Summer League #10: Glenbower Wood Results and Report

Post date: Jul 11, 2012 12:49:40 PM

The final competitive event in the Cork Orienteering Club Summer League took place last night in Glenbower Wood, Killeagh. Given the erratic weather of our summer to date it is amazing to state that for the tenth consecutive Tuesday, the conditions remained dry and we got a splendid evening for orienteering and for the BBQ which followed the event.I’m not sure if it was the attraction of the BBQ or the fact that this was the last opportunity for our Summer League regulars to either improve on their overall league standing or achieve their sixth event to feature in the upper end of the league tables that assisted in drawing a notable attendance of 103 people to the event. Once again it was wonderful to see so many beginners out in Glenbower Wood trying the sport of orienteering for the first time. We sincerely hope you enjoyed the scenic trek around the wood and will join us again for some more woodland adventures.Unfortunately the weather hasn’t been so favourable at other times in the summer and the heavy rain has impacted the terrain in Glenbower Wood with landslides in some parts. This restricted last night’s planner to the use of certain areas of the forest which made for a fast course with lots of route choice. The Long course began with a gradual climb towards the first control which proved a little tricky as the crag was discreetly tucked away in the dark. Once located competitors then journeyed down under the magnificent Metal Bridge towards the river and control two. The leg from 2 to 3 presented two route choices; participants could either cross the river immediately or alternatively stay on the current side of the river and cross at the upper bridge. Despite the fact that there was no actual bridge at control two this didn’t deter several contenders from making a splash and taking the former route option. Control three was in one of the very unique features of the map - the cave. It too was a little damp inside! The run from 3 to 6 involved a very scenic trail along the valley. Those who didn’t heed the control description for number seven regretted it when they downloaded and realised they had punched a control from the short course which was on the turning circle rather than the correct Long course control at the foot of the crag. There was a fantastic aroma of wild garlic in the lovely area of forest run where controls 8 to 10 resided. Looking at the splits come folks lost some crucial seconds in this area, perhaps they got carried away by the ease of running in this picturesque expanse.

Given this was the last competitive event in the 2012 Summer League and with no clear winners of any of the league titles heading into the event, last night’s results would determine our Summer League Champions. So, of those in contention, who rose to the challenge? And who cracked under the pressure? There was plenty of drama last night! So just a quick recap of how things stood at 5:30pm last night. Rob McEvoy was our Long course league leader and only Brian Corbett could equal his current league total by winning the event last night. To guarantee his outright lead Rob needed to finish inside the top three. Both these challengers along with those vying for the runners-up spot were at the event for the final show down. They all looked very focused during their warm-ups and weren't to be distracted from the task at hand. Champion titles aside there were several others who had clear objectives last night with the competition for the all-important bragging rights almost as intense, it seemed nobody held back. So down to the important business of the event results and firstly in a dramatic turn of events Rob McEvoy DNF’d. Thus his claim for the title was no longer in his control. However fortunately for him Danny O’Hare’s determination not to be denied an overall league podium finish by some late challengers such as Conrad Daly and John Chandler meant he gave it his all out there and completed the Long course in a time of 24:19 to achieve his second event win of the league. Furthermore, Brian Corbett wasn’t going to concede the title without a fight but regrettably he finished a mere FOUR seconds behind Danny with at time of 24:23. Did Brian stop at any point to tie his shoe laces? Did he waste time cleaning his glasses? Was someone ahead of him at one control and did he wait patiently to punch? Where did he lose those crucial four seconds? His result was however good enough to secure him the overall league runners up position but meant Rob McEvoy maintained his status at the top of the league leader board and was crowned our 2012 Summer League Champion. The final podium position in Glenbower went to Dermot O’Sullivan who finished with a time of 25:22.

Meanwhile things were equally as exciting in the Ladies league. Heading into the event Una Buckley was leading the field with 18 points and Niamh Corbett and Ailbhe Creedon were the only two who could overtake her. Ailbhe Creedon quietly arrived back into the country at the weekend and was in super form last night. She completed the Long course in a time of 30:17 which meant she earned the 2012 Summer League Ladies Champion title. Her impressive run also saw her finish eighth overall in Glenbower. The second fastest lady last night was Trishia O’Mahony who finished in a time of 33:06. This position reduced her overall league total to 17 points which meant she potentially could have also overtaken Una. Fortunately, Una Buckley wasn’t going to be psyched out and she had another steady run which secured her third place in Glenbower with a time of 34:34. This also meant she improved on her overall league total reducing it to 17 points. As a result we now have a tie for the runner’s up position in the ladies league between Una Buckley and Trishia O’Mahony. Fair play ladies on such a great contest!

The Short course title race was down to a straight battle between Sean and Sienna Bosonnet. Sienna needed an event win on the Short course for a share of the title. However, it was her other brother Joe who denied her on this occasion. The Short course in Glenbower Wood covered a distance of 1.9km as the crow flies but this didn’t take long as Joe Bosonnet flies. He showed incredible speed and completed the course in a time of just 11:17. Joe was very excited by his second event win of the Summer League. His win ensured his brother Sean secured the outright 2012 Summer League Short course Champion title and sister Sienna was declared runner-up. Second place in Glenbower went to Teresa Leahy who finished in a time of 12:40 and just nine seconds behind Teresa was Sienna Bosonnet who secured the final podium spot.

In the team event no points were awarded on the Long course and as usual team Bosonnet took the honours once again on the Short course gaining 9 points. Second place went to the O’Sullivan team with 54 points. This family travelled up from Clonakilty for the event and all seemed to enjoy the evening.

Full individual results with splits and Route Gadget are available here:

http://orienteering.ie/builder.php3?MoreResults-1945

They are well worth checking out. See if you can see where the crucial four seconds was lost! Also if you missed all the excitement and the grub some pics have been uploaded to the gallery section of the website.

Thanks to Mary Curran for planning the event and to Dave O’Donovan for helping with starts. Thanks also to Rob McEvoy and Brian Corbett for assisting with data entry and Liam O’Brien for helping with control collection. Apologies to any of the late finishers who didn’t get to download at the finish. The lap top ran out of steam which meant the download got moved to the BBQ area which just added to the suspense for some finishers!

Thanks also to Declan Noonan from The Old Thatch in Killeagh for the lovely setting for our Summer League BBQ and for the tasty BBQ food.