I’m told that many of our orienteering club members did this race back in the day, but it was the 1st time for Dave and I, and 2nd time for Graham. Race day started inauspiciously when we woke up at the time we were meant to leave the house, but we made it to Registration at Milford Cricket Club 30 mins or so before the Start.
It’s a 16.5 mile race with free navigation between 4 trig points in a figure of 8 loop with a water station at the intersection where you go over a new railway bridge. We paid £1 for the A3 map but had done an armchair recce using the orienteering maps from Sherbrook, Fairoak & Brindley and a tiny bit of Brereton.
ViewRanger tace of the route I took. Start & Finish at top left, Castle Ring trig at bottom right
We started at 11:10 and it was cold and clear but we could see a murky front creeping in. I followed the majority for the 1st 500m but then made sure I approached the trig at Rifle Ranges via Cherrytree Slade, just off the main SherbrookValley. From here it was past the visitor centre to Moors Gorse where the railway bridge was with a timeout of up to 2 mins as there was a road crossing & drinks point.
Now for the big climb up to Castle Ring fort (235m) where I crossed paths with Dave exiting. Then it was north to the trig at Brereton and back down to Moors Gorse (92 mins for Dave, 106 for me). A long slog up Marquis Drive followed by some semi-tricky navigation to the trig at Glacial Boulder, just less than 3km from the Finish where Dave and Graham were waiting for me 25 and 15 mins after their own finishes! They must have been seriously cold. I took 2h 45 and died a bit in the 2nd half probably due to to my sugar-free diet (3 month yeast detox). Mind you I transgressed and had a macaroon at Moors Gorse and wolfed the maltloaf at download.
Altitude profile – middle spike is Castle Ring with the Moors Grose dips at approx 1 & 2 hours
It was a good atmosphere with about 170 runners, always someone to follow, albeit at a distance. The route choice is a bonus but often I followed the person ahead, thumbing the map for reassurance. It was great to piece together the many bits of Cannock and I’d recommend the race to orienteers!
Result at http://www.merciafellrunners.org.uk/results/214
Next post: Wilmot Wander 26/1/14
Team Chaffey
Photo: Graham Johnson
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