JK 2013Chilterns, 29 March-1 April 2013
There were good performances from ESOC, with some podium places, at the Jan Kjellström Festival of Orienteering in the deep south.
At the end of the coldest March since 1962, the JK took place over the coldest Easter weekend ever recorded in Britain. Mercifully, it was dry, and 30 hardy ESOC souls made the long journey south by air, road or rail.
Friday saw the now traditional JK Sprint, at the University of Reading. This year’s courses were quite short, and winning times were less than usual. The campus provided a relatively straightforward navigational challenge, with few traps for the unwary, and most of the terrain was form grass or paved areas, with one boggy patch near the last control.
There were some excellent ESOC results, with podium places for Claire Ward (W21E), who won silver, and Kerry Wood (W12), who won bronze.
The following ESOC runners were in the top half of their class:
M18E (59 competitors) – Craig Nolan 20th
M20E (25) – Andrew Lindsay 9th
M21E (100) – Alistair Hindle (M40) 48th
M35 (38) – Ray Ward 6th
M45 (127) – Mark Wood 37th
M55 (137) – Crawford Lindsay 50th
M60 (82) – Dave Kershaw 26th
M65 (86) – Roger Scrutton 5th, Ian Pyrah 14th
W12 (25) – Kerry Wood 3rd
W20E (25) – Rona Lindsay 13th
W21E (59) – Claire Ward (W35) 2nd, Jo Stevenson (W35) 26th
W45 (97) – Helena Nolan 11th
W55 (67) – Sally Lindsay 20th=
W60 (48) – Janice Nisbet 6th, Mary Williams 14th
W65 (44) – Eleanor Pyrah 9th, Katy Lessells 20th
Saturday and Sunday’s individual races are combined for the JK Individual competition. The Elite classes (M/W18 E, M/W20E, and M/W21E) have a middle race followed by a long race, and there are two long races for everyone else.
Day 2 was at Hambleden, near Henley-on-Thames. The terrain was largely dry and firm underfoot, in open deciduous woodland with some brambles. It was very hilly, with much ascent on all courses, but this did not prevent some very fast runs. Wildlife was plentiful, with deer, fox and hares spotted in the forest, and many red kites wheeling above the assembly area. Once again, Claire Ward had a superb run, winning W21E by 2 minutes.
Day 3 was in the rougher, vaguer and wetter Cold Ash, near Newbury. This was mixed deciduous and coniferous woodland, with many areas of brashings and brambles impeding progress. Also, many of the big paths were very muddy and not as fast as might be expected. This combination proved a tougher challenge for many, with longer times than on Day 1. Best ESOC results came from Claire Ward, who finished 2nd (behind Cat Taylor), to take 2nd place overall in W21E; Janice Nisbet, who finished 3rd, and 3rd overall in W60L; Helena Nolan, coming back from knee surgery, who won W45S and finished in 2nd place overall.
The following ESOC runners were in the top half of their class overall:
M20E (23 competitors) – Andrew Lindsay 7th
M40L (61) – Alistair Hindle 15th
M45L (123) – Mark Wood 54th
M55L (144) – Crawford Lindsay 60th
M60L (104) – Dave Kershaw 40th
M60S (41) – Bill Stevenson 19th
M65L (112) – Ian Pyrah 26th, Alastair Lessells 41st
W12A (27) – Kerry Wood 8th
W21E (59) – Claire Ward (W35) 2nd
W45S (53) – Helena Nolan 2nd
W55L (58) – Sally Lindsay 19th
W60L (52) – Janice Nisbet 3rd, Mary Williams 13th
W60S (19) – Fiona Findlay 7th
W65L (45) – Eleanor Pyrah 11th
W65S (16) – Maureen Brown 7th
Day 4 saw the JK Relays, back at Hambleden with a different assembly area, making use of a sheltered valley. Courses visited parts of the area that not everyone had been to on Day 2. There was a good view of the run-in, and the spectator control that was visited by the longer courses.
ESOC had 8 teams, in classes B, C, G, H, N and O.
Our star team was ESOC Capercaillies (Ray Ward, Craig Nolan and Andrew Lindsay), who won Men’s Short. ESOC Kestrels (Helena Nolan, Anne Stevenson and Sally Lindsay) also did well, winning bronze in the Veteran Women’s class. Other teams fared less well, though Claire Ward came back in the leading pack in the Women’s Trophy class. And nobody mispunched – well done to all!
Full results and a wealth of other information can be found via the JK2013 website.
Photos from the weekend are available in this general gallery, and there are links to other photos on the JK website.
The JK Sprint and Individual were the 5th and 6th events in the 2013 UK Orienteering League.
Crawford Lindsay
Club Captain
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