Summer League #4: Glenbower Wood Tuesday May 29th Results and Report

Post date: May 31, 2018 9:1:47 AM

Storm Ophelia left a substantial mark on Glenbower Wood and this was most evident at the first river crossing where the once scenic summer gazebo was left ruined in it’s wake and the quarry adjacent to control 5 was full of fallen trees. There were lots of other trees strewn across various trails it the wood so some ducking and weaving was required on the night.There was a taxing climb from control 5 through to control 8 at the north western corner of the map before competitors began a fast descent into the valley and across the river. The deluge of rain at the weekend meant some of the trails were a little slippery under foot so some care was required here. Control 10 located along the series of crags proved costly for some on the night. There were two obvious routes to the control the high road and the low road. However, the control was a little easier to spot when approaching it from the low road as the series of crags were easy to observe.From here there was another tough climb to control 11 were competitors got to bound along the soft trails through the rhododendron. Some participants may have passed the Fainin Well on the ascent to 11 or on the descent to 12. This is a Bullaun stone were rain water collects in its hollow and it is known for its curative properties but I’m not sure if anyone tried to avail of these on Tuesday night.The sight of control 13 from control 12 meant that several competitors opted to take the direct route through the undergrowth to reach it. From here there was yet another climb required back to control 14 in the depression and control 15. Then began the fast descent to control 16 before a final series of controls taking in the very impressive Metal Bridge and some nice runnable forest on the route to the finish. A powerful smell of wild garlic greeted competitors as they punched the finish control.So, after the grueling course in the evening sun who was going to be cooling off in a colourful and trendy new running top. The Bookies favourites for donning the stylish WOD running tops were our three previous Summer League event winners Darragh Hoare, Conrad Daly and Andrew Turner but could a summer league debut by some of the locals distort the odd?

Of the 48 competitors who participate on the 4.2km Long course a mere 44 seconds was all that differentiated the top three at the finish line. Darragh Hoare took the early lead on the Long course when he finished it in a time of 34:18. He then had an anxious wait as fellow competitors returned to download to see if he remained as the front-runner. Zac O’Sullivan Hourihan made his 2018 Summer League debut on Tuesday night and was one of the last competitors to start at the event. Zac pace would definitely have him in the top ten at the event and Darragh had a particularly nervous wait for his return. However, despite an excellent run he failed to deny Darragh the Glenbower event winner honour. So, Darragh Hoare was the worthy winner of the WOD running top. Zac was runner up on the night having punched all 19 controls in a time of 34:42 just 22 seconds behind Darragh. Hot of both these guys heels was Andrew Turner who completed the course in a time of 35:02.Proving that orienteering is a sport for all the family the fastest Lady around Glenbower Wood was Darragh’s mum Caroline Murray. She completed the course in a time of 47:04 and in the process bagged herself a classy new running top. Runner-up on the night was Elaine Sheridan, she punched all the controls in a time of 49:31. Elizabeth Jakobsson manged to hold off a strong challenge from Sarah Hoare to take third place in a time of precisely 50 minutes.Of the 31 competitors on the Short course it was Liam Twomey who took the title of Short course event winner. He completed the 2.6km course in a time of 24:21. Liam will get a WOD buff for his efforts. Runner up on the night was David Moylan he finished in a time of 27:26. The final podium spot went to Erin O’Brien who punched all 11 controls in a time of 30:52 and as she was the fastest female on the Short course she was also awarded a WOD buff.