Although the area is very large there are a number of ‘no go’ blocks which made the planning slightly trickier than I initially thought. It was clear from the beginning that if I was to use the best pieces of woodland I was going to need to have two starts. Apologies to anyone, especially young families, who had to carefully organise their day due to the long distance between the two starts and assembly.
The south start was needed so that I could fit in the junior courses and still finish them in the assembly area. It did mean they were slightly longer than recommendations but the super woodland and intricate path system give them an enjoyable and testing run (hopefully).
My main aim for the rest of the courses was to give everyone a chance to run in the area of woodland to the north of the assembly area. This is clearly a superb piece of forest and, I’m sure some of you will agree, it can be quite testing if you lose your concentration. I tried to turn runners in here as much as possible to keep you on your toes with your navigation.
Quite a few of you commented on how physical the area was near to the north start. It probably was but compared to the summer months (when I’ve also planned here for a White Rose) the undergrowth was low. Remember this is North Yorkshire and the majority of our woodland is physically hard going.
Overall I was pleased with the finishing times. They were close to my expectations. I would like to thank all of you who made positive comments about my courses.
There are a number of people who need mentioning. Firstly Paul Taylor for controlling the event. He kept me in line with recommendations and was quick to spot any possible problems with controls and courses. He did a remarkable job checking all 90 control boxes on the morning of the event. Secondly, thanks to Stuart and Jonny Hooton who give up their chance of a competitive run to help me put out and collect controls. Finally to Keith MacDermott (permissions), Lionel Carter (organiser), Roger and Ann Smith (Weekend Coordinators), Dave and Sue Relton (SI Team), Mike Ridealgh (for building my stiles) and all the rest of the Ebor helpers who worked extremely hard to produce a super event.
Finally thanks to all the competitors who came from all parts of the UK and made all my hard work feel worthwhile.
Dennis Hooton