Report from Ian Peirce
This year’s Southern Championship races were held at Redlands and Bury Hill, near Dorking, an area that turned out to be an excellent venue for mountain goats. Much of the woods were free of undergrowth and Tom Edelsten planned some excellent courses with plenty of navigational challenges. There were some proper hills to climb necessitating hands on knees or holding on to branches. Route choices were often either to go up and down the hill or to contour a long way round – you chose your medicine. There were quite a few trail bike tracks, which we were advised were not mapped, and use of these had some competitors looking in the wrong areas. It was best to go back to basics and pay attention to compass and pacing. I found some bike trails did cut fast tracks but runners (at least in senior classes) are not so good as trail bikes at the banked turns and drop-offs! I would certainly go to Redlands again, if there is another chance in the future.
SARUM runners had some good results with podium places for:
James Corkery M12A 3rd
Kerry Corkery W45L 2nd
Jackie Butt W60L 2nd
Ian Peirce M80 2nd
Congratulations to all of them.
Jackie Butt (in red) on the W60 podium
Ian Peirce (in black) M80 runner up
