Good morning, Grandtully! This was the peaceful, misty scene snapped by Pete as he was waking controls up at 7 on Saturday morning for Gramp’s big day. A few hours later there were heffalump tracks everywhere and folk milling about all over trying to keep track of subtle vegetation changes while helter-skeltering downhill, gravity assisted. Great area and a great challenge to end the week.
Thanks to everyone who helped out on Day 6 and dutifully plugged away all day at the various tasks thrown at you, not least our GJOs Maya, Hannah, Duncan, Kirsty and Morven who worked like the proverbials and even accompanied me (fairly) uncomplainingly up that hill one last time to help collect tapes.
Crash courses on data entry, providing the smiling front-of-house at Information, herding 3000+ runners through the Starts and String Course, providing sympathy to the unsuccessful at Download, pasting results, setting out and collecting in enough stakes and tapes to reach to the moon (OK I made that stat up), fetching coffees, filling foot baths, directing traffic, emergency loo roll delivery… you name it, we did it and so smoothly that both Sam and Lesley Gomersall got a run too. Big thanks to them for Day Organising and also to joint Planners, Zoe Griffin and Pete Lawrence, for all heading up Team Gramp.
Between us we had some epics (walking off the map), some personal successes (just being able to still walk after 6 days’ worth of full on orienteering), one podium finish and some near misses – congratulations to all for achieving/surviving whatever!
W14A 21st Morven Farquharson, 26th Kirsty Farquharson
W16A 33rd Isobel Anderson
W16B 4th Maya Reynard
W21E 7th Katrina McLeod
W21L 20th Rachel Scott
W50L 39th Laura Farquharson
W50S 39th Ros Nicholson
W55L 14th Lesley Gomersall, 73rd Carolyn McLeod
W60S 30th Oonagh Grassie
W65L 9th Ros Evans
W75S 10th= Helen Greenwood
M10B 4th Oliver Robertson
M40L 35th Gordon Urquhart
M40S 1st Ali Robertson, 20th David Esson
M50L 83rd Murray Anderson
M50S 7th Kevin Reynard, 20th Jeremy Huthwaite, 46th Hugh Nicholson
M55L 29th Sam Gomersall, 45th Ian Hamilton, 74th Mike Greenwood, 110th Evgueni Chepelin, 115th Dennis McDonald, 116th Iain McLeod
M55S 19th Ian Searle, 45th Pete Lawrence
M60L 12th Bob Daly
M60S 19th Eric Lovie
M65L 11th Paul Duley
M70S 42nd George Esson
M75L 4th Neil McLean
M80 18th Peter Bellarby
Emily Robertson, Duncan Will, Hannah Will, Lindsey Esson, Jackie Reynard, Carol Jackson, Adrian Will, Kate Anderson, Kate Robertson and Norman Liley were all there too on colour coded courses and had a great time “one way or another”, they told me.
Some Gramps even had sufficient energy to take on the Sprint Course/SOUL round Crieff on Wednesday’s rest day:
M55+ 21st Dennis McDonald, 25th Mike Greenwood, 30th Sam Gomersall, 36th= Ian Hamilton, 71st Eric Lovie
M65+ 66th George Esson
Sam McDonald had a bash at probably her first SOUL in W12- class.
W16- 10th = Morven Farquharson, 13th Kirsty Farquharson (now 3rd and 4th in SOUL rankings on back of this)
W40+ 37th Laura Farquharson (now 3rd in SOUL rankings on back of this)
W55+ 7th Lesley Gomersall
W65+ 43rd Lindsey Esson
And two hard cores took on the Trail O, organised by ex-Gramps Anne and Rob Hickling, to make it 8 events in one week:
Ian Hamilton 53rd and Jeremy Huthwaite 68th
(and David Esson helped out)
GRAMPIAN ORIENTEERS 