Summer League #7: Corrin Hill Wood Tuesday July 19th Results and Report

Post date: Jun 21, 2018 1:9:37 PM

The seventh event in the CorkO Summer League saw close to 80 orienteers gather at Corrin Hill Wood on Tuesday evening. The extensive felling that has taken place in Corrin Hill since our last visit was widely evident as competitors approached this destination. The clear felling of the south west region of the hill means the distinctive cross at the summit is now more discernible from afar.The car park that was once shielded by the surrounding trees is now unprotected and despite it being a warm dry evening for competitors the fresh breeze at the start was a reminder of how high this location is. The organiser's plan to erect a nice parasol for shelter at registration were rightly scuppered by the lack of shelter at the start. On a positive note the felling has opened up stunning views of the surrounding country side.It was great to see so many families participate on the night and we were delighted to welcome the Fermoy cubs back for another orienteering adventure on their home turf. This prominent hill is very visible from afar and regular summer league followers will be quite aware of the physical nature of this landscape. The planner set out a Short course that encompassed a 2km loop which had participants climb to the top of Corrin Hill before meandering back down to the finish.The Long course was a slightly more arduous affair. There is really no avoiding the climb in Corrin and for the Long course entrants had to endure it from the start as they climbed to controls one and two. The leg from two to three took competitors along a charming soft trail through the impenetrable vegetation back to the main fire road and on towards the infamous cross at the peak and centre of this map. Hopefully some folks took time to appreciate the fabulous views afforded from this site before commencing the fast and tricky descent to control four. Careful footwork was needed on this route and some fallen trees in the vicinity presented some additional obstacles that needed to be negotiated here.From control four there was some nice trail running along the sloping tracks picking off controls 5 and 6 in the process. There was a steep climb up to control 7 before the start of the downhill run to controls 8 and 9. There was a bit of route choice on the leg from 9 to 10. Competitors had to choose between clear running back up the forest road or some scrambling through the forest on the slightly shorter direct route. The splits will tell which route proved fastest on the night.Following ten there was some nice fast running to 11 and 12 along the lowest trail in the wood with picturesque views of the gorgeous runnable forest below. This nice running was to be enjoyed as being at the lowest point on the map meant only one thing there was going to be a long haul back to the finish. Control 13 needed to be punched on route. This tough climb to the finish control had participants truly exhausted at the finish line.On the 4.5km Long course Conrad Daly made light work of the climb as he powered around the course and finished in a time of 32:57 to claim his third event win of the 2018 summer league. He is definitely on course to defend his Summer League title. There was a hard-fought battle for the runner up spot with a mere 29 seconds differentiating the next three finishers. It was Agris Kramins who claimed the bragging rights finishing in a time of 35:06 to claim the runner up honor. Hot on Agris's heels were Dan McDonnell and Darragh Hoare. Dan took third place when he punched the finish in a time of 35:18 narrowly edging out Darragh.The fastest lady around the gruelling terrain in Corrin Hill was Caroline Murray. She completed the challenging course in a time of 47:02. Runner-up on the night was Elaine Sheridan, she punched all 13 controls in a time of 49:34. The final podium spot went to Elizabeth Jakobsson who finished in a time of 50:18.Of the 30 competitors who took up the Short course challenge it was Angela Murphy who proved fastest on the night. She took the title of Short course event winner when she finished the course in a time of 15:24. Not to be outdone by her Dad runner up the Short course runner up was Zane Kramina who punched all 12 controls in a time of 19:35. Not far behind Zane was third place finisher Des Murphy who finished in a time of 19:53.Well done to all who participated on the night. Full individual results with splits time are available at the following link:http://www.orienteering.ie/result2?oaction=fullSIResult&id=21816There were a few items in lost and found this week. A competitor found a sum of money in the wood on the night and handed it in at registration so if you lost more than energy in Corrin please get in touch. A thumb compass was also left at the finish if you are missing this important navigational aid let me know.

Huge thanks this week to Eadaoin Morrish for planning and organising the event. Thanks also to Cameryn Kelly Morrish and Andrew Turner for putting out and collecting controls and helping with registration. We were grateful to John Scannell for assisting with starts.

The next event in this year’s Summer League will take us to Moanbaun Wood near Watergrasshill. The “White Bog” is a popular hangout for the midge so if you tend to be a tasty treat for these pesky little critters you might want to come prepared to do battle with them. Further information and directions are available here:

www.corko.net/calendar/watergrasshill

Hope you can join us!