| I have competed in most events of this years Poacher series as a pair with my youngest son Phillip in the hope that he will soon confidently navigate around on his own. Christian, my eldest son is presently undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh’s Silver Award and his participation in this years Poacher series will fulfil the Award’s Physical Recreation requirement.
For the Brompton Dale event, Phillip was in Wales on a school trip so as I was on my own, I decided to run the whole course. Chris started about 10 minutes before me. I ran direct on a bearing to the first control (in a “choose a tree, run to it – choose another tree – run to it” style) and along the rides to the second control. Between 2 and 3, I was surprised to see Chris going the opposite way back toward 2. He had been looking in the wrong place and lost a lot of time. I found 3 and 4 easily direct on a bearing in spite of both my tea and compass needle spinning madly in their housings but I was thankful to be getting my second wind as I had begun to think that I had over cooked the pace. I dog legged along the short narrow path to avoid the rough on my way to No.5. Chris went flying passed me after No 5 as I stopped to take off my pullover and he led me straight to No 6. Then I made what I think was my only navigational mistake of the evening. I should have taken to the ride at the edge of the wood after 6 but instead went direct on a bearing and ended up unnecessarily going through the thick rough and kicking up a log which hit my left knee hard. It was near here that I was surprised to see Andy Furnell who had started shortly before me. It would be something to beat him I thought. I got to the footpath junction I was aiming for just in time to see Chris leaving the pit and I think I got to the 7th control just before Andy. Still running hard on the ride, I had got a compass bearing to number 8 using the nearby ride junction as my attack point and ran straight to the control ahead of Chris who had overshot and Andy who must have been close behind. Running on another compass bearing from the next ride junction to the ninth control, I lost sight of both Andy and Chris but I knew they were still close. After punching, I made straight for the wide ride and opted for the safe, wider path curving around from west to north east by the thick wood. Running hard again, I decided to go off the path to the right and hoped for the best in finding the last control when I spotted a depression. I dropped into it from the south west and saw the control just as Chris and Andy were dropping in from the other side. So the punching order at the 10th was Chris, myself then Andy and thereafter followed a quick dash for the finish. I was then amazed when Pete announced that I then held the leading time, but I fully expected to drop down the leader board. I went home overjoyed with second place, but you could have knocked me down with a feather when I checked the web site on Thursday night and learned that I had been awarded the win! John Merriman |