|
|
|
|
Granite BayDec. 13, 2009
By
Stew Hintz, Course Setter Showery
skies and a brisk wind did not dampen the spirits of 39 competitors who
took to the woods and trails along Folsom Lake on Dec. 13 for a day of
orienteering. Gold
Country Orienteers capped its 2009 season as it opened it with a
Score-O, where contestants scrambled to find as many controls as they
could and still beat the 90-minute time limit. Of
the 23 teams braving the elements and an aging map, adventure racer Dan
Rathbun stood out, collecting all but 2 of the 32 available controls in
a time of 87:59. His point total of 142 was nearly eclipsed by orienteer
Jonas Libell, but 139 points was not enough to propel Libell ahead of
Rathbun. Both
men ran a near flawless race in conditions that could be described as
sloppy at best. They came in ahead of the 90-minute time limit and did
not suffer penalties. Other
competitors were not so lucky. The
format for scoring deducted one full control punched for every minute or
portion of a minute over time. This saw many competitors cross the
finish line with a good number of points on their score card, but when
the high scoring controls they worked so hard to find were deducted,
their official results placed them behind the pack. The
overall results only tell half the story, as some teams chose to collect
as many controls as they could at a certain skill level and actually
were competing within the competition. Sometimes when you run with the
Big Dogs you can only win by running your own race. Collin
Quesenberry and his team of Pierce Stegman and Jess Avilla may have been
the only ones on the "beginners' course," but they got all
eight controls in 57:04. This
is a smoking hot time for what essentially was a white level course in
tough conditions. Congratulations to these gentlemen are in order. On
the advanced beginners' course, what would be a yellow course, Glenn and
Paige Hermanson topped William Honigs, Sebastian Honigs and Nobel Blutin.
Both teams suffered the brutal effect of the penalty rule, but the
Hermansons retained the lead. The
intermediate course saw a clean competition with all three teams coming
in under the time limit. Prajna Ta topped two other teams on what was an
orange level course. Thank
you to all who came out to play in the rain with us. A special thanks
goes out to the GCO event crew of Marsha Jacobs, Jennifer Kerr, David
Takacs and Ellie Lightfoot. Without volunteers to staff the meets, there
would be no meets to attend. Dwight Freund and Al Berkowitz stayed after
and helped with control pickup. The
efforts of the State Parks employees should also be mentioned. Recent
budget cuts have impacted the parks department heavily, but despite this
our friends with the state have been as courteous, helpful and efficient
as always in getting us our permits and taking care of us on the day of
the meet. Thank you. Explanation
of the results: Following
the competitor's name will be the number of controls credited. The next
column is the penalty column, where the first number in the parentheses
represents the raw score and the second number is the value of the
controls assessed as penalties. The
value of penalties was determined by adding together the point values
from the number of controls a competitor was docked for being over time.
Each minute or portion of a minute over time cost you a control. We
deducted points starting with the highest value control. The last column
represents the true time on the course in minutes. Thoughts
on the course and format: A
Score-O tests you navigation skill as well as your time management.
The harsh penalties force one to accept the limitations of time
as well as physical or technical challenges.
This was evident in Dan's results. He could have picked up
another control near the finish line, but that one-point control could
have cost him 10 points if he were over time.
This kind of format is different from the linear thought process
that appears to go into a standard orienteering course. In
a regular point to point course, you could be expected to focus on only
one thing at a time to complete the course, but seasoned navigators know
that to win at a high level of competition your thought process is never
linear. You are constantly matching your physical output with your
ability to follow and simplify the map while oftentimes thinking two,
three or more controls ahead of where you are presently running.
We have a small but growing number of orienteers who are rising
to that level of skill attending our meets and it is joy to set courses
and watch them work these puzzles out. I
had intended runners to make a counter-clockwise loop of the course and
I thought starting along the shoreline and working to the back parking
lot would be a good route to follow.
In using that route, I totaled about 8.5 kilometers of running
through moderately undulating terrain: Some on trails and some on roads,
but a good portion of the course was through the woods. Running
conditions were sloppy, but ideal. We had no heat and the grasses were
moderate. The
map is substandard in so many ways. It is a challenge to set courses
here and even more difficult to navigate (as I mentioned to some, don't
even try to find your way on this map at night.
Hopefully in the future, a new map will open this park up to its
full orienteering potential. On
a personal note: I
started orienteering at I
will see you in the woods. Stew
Hintz
Name(s)
Points
(Total-Penalty) Time
Dan
Rathbun
142
87:59 Jonas
Libell
139
89:16 Charles
Carlson, Taylor Coupe
94
89:21 Roy
Malone
73 (123-50)
94:29 Jennifer
Kerr
72
86:27 Jim
Fish
65 (85-20)
91:27 Joe
Berendt
60 (100-40)
93:14 Dwight
Freund, Al Berkowitz
52
89:01 Nigel
Killeen
35 (55-20)
91:55 Paul
Keeton
32
85:00 Venturing
Crew 55 "P-Team" Catherine
Pohle, Philip Pohle
26
83:25 Shelly
Sirkus
21
81:39 Steven
Duke
21 (53-30)
92:41 Prajna
Ta
20
83:57 Venturing
Crew 55 "A-Team" Amanda
Clark, Amanda Muir
15
83:40 Danny
Lulla, Autumn Lulla
10
83:58 Glenn
Hermanson, Paige Hermanson
10 (18-8)
93:12 Collin
Quesenberry, Pierce Stegman, Jess
Avilla
8
57:04 William
Honigs, Sebastian Honigs, Nobel Blutin
8 (10-2)
90:31 Mike
McManus, Shelby McManus
5 (42-37)
95:11 Venturing
Crew 55 "SAS" Sky
Pohle, Anne Pohle, Stu Clark
4 (41-37)
95:09 Ryan
Codrey, Will Roberts, Bruce Roberts Disqualified
due to excess time on course Beginners
Course Collin
Quesenberry, Pierce Stegman, Jess
Avilla
8
57:04
Advanced
Beginners Course Glenn
Hermanson, Paige Hermanson
10 (18-8)
93:12 William
Honigs, Sebastian Honigs, Nobel Blutin
8 (10-2)
90:31 Intermediate
Course Prajna
Ta
20
83:57 Venturing
Crew 55 "A-Team" Amanda
Clark, Amanda Muir
15
83:40 Danny
Lulla, Autumn Lulla
10
83:58 Participants:
|
