Over 30 members from CorkO made the long trip north last weekend to participate in the Lisburn Festival of Orienteering which included the 2015 Irish Orienteering Championships. This four day festival of orienteering included six orienteering events. There was a wide variety of orienteering competitions on offer over the long weekend with Sprint, Long Distance, Trail O, Urban racing and Relay events. All those who made the journey received a very warm welcome from Lagan Valley Orienteers (LVO) and were rewarded with excellent orienteering events in challenging and diverse terrain. It was a very productive weekend for several club members who not only got plenty of competitive orienteering but also earned some podium finishes and some championship titles in the process. Well done to all who participated it was great to see the club colours present at all the events and you all did the club proud over the weekend. Day 1: Friday May 1st: Irish Sprint Championship, Laurelhill Sportszone The weekend kicked off with some fast and furious action in the Sprint championship. Some decisive route planning was required on these short courses with so many controls.CorkO took three Irish Sprint Championship titles on the night thanks to Darren Burke (M21E), Ted Feehan (M70) and Zane Kramina (W10). Huge congratulations to our champions and well done to all those who podium finishers on the night. The full list of CorkO Sprint Championship podium finishers includes: M16: 2nd Dan McDonnell 3rd Cameryn Kelly Morrish M21E: 2nd Darren Burke (Irish Champion) M40: 3rd Brian Corbett M50: 2nd Colm O’Halloran M70: 1st Ted Feehan (Irish Champion) 3rd Bobby O’Connor W10: 1st Zane Kramina (Irish Champion) W45: 2nd Eadaoin Morrish W55: 3rd Liz Deane Full individual results are available here.  Day 2: Saturday May 2nd: Irish Long Distance Championship, Slieve Croob Sadly the sunny conditions which greeted competitors at the Sprint Championship on Friday evening were no where to be seen on Slieve Croob on Saturday morning for the Long Distance Championship.Some competitors may have questioned their sanity leaving their warm dry cars in the car park to make the 1km trek up 130m in the driving wind and rain to the location of the high start. The exposed start location offered no reprieve from the conditions of the day and gave a real taste of what lay ahead for competitors. Some attempted to find shelter at the start by crouching behind small crags or hiding in a small cluster of rushes! We all have huge respect for the start team who endured these conditions all morning. Once started on your course it was a matter of holding on tightly to the map so as not to lose it and keep moving to keep warm. The terrain itself offered great run-ability and no doubt on a clear day some fantastic views. Unfortunately, Saturday was not a day to savour these. The extreme cold forced some competitors to retire early but despite the conditions once again CorkO managed to secure two Long Distance Championship titles thanks to Bill Edwards (M45L) and Ted Feehan (M70). There were a number of other CorkO winners in the non-championship classes and several other podium finishers on the day. M16: 2nd Cameryn Kelly Morrish M21L: 1st Agris Kramins M35L: 2nd Danny O’Hare M40L: 2nd Brian Corbett M45L: 1st Bill Edwards (Irish Champion) M50L: 2nd Colm O’Halloran M60L: 2nd Liam O’Brien M70: 1st Ted Feehan (Irish Champion) W21E: 3rd Toni O’Donovan W21S: 1st Elaine Sheridan W45L: 2nd Eadaoin Morrish Well done to all who brave these horrendous conditions, finishing your course was an achievement in itself. Full individual results are available here. Day 3: Sunday May 3rd: Irish Relay Championships, Hillsborough Forest
Day three was all about team work and club participation. Teams from numerous orienteering clubs throughout the country converged in the charming village of Hillsborough for the Irish Relay Championships.Hillsborough Forest and it's historic fort was a fitting location for the battle which lay ahead. The torrential rain which persisted over night and into Sunday morning cleared just in time for the mass start of all first leg runners and the morning and remained dry for the remainder of the relay competition. The forest comprised a mix of fast and slow running and with several controls in close proximity to each either competitors had to pay particular attention to their control codes. The relay exchange happening inside the fort and a few high fort walls offered a great vantage point for observing the relay action and encouraging fellow team mates to give it their all. CorkO had eleven teams in action at Hillsborough Forest and despite competitors pushing hard on the various legs we narrowly missed out on attaining some championship titles and had to be content with runners ups spots in three categories. So well done to all the CorkO Rebel teams and especially the Rebel Rovers, Rebel Rebels and Rebel Again for their runners up honours. Women’s Premier 1st CNOC Caoimhe O'Boyle, Regina Kelly and Niamh O'Boyle 2nd Rebel Rovers Toni O’Donovan, Niamh Corbett and Fionne Lynch Men’s Premier 1st BOC Josh O'Sullivan Hourihan, Niall McCarthy and Nicolas Simonin 2nd Rebel Rebels Marcus Pinker, Shane Lynch and Darren Burke Handicap 12 2nd Rebel Again Colm O’Halloran, Brian Corbett and Liam O’Brien Thanks to all our member who participated in the relay competition. There was a great atmosphere at the event and the competition was fierce in all categories. Full team results are available here. Check out our Gallery page for more photos of the relay action.
Day 4: Monday May 4th: Sprint Relay Race and Lisburn City Race, The Island Centre The teams were very competitive and the participants chased each other around the circuits. There was some drama on the day with some nasty falls and some teams eliminated due to mispunching but the winning team was Ireland 2 which had CorkO's Marcus Pinker as the third leg runner. The CorkO husband and wife team of Shane and Fionne Lynch were members of the third place team Ireland 3. Sprint Relay Results 1st Ireland 2 Susan Lambe, Eoin McCullough, Marcus Pinker (CorkO) and Olivia Baxter 2nd Scotland 3rd Ireland 3 Caoimhe O’Boyle, Shane Lynch (CorkO), Hugh Cashel and Fionne Lynch (CorkO) Full Sprint Relay results are available here. Be sure to check out our Gallery page for more photos of the exciting Sprint Relay Race.
Lisburn City Race Following the Sprint Relay action the weekend concluded with the Lisburn City Race. Here competitors got to race each other around the streets and estates of Lisburn. A lovely way to finish a hectic weekend of orienteering and take in some of the sites of Lisburn city from the scenic canal, to the historic cathedral, to the bustling shopping district to the charming castle gardens. Only if you took the precious time to look around! In the shopping district some care was needed while weaving ones way around pedestrians and shoppers. The underpass and elevation may have caused some confusion on re-entering The Island Centre. Well done to the following CorkO members who featured in the prizes in the city race. Open Men: 2nd Shane Lynch Junior Men 16: 1st Andrew Turner Ultra Veteran Men: 3rd Jim O’Donovan Veteran Men: 2nd Bill Edwards Full results from the Lisburn City Race are available here. A huge thanks to all the members of LVO for staging a great weekend of orienteering. We all certainly enjoyed it and really appreciated all their hard work in planning and organising these fantastic events. |
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