British Long Distance & Relay Championships, 14/15 May 2011
It was another long journey south for the dedicated band of ESOC members attending this major event, with mixed fortunes in rough Yorkshire forests near Sheffield.
The British Long Distance Championships on Saturday 14 May were at Wharncliffe, Wheata & Greno Woods, just north of Sheffield. The assembly area was in a sloping grassy field, with plenty of room for club tents and great views of the long run-in. Most courses started in Greno Woods, mainly mature plantation forest, then crossed a minor road into Wheata and Wharncliffe. This is an undulating area dissected by several valleys with some steep slopes and varying runnability. There were many holly thickets, brambles, and lots of boulders in places. The weather was breezy with a few showers, but mostly dry and even sunny at times.
ESOC results in the top half:
M16A (47 competitors) - Craig Nolan 10th
M18E (21) - Andrew Lindsay 11th
M35L (28) - Alistair Hindle 11th
M40L (43) - Chris Huthwaite 18th
M60L (96) - Dave Kershaw 11th
M65L (58) - John McLaren 26th, Ian Pyrah 29th
W18E (17) - Rona Lindsay 6th
W21E (26) - Claire Ward 3rd
W45L (48) - Helena Nolan 12th
W55L (42) - Sally Lindsay 18th
W60L (50) - Mary Williams 9th
W65L (33) - Eleanor Pyrah 9th
The British Relay Championships were on Sunday 15 May, at Tankersley Woods, just off the M1 north of Sheffield, and not far from the previous day’s event. This area has an industrial past, and the terrain here is very complex, with many pits, depressions and small hills in mixed woodland, criss-crossed by small paths. Courses emerged into open areas towards the end, and there was a long uphill finish. Again it was breezy and quite chilly.
ESOC team results:
Men’s Premier – SpeedESOCs 26th (Craig Nolan, Alistair Hindle, Andrew Lindsay)
Women’s premier – GirlyESOCs 6th (Rona Lindsay, Helena Nolan, Claire Ward)
Men’s Short - StripESOCs 17th (Chris Huthwaite, Crawford Lindsay, John McLaren)
W50 – SparklESOCs 5th (Mary Williams, Eleanor Pyrah, Sally Lindsay)
M60 – HolESOCs 18th (Roger Scrutton, Ian Pyrah, David Kershaw)
Full results and more details from both events, including Routegadget, are on the BOC 2011 website.
Some photos from the events have been added to the ESOC Gallery.