Welcome to the April 2025 chat.  Spring has definitely sprung, as demonstrated by bluebells in the woods, and the Summer Series kicking off.  It signals an end to a busy winter for Wessex.

As always thank you to you all for your continued support to put on great orienteering events.

Spine Race Report – Hannah

After an amazing 53rd place overall (8th woman) in the Winter Spine Race, Wessex’s very own Hannah answered some questions about her experience.  The race was basically the whole Pennine Way, starting on Sunday 12^th February, and Hanna did it in 152:41:51. Not bad going for 268 miles. I’m not convinced Marvel Studios is going to be taking up her superhero “No Sleep Woman” any time soon, but what an achievement (if this does not make sense to you, read what Hanna says)!

What motivated you to participate in this event?

I had heard about the Spine a few years before and really just wanted to see if I could do it. I fancied giving myself a challenge and, as strange as it sounds, I get a thrill out of seeing how far I can get with suffering and grit and determination. I’ve helped on races before and really enjoyed the atmosphere and wanted to see it from the other side.

Can you describe your training regimen leading up to the event?

This ended up not being as structured or as comprehensive as I wanted however, I did a fair few long coast path walks and hours in the new forest, learnt to eat on the go, practiced trying different snacks to see what agreed with me. Days which would normalise long distances were helpful. The main things that helped were long walks in the dark to get used to moving by head torch and working for the NHS…..night shifts were probably the best (unplanned) training that helped the most of all. Being able to cope physically and mentally with missing night’s sleep was key.

What advice would you give a fellow orienteer who wanted to do something like this?

Go for it. We are capable of more than we think we are. Don’t overthink it, if you want to do something that you think is a bit mad or “too hard”, ask what’s the worst that could happen. It’s very easy to talk yourself out of doing events because you think it will be too hard, the hardest thing is signing up and once that’s done you just go with the flow.

What was the most challenging moment during the event, and how did you overcome it?

Slogging through bog in the north Pennines and constantly falling over with shoes being sucked off and getting stuck. This was really miserable and exhausting and the bog went on for HOURS. In the end putting some good music on and just getting into a zone of plodding helped and the hours soon disappeared. Also leaving my clean socks bag and warm layer bag at the first checkpoint. It did eventually make it to a later checkpoint but it was a sad moment at the middle checkpoints not to have clean socks to put on.

With the benefit of hindsight, what would you do differently?

I would vary my snacks more, I soon got bored of the snacks I bought and lost interest in eating them. Towards the end it was a chore to eat and that didn’t help energy levels. I would also bring a warmer sleeping bag and accept the slightly heavier weight for the benefit of sleeping better.

What strategies do you use to maintain focus and stay motivated throughout the race?

Breaking the distance down into chunks. At no point did I think about the whole distance, in fact half the time I couldn’t tell you how long the overall thing was. I had split it into 50km odd distances which became much more mentally manageable and all I had to focus on was getting to the next checkpoint.

Can you share any tips for preventing injuries during training and the event itself?

Build up distance gradually, and with the spine it was more about hours on the feet rather than speed. Probably obvious but keeping on top of foot care. I became sloppy with it as I got more tired and got a couple of blisters as a result.

If you could have any superpower to help you during a race, what would it be and why?

The ability not to need any sleep. The tiredness was really tough, pure exhaustion like I’ve never felt before ….falling asleep against a sign post perched on the smallest bit of rock and hearing my voice being shouted through the fog when there was no-one around and the hallucinations was a weird experience. At one point I was so tired I had to sit down in the middle of the path and lull my head to the side and have a power nap as I was seeing all the rocks as odd-shaped animals. One poor check point volunteer had to console me as I had a full-on sobbing melt-down for forgetting something in my bag, I was deliriously tired and had no control over my emotions but soon picked it up and just kept plodding.

How do you feel after completing such a gruelling race, both physically and emotionally?

Immediately afterwards I was so exhausted I burst into tears at the end checkpoint, through shear tiredness. Once this passed it was overwhelming excitement and buzzing from having finished and being able to read the messages that had been sent through. About a week later you feel invincible and like you could do it all over again (as your brain forgets just how tough it was) and then a few weeks later a strange feeling of “what now’ starts, with a feeling of going back to normal routine and thinking about what the next adventure might be. Physically I was surprised with how I felt. I was on night shift the day after getting home and was able to hobble around in crocs without too much problem. I now have far less toenails and I’m not sure they will ever recover but other than that physically recovered pretty

Wessex Unsung Heroes – Alan Hooper

Alan joined WSX in 1984, and after a successful career as a Chartered Electrical Engineer specialising in Electronics, he now applies his wide skillset to furthering orienteering technology on behalf of Wessex.

Before pcs and laptops were around, he developed a finish system programmed from an old programmable calculator and some custom scrap microprocessor chips. It recorded finish times and synchronised to the old control cards via cloakroom tickets. In fact, it worked so well it was copied by Mike Nelson of BOK. Additionally, he worked with Bill Brown to use a CSV file to automatically convert maps to current symbology, as orienteering was plagued with old and custom symbols.

In the past Alan has been Secretary, Chairman and a Level 3 Controller.

Coming up to the present day, everyone in Wessex knows the drill.  We plan events and, on the day, whatever the weather we run around putting out SI control boxes, stakes and kites.  We run the event, download the results and then collect it all back in again.  Have you ever stopped to consider that these control boxes do their job, month after month, without missing a beat. How does this happen? The answer is simple…. Alan keeping our control boxes in good shape.  This means monitoring their health and changing batteries when required (they last for between 5-10 years, tending to the shorter end of the range due to the additional demands of SIAC). The control boxes are sealed units, so it’s not the same as just changing the AAA batteries in the remote.  Additionally, he frustratingly repairs control boxes that have broken, mainly by being dropped or thrown onto hard surfaces. So please take care of these important and expensive items (they cost around £120 each).

Alan Hooper…… WSX salutes you.

Photos, photos, photos

Whenever we get the opportunity to publicise what we do, there is always a need for great photos.  I know it’s sometimes difficult to go beyond the traditional group of people milling round the start, but please use your imaginations.  At the last Committee we discussed the idea of someone being specifically responsible for this at all our events, as often everyone is too busy.  We need to be able to convey the fun and excitement of our sport, so if you are a keen photographer, let us know.

Wessex Region Night League (WRNL)

The final WRNL event was held in Lymington, followed by the prizegiving.  A big thank you to James for pulling the results together.  Thank you to everyone who got involved from Wessex, running, planning or helping.  These fantastic events wouldn’t happen without you all.

Congratulations to all the Wessex team winners:

• Lyra won the Women’s Open
• Esk was the to Women’s Junior
• Alan came 2^nd on Men’s Open
• Oliver was the top Men’s Junior
• Julie was 3^rd in the Age Graded Women

Considering that 107 competitors representing 12 different clubs were involved, it underlines how good the above performances were.

CSC & Wessex On Tour

On Sunday 23rd February, a crack Team WSX (under team captain James) stepped out at the Compass Sport SW Qualifier at Croydon Hill, Near Minehead.  At the 11^th hour Quantocks had to replan the whole event to adapt to an Ecological Exclusion Zone right in the middle of the area. On top of that the weather on the day presented its own challenges, particularly to Gavin’s shelter.

Everyone knows the happy ending of this story… WSX came 3^rd, which in the Trophy competition, means we are in the final.

Early on the Committee decided to support members so we could field a team in the final, which is in South Gare, Redcar on Sunday 14^th September.  The plan is to take a minibus up on Saturday 13^th September, stay in a local hostel, eat in a local pub, compete on the Sunday then return in the minibus. WSX will pay for entries as normal and additionally will subsidise the trip by around £45 per head, meaning the cost to members will be £45 each. Some members also plan to make their way there.

If you are interested in going, but haven’t let me know, just drop me an email.

Wessex Events

Purbeck Hill Challenge – On 15^th February 2025 a combined Wimborne and Wessex team put on the first Purbeck Hill Challenge, covering Studland, Agglestone and the Purbecks.  The event, planned by Chris Turner (WIM), was a big success, with 86 competitors, many running in pairs, and many new to orienteering. We originally thought that the first event would lose a fair bit of money, due to high mapping costs, but this turned out not to be the case. The second event is on Saturday 14^th February 2026. Keep your eyes peeled for an article about this in the April edition of Compass Sport.

WRNL Bournemouth & Chines – On Monday 17^th February 2025 we ran a night event on Julie’s new Bournemouth Town and Chines map.  With a turn out of around 40, covering what turned out to be a challenging and varied area.

What’s Coming Up

Summer Series (MapRun and Physical Events)

This is now underway, with Scott’s Poole Town Map Run event active in April.

Venues & Dates for MapRun League Events:

• Friday 4^th April until Sunday 4^th May – Poole Town (WSX) – Planned by Scott
• Thursday 1^st May until Saturday 31^st May – Ringwood (WIM)
• Sunday 1^st June until Monday 30^th June – Ferndown Forest (WIM)
• Tuesday 1^st July until Thursday 31^st July – Corfe Mullen (WSX) – Planned by Bruno – New map done by Jason
• Friday 1^st August until Sunday 31^st August – Dorchester (WIM)
• Monday 1^st September until Tuesday 30^th September – Bournemouth Chines (WSX) – Planned by Robbie

Venues & Dates for Physical Events:

• April Event: 1800 – 1900, Saturday 26^th April – Kings Arms, Wareham (WSX) – Planned by Agnes – Open on RSU
• May Event: 1100 – 1400, Saturday 3^rd May – Poundbury (WIM)
• June Event: 1100 – 1400, Saturday 14^th June – Blandford Stour Meadows (WIM)
• July Event: 1830 – 2015, Thursday 10^th July – Corfe Castle (WSX) – Planned by Oliver
• August Event – Puddletown Forest (WIM) – tbc
• September Event: 1830 – 2015, Thursday 11^th September – Bisterne Close (WSX) – Planned by Rob

Saturday 7^th June 2025 –Canford Heath UKUL Event

Dale Paget is the planner for this prestige UK Urban League event. The Event Centre is at Ashdown Leisure Centre. Starts are 11.30-13.00. Bruno & Julie are joint organisers (Julie on the day of the event). Karen French is controller.

We still need more helpers on this event, so please let me know if you are available.

4^th/5^th October 2025 – 3^rd Purbeck Weekend

A big weekend for WSX, with our Dorset Delight on Studland Dunes on the Saturday and Swanage and Durlston on the Sunday. Jon is planning day 1 and Roger on day 2.  Julie is organising day 1 (and coordinating whole weekend), Ian is organiser for day 2. The Swanage and Durlston maps are being linked together by Nick Nourse.