Today was the last orienteering meet of the QOC season, in beautiful Patuxent River Park, where I took my youngest back in December. This time there would be a chase start.
The way it works: Depending upon your course (I chose Beige, since it's been months I last ran an O), you have to do a certain number of loops. Each loop is different. While we all start at the same time, you don't necessarily want to chase the person in front of you. They might be on a different loop. Some courses share loops: brown today ran T along with beige.
But before you can run your course, you have to drink. You have a choice of water or beer. Once the horn went off at noon, you had to drink your cup then run. When you finished your loop you had to again drink before starting the next loop.
QOC also had a meeting. Officers were elected. A rough schedule for next season was decided upon. Food and drink were provided. Merriment prevailed.
My first loop was T.
Control 1 was quite marshy, as was 2. To control 3 I stayed down by the water, but about 2/3 of the way I moved up till I found the control. Then the long march to 4. I took a bearing and just went for it. Past the trail and on to the road. Imagine my surprise when I hit that little square on the map on the north side of the road. It was a deer enclosure.
Then I took a bearing from the enclosure and ended up at control 4 perfectly. I got cocky at that point and congratulated myself on the perfect navigating. On the way to control 5 I went too east and saw the building and went straight south to the trail. Control 6 was back at the start and control 7 was the drink station. Then on to map O.
For control 1 (8) I stuck to the trails. Didn't see the control till I was on the eastern side then it was down in that reentrant, which I scooted down on my butt. On the way to 2 I went north from 1 to the trail and south till I was parallel to control 1. There I took a bearing and walked to control 2. I stopped at the dirt road and went north to the trail and followed it to the road. The trail was called Green. It continued north from where it first hit the road, so I took it. I stayed on that trail for about 200m till it turned south and followed it for a while. The depression was easy to find. Back to the road and up to the open area where it was a short run to the tree, then back to the drink station, downed my cup of water, and beeped the finish control.
1:22.15. Seventh place out of 16, so happy with that.
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