After a small misunderstanding regarding the number of maps estimated to be needed, we got the event under way with 34 entrants entered and only 30 colour maps. An option to race with a black and white map was made to competitors at registration at a significant reduction in price which 13 entrants opted for. It was not thought that the black and white map would make much difference to competitors but as always, competition would show up any problems and it did. A couple of tracks got lost as the surrounding dark green colour on the colour map changed to black, and couple of the control numbers were also lost for the same reason. Also, one control became difficult to find due to the map not showing a difference between open forest and open rough ground and a track that stopped in the forest.
None the less, 5 of the top seven finishers in the 1 hour section where using the black and white maps so it didn't slow people down much. Hanmers Andy Clayton breezed home with 5 minutes to spear in the 45min class while late penalties decided the winner in the 1 hour class with Craig Tregurtha taking the win over Bruce Meder. Roz Clayton and Trish Faulkner proved to be the fastest women however, Georgia Whitla and Viv Prince were not far back.
As for the controls, the least popular control was the 20 point number 12 which, while located very close to the start, had a tricky little track to find, proving elusive for many. The most popular was the 50 point number 25 just down the road from the start. An interesting note is that 25% of entrants did not stop to get number 20 which was within a couple of minutes of the finish and worth 100 points. Even if you were running late, the points gained from this control would be worth more than the time penalties lost in being late.
A big thank you to David Pugh-Williams and Rob Jessop for the map work and to the lovely ladies helping me populate the finish area when everyone arrives at once.
45 minute score Place Name Score Pnlty Total Time 1 Andy Clayton 880 880 39m38s 2 Trish Faulkner 640 640 42m27s 3 Ben & Graham* 540 540 44m45s 4 Selena, Keiran, Jeremy 430 430 43m42s 60 minute score * Black and white photocopied map 1 Craig Tregurtha* 1290 1290 57m36s 2 Bruce Meder* 1290 40 1250 3 Andrew Connochie 1240 1240 55m15s 4 Alistair Cory-Wright* 1240 1240 59m20s 5 Dave Laurie 1230 1230 55m50s 6 Keith Agmen* 1260 40 1220 7 Andrew Johnstone* 1210 1210 8 Roz Clayton 1120 1120 59m05s 9 Georgia Whitla 1060 1060 58m04s 10 Eddie Reddish 1050 1050 54m30s 11 Viv Prince 1050 1050 56m20s 12 Rob Whitla 970 970 51m50s 13 Greg Bristow* 970 970 59m12s 14 Kerryn McLennan* 920 920 58m04s 15 Conal Boland-Bristow* 880 880 56m55s 16 Mark Grover 870 870 58m26s 17 Rob Archibald* 870 870 58m46s 18 Jo Wall 840 20 820 19 Greg Morehouse 820 820 55m40s 20 Thomson family 780 780 57m06s 21 David Wall 750 750 59m25s 22 Kerry and Frog 780 40 740 23 Jacob L 580 580 56m 24 D&R Mill 640 60 580 25 Lise Grant 670 120 550 26 Nixz Kerr 530 530 55m00s 27 Jeremy & Alister* 500 500 59m40s 28 Samuel Etherington* 370 370 46m32s 29 Jan & Sophie Harrison 370 370 48m04s 30 Ria & Michael Smithson*240 240 47m55s