Edinburgh Big Weekend 202524th-26th January 2025

Heidi Ross Abi Kerr and Ewan Kerr BW City Race 2025
Credit: David Robertson

It was almost back to usual for Edinburgh University Orienteering Club’s Big Weekend after the City Centre embargo for WOC 2024. Unfortunately on Friday Storm Eowyn brought high winds which rated a rare red weather warning so the much anticipated return of Fight with the Night at King’s Building had to be postponed.

Early starters on Saturday’s City Race were exposed to sleet and high winds but it soon cleared up to be bright and sunny. There was a Sprint Race option which attracted many of the Elite runners.

ESOC’s Roger Scrutton was Controller.

ESOC results in the top half were:

Women’s Open (13 competitors) - Abigail Kerr 5^th
Men’s Open (26 competitors) – Vicente Lopez Sanchez – 6th
Men’s Veteran (33 competitors) – Ewan Kerr 11^th
Women’s Open (27 competitors) – Rachael Imrie 8^th, Sarah McAdam 12^th, Chloe Nisbet 14^th
Women’s Super Veteran (34 competitors) – Helena Nolan 2^nd , Emma Anderson 6^th
Men’s Ultra Veteran (26 competitors) – Crawford Lindsay 5^th, Martin Caldwell 8^th
Women’s Ultra Veteran (20 competitors) – Janice Nisbet 4^th, Carolyn Dyson 6^th
Men’s Hyper Veteran (14 competitors) – Ewart Scott 1^st
Women Junior (3 competitors) – Emma Daley 2^nd
Course 3 Open (7 competitors) - Tate Woodhouse 2^nd
Course 5 Open (12 competitors) - Louise Clayton 4^th
Men’s Sprint (39 competitors) – Ben Brown 19^th
Women’s Sprint (37 competitors) – Helen Bridle 2^nd

This was the first event in the Scottish Orienteering Urban League 2025 and a fixture in the UK Urban League

The organising team should be applauded for their resilience after the blow at the start of the weekend as they managed to get permissions and enough volunteers to run the Fight with the Night courses at King’s Buildings later on the Saturday with starts from 3pm. As a result it was being billed by some as more Tussle with Twilight or Anger in the Afternoon! Only around half of those signed up for the Friday went on to run.

ESOC results in the top half were

Long (94 competitors) – Ben Brown 20^th
Medium (41 competitors) – Kevin Harding 8^th, Crawford Lindsay 17^th
Short (30 competitors) – Keith Brown 3^rd , Megan Brown 5^th, Alison Harding 9^th , Margaret Dalgleish 12^th , Mary Williams 14^th
Junior/Novice (4 competitors) – William Atkinson 1st

Fight with the Night Leagues have been updated on Ben Brown’s Munro Leagues

Sunday’s Classic Race took place in Holyrood and Meadowfield Parks and there was an alternative Sprint option around Dumbiedykes, scene of the WOC 2024 Knockout Sprint finals. Although chilly and windy it was a bright day with a few remaining icy patches.

ESOC results in the top half were as follows

Brown (59) - Vicente Lopez Sanchez 24th
Blue (84) – Terry Johnstone 24^th , Helena Nolan 30^th
Green (75) – Kenin Harding 7^th, Richard Oxlade 8^th, Finlay Ross 11^th, William Atkinson 12^th, Martin Caldwell 31^st , Peter Halling 33^rd
Short Green (32) – Margaret Dalgleish 2^nd , Mary Williams 7^th
Orange (9) – Les Dalgleish 3rd , Louise Clayton 4th
Yellow (15) – Fraser Mackenzie 1st , Jessica Mackenzie 5^th , Hazel Naylor 6^th
Women’s Sprint (31) Helen Bridle 3^rd , Megan Brown 11th
Men’s Sprint (55) – Ben Brown 16^th

The Classic races were the first in this year’s South of Scotland Orienteering League.

Full results for the weekend’s events are available on the Big Weekend results page along with Winsplits and Routegadget links.

Other entries categorised under: Event Reports