Lakes 5 Days
At the start on Day 1. Wish you were here?
Credit:
Steve Rush
Many Southdowners travelled to the Lake District last week to take part in the Lakes 5 Days orienteering festival. Stunning scenery and fantastic courses in 5 different locations with a typical array of Lakes weather thrown in for good measure. Day 1 saw a massive climb to the start in torrential rain, whilst Day 4 was hot, sunny and flat.
We ran on mountain fells (Silver How and Angle Tarn), in forests (Whinlatter and Dale Park) and on a sink hole ridden plain (Askham Fell). Every day was a challenge with ups and downs for all, but the club camaraderie was strong and the SO flag stood proud!
The SO junior contingency of Ffion Jones, Stan, Scarlet and Tommy Heap were fighting for top places throughout the competition. Everyone did brilliantly showing great determination and skill, particularly in such unfamiliar terrain. Best overall result was joint 8th place for Stan and Scarlet, whilst run of the week went to Stan with a 4th place on Day 5 at Dale Park.
33 senior SO members were in contention right from the start. Day 1 saw a win for Julia Jarvis and a 4th place for Will Heap in horizontal rain on Silver How. Many SO members had their best run on Day 4 at Askham Fell (the day with the least climb and plenty of sunshine!) and most managed clean, mispunch-free runs on all 5 days.
Best senior female overall result went to Julia Jarvis who took 1st place in the W50S class and best senior male overall result was 6th place for Will Heap in the M45L class.
Of course it's not all about the results! Congratulations to everyone for just getting out there and giving it their best. There is always a great atmosphere at these multi-day events - definitley worth the travel, rain, aching legs, injuries and climb! The Scottish 6 Days orienteering festival will be held in Strathearn next year and we're already looking forward to it.
Full results and SO photos from Day 3 at Whinlatter (thanks David). All other photos are here and here.