Orienteering race 1:01:21 [4] 5.2 km (11:48 / km) +175m 10:06 / km
Green course at Mendon Ponds. Not very impressed with course layout, even the flags that were placed correctly.
Start to C1 fine, C2 ended too far E at the fence, had to relocate, probably lost a minute or so on that one. Vegetation is a bit heavier than mapped which was confusing. C3 was a straight in-and-out dogleg, not particularly interesting. C4 and C5 were Ok but very close to the trails and not difficult. C6 was easy with swamp as a catching feature, C7 was an interesting run following contours. Went to C8 around the edge of the swamp, but it may have been a bit quicker to go back to the trail on the W, although the climb would have offset the effort. I think either way was about the same. C9 was a pretty clean follow the contour run.
C10 was a badly misplaced control, cost me about 7 minutes (based on the splits), and threw me off the rhythm. Didn't find what should have been an easy and obvious placement, so I relocated twice and (incorrectly) guessed the placement was somewhere along the open area as mapped. The flag was actually 50 yards into the woods at the bottom of a valley, not even close to the mapped location. I finally did a circle around where the flag should have been, fought through some dark green and stumbled on the flag. [Pete D. ended up beating me by 5 minutes, he guessed correctly and checked the woods first.] C11 had a pretty obvious attackpoint, C12 was a little more challenging but not difficult.
I saw little point in C13 and C14 - no challenge in C13, with an obvious attackpoint from the top trail junction, C14 served only to add distance.
Yeah, no course is perfect, I know how these things work. I've been ripped publicly over flag placements, and it's not much fun to hear, but boy it takes a lot of air out of the balloon.