Urban Orienteering race 14:32 [5] 2.3 mi (6:19 / mi)
Horwich Mass Start sprint - 1st
This was great fun, can we have more of these?
Let some others set the pace to #1 and tried to plan ahead.
This worked and soon found myself alone, though very aware I was being chased hard!
Messed up the first control in the park as although I had spotted the route out to the NE, I hadn't spotted the subsequent route back into the park so had planned to play safe and use the open entrance to the SE, but when I looked up it appeared (whether it was or wasn't I'm not sure) thick and grotty, so veered round even further S via the car park and just about managed to get back on track and get my bearings.
Recovered from this and pushed on, and things were going great until the penultimate control, when I told myself to run straight up the road to an alley where the control would be. Got there...no control. Turned around to see if was on the lampost behind, it wasn't. Managed not to panic too much, thought I had come up a parallel road, so headed to open space I could see as this was to the right of control. Whilst doing this, realised what I had done, oversimplified in my head and not paid enough attention to map, as the control was on the second of two linear alleys!
By this point Charlotte had got ahead of me, but had enough left thanks to a long finishing straight. First 3 girls running really well, would have been good with some more men in the mix as well!