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Post date: Jun 15, 2016 10:0:45 PM
The sixth event in the CorkO Summer League drew a crowd of over 100 enthusiastic orienteers to Moanbaun Wood near Watergrasshill to take on our latest orienteering challenge. The menacing grey sky which loomed over the wood all evening threatened to bring some showers but luckily these threats didn't materialize and it remained dry for the duration of the event. The cool fresh evening proved ideal for fast running and ensured the local midge inhabitants didn't make an appearance at the event.
There were lots of Eagles, Owls, Lions, Wolves and Dolphins in the wood on Tuesday night. If you’re thinking that poor Dolphin or how on earth did I miss all them well they were in fact the teams from the Fermoy Cub scouts who participated at the event. We were delighted to see this Cub Scout troop back for some more orienteering adventures. They are all really advancing their orienteering skills and featured high in the Short course results on the night.The forest at Moanbaun has undergone some changes since our last Summer League visit with a lot of felling particularly in the area adjacent to the start. The Short and Long courses veered in opposite directions on the night. The Short course encompassed a scenic route around the southern section of the map while the Long course took competitors on a journey through the northern portion of the map.The first control on the Long course was positioned beside a well-constructed hide in the beautiful mature beech forest. From here competitors got to enjoy another foray into the runnable forest before some fast and careful running on the fire roads for the next sequence of controls. These tracks would have suited the fast runners in the field although some might have got carried away bounding along these trails and over shot some of the controls which were discretely positioned on features adjacent to the trail.
For the mid-section of the course the planner took competitors around the area surrounding the quarry. This lunar looking landscape was new to many of our summer league followers and the path network in this region required some careful navigation to avoid deviating from ones intended route. Some participants struggled to find control 9 which was located in a rather deep pit. Some finishers mentioned that they did struggle a bit when scrambling out of this pit but thankfully the control collectors didn't find any competitors trapped inside. Once finished in the soft sandy quarry terrain contestants got to enjoy some more fast running from controls 12 to the finish. For those that had the energy left in their legs at this stage they could make up some valuable time on this home stretch.Once again the competition was fierce on the Long course as 47 competitors battled it out for the prestigious honour of claiming the event winner title. At the end of the event just 16 seconds differentiated our top two finishers. Dermot O’Sullivan managed to hold off a very strong challenge from Brian Corbett to take the event winners title. Dermot demonstrated impressive speed on the night when he completed the course in a time of 29:19. Our event runner up Brian Corbett completed the course in a time of 29:35. There was also an incredible battle for the final podium spot and at the end of the day nothing could separate the next two finishers as they tied for third place. Both Frank O’Brien and Dermot Murphy covered the 5.1km course in exactly thirty one minutes and fifty four seconds.The distinction of being crowned the fastest Lady around Moanbaun Wood went to Michelle Ahern when she completed the course in a time of 36:54. This is Michelle’s first event win in the 2016 summer league and will no doubt see her move up a few places in the summer league leader board. Runner-up on the night was Una Buckley, she punched all 16 controls in a time of 37:01 and had less than a minute to spare over our final podium finisher Trishia O’Mahony. Trishia finished in a time of 37:47.There were 57 competitors in action on the Short course and a mere 37 seconds separated our three podium finishers. Claire Lane followed up her winning performance in Ballyannon Wood with yet another event win in Moanbaun Wood. She completed the 2.5km course in a time of 19:18. Hot on Claire’s heels were the O’Donoghue family and it was Tim O’Donoghue who finished runner up having punched all 10 controls in a time of 19:35. Luke O’Donoghue was just 16 seconds adrift of Tim and he claimed the final podium spot finishing in a time of 19:51.Well done to all who participated on the night. Full individual results can be viewed here.Early runners on the Long course had a disadvantage as control 13 was in the wrong place. In the interest of fairness to all, the leg from 12 to 13 has been voided. This adjustment to the Long course results unfortunately means there is no SplitsBrowser analysis available this week.Huge thanks this week to Eadaoin Morrish for planning the testing courses and to Cameryn Kelly Morrish for helping to put out and take in the controls. Thanks again to Darren Burke for controlling this event, Dave O’Donovan for taking care of starts, Rob McEvoy for attending the download area and Jim O’Donovan and Bobby O’Connor for helping with event organisation and control collection.
Next week we head West to the start of the Wild Atlantic Way when we visit James Fort in Kinsale. From previous visits to this location many will recall that this pentagonal Fort with its spear shaped earthen Bastions at the corners is surrounded by open hillside. It will be tough going traversing this hilly terrain but the picturesque views and the opportunity for a post run cool down at the Dock beach will make it all worthwhile. Further information on the location and directions are available here.
Hope you can join us at this fabulous destination.
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