SOG Local Event – Park Wood, Hailsham
I have very mixed feelings about my performance in the second “SOG” event of the season.
Park Wood is just north of Hailsham in East Sussex, which meant a long but pleasant drive across Ashdown Forest (home of “Whinnie the Pooh”!). We had the luxury of pre-printed maps today, and with the club’s new scheme for fast registration if you have your own electronic timing “dibber” I was quickly at the start, where we were given maps. Although I like pre-printed maps, I also like the few minutes to “visualise” the terrain while copying the course. I think this made me fairly slow to control one, but I was soon making good progress.
I hit the first problem approaching control 4, which was marked as a ditch bend, with the ditch between two earth banks. I had decided to go straight, reading the contours. I was delighted when the first ditch appeared, followed by a path crossing in front of me. I soon found a ditch between two earth banks, with a clear ditch bend, but no control. Thinking that I might have gone off line, I ran along the ditch for a good way in each direction. No control. It was only when I was heading back from the second of these when I spotted the control, about 70m further ahead of where I had stopped, on a parallel ditch! There was a ditch marked where I had stopped, but marked as a dry gully – I had assumed that the ditch was dry due to weather. This was a case where pacing would have helped, but the 1:7500 scale kept fooling my distance estimation.
I was determined not to let the time loss depress me, and I was back moving well to the next control, then I made a 90 degree error coming out of it, but ran like mad and did not lose too much time. I was doing pretty well by half-way round.
I then ran into very confusing terrain. I had to keep re-locating. I found myself looking at a large building which was not marked on the map (it was just out of bounds but not marked at all). This threw me but a distinctive turn of path saved me. This sort of thing happened several times. I could not really locate myself securely, then had a choice of a very long way round or just one or two not very clear paths to cross a swathe of green (thick) forest and plantation. I set off on what I thought was a path and ended stuck in ghastly tight and bramble filled plantation, giving myself a spectacular 15cm long gash/scratch on the front of my thigh, in the process. By the time I worked out where I was, I was past and a long way to the west of where I wanted to be. Total time loss over 20 minutes, though I did eventually lead a whole crowd of lost people into the control (9) when I finally got there.
What followed was a very fast run, because I could “see” the terrain and knew exactly where I was. I was second on one leg, third on the next and moving really well. I had to head back into the very confusing area, but although I slowed I did not become lost this time.
I finished in just over 90 minutes, to my huge disappointment, but others had struggled too and I was 22nd overall – not too bad and useful points for the club league. What was really pleasing was that I had run pretty hard and felt great. The fact that I was among the very fastest in the field over a few controls – and I knew at the time I was really moving – was very encouraging. My fitness was about the best it has ever been on an event. I ended mildly “lactic” but otherwise feeling super. There are good things to take away from this event, though I would have loved to be nearer to the hour than 90 minutes!