It was a truly grand day out in the sun merry, you would have enjoyed it. :cool:
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It was.:D
That was a lovely day out in the Peaks :D It was great to meet Duff and Derby Tup, thanks for your company. Some photos:
http://gvs.minuteboard.com/images/000/008/853
Happy runners on the way to Druid's Stone, above Edale.
http://gvs.minuteboard.com/images/000/008/856
On reaching the checkpoint near Ladybower we were devastated to discover that the ice cream van had gone home early.
http://gvs.minuteboard.com/images/000/008/857
Into the pretty woods just after Padley Gorge (I thought it was just my vision that was blurred at this point, turns out I'd sweated into the camera).
http://gvs.minuteboard.com/images/000/008/858
The home stretch, looking down on Bradwell. Hope cement works has never looked so attractive.
Hmm, a lot of missed checkpoints, by people finishing quite high up as well.
I'm not saying this for personal gain, as is wasn't a race I'd targetted, I entered last minute when Safety Pin started this thread having forgotten all about it. My aim was a nice long day out in the countryside I love, where I do most of my fell running and walking, not for time or position, and I had the grand day out I wanted.
But, if I'd been doing the Vasque series this year I think I'd be a little irritated since time in relation to the winner counts. Looking at the splits and talking to others at the end, a lot of people (including the winners - and me) missed the checkpoint before the final climb onto Stanage Edge and retraced their steps - there's splits around 30 minutes instead of about 20.
I know it's supposed to be a running event rather than orienteering, and I'm sure everyone went along that track and passed within a few metres of it and didn't intentionally miss it, but the fact is some people decided to go back to get it, others didn't and gained an advantage. A few other checkpoints, there's a similar story, that tree by the tunnel for instance, some people will have spent longer looking that others.
Having been on the receiving end of a disqualification before for missing a dibber point on another event, I do think that would have been unnecessarily harsh. But maybe a time penalty should have been added?
Or am I just being a misery? :eek:
A bike ride out to watch the Newark Half Marathon this morning was a bit of a contrast to yesterday :)
I do a lot of LDWA challenge events and don't think 18 dibber points fitted into the format well tbh. Not so bad when running at 'social pace' in a group I suppose but must have been a bit fraught at the sharp end :eek:
The sharp end was a social group to Lose Hill at least :) It just got smaller and smaller afterwards.
18 was a lot, and they weren't all as obvious as I'd have liked. Putting them on gates/stiles you have to pass through is fine. Putting them on fence posts when you are running up a road didn't feel right. Or reaching over a bridge - fun to do with a load of bemused walkers watching you, but it didn't seem to fit with what I'm used to for an ultra.