Munster League #6: Knockaculleta Results and Report

Post date: Nov 13, 2012 1:48:18 AM

Our club members Jim O’Donovan and Robert O’Conner have devoted countless hours over the last few months working on their latest mapping venture at Knockaculleta Forest. Full details of the new map were kept under wraps and as a result there was much anticipation ahead of last Sunday’s Munster League event were all would be revealed. Once again our dynamic duo didn't disappoint and the event justified all the hype.Thankfully we were very lucky with the weather on the day and over one hundred competitors got to enjoy the challenge of orienteering in a new area. News of the re-surveyed map even enticed one participant who has been absent from the sport for a number of years to return and review the changes in the topology in this area since it was originally mapped back in 1977. Photos from this reunion have been uploaded to the website. There was much praise on the day for the quality of the new map and the excellent terrain which as advertised comprised large areas of white forest. Furthermore the minimal climb meant that certain areas were extremely fast going. The forest plantation in one region of the wood resulted in some undulating ridges. Traversing this terrain would have suited anyone with a long stride but for many others this may have added some additional climb! The forest really did look splendid with a great array of colours on display from the earthy browns of the trees and pines to the vibrant greens of the diverse varieties of moss growing there. Those who didn't heed the recommendation that a compass would be invaluable in this landscape suffered in the long run as they wasted crucial time trying to relocate when everything around them looked the same. It appears one competitor did do some sole searching on the day when unfortunately one of his o-shoes disintegrated during his run. With six challenging courses on offer there really was something to suit everyone. The honours on the Brown course went to Darren Burke who completed the 9.5km course in a time of 66:35 he took full advantage of the extremely fast forest. Second place went to Brian Corbett with a time of 75:38 while Josh O’Sullivan Hourihan was third with a time of 83:12. John Scannell was fastest around the Blue course with a time of 95:44. Second place went to Niamh Corbett who completed the course in a time of 99:57 and Gerald Duffy took the final podium place with a time of 102:25.

On the Green course Liam O’Brien finished first with a time of 69:54. Kieran Beausang took second place with a time of 83:53 and Garret Walsh (DFO/B Coy) was third with 89:01.

Adrian Doyle (DFO/Support Coy) came out on top on the Light Green course finishing with a time of 70:37. Mike Hallihan was second with a time of 74:15 while Ciara Fitzgerald finished third with a time of 77:20.

Don O’Hanlon took the spoils on the Orange course with a time of 26:32. Second place went to Frank O’Brien who finished the course in 32:40 and Liz Deane was third with a time of 33:14.

Jack Harold had the biggest winning margin of the day completing the Yellow course in 53:40 with over twenty minutes to spare over joint second place finishers Jack and and Vaughan Ryan 73:46.

Full individual results with splits are available here.

If you missed out on this great event and would like to see some photos of the terrain and those in action on the day then visit the Gallery page on our website.The club would like to extend a BIG THANK YOU to Jim and Bobby for all their hard work. They not only produced a great new map but planned and organised most enjoyable and challenging courses. The new map is a fantastic addition to the club’s mapping repository and will no doubt be used extensively in the future given its testing terrain and its convenient location just a short distance from the city. I’m sure everyone who participated in Sunday’s event will look forward to returning to this area in the future. Thanks also to Dave O’Donovan, John Scannell and Rob McEvoy for assisting with the starts and registration and to Gerald Duffy and Danny O’Hare for assisting with control collection. We would also like to apology for failing to provide directions to the forest when approaching from North Cork in our pre-event info. We really appreciate the support of all our members in north Cork and didn’t mean to cause any offence. The next Cork O event will take place in the Regional Park Ballincollig on December 1st with the official launch of the new permanent orienteering course which has been installed there.