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Post date: Jun 25, 2014 2:12:43 PM
The seventh event in the CorkO Summer League saw our regular troupe of orienteering enthusiasts converge in Moanbaun Wood on Tuesday evening. The continued fine weather presented us with another glorious summers evening which encouraged large numbers of individuals and families to take full advantage of the long bright evening and enjoy some orienteering action. This week we were particularly delighted to welcome a number of members of the Fermoy Cubs and their parents to the event. We hope you all enjoyed the evening and the internal group competition on the Short course.Luckily for 100 plus competitors in attendance at the event the resident midge population must have been enjoying a summer recess elsewhere and only a few stragglers remained but thankfully these didn't prevent participants from enjoying their run. Furthermore, thanks to the absence of midge there seemed to be plenty of post run route analysis taking place around the finish area as groups compared their elected routes with fellow competitors and debated the pros and cons of the varied route options.
The 3km Short course was probably a little longer than usual as the planner wanted to avoid competitors having to double back on themselves and as a result the course encompassed a big loop along a forest track which ran though the lower section of the map. This track might have also proved a little bumpy for our buggy-O contenders. While the majority of the course was along this track, the route to the penultimate control took competitors into perhaps one of the most stunning areas of forest run on the map which is comprised of multiple rows of magnificent beech trees.
Tuesday’s demanding Long course was a genuine test of one’s orienteering skills. With seventeen controls on the course this meant there was really no time to relax and enjoy the surrounds. Planning your route is the key to successful orienteering and this course presented lots of route decisions most notably on legs 1 to 2, 9 to 10 and 13 to 14. Although on the map it looked as if you had to go as the crow flies nothing could have been further from the truth and it was very important to get from control to control in a manner that best suited your particular strengths.Numerous legs might have tempted participants to take the shorter straight line route through areas of forest walk but if speed is one of your strengths the longer routes around the paths might have been the optimal route for you. Although a compass may have been advantageous when taking the straight line approach on some legs the terrain also offered routes with handrails such as earth walls, drainage ditches and erosion gullies for those that didn't have a compass to hand.With lots of directional changes throughout any slip in concentration on this course would prove costly. The varied route options led to many rivals passing each other multiple times on the course but you were never quite certain if you were ahead or behind your orienteering opponents. This was especially relevant in the vicinity of controls 11, 12 and 13 due to the assorted routes taken when traversing this terrain. Right through the course the cracking of branches sounded the presence of fellow competitors scrambling through the slow terrain.Many felt on reaching control fourteen they were in the home stretch and would have an easy run to the finish. However, this was not to be as the final three controls were situated in the pocket of runnable forest between the start and finish controls. So despite waning energy levels it was necessary to remain focused to avoid wasting precious time weaving through this forested area. The undulating terrain here was a real test of one’s agility.
Several participants reached the finish with plenty of twigs and foliage entangled in their hair and attached to their sporting apparel. Moreover, those who opted for minimal leg cover on the night exhibited all manner of gashes and scrapes from their exploits in Moanbaun Wood. Despite appearances these were all fairly minor wounds.
So who responded well to these testing courses? Well the Corbett family with their pace and efficient navigational skills really dominated on the Long course this week. With the father and son duo battling each other yet again for the top honours on the Long course. However, Cillin piped his Dad once more to secure his fourth consecutive Summer League event win. Cillin completed the 4.3km course in a time of 33:05. For the second week in a row Brian finished runner-up on the night, he completed the course in a time of 34:28. Hot on Brian’s heels was third place finisher Conrad Daly who punched all 17 controls in a time of 34:54.Niamh Corbett wasn’t going to let the men in her family take all the glory on Tuesday night and with her Leaving Certificate exams complete she made her 2014 Summer League debut in style and bagged herself the distinction of being the fastest Lady on the Long course in Moanbaun Wood in the process. She completed the course in 48 minutes and 23 seconds. Sharon Lucey had another impressive run this week and finished runner-up with a time of 51:48. This second place finish means Sharon will climb to the top of the leader board in the overall Long Course Ladies league results and she will have a comfortable lead heading into the remaining league events. Trishia O’Mahony took the final podium by a relative narrow margin. She finished in a time of 53:46 just 18 seconds clear of Elaine Sheridan.The Moanbaun Short course champion was Alex O’Brien. He completed the 3km loop in an impressive time of 24:37. Callum McIIreavy jumped up one spot on the rostrum this week and was the Short course runner-up on the night having punched all nine controls in a time of 25:59. The teamwork displayed by Avril, Jane and John around the Short course meant they finished in a time of 27 minutes and 47 seconds and clinched the final Short course podium spot.Well done to all who participated at the event. Full individual results with split times are available here.
As usual some photos from the evening have been added to the Gallery page on our website. So why not check them out and see if you got snapped by the Summer League paparazzi in Moanbaun Wood!
Thanks to John Chandler for planning the challenging courses. Thanks also to Willie Fitzgerald for assisting with starts and control collection and to Liam O’Brien for all his assistance on the evening.The competition arena for the eighth event in the CorkO Summer League will be Ballyannon Wood in Midleton. This ancient woodland with its ruined cottages, boathouses and sandy shore lines has challenged many at previous events on this map. A useful tip for next week would be to check the tides! Further forest trivia and directions are available here.Hope to see you there!
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