Results for the first score event of 2026 at Lightning Tree Hill are now published on the Results page. A Routegadget link to compare routes is also provided.
A few adjustments have been made to the results as compared to the “Live Results” found on the website or your results slips. Firstly the few who punched (or stumbled close enough to) the distracting “dummy” controls #191-196 in addition to the “proper” (mapped) control that they were close to (219,220,227,211,202,215 respectively) have been docked some points as promised in the event details. Secondly for the pair who impressively managed to clear all the standard controls within the hour, your “spare time” bonus has been calculated and added.
27 of you took advantage of the bonus control in (what remains of) the Lightning Tree, while an impressive 79 people managed to catch the abominable Snowman, who was obviously not moving at his usual pace. Well done all!
Many thanks to Pat for the planning and organization, and all the helpers (setting out, starts, registration & download, control collecting, cafe, etc. etc.) that make these events possible. Thanks to everyone – experienced and newcomers – who turned out for a beautiful day in the forest to kick off the New Year.
Organiser Comments
These events only happen because some people offer up their time to make them happen. Gary Wakerley helped with putting out controls yesterday and waking them up early this morning. Paul Bryce did all the technical set up, and his wife Sarah not only did lots of fetching and carrying, but handled dibber hire, EOD, change requests and enquiries, before going out for a run herself. Hils of course provided the cafe – much appreciated by people hanging around for others to finish, and others helped with the start. The snowman was Andy Creber, and he clearly put himself about – with 79 ‘tags’ to his name. Then at the end of the day Hannah and Ian Bradley, Doug Wilson, and Vanessa and Seth Lawson brought in all the controls. Huge thanks to all of them for making the event a success.
On the planning side, clearly I should have thought more about route options out of the start; all the high scorers took the same route for quite a long way, so it was only towards the top end of the map that differences began to emerge, something to focus on next time. Quite a few people visited the Lightning Tree (control 222 if you didn’t get there) without claiming the bonus, but few people were caught out by the dummies. Hopefully the idea was worthwhile, but it was a very late addition to the course and could have been done better.
Finally, I have one item of lost property – a bright blue ATNKE brand wooly hat with a torch on the front Email me to claim it.