Badenoch and Strathspey Orienteers going strong
THE WOLF is still running in Badenoch!
The strath clearly has what it takes to attract orienteers from around Scotland and beyond, with the fourth BASOC Highland WOLF hailed another huge success.
The September competition events organised by Badenoch and Strathspey Orienteeting Club (BASOC) were based in Kingussie with registration in the Duke of Gordon Hotel and runners finishing in Ardvonie Park.
The opening middle distance race took place on the lower slopes of Creag Bheag hill and the Glen Gynack woods.
Planner Gemma Karatay, from Boat of Garten, started the runners high up above the woods and had them tackling tough heather to begin with then some tricky controls downhill through the wood.
The mixture proved to be a real challenge and earned praise from the competitors, most of whom were competing in the strath for the first time.
Runners from Edinburgh dominated the senior elite classes, with ex-GB international Mark Nixon winning by 50 seconds ahead of top GB under-20 Alexander Chepelin, Irish international Conor Short – also based in Edinburgh – coming third.
In the women’s middle distance race there was a win for GB under-20 international Jenny Ricketts, formerly of Banchory and now at Edinburgh University, with club-mate Sarah Jones in second and another GB under-20, international Julie Emmerson from Durham, finishing third.
The sprint race also finished in Adrvonie after mainly taking in the north side of the Gynack Burn.
The race was part of the Scottish Orienteering Urban League and attracted more than 250 runners.
Planner and GB racer Jess Tullie, from Dulnain Bridge, started the runners up in the wood above the town. This meant they had the challenge of shifting from forest style navigation to urban halfway through the course.
In the men’s open there was a win for English and GB international Chris Smithard, with a strong run 21 seconds ahead of Alexander Chepelin and Irish international Colm Hill 30 seconds back in third.
In the women’s sprint it was New Zealand international Laura Robertson, also based in Edinburgh, who took a convincing win one minute ahead of GB international Kirstin Maxwell, from Jedburgh ,with Jenny Ricketts 20 seconds back in third.
The second day of racing took place in Uath Lochans forest with the assembly in a stunning spot down at Ballintean enjoying views across Glen Feshie.
The race was the penultimate event in the 2016 Scottish Orienteering League. The area was completely remapped for the race by club member Steve Barrett who also planned the courses.
The forest was in great condition but no walk in the park: many runners found the terrain physically tough with few legs featuring any path running, just constant heather and bilberry in a proper test.
After 11.6km of running in the men’s competition, it was was GB World Champs team runner Alasdair Mcleod of Glasgow who took a convincing win three-and-a-half minute win ahead of Mark Nixon, with Alexander Chepelin a further four and a half minutes back in third.
Kiwi Laura Robertson tackled the Speyside terrain best amongst the women, taking the victory two minutes ahead of Jenny Ricketts with Julie Emmerson another two minutes back in third.
The weekend was declared a great success, with lots of positive feedback from competitors.
Badenoch and Strathspey Orienteering Club spokesman James Tullie said: "It’s a major undertaking for a small club, but this year we were lucky to be supported by Russwood Ltd - both of us parties users of forest in a sustainable way!
"Big thanks must go to several people, not least the planners, organisers, sponsors Russwood as well as Pitmain Estate, Highland Council, Forestry Commission and Alvie Estate."
• The results are available at http://www.basoc.org.uk/results
