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Day 2 of the 2010 Xmas 5 Days saw competitors head south of Armidale to the complex granite area of Banalasta, with courses set by the mapper - Eric Andrews.
Adjusting from the complex buildings of UNE to the complex granite of Banalasta proved to be a little difficult for some with tales of legs of 20 ~ 30 minutes being recounted by some. To make matters worse, for a few competitors their problems occurred on the first leg!
On the Men's elite (MA) course it was "situation normal" with Julian Dent again winning the 6.9Km course in 46 minutes from Sweden's Mats Troeng (in 48.03). Current M20 Australian Champion Josh Blatchford showed that he also has not lost anything since winning the national championship by coming third in 55.29.
In the womens elite (WA) course, ACT's Jo Allison won the 5.8Km course in 49.35 with Queensland's Anna Sheldon just pipping NSW's Tracy Bluett for second place. Anna completed the course in 54.24, with Tracy just 30 seconds further behind.
In the Mens C course Queensland's Oliver Crosato was too fast for NSW's Andy Simpson winning the 5.0Km course in 48.22, with Andy finishing in 52.31. NSW's Malcolm Roberts finished third in 53.35.
In the Mens D course local orienteer Maurice Anker was too good for recently retired OANSW Executive Officer Dave Lotty winning the 4.0Km course in 45.13, with Dave just 27 seconds behind.
Sweden's Julia Davidsson won the the Women's 4.0km C course in 45.30 from NSW's Nicola Blatchford.
Day 2 results can be found here, and the Day 2 splits can be found here.
Tomorrow sees the competitors head east of Armidale to Sawmill Creek for Day 3 for some "simple" spur gully orienteering
Day 4 saw Xmas 5 Day competitors head 35Km west of Armidale to Mount Brown, a new area recently mapped by Eric Andrews.
Having competed on Banalasta on Day 2, there were probably more than a few competitors who faced the prospect of competing on Eric's latest masterpiece with a little trepidation. The area was described in the program as "Open to semi-open paddocks in flat to undulating terrain with areas of scattered granite" - and that is the area that would be used to test the shorter courses competitors. The longer courses had the additional challenge of "Open eucalpyt forest and areas of scrub amongst exposed bare rock and scattered to complex granite outcrops in the steeper areas".
With temperatures expected to reach mid to high 20's later in the morning, it was not known if it was better to start early in the cooler temperatures, but be faced with the longer grass, or to start later and have to contend with the later heat.
The days results which can be found here, again demonstrated the strength and consistency of some of the runners, as they were able to get the better of the conditions and their fellow competitors to again win their courses.
Day 4 splits can be found here. Routegadget junkies will be pleased to see that Day 1 and Day 3 courses are now available. Day 1 here, and Day 3 here.
Tomorrow sees the Xmas 5 Days event conclude with the final day at Dumaresq Dam, 15 minutes to the NW of Armidale.
The 5th and final day of the 2010 Xmas 5 Days was held yesterday at Dumaresq Dam, 20Km NW of Armidale.
With many competitors heading home after the event,start times were from 7:30am. This also helped offset the prospect of the highest temperatures for the week in Armidale, with a peak temp. of 29 deg C expected for the day.
With no major terrain difficulties or complex map detail to contend with, it was up to the competitor to have as clean and quick a run as possible around the Dam.
The Day 5 results can be found here, and the Day 5 splits found here. The overall results for the 5 day competition (best 4 days to count) can be found here. RoutGadget for all 5 days are now available, and can be found on the event website here.
The Orienteering Association of NSW thanks Northern Tablelands for organising this years event, and also thanks Queensland's Eric Andrews and Liz Bourne, and the Bullecourt Boulder Bounders club for their support in organising the Day 2 and Day 4 events. Special thanks also go to Dick Ogilvie as event coordinator, and to Ron Pallas for almost single handedly manning the finish tent for all five days.
The 2011 Sydney Sprint Series kicks off tomorrow Monday January 3rd.
The first of the series of 10 events coordinated by Bennelong's Terry Bluett will take place at Section 1 of Manly Dam, with Terry also organising and setting the first event.
Like last year, the 2011 series will be an all SportIdent affair using the electronic timing system.
With January 3rd being a public holiday, Bennelong has booked the covered BBQ area near to the start location for the day and invites all competitors to come and use the facilities before or after their run. It is also possible to go for a swim in the Dam. Car parking is close to the BBQ area and to the start, and is also not far from the entrance to the Dam.
Access to the Dam is from King Street, Manly Dam and park gates will close at approx. 8.30pm. Start times will be available from 5.00pm until 6.30pm, with the course distance of 2.5 ~ 3.0Km.
