QOC Morven Park: I ran the Chisholm Trail event, the longest motala event for the day. It was 4 ~1k loops, and then a final 4.5k loop that was the common last loop for all. The start being on top of a grassy hill let spectators see most of the first 4 loops of the race. I knew I'd have to run hard on the early loops to have a chance to beat Ted Good, Dave Pruden, Andy Britton and a lot of the younger but less experience orienteers who have been getting better. David Onkst was injured or it'd have been an even tougher head to head race. I managed to come out of the first four loops in good position. Ted, in a rare error, took himself out of the race by grabbing the wrong map after his second loop. Ken Walker, Jon Torrance, and Ryan Stasiowski, were way out in front but I didn't expect to be near them anyway. A unexpected ringer was in front of them--Modestas Bacys from Lithuania, eventually won and he was once ranked 203rd in the world.
I navigated though the first 4 loops spiking all but one control. It was virtually all in mowed fields--the one control that I hadnt spiked I'd gone to a horse jump instead of a nearby tree that seemed to have something black in it (on the map). Mentally, going into the last loop, I was just expecting it to be 2.5k. It was 4.5k so I started thinking about pacing. I didn't see anyone nearby when I was going to #1 and I relaxed a bit without thinking I was slowing much. Leaving #2, I started hearing footsteps. Howie Weinstein seemed to be catching up but I held him off, climbing to #6 before he disappeared behind me. I'd gone around a short way to use a road and just before reaching #6, Dave Pruden came through the woods a few steps behind me. I guess the pace and the added worry of Dave coming suddenly out of nowhere had shook me at the wrong time. I left #6 with a bad bearing and I was partly confused by some thin buildings that on the map looked like a trail intersection. I noticed Dave peel off to the right but figured I'd be okay going my way getting to the road instead of using the shorter but potentially slower field. When I dropped over to the road however, I still wasn't watching my compass as I'd done all the way up to this point. I hit the road at an intersection and turned down the wrong direction. It also happened to be an out of bounds area so with it obscured by striping on the map, it took me a few seconds more to figure out what I'd done. I backed out and got back on course but the damage was done. Dave was well ahead, I glimpsed him a few more times but I didn't seem to make up much ground. Other than the mistake at #6, I was happy that I ran pretty well and pushed throughout the race. It was similar to a cross country race.