Today’s level B event at Bradgate Park/Swithland Wood went relatively smoothly, despite awaking to find our car had a flat battery and then dealing with a late change to car parking arrangements due to the wet grass in the area we were due to use. However, the alternative area, in our opinion, was much better, being tarmac. There were 223 competitors in total, with 36 competitors entering on the day. We believe that this number would have been greater if we could have had our original date of Sunday 22nd November, but due to a clash with a cross country event outside of the club’s control, the event had to be switched to today instead.
Many competitors complimented the planners for the well-planned courses – well done Ursula and Chris! John Hurley, our Controller, was extremely supportive in the preparation stages, as well as on the day, which certainly aided the event’s smooth running. Thank you for your guidance over the last few weeks, John, especially as this was our first time organising a level B event.
There are a number of lost property items, namely a pair of O shoes, a pair of spectacles and a control description holder (competitor on a light-green course). If you believe any of these items are yours, please email us on wenandal@talktalk.net
Unfortunately, one competitor sustained a hamstring injury, but transport was arranged to get him back home safely, complete with bicycle in the back of Derek Herd’s van - thank you, Derek! I hope the competitor makes a speedy recovery and is back running again soon.
The event required a relatively large number of volunteers due to the nature of the event, e.g. two marshalled road crossings, but, as usual, LEI members were very generous of their time. Thank you to all of the volunteers – you did a marvellous job as usual.
Wendy and Alan West
When Chris Phillips, my co-planner, and I arrived at the gates of Bradgate at first light this morning, we both broke out spontaneously into "Good King Wenceslas" as we surveyed the snowy scene. It all looked enchanting, but it was a bit of a challenge to find the pegs we had marked the control sites with.
I hope you all enjoyed your run round Bradgate in the sunshine despite the bitingly cold wind. Bradgate changes dramatically throughout the seasons. Two metre high bracken eventually succumbs to either the cutting and rolling of the Bradgate Wardens or the frosts of Autumn. The weather remained mild till the end of October, so the undergrowth has only just flattened in the last few weeks and suddenly the area is lightning fast and running straight is usually the best route choice. I tried to use legs that gave you the option of contouring to counter "running straight" and it was interesting to chat to competitors who did indeed take different routes. Swithland added some different terrain for the longer courses, an option only really viable to use with the extra age class courses of a Level B event.
Thanks are due to Don Moir for his persistence in mapping all the changes to the vegetation as more and more areas were flattened. Also thanks to John Hurley for his meticulous Controlling, answering all my queries and putting up with my dithering. Last, but not least, thanks to Chris Phillips for helping me tag all the control sites and putting out controls in bitterly cold conditions and the magnificent LEI control collectors, organised for me by Wendy and Alan West, who allowed me to be in the pub by half past three.
Ursula Williamson