Lynam's last laugh
Forum Messages
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Torben Dahl | Sep 6 2012, 1:28pm | Will this race go ahead? If so when will details be provided? Thanks. Torben |
| Kevin O'Riordan | Sep 6 2012, 1:35pm | Race is definitely going ahead (Philip was round to our house collecting control flags for the race this morning). You know how Philip likes to leave start location details till the last minute to discourage anyone from trying to "recce" the area in advance ;-) |
| Stephen Bailie | Sep 6 2012, 7:07pm | hi just to let you know I did the first 2 nav challanges you had me as stephen bailey (incorrect)on 1st and stephen bailie on 2nd (correct) Thanks |
| Philip Brennan | Sep 6 2012, 9:40pm | finally.... major problems logging in to the forum, spam filters and all that so apologies for the delay in posting. We are all set for the last of the Nav Challenge races, now called "Lynham's Last Laugh". Start & finish will be located at Lyhams of Laragh where I can enjoy a leisurely pint while you are all busting a gut in the hills. The course is (if i say so myself) a fast runnable jaunt through the hills in the region of 20km and if if we get the weather I got out there this evening it will be a pure joy to run this circuit. Registration will be in the car park to the rear of Lynhams Hotel and will be open from 11.15 on. The race will start at 12 noon sharp. As before I will give out the grid references at 12 and you will need the Harveys Map. Depending on the weather there will be the usual kit requirement but as a minimum you will need map,compass & mobile phone. We have got great numbers out on the last two races so lets hope we can even exceed that for our last nav challenge of the season. See you all on Sunday. |
| John Bell | Sep 6 2012, 10:16pm | I guess that's one of the perks of being the boss organising the finish line in a pub recording finishing times with one hand and a pint in the other, just like on the Lug relay. Looking forward to Sunday. |
| Rachel Cinnsealach | Sep 6 2012, 10:30pm | I won't make this one I'm afraid Philip, which is such a pity as I really enjoyed the first two. I sprained my ankle badly on the last one, (and had to DNF much to my disgust!!) It's still swollen :( Such a great event though, gutted I can't do it :( |
| Torben Dahl | Sep 7 2012, 11:20am | Thanks for the update Philip, I am hoping to make it! Start and finish at the pub looks like a wise decision based on last year's race ;) Is the Harvey map the only map that can be used? Can anyone give excact details on the recommended map(s). Thanks. |
| Paul O'Grady | Sep 7 2012, 11:34am | Last person home has to pay for Philip's dinner!!! |
| Torben Dahl | Sep 7 2012, 11:47am | That could easily be you O'Grady!! Poor Philip could be dead of hunger by the time you get back! ;) |
| Paul O'Grady | Sep 7 2012, 11:48am | Hopefully the food in Lynams is good!! What time do they stop serving food at??? |
| Sam Scriven | Sep 7 2012, 11:56am | These words 'jaunt' and 'runnable' have been bandied about before. Its the 'last laugh' part i'd be taking notice of.. Map is most likely the Harveys Wicklow Mountains 1:30,000. |
| Paul O'Grady | Sep 7 2012, 12:07pm | Philip - will the Lugnaquilla & Glendalough Map from EastWest Mapping be ok for the day? |
| Philip Brennan | Sep 7 2012, 2:11pm | recommended map is Harveys, u might get away with the other maps - I have a few spare Harveys & will bring them along. |
| Zoran Skrba | Sep 7 2012, 6:04pm | Is anyone passing through Rathfarnham? Could I grab a lift? Cheers Z (zoran dot skrba at gmail dot com). |
| Alan Ayling | Sep 7 2012, 6:36pm | Emailed you Zoran! |
| Daniela Boehm | Sep 7 2012, 7:28pm | In case anyone else is looking for a lift: we are leaving ranelagh at 10.30 and have 2 spaces. return time depends on whether i get lost ;)zero86201six784 or boehm.dan AT gmail.com |
| Diarmuid O'Colmain | Sep 9 2012, 9:06pm | Thanks to Philip for a truly great Nav Challenge. The micro navigation wasn'nt too difficult which I think is exactly right for this kind of race. Route choice was the key part of the challenge. I made a couple of bad route choices and hope I have learnt from those. But the main learning point is that I am fully capable of making the same stupid decisions I might have made 20 years ago, so I am not sure! But all worked out ok in the end. |
| Philip Brennan | Sep 9 2012, 9:43pm | Well the Nav Challenge series is over for another year and numbers this year were well up on previous years which hopefully augurs well for the future of the series. However it still remaims pretty much a minority attraction to the majority of IMRA runners and I suspect will always remain so. The people who run generally get a great sense of satisfaction after completing a race although undoubtedly there are some who depart in frustration never to return! Completion of each race requires a number of skills, namely fitness & endurance, determination & navigational ability and I commend all those who successfully completed the series. Although many of the runners come from an orienteering background it is great to see some non orienteering faces such as Barry Moore, John & Peter Bell & Sam Scriven competing well in these challenges. Today's race started in cool & wet conditions & runners experienced all seasons out there with the sun coming out to brighten things up occasionally. The route to the first checkpoint took people up the Brockagh ridge and this leg which I thought was pretty straightforward produced a variety of routes some of which proved successful for some, less so for others! Checkpoint two was very straightforward with no major navigational probems as was the bulk of the route to checkpoint three. Here some people chose to contour around Kanturk mountain and climb the ridge further east and were met with some man eating heather. Those who ascended the ridge earlier & ran along the top found the better runnability. The knoll on which the control point was located proved tricky and caught some people out who didn't run to the very end of the ridge. From here it was on to Bartons Woods and the route was either a case of down & up or partially contouring around. Eitherway there was a fair bit of climbing involved and the ground underfoot was pretty rough in places. Checkpoint 5 was a long distance down Paddock Hill giving nice running most of the way with the finish almost in view. From 5 to 6 there was excellent runnability along the Wicklow Way & back across the river towards the entrance to Brockagh forest. This proved to be tricky for a number of runners with places being lost in the search for the elusive single tree/track/road junction. Winner on the day by a country mile was Ger Butler who blasted around the course and seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. Alan Ayling finished second with Zoran Skrba coming in joint third place after a bit of a speed wobble around checkpoint 6. Zoran took the title last year but this year congratulations goes to the Rebel County with Sam Scriven taking the honours and becoming Navigator of the Year 2012! Individual times (hours & mins) are below Ger Butler 2h 25m Alan Ayling 2h 50m Zoran Skrba 2h 57m Finbar McGurren 2h 57m Daniel Morrough 3h 4m Barry Moore 3h 9m Sam Scriven 3h 9m 10s Maeve O'Grady 3h 31m Henrik Petterson 3h 33m Fergus Byrne 3h 36m Oliver Castle 3h 39m Brendan Delaney 3h 39m 10s John Bell 3h 40m Peter Bell 3h 52m Daniela Boehm 4h 16m Joe Lalor 4h 20m Diarmuid O'Colmain 4h 34m Ger Lawlor 4h 40m Dave Kelly 4h 40m Niall Corrigan 4h 41m Paula Keohan 5h 12m Ger Power 5h 26m Barry Tennyson 5h 30m Mary O'Connell DNF Torben Dahl DNF Stephen Brennan DNF Jill Brangan DNF Paul O'Grady DNF Finally thanks to Dave Weston & Brendan Doherty for controls out and in and of course of Mick Lynham of Lynhams of Laragh who had the last laugh! |
| stephen bailie | Sep 9 2012, 10:33pm | Hi Phil Sounded a great day. Made the first two nav challanges but couldnt make the last one due to other commitments but would love to give it a go. Any chance of emailing me the grid references etc. sbailie2002@yahoo.co.uk Thanks Stephen |
| Ger Lawlor | Sep 9 2012, 11:32pm | I must say that I really enjoyed this particular series of races. Being quite new to IMRA, I've more or less had a crack at everything this year but in terms of sense of achievement, completing the series having found all controls ranks high up there, regardless of time spent finding them! I have learnt more about navigating the mountains in these races than I have all year on marked routes. Thanks to Philip, Stuart and all who helped out, hopefully, see you for more fun and games next season. |
| John Bell | Sep 10 2012, 8:24pm | Thanks to Philip and Stuart and volunteers for organising the Nav Challenge series. I managed to get out to two of them. Nav 1 which was a nice introduction not too long and then Nav 3 on Sunday which was a bit more of a challenge. My limited navigational experience brought me through some interesting terrain and route choice but what better way to get to know the mountains. Although I should have paid more attention to Philip's warning on how to avoid the gorse! These two races plus the Stones Cross to Lug relay were the highlight of the IMRA year for me. Thanks again John |
| Ruth Lynam | Sep 11 2012, 9:42pm | Really disappointed I couldn't make it to the last Nav Challenge. It would be great to get the grid refs, or maybe just put them up here for all to see? |
| David Kelly70 | Sep 11 2012, 10:29pm | Hi Ruth, The grid refs were as follows. 1) 109 997 Fence junction 2) 099 014 Rocky knoll 3) 133 038 Knoll 4) 138 018 Copse SW 5) 144 978 Forest corner 6) 140 968 Track/Road junction Dave. |
| Alan Ayling | Sep 12 2012, 7:41am | Good craic when we were copying the controls onto the maps and someone thought number 4 said "corpse". :-) |
| David Kelly70 | Sep 12 2012, 9:26am | That kind of summed up how I felt around that point! |
| Stuart Scott | Sep 13 2012, 10:42am | There were a few DNFs. Will there be a corpse next time round?! |
| Mick Hanney | Sep 13 2012, 5:55pm | I'd be willing to RD a nav challenge next year. If we can get 2 other RDs we might be able to free Philip up to partake himself for a nice change. |
