front
of the SLOW tent murmured disapprovingly. Countdown and go - shortly afterwards
a large swathe of deeply breathing runners began climbing the side of a long
slope, shuffling into strings as the easiest routes were chosen. I fell into
one of these, wondering how far along the hillside we were and guessing there
must be a lot of first controls, not just the 3 on M45/50/18. Fortunately my
control was quite high up, and there was a big catching feature I should see
beforehand. Then ahead the string of runners was changing direction on what was
probably a vegetation boundary; rather disappointing I thought, as that wasn’t
what I was going to do. I carried on and it was one of those times when what
had looked a pretty crowded forest suddenly went very empty. My confidence in
the catching feature wobbled but I reckoned I had not gone nearly far enough –
a hill this big normally sees me walking well before the level I needed to get
to (bet you don't find that tip in a coaching book.) Besides I had no
alternative so I carried on upwards. With my heart beating even stronger than
from the climb, I did recognize where I was, found my point feature in a bit of
dark wood from what looked a unique direction, and I punched it alone. I picked
a safe roundabout route to the next, runners reappeared and several overtook me
on a path, and it continued like this for the rest of the course.
I made one mistake, being dragged too far to one side on a contouring
leg, but engaged brain just before it was too late and recognised another
feature. The results would reveal that I did no leg better than 6th
for my course combination, but seemed to avoid expensive errors that were
hitting others, and that I came back 7th in the M45 relay. Alan
Leakey had already brought the SLOW M50 team back in the lead, and handed over
to Charlie Turner.
Andy Robinson took our second leg. Amongst the fancied teams in our
class was
The teams ahead were Bristol, South Ribble and the Army. And SLOW’s M50
team of course, as Charlie had had a good run. Bristol had Gavin Clegg. The
army had Colin Dickson, also a veteran international. Colin and Gavin had been
first and second in last year’s British. Guildford had Al Doyle waiting in the
changeover pen; they have won many times and Al has won a British relay in
every age-group from M21 upwards. Just over half an hour later there was a
cheer round the SLOW tent as the commentary announced Mike Murray, running last
leg for SLOW’s M50 team, was on his way in. He had done the same control
combination as me, four minutes quicker. The distinctive electric blue suit
came into view in the woods. A few then noticed a second similar suit a little
bit behind but heading to the finish at the same speed, could it be?
Indeed it was, just after Mike entered the finish field AJ followed. He
wasn’t announced as I was still disqualified at the time! A clenched fist
salute to the SLOW tent suggested AJ knew what was up. Gavin did not have a
good run by his standards, as noted above. AJ
caught and passed Colin Dickson in the final loop, running the leg two and a
half minutes quicker. He was half a minute quicker than Al Doyle. He was over
five minutes quicker than me. It is incidentally a very good job that teams can
only enter one relay for which they are eligible, otherwise the SLOW M50 team
would also be M45 champions too.
Was our win a surprise? Well indeed, except perhaps to AJ. Andy Robbo,
who had been second in a British relay five times previously and never won, was
in his final year of M45, and as a fanatical student of form had seen even a
slim chance go once Peter Haynes got injured. And for me, well I am very
pleased but also very very surprised – I haven’t ever run as slowly in a relay
(although I have got more lost - it was a good map to be slow?) The possibility
of competitive success this year never entered my mind. It was the others what
done it – thanks guys.
And so to the answer, especially for Greg, to the question of “Why is it good to be SLOW?” – “because they
provide ‘andy teammates!”
....And here is the story from Andy Robbo’s point of view. Good job
the stories seem to tally m’lud.
Editor
I WANT MORE OF THIS (The British
Relay Champs – SLOW cleans up in
Since first turning M35 in 1989, I’d never really got on with the
British Relay Champs. I’d always fancied a win, but it had never worked out.
I’m now in my last year as an M45 which makes it my 15th year in
veteran classes. Of the previous 14, injury, failure to be selected for the
first team or foot and mouth had nobbled 5 of them. At the other 9, I had
seriously fancied our chances and achieved one 5th, one 4th,
two 3rds, and no less than five second places. Frustration isn’t the word.
2003 didn’t look promising. Andy Jones, Pete Haynes and John Dowty all
turned M45 and looked to be a ready-made team, having won M40 in 2000. But then
I started beating Andy in some early season races, and so the British Relays
were beginning to look attractive.
Right up to the weekend it looked a tight run thing between AJ and
myself for the 3rd spot, until I picked up a niggle in my calf and
had decided not to contest for a place in the team. But John went and knackered himself doing
something long and ridiculous in the Lakes (bring back the loofa column!), and
Pete turned up lame from a recent injury that was worse than mine. So instead
of vying for one place Andy and I were left to decide who would run with us in
a team left with no hope of a good placing. Paul Street on first leg looked to
be a sporting punt. OK, so he’d finished 40 minutes behind AJ and myself on
Saturday’s individual, but he wouldn’t run that badly again.
Nor did he. When he arrived in the finish field in a fairly close 7th
place, I knew “the boy had done good” as I moved up to the changeover line. I
had one of those really painful runs. The calf was actually less bother than
the day before; it was the lungs and leg muscles that hurt. The course
consisted mostly of small point features a long way from the attack point. But
I was hitting them all, or, what often happened was, I’d hit a control, realise
immediately where it was and move on to get mine. I saw the Army and South
Ribble runners overtake me at a common control, and
Of those ahead, one had a weak runner, but the other two were class acts
ranked well ahead of Andy. I decided that 3rd place would be really
pleasing given the team’s ‘selection problem’. I was also starting to ponder
about all those controls where mine was the one beyond and wondering if Andy
might have the nearer one, when suddenly he arrived back in the finish field
waving his arms wildly and grinning like a maniac. Why? Disbelief! Had we won??
The split times tell the story. The Bristol runner had my course and
blew No 4 in a big enough way to be out of contention. The Army man had the
same course as AJ and should have cruised to victory, but he lost time on a
long leg approaching the end, and Andy got a sight of him. That sighting
promptly disappeared, as the Army man then somehow missed the 3rd
last. We’d hit the front only 2.5 minutes from the end of a two hour race and
AJ took his opportunity to milk the crowd for applause. I’m afraid that didn’t work
on me - I was speechless in confusion - but I made up for that later at the
prize-giving!
Congratulations to our W45s and M50s on also winning. Their position was
very different as they were both carrying big labels that not only said
“expected to win” but added “and it won’t even be close”. Now that’s pressure -
something us M45s knew nothing about; perhaps we’d better ask the Army or
Bristol. The W40s made 2nd and the M14s 3rd which all
made it a long and noisy prize-giving.
The penultimate word goes to first leg runner Paul, who like me had
never won a British Relay. He said “that’s a once in a lifetime experience”.
No, Paul, I don’t see it that way at all.
Paul Street with M45 relay trophy
AND THEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT
(the Harvester Trophy - Andy Robinson’s personal view - and sometimes
lack of it)
I like the Harvester - a 7 leg relay starting at midnight is right up my
street. Also its uniqueness makes it an event of championship standing and
anyone taking home a trophy is entitled to consider themselves the best. This
year it was near Sheffield and it was one of the best for years. Great weather,
great assembly area and a great standard of competition. OK, there were a few
moans about the terrain in the later stages, the midges and the walk from the
car park, but someone recently told me he’d gone off orienteering because
orienteers whinge too much. So we’re only into positives here and I’m spoiled
for choice.
Our men’s team were old enough for the Handicap competition, the second
oldest and most prestigious trophy available. It’s like a separate race within
the main 7 leg class. SLOW has such a
great standard of veteran orienteer that we have won this six times in the past
12 years, and have got used to thinking of it as personal property. However
with a mid-June timing and a mid-England venue good competition could be
expected and with several of our best runners not making the trip, we knew we
could have our work cut out. This was confirmed as soon as I arrived, when I
saw the Bristol team sheet - definitely stronger than us on paper. But as we’d
seen in the British Relays, paper means nothing.
I had first leg and was really looking forward to it. You can’t win a
relay on first leg but you can lose it. I’d done that in 2000 - missed the
first control and the pack then disappeared into the cloud - not a happy time.
But this time it started well. An easy hack into the first. Then saw the
Bristol man punch at the other control, so I knew not to look for him. After a
couple of common controls, No 5 was my chance to show some initiative. I veered
off to be the first of our group to collect it and this set up some of the best
pack running I’ve done for a long while.
Good pack running is tremendous fun. It’s a co-operative business - if
you all work together you gain on others not in your pack. The thinking is
shared out and that allows you to get on more with the serious business of
running fast. For example, controls are
‘pincered’ - if another runs left of the line, you go to the right but in sight
and one of you will spot it.
This pack was going well. I was near the front, concentrating well,
having no trouble keeping up and thinking better than the rest of them. The
splits show we were shedding people off the back but there were 3-4 of us going
well together at the front. Then on the short leg to 13…….…..the title came
into play. I didn’t realise at first; I knew the lighting was different but
with so many headlights around, it took a while to realise it was mine that had
gone. Leaving 13 with the others I had a feel round and found the detached
connection. Jamming it back in briefly I could see that if I could somehow busk
the next 2 controls, I’d then be going past the assembly area where I could
pick up another light. This plan worked, as the runners behind “helped” me find
those two controls wasting limited time and then it was a hack over the moor
towards the lights of the assembly area.
I’m afraid I woke up a few surprised club-mates in the SLOW encampment,
but I was
quickly out of their way and on to the final loop. I soon caught a
slower runner which helped, and near the end picked up a few others, including
one of my original pack (thank you,
The rest of the team all ran really well, and Ed even managed to get us
ahead of Bristol after 3 legs. But we didn’t have enough fire-power to hold
that and eventually finished 25 minutes down, 10th overall, but only
11 seconds ahead of 3rd Handicap. So my carelessness with protecting
my connections didn’t cost us a trophy, and all the team should be pleased with
their runs. I would just have fancied beating Bristol with a full-strength
team.
Our ladies team all ran steadily for a mid-field position on the 5-leg B
class. They were also missing some of our best runners, and so could neither
field a Handicap class team nor realistically aim for a higher place. Next
year’s Harvester is at Pippingford Park in Ashdown Forest - just down the road
and really convenient. Andy
TIME FOR
ANOTHER FIX
This week we’ve just had the first of this summer’s Trail Challenge
Series, and it went really well. We had 50 runners, and although that was only
a bit up on last year’s 41, we had none from Thames Hare & Hounds (being a
Tuesday) and no NOW week this year. So this represents a significant
improvement and shows the benefit of the Runner’s World listing and the contacts
that have been made with local running clubs.
Pretty nearly everyone who ran came and told me how much they enjoyed
it. This came both from the running clubs who kept with their club-mates and
navigated by committee and the regular orienteers at the sharp end. Now
included amongst their number a certain Sarah Rollins -she no doubt found it
useful preparation for the World Champs in Switzerland!
The other two in the series are:
2 July - from the Hawker Centre off the
Richmond Road
29 July - Thames clubhouse again but running in
These races are more fun the more people take part. So if you know
anyone who runs or have been asked by Paul to chase up a local running club,
please try and get them along. You can also have a run yourself if I get enough
helpers.
Also coming up is:
Some orienteering every Tuesday until mid-August. This is in conjunction with Croydon and Mole
Valley. SLOW’s contributions are a score event in Nonsuch Park and a medium
race from Sheen car park in Richmond Park. Also Peter is planning something
weird and wonderful from the clubhouse to finish the summer series. See the
training listing.
20 July. Frolic (2 colour-coded courses and an extra loop) on
Ham Riverside from the Hawker Centre - with 2 new maps (OK, actually two bits
of the same new map) Planner - Frank Lyness. SportIdent - Gavin Andrews.
Organiser - Nigel Saker. Bar and food available afterwards. Also changing and
showers
12 October Yvette Baker Trophy regional
qualifier.
13/14 December. Hankley Common. Southern Night Champs
followed on the Sunday by the OK Nuts Trophy mass start races (and some
shorter colour coded courses). Richard Catmur is planning both but I’m still
looking for an organiser.
Since the last Slowprint we’ve put on two races on the Nower.
12 April. Southern Express. Organiser Diane Leakey. Planner Mike Murray.
Controller and on-the-day planner - Charlie Turner. SportIdent - Andrew
Trimble.
31 May. 3 colour-coded courses. Planner
- Nicky King. SportIdent - Gordon
Parker. Organiser - Kate Thomas. Controller - Mike Murray.
Thank you to all those involved. Both events were well planned, had attractive courses and wonderful weather, but very low attendances - lower than the Trail Challenge race in fact. Is there a message for us here? Andy Robinson
EVENT INFORMATION
You are strongly urged to confirm these events
using the following answerphone services. The SEOA website has links to SE
clubs and other regions.
SEOA (020-8948-6056): http://homepage.ntlworld.com/simon.errington/seoa/seoa.htm
(SCOA (0118-946-4354) (Army (01256-883265) (SO
(01903-239186)
(SAX (01303-813344) (MV (01372-279295)
|
29/6 |
LOK FROLICS; Hampstead Heath. Org: Graham
Williams |
|
5/7 |
HH SATURDAY SERIES: Whippendell Wood Org: Jill Chapman |
|
6/7 |
MV FROLIC: Epsom Downs ORG: Jackie Olive |
|
. DFOK Frolics Event. Keston Ponds, Bromley.
TQ/414640. Carys Morgan, £3.00/£1.00. EPS-SI. Lim CC courses. |
|
|
20/7 |
SLOW
FROLIC: Ham |
|
|
NO MAJOR EVENTS IN SE FOR AUGUST |
|
31/7 |
SLOW BBQ AND CLUB CHAMPS: HOLMWOOD COMMON |
|
6/9 |
HH SATURDAY SERIES Bentley Priory Org Jill Chapman |
|
7/9 |
HAVOC: Epping Forest 125th Forest Anniversary |
|
7/9 |
PETER PALMER JUNIOR RELAY |
|
14/9 |
SOUTHDOWNS LONG-O: Devils Dyke Newtimber Hill |
|
20/9 |
CADDOHOE CHASE: Crazywell Princetown |
|
SLOW CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS AND
BBQ
Sunday
31 August
Holmwood Common, South of Dorking, followed by the club BBQ
nearby at the home of the Turners. The orienteering will bear a
remarkable resemblance to the Trail Challenge courses run on Holmwood in
March. Food and drink will be good
and plentiful. £5 for adults, £1 for
juniors to cover cost of food, payable on the day. Please let Chris Robinson
know if you are coming |
|
Our Summer series of events continues. Coming soon
we have: |