Well, what a fabulous weekend. I managed to avoid “the ” wedding and had a great day at the Chiltern Challenge today – with the emphasis on the second word!! This was an event postponed from April and consequently the undergrowth was higher – particularly the nettles (my legs are still tingling!). There was also a lot of dead wood brashings and logs, etc. which made it hard going through some of the, supposedly, white areas. The toughness of the courses was reflected in the large number of “DNFs” – over half the competitors on the Short Green course, for example! Bizarrely, the length of the Short Green was the same as the Green course, albeit with 40m less climb. And another indication of how challenging it was: the winning time on the Very Short Green was nearly 102 minutes!

As for the results: Peter did extremely well to come 5th/19 on the Black course (4 DNFs). This was particularly impressive as he had done a 30k run the day before. Rob came a steady 12th/18 on the Brown. Jason managed an admirable 17th/59 on the Blue (although he had pre-entered the Brown course but picked up the wrong map!) Gavin Avey-Hebditch needs commending for perseverance as he was out for 2hrs 28 mins on the Blue. And I came 18th/69 (1st W65!) on Green (11 DNFs).

For those of us who didn’t want to wait for the bus back from the Finish to Assembly in Princes Risborough, there was a stunning walk down from the Ridgeway. And of course there were loads of red kites soaring overhead. What more could you want?

The Medlocks, once again, travelled to the other end of the country to compete in the British Orienteering Championships at Balmoral. And Lyra achieved yet another great result by getting the Silver Medal on W12A. Brilliant.

Lyra looking justifiably pleased with herself at BOC

Upcoming events:

The Tamar Triple down in Devon this coming Bank Holiday weekend and a number of WSX people are already entered. Should be fun getting lost on Braunton Burrows again!

10-Pin Bowling Evening on Friday June 1st – two lanes are booked. Details on our Events page. Please let me know if you want to come along by Wednesday 23rd.

SARUM Organisers’ Course  Saturday, 2 June 2018
All members of SWOA clubs and others are welcome to the SARUM Organisers’ Course, sponsored by SWOA. Details below:
Date:               Saturday 2 June 2018
Timings:          10.0am to 1.0 pm
Location:        Sea Scout Hall, St Mark’s Avenue, off St Mark’s roundabout (London Road) on Salisbury ring road   SP1 3DW
Costs:              Free. Refreshments included.
Contact:          Pat Hart SARUM. Contact via SARUM website.

Also SARUM are organising an Event Safety Workshop course on Thursday 21st June – further details will be sent out nearer the date once venue is confirmed

Poole Out-of-Town Race – our next event on June 3rd, with Dale planning what I’m sure will be some testing courses. PLEASE enter in advance, if at all possible on fabian4.

Monday, June 4th – Wimborne are holding an urban at Ringwood on a new map. Should be great. See WIM site for all the details – and reserve a map if you’re intending to go.