SOG Local Event – Buxted Park
It was a crystaline morning – with bright blue sky, sunshine and a very sharp frost. I set out happily for Buxted Park hoping to continue the improvement in my orienteering.
Buxted Park surrounds what is now a hotel and was once a stately home. The River Uck runs across in front of the house, with land rising away on either side from the river and large ornamental lakes. The central part of the area is tussocky grassland, with woods along each side of the valley. It is rather attractive but when I have run there before there have often been long runs across rough open and in the summer the bracken is spectacular.
I was one of the first off. I felt good in the sunshine. I was a little tentative to the first control, but found it easily enough, then things seemed to click into place. The leg to the second control was long, but easy to navigate. I was making good time and felt fine, so decided that I should just settle down and get on with it. The next two controls were basically straight line runs across parkland too but I was surprised to find myself moving along reasonably well. Even plunging into the woods did not phase me. I was at control 10 when I realised that no-one had passed me, which kept me moving right to the end.
I finished in 49 minutes – very close to my best time ever for a green course. What is more encouraging is that my personal best result was a “one off” – some sort of fluke – whereas this season I am seeing consistent times under the hour, with steady improvement from week to week. I am averaging about 5 minutes per km faster than this time last year, and seeming to do this more often than not. I think there is some real improvement at last.
I was humbled, of course, by the winner doing the same course under half an hour, but I still feel good about the result. The challenge now is not to blow it – keep doing the simple things that are genuinely working.