Summer League #9: Moanbaun Wood, Tuesday July 9th Results and Report

Moanbaun Wood near Watergrasshill was the destination for the ninth event in the 2019 CorkO league. This was the penultimate competitive event in the summer league and close to 90 competitors converged at the wood. Many were eager to complete the 2019 summer league and bag themselves a trendy league finisher t-shirt while others having already completed their six events were focussed on improving their overall league standing by running well around Moanbaun Wood.Tuesday was yet another fine evening which offered entrants an excellent opportunity for an outdoor adventure in the woods. We were delighted to welcome some visiting orienteers to the event and it was also lovely to see some of our regulars bringing their visiting relations to the event. We hope you all enjoyed the experience.

The Short course at 3.3km might have been a little longer than normal but the planner designed it to take participants on a nice loop along the forest road with a few little excursions into the wood for some controls. The Long course with 19 controls was a true test of navigational skills and speed. The 5.2km course took full advantage of the nicer sections of the wood with clusters of controls positioned in these areas. Between these bunches of controls competitors speed was tested as they bounded along the forest road which connected these areas of the map.

The course commenced with a short run toward the first area of runnable forest. Here there were a series of short legs taking in a knoll, a depression and another carefully constructed hide which required several changes in direction which tested competitor’s ability to navigate through this section of forest. There was a choice of routes on the leg from 3 to 4 with the option to go straight taking a gamble on the ability to successfully get through the area of dense forest or alternately adopt the saver but slightly longer route along the forest road. Having punched control 4 some folks may have been tempted to cut through the forest to reach control 5, others may have opted to stick to the forest road which provided faster running.

From 5 there was some nice fast road running toward the next cluster of controls in and around the quarry on the northern section of the map with competitors punching two controls en route. Another series of short fast legs awaited entrants in this section of the course. The soaring heat on the night added to the difficult of traversing this open sandy area. Once control 11 was reached it was then time to exit this sector of the map. The leg from 11 to 12 may have persuaded some to risk the most direct route but the vegetation fight presented more challenges that anticipated. Others opted to exit the quarry via the route they entered and while they may have encountered fellow competitors entering this area on the narrow track it was probably the fastest route to control 12.