Results

Results and Split Times
Yvette Baker Qualifier Results
Routegadget & Splitsbrowser
WinSplits
BOF Ranking Points

Organiser’s Comments

An organiser’s job is basically to get the competitors to the start flag and once they’ve finished to get them back to their cars and away.  Sounds simple when you say it like that, but when you add in the need for buses and loos, a junior competition and having to organise equipment needed for an event the night before, it makes it slightly more involved.  That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, because I did, but I would never have managed without a fantastic band of people who had my back, both in the months leading up to the event and on the day.  I think/hope people enjoyed themselves – the weather and great courses helped immensely of course – and I didn’t lose anyone on the day so overall a positive result.  Also, fantastic Yvette Baker results for all four junior teams.

Liz.

Planner’s Comments

Thanks to all who came to Hockering today – the wood has put smiles on several faces.
As a first time Planner, I’ve enjoyed being out in the wood on so many occasions. The area isn’t overly large and it’s rather devoid of contours, but it’s wonderfully runnable in all but the northern part. My main aim became to add challenge through ensuring that good route choice avoided paths.
The YB heats mean that juniors often ‘run down’ and I was therefore keen to make Yellow and Orange as challenging as possible. The lack of paths certainly facilitated that (more so on Orange).
It was pleasing to hear so many positive comments from finishers. Several commented on the physical nature of their runs – lots of running on uncompacted leave debris, and avoiding deadfall.
A big well done to all the team involved. Specifically, from the Planner’s perspective, to Phil Halford for his controlling, Liz for her fantastic organisation, my Dad for his assistance over two days with control placement (and bus monitor duties), and my team of highly skilled control collectors. Lastly, a thanks to the second best looking chap on the committee for his mapping skills and dedication.
I’m looking forward to my next planning adventure!

Ben.

Results and Split Times
Routegadget & Splitsbrowser
WinSplits

Organiser’s Comments

Thank you to everyone for turning out on what at first seemed like a drizzly and cold winter evening, but once everyone arrived and the lights went on, the evening also seemed to warm up and it was lovely to see such a mixture of old and young, new and experienced orienteers; many of whom were running a night o for the first time. Indeed it was our first night event for a good few years and I think it could well become a regular fixture judging by the feedback.  Oliver flew round the green and won by a clear 5+ minutes giving our older men no doubt something to ponder, and Marcus Richardson likewise made short work on the yellow course.  For me though the star of the evening was Rodney – M85 and successfully completing the orange with a big grin, oozing with positivity.

Massive thanks to all the officials and volunteers, most of whom did not have a run. Having such a capable bunch makes the job of organiser so much easier. I would also like to thank  Felmingham PC for use of this lovely area, and the Webster Family for a splendid parking area and allowing us to cross their garden to get to the heath.

Nicky

Planner’s Comments

I think the relative uniqueness of the area, the format (much more of a ‘middle distance’ event than the traditional ‘long’) and of course being in the dark did a lot of the legwork in terms of the enjoyment of the event that I think most people shared; however there’s always that trepidation that you’ve planned a bit of a turkey until the finishers start coming in, so I’m most pleased that the consensus seems to be a Saturday evening up in North Norfolk well spent – thank you for coming along and taking part, no matter where you ended up in the final results.

My two biggest considerations when planning the courses, were making sure that those with restrictions on the number of decision points per leg (Yellow, and to an extent Orange) kept within those rules, and conversely that the longer/harder Green had enough decision points not to make it a procession – there are only so many ‘long’ legs possible in such a small area! So there were a few gambles; 5-6 on the Yellow (with the path junction coming in behind the direction of running) and 6 on the Orange (using the elongated depression as a linear feature), especially as some of the paths in the woodland to the North West seemed to get less distinct as the event day approached. I didn’t want to start taping routes, as the size of the map meant they’d also be routes for other courses, and would make them too simple, so that ruled out some other potential legs. 10-11-12 was a bit clunky on the Green – the intention being to stop 10 being an in-and-out and to get you rotated for the next loop of the Heath.

With no injuries sustained on some of the remains of the cut gorse, and everyone successfully back, plus your comments post-run, makes all the recent trips back and forth to update the vegetation (which is being constantly altered, with the aim of increasing biodiversity) worthwhile. My personal thanks to my assistant control hanger – two hands really does make it much easier, at least in this compact area – to Jonathan for covering Download all night, Katharine/Philip/Emma/Ben for going out for another loop of the Heath at the end of the event and speedily collecting all the controls so that they could all be sorted ready to go out early Sunday morning for the Hockering event, and to Tim for his Controlling guidance.

Daniel.

Results and Split Times
Routegadget & Splitsbrowser
WinSplits
BOF Ranking Points

A selection of photos from the day are on the NOR Facebook Group, or direct links here, here, and also here.

Next NOR event: Hockham, 12th Feb.
Upcoming events in the region: EAOA fixtures list.

Thank you to those who forfeited/delayed your runs, or otherwise assisted with the injury.

Organiser’s Comments

I decided my campervan would have its last trip of the year and arriving on site on Saturday gave me time to put out a number of signs while the ground was softer and my fingers warmer than early on Sunday morning!  Still, after a chilly night I woke to a beautiful, bright morning which many of you enjoyed – thank you to everyone who came – over 100 (101 entries, but several family/friends groups).  Although the mist rolled in, it cleared again later to help the control collectors.

Big thanks to all my lovely helpers, some of whom volunteered to do more than their original time slot.  Daniel, in particular, volunteered to spend all day in the Download tent .  Mark did such a good job of parking cars tightly in the small grassy area that we didn’t need to use our “overflow” area at all!  My thanks to the Controller, Sally, for helpful input, and to her Deputy, Clive, for also acting as marshal by the railway halt.

Karen’s First Aid skills and experience meant I was very comfortable leaving our injured runner in her care.  I’m pleased to report the injury was not serious.

I do need to remind Club members that these events don’t happen without members volunteering to help.  Please don’t always assume someone else will do it – it can be fun and sociable!

Julia.

Planner’s Comments

Kelling Heath is a varied area, with the scarp slope, the flatter woodland and the urban-like caravan park all providing different challenges. Concentration is key to success. It is a delight to plan on. Taking the shorter courses onto the Cromer Ridge slope was a deliberate decision to make the courses a little more interesting and challenging. But it did create a little more work for the Controller and Organiser (& myself), so thanks to Sally for her patience and advice and to Julia for all the organisation. Thanks also to Clive for help on the day – including a stint at the railway halt – providing a watchful eye over the White and Yellow runners. I had positive feedback on the courses, so thanks for that. There were a couple of concerns on one control location in the trim-trail woods but I think the problem there is more rootstocks on the ground than on the map. Perhaps it is time for a more comprehensive update of the map. Overall, I think people generally enjoyed the courses and the freezing weather made it an atmospheric event.

Ian.

Controller’s Comments

Kelling is a super area and Ian planned courses which really showed it off. There were lots of comments from those finishing all courses about how they had been challenged on their course and really enjoyed that. The bright winter’s day also made for some stunning vistas.

Sally.