Summer League #4: Watergrasshill Results and Event Report

The fourth event in the Cork Orienteering Summer league saw large numbers converge in Watergrasshill. Although the weather wasn’t as amazing as that being reported on the east coast all week it was a splendid evening for orienteering and with the location so close to the city there was a great turnout of 89 competitors.This area is known for its network of wide paths and traditionally would have favoured the fast runners in the field who could gain considerable time over their competitors on these tracks. However numerous map updates over the past few years have enhanced the map with the addition of several areas of forest fast and slow run and more recently the quarry. To best utilise these areas of the map and avoid looping people back the way they came the planner had to make the courses a little bit longer than normal. Thankfully he gave us advance notice of this and on such a lovely evening I don’t think anyone minded spending a little extra time out in the fresh air.The resulting Long course had a great mix of terrain from the fast forest run incorporating delightful patches of moss covered ground which provided a soft cushioned running surface when navigating between controls 2, 3 and 4 to more rugged ground around control 7 and 10 to the sandy and stony soil of the quarry en route to control 9.  This was all of course interspersed with plenty of track running. Some of the local cattle gathered to watch what was happening on the other side of the fence at control 14! I hope they were impressed with what they saw. The resident midge population also congregated and seized the opportunity for a few nibbles on anyone who spent too long pondering their missed opportunities at the finish. Dare I look to see who had the fasted split on leg 5 to 6 on the Long course.......I hope they didn’t enter the out of bounds pasture land!!!The variety of the terrain on offer on last night’s challenging course meant the winner needed to have the right combination of speed and orienteering ability and there was no shortage of these folks in the field. As is now becoming the norm the competition was fierce on the Long course however it was Brian Corbett who was most consistent over the Long course and emerged the winner on the night completing the course in a time of 36:34.  Tim O’Donoghue's incredible speed is evident from his splits over the final few controls on the Long course this sprint finish meant he was only 25 second behind Brian and took second place. Rob McEvoy had to be content with a third place finish this week with a time of 39:13.

Anyone who is fast becoming a fan of the Park O style orienteering will be glad to hear that next week’s event sees its return at the historic setting of James’ Fort, Kinsale. This area is comprised of open hillside surrounding the pentagonal Fort with its spear shaped earthen Bastions at the corners. The earthen moat encircling the Fort can present some navigational challenges while other novel features on the map include the sandy beach and stone tunnels but don’t forget to duck when negotiating the latter. Further information on the location and directions are available here. In the meantime best of luck to anyone doing all or part of the Cork City marathon on Monday and to everyone travelling to the Irish 3 day in Oughterard, Galway at the weekend. To all those who plan on having a more leisurely long weekend remember that fresh legs might just give you the edge next Tuesday night so don’t miss out! Hope to see you in Kinsale.