Victorian State Series #4 (20/05/2012)

I was very pleased to be able to run with only minor calf soreness towards the end of the course. This enabled me to get back to some decent orienteering speed, although my fitness was still suffering.

I went very wide (left) on #1. It probably wasn't the fastest way, but it was good for me to read the rest of the course.

I had 2 problems. The first was at #6 (50 seconds). My attack point was a small spur immediately before the small gully with the control. Unfortunately, a significant knoll/spur is covered by the north edge of the control circle. I ran to this thinking that it was my attackpoint. When I understood that it wasn't, I could see where I could be on the map. Looking further north I saw the small watercourse, so I headed south and found the control.

Very small losses at #7 (10s) and #8 looking for the control hidden in the pit (15s).

The other major problem was at #13 (3 mins). See GPS track - I did a very good job of searching the gauze in the middle of the circle, but it wasn't until I searched outside the circle that I found the control.

On the way to #16 I got stuck in blackberries for around 30secs.

The cliff at #20 was further south than was marked on the map. I aimed off to the left carfully and found the cliff right in front of me. My GPS track confirms this.

Full marks to the course setter for using the most interesting and challenging terrain on the map. The short legs with changes of direction were really enjoyable. There were also some good route choice legs early on the longer courses. Courses 8 and 9 were also very suitable for the 10-12 year olds.

Unfortunately control 177 was misplaced by about 50m too high. The gauze in the area has spread, and the track across the creek was overgrown. Those who navigated to the correct small gully next to the small knoll in the middle of the gauze had no chance of seeing where the control was actually placed. This had a large impact on the results of both course 3 (#13) and course 5 (#14), as can be seen by the splits. I don’t think that anyone complained too much though, as it was only a state series event. In cases like these where the vegetation on the map has changed significantly, it is better to move the control site to another location.