Scottish Champs, Dalbeattie Forest, M50L
1st place M50L, 2nd on course behind Jase.
Times adjusted for #6 being in wrong place (seemed high to me but I was struggling to interpret map there anyway).
Expected it to be rough, green, slow, low visibility, technical, tricky...and it did not disappoint!
Didn't start well
#1 - ran a long way round on the tracks but somehow still found it confusing, the distances felt not quite right (20s, hesitant)
#2 - forest looked okay so cut through, ended up on a vague path and thought it was unmapped. Sadly it was mapped and I ended up south and west of where I should be, just as it got very bushy. Slow to sort it. (-2mins)
#4 - tried to go too fast, knew I was on the western knoll en route but didn't check direction properly and went to wrong knoll next (-1.5mins)
#5 - fliustered leaving #4, didn't check direction properly again, couldn't find crossing point (-20s)
#7 - stayed high out of 6 and never turned hard enough left, had to run up the fence quite a way to find the crossing point (-20s)
#8 - direction poor out f control so never got up to the big marsh, as a result was hesitant on approach then couldn't see flag right round the knoll (lower than I was expecting) (-20s)
#10 - knew it was on the wall, cut off path when I could see the wall on the spur, whenm I got there I remembered that two mins previously I had known it was on the wall but also in the re-entrant. Back down to it (-25s)
#11 - climbed a bit much out of the control, slowed down on approach and just as well given I never saw the path before the control, pleased to locate myself on knoll just above (-20s)
Much better after that and really got into it quite nicely through what looked like a tricky green section, with the exception of
#17 - bit over confident and decided to take it on straightish (slightly to the right), instead I never got the direction sorted and eventually ended up in the rough vague semi-open. Cut my losses and headed to the track via some slow progress through thick green, a bit appalled how far right I came out on it. Easy from there along the track and then straight down the ditch. (-2mins).
Okay from there to the finish, just caught myself in time as I started to head to the left of the correct ridge at the penultimate (-15secs).
So about 7mins or so lost, mostly at the beginning. Surprised to take the win but it was the sort of area and map where it was always likely that people would drop time. Really enjoyed it, a proper challenge and a massive contrast in style to the high-visibility and easy running of the JK and British.
Unadjusted times were Jase 69, Jon 70, Ben 75:58, Roger 76.
Adjusted times Jase 62, Jon 66, Ben 69, Rog 72.
Map/route...
https://www.solway.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#68&c...Results...
https://www.scottish-orienteering.org/documents/re...