Wrekinoitre No 196 - Wrekin Orienteers

Wrekinoitre No 196 

www.wrekinorienteers.co.uk 

Graham pondering what might have been had he not mispunched at 

No 10 

Wrekinoitre 196 March 2011 Page 1

Wrekin Orienteers 

www.wrekinorienteers.co.uk 

Chairman: Richard Lewis 01948 840428 

Secretary Mike Callow 01952 412314 

Treasurer: & membership matters 

Brian Morris 01952 770308 

Orchard Lea, Rodington, Shrewsbury, SY4 4QX 

Captain: Andrew Clough 01743 246639 

Training Co-ordinator: Tony Callow 01743 884219 

Fixtures: Jill Leventon 01743 289946 

Electronic Equipment : 

Jill Leventon 

Website 

Editor Wrekinoitre Brian Morris 

See Wrekinoitre Editor 

See treasurer above 


INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 

Chairman’s Page Richard Lewis 4 

Choc “O” 2010/11 Andrew Clough 5—6 

To Go or Not to Go Mike Callow 7—8 

Never say die Brian Morris 9 

Winter/ Summer Training Notes 10 

Club Training Day Andrew Clough 11 

Photo Gallery 12—13 

Members Profile Pat Pay 14—15 

Training Day Comments Derek Lloyd 16 

Harverster & British Relays Clive Richardson 17 

South Shropshire Circular 

Clive & Sharron richardson 

18—19 

Haywood (Mud Frolics) Richard Lewis 20—21 

Charlton School Mike Callow 22 

West Midlands Training Day 23 

Events Diary 24 


Chairman’s Chat 

This year started off with our New Years day event at Twemlows which 

now seems a like a long time ago. It went very well and Wrekin did well to 

finish runners up this year. Then we had our postponed club Champs at 

Bishops Wood on a nice crisp Saturday morning, again a well attended 

club event with thanks to Pete Jones for mapping and planning the 

courses, Derek, Noreen, Brian, Roy and all others who helped make it a 

very successful champs. Congratulations again to all the club champions. 

In between these events and since, we have had visits to Much Wenlock, 

Ironbridge Shrewsbury and Ellesmere for our Tuesday night events 

which have become more popular as the winter went on. It is interesting 

to run around places like Much Wenlock at night with a torch, it gives it 

a totally different view rather than driving in daylight hours in the car 

and those hills in Ironbridge phew! 

By the time you read this our club captain Andy Clough will have had us 

all brushing up our navigation skills in Twemlows wood, this will be followed 

by Roy’s map of Bayston Hill and we finish off the winter training 

before back to summer events with Brian’s Map of Sundorne. 

The West mid league has already started with its first event at ODs Hay 

Wood and more about my run later. Before we know it SINS will be here 

which is an important event for the club and this year we are lucky that 

the car park and assembly are in the same location we will need all the 

help we can to put the event on and Brian M and Mike C would appreciate 

early volunteers. If you intend to run ask the organisers for the special 

entry code before you enter to ensure you get the helpers discount. 

I don’t know where the year has gone so far but with the events we have 

planned as well as SINs there should be plenty to do and if you would like 

to organise an event or plan courses please give me a bell. 

Richard 


Choc O 2010 Andrew Clough 

Womerton proved a popular location for the start and finish of this 

year’s Choc O challenge. There was ample parking space, easy access 

from the A49, great views across the Long Mynd and a different location 

for the organiser from which to plan his courses. 

I will not ramble on too much as I hope somebody will have written of 

their experiences this year. However as I collected the pegs in late on a 

sunny afternoon I realised that this year the event had had its usual 

amount of memorable moments for all concerned. 

Snow and Debbie prevented me from putting out the pegs as scheduled 

and encouraged me to add a touch of red paint to the top of each peg. 

Mike and Tony Callow assisted me in putting the pegs out on an absolutely 

Arctic 23 rd December. The pegs were hammered in the frozen ground 

after a hole had been made with an old ice axe. If you thought the 

routes were a little easier this year then ask Tony or Mike what they 

would have been like in the weather conditions of the 23 rd . We wondered 

if anyone in their right mind would venture out in the days to come. They 

certainly did. 

Lawrie, always one of the first to tackle the Choc O was a little late this 

year. On 30 th of December my text message bleeped as I was driving 

south over Shap Fells on the M6. Could I text him the grid ref for the 

first peg! He was already at Womerton but had forgotten this vital 

piece of information when setting off from home. I stopped at the next 

junction and managed to dig out an old OS map of the Long Mynd from 

my O bag. The request was duly sent via text. All part of the service you 

understand. Minutes later the text bleeped again indicating a happy Orienteer 

off in search of chocs. Lawrie even managed to get his picture at 

the penultimate control on the Mercia fell runners web page. 

The second control for both courses was a pond. If any peg was going to 

catch people out this was the one. The map is good here but there are 

one or two smaller ponds in the area. Mike and Tony were both spot on in 

finding it when the pegs were being planted. The heather over there is 

tough but then these chocolates have to be earned. 

Locating a suitable site for the cache of chocolates is not always easy. A 

runner or walker arriving at the last peg should not be faced with disap- 

(Continued on page 6) 


(Continued from page 5) 

pointment when finding the chocs. At the same time the public should 

not be able to help themselves to a freebie. Initially I had settled on a 

rootstock further up the fence. Here there was plenty of opportunity to 

secret away the goodies. I was satisfied with this location until, when 

driving away from Womerton I could clearly see the rootstock across the 

field. Imagine driving up to the start and looking across the field you saw 

a runner replacing the tin of choc back under the rootstock. No, I 

needed somewhere else. The fence junction eventually chosen was close 

to a public footpath but it would need a very inquisitive rambler to locate 

the cache. 

I often get feedback from folk about their experiences on the Long 

Mynd. They tell me if the cache needs topping up! Part of the fun is refuelling 

the tin of chocs without being spotted. On one fine late afternoon 

I dropped Debbie off from the car just below Womerton. She followed 

the footpaths across fields to the crossing point. I walked down 

from Womerton and dropped another selection of chocs in the tin. My 

determined wife then managed to walk uphill along the fence back to the 

car. A year ago this would not have been achievable. 

The cache was finally emptied on Saturday 8 th January. I had a ‘phone 

call from a cheery John Broadhead who informed me that Rebecca had 

eaten the last of the chocs. With our chairman planning to complete the 

course the next day I resisted the temptation not to let him know and 

duly informed him to take his own chocolates if required. 

Chewy bars and other food item often appear in the tin. Perhaps people 

swap leftover food from their trip. On the last day there were a few 

peeled carrots left in a freezer bag. The note attached that they were 

for people who’d eaten too much chocolate over the festive season. 

Often people will use a photocopy of the map rather than take the original. 

OK if you have all the area to be used on the copy. Alan Morris didn’t 

have the precise section of map for the last control but managed by a 

process of local knowledge, guesswork and luck to find the chocs. 

106 people were recorded in the log book. This made the joint efforts of 

Callows and Clough on the 23 rd well worthwhile. 


To Go or Not to Go 

Mike Callow 

That's a dilemma we've all wrestled with during the snowy weather. Pete 

had already put out some of the controls in Bishop's Wood, the boxes 

were programmed and I had got the mince pies and mulled wine ready, 

but..... after trying the route out and several phone calls Organiser 

Derek and Planner Pete made the right choice as road conditions were 

treacherous, so Brian fired up the faithful e mails and website and I 

phoned Shropshire Radio. We hope everyone was reached. There's always 

another day. 

For many years I was a member of Shrewsbury Canoe Club and we did 

lots of harum scarum things, but the thing I valued most was sometimes 

we said no, we're not going in these conditions. 

Next up was the Choc O. 

Andy and family drove from Manchester into Shropshire's blizzards so 

we delayed putting out stakes. Thursday looked possible if only the road 

up to the car park at Womerton was ok. It was, so in full winter gear we 

set off with Tony and Andy carrying the stakes and me carrying ....me. 

The snow on the paths was easy walking, the trog across the heather to 

the pond was taxing, hope some of you found our tracks to follow. Still it 

was better than some days last time when a crust on the snow made 

walking and running difficult.... except for the wind which whistled out of 

the north east with a nasty chill. Short course done and chocs in place 

there were just a couple of controls to put out from Carding Mill. I left 

these to the young(er) and strong(er) with a time guestimate of 1 1/2 

hours. Just time for me to skive off into Church Stretton for a quick 

steam pudding and custard! 

2 hours later, after spending time in the Information Centre checking 

our Permanent Course maps and poster were displayed (they were) and 

nipping into the loo for a warm up I phoned Tony. "We're just on top of 

Yearlet - it's very windy up here and the snow's deep." 

I was glad I'd missed this bit of the Long Course. 

Job done, in cold conditions. Hope the sun shone for your Choc O. 

Next was the Christmas Eve Fun Run. 

Dave Gittus had checked the footpaths and planned 3 routes before 

(wisely) departing for a family Christmas.... in the Phillipines. 

(Continued on page 8) 


(Continued from page 7) 

Rod had produced his usual clear map, but was the event on We at Wrekin 

used to run this event, but passed it on to Newport Running Club, so I 

checked their web site. Consternation, Fun Run Cancelled glared out in 

red letters, but their earlier note had called it the Christmas Eve Escapade 

so a hasty call to the organiser confirmed it was on and their cancelled 

'fun run' was a different event. 

Moreton Village Hall is a good HQ and their were lots of happy Christmas 

greetings. 

Stuart and Derek Turner remembered they'd been doing the run for 20 

years! Rod, Lesley and Martin were for the walk, as were the Broadheads 

and friends, except James who was up for the 8k as was I despite Alan, 

Clive, Sharon and Paul claiming they were only going to go slowly and I 

should go with them. 

Off we went in bright sun, all on the same route to start with and seeing 

the'slow' runners disappearing into the distance, I knew I'd made the 

right choice. The bright sun and crisp snow made it a splendid day if you 

could ignore the cold air rasping into your lungs and your legs saying they 

needed to walk. Fortunately the many stiles provided a brief respite and 

there were even a few downhill stretches. 

Hot soup, tea, mince pies and the bar were very welcome and gave us a 

chance to chat and catch up on news afterwards. 

I'd put out Wrekin flyers on all the tables hoping that the 'road runners' 

would be flushed with success at following a map. They all went, so 

who knows, some may get interested in orienteering 

Mike C 

Please remember that we shall need all the 

help we can get at SINS come the end of May. 

Volunteer now and get your discount code by 

emailing Brian or Mike, address’s on page 2 


Never Say Die 

Brian Morris 

This is a saying that can sum up many orienteering efforts, especially night 

orienteering events. 

The recent British Night Championships at Bentley Woods near Atherstone is 

a classic case in point. The M70L course at 4.6km was only being competed by 

five of us, as Pat Pay had decided to take on the M70S instead and ended up 

winning the class. 

The navigation in this wood was never going to be easy at night yet the first 

four controls were picked off without too much trouble. The trouble started 

on the longer leg to five, which had no obvious path running possibility, I arrived 

in the control vicinity OK but failed to locate the ditch bend, this resulted 

in a bit of headless chicken milling about amongst the holly bushes until 

the elusive flag appeared, it seemed so obvious that I cannot understand why 

I failed to see it. A quick dash,(stagger), up the hill to a thicket for No 6. 

The next leg looked quite easy, out to the path run a few yards then turn 

right, and drop in “simples”, well it would have been if the path junction had 

not been missed and my wheels had not fallen off. About fifteen minutes 

later I found myself back at five, well at least I now knew where I was even 

if it was some distance from where I needed to be. Not being willing to give 

up at this point I pressed on and eventually located the flag. This is where 

the “Never Say Die” part comes in and I just put my head down and fired on 

as fast as possible. The next eight controls were knocked off quite comfortably 

with a final uphill burst to the finish. 

Not even bothering to check the results I slunk off to the car. Derek, 

Noreen & Clive returned shortly, all with similar stories of “What If” or “If 

Only”. 

Checking the results on Sunday, after another sortie through the brambles at 

Hawkbatch, I found that I had somehow managed second place the night before, 

losing fourteen minutes to Arthur Boyt, but clearing the third place 

runner by over two minutes. 

I could apply all the adages to this run, what if I had not lost 5 minutes at No 

5 and if only I had kept my brain in gear and not lost 15 minutes at No7, but 

if I had not decided to never say die I would not have made second place. 

No matter how bad you think you may be doing just keep plugging away and 

don’t let the dreaded retirement gremlins invade your thinking. 


By the time you read this our winter series of street events will be 

completed, and we shall be looking forward to another spring/summer 

of Tuesday evening training events. 

The committee want to thank everyone who organised and planned 

these winter events, they have certainly brightened up some drab winter 

evenings 

The initial details below spell out the general terms for this year. 

Summer Training 

Agreed 

1. We pay the Forestry fee for Shawbury Heath 

2. Members pay £1, visitors £2, Juniors free 

3. No event in SINS week ie Tuesday 31st May 

4. Lead Planner to return monies to Brian with a pay slip, 

leaving only the original float in the box. 

5. We should try to build a coaching activity into these events. 

6. A pub/social after training would be welcome. 

This is a summary taken from the minutes of the March committee 

meeting, the full text is available in the members area of 

the website. 

If you have forgotten the user name and/or password just drop 

me an email. 


Club Training Day 

Twemlows Big Wood 

Saturday 5 th March 2011 

It was at some point during the New Years Day Score Event when the 

thought of organising a coaching day on Twemlows drifted into my mind. 

Concentration was then inevitably lost and I was off in search of a feature 

to relocate myself. 

After the club champs and Sutton Park events, several folk said to me 

they could do with practice using compass bearings to find point features. 

At this time of year the wood is free from the dreaded brambles and 

bracken that infect many west midland woods. It is also fairly “white” in 

terms of vegetation. 

So with these thoughts in mind I ventured back up the A41 and started 

to work through a few exercises. These included, pace counting, aiming 

off, compass work, relocation and a corridor exercise. The latter gives 

me chance to blank out all the map apart from a 50m wide strip alongside 

the straight line linking controls. Got to go straight, and accurately! 

The other benefit of Twemlows is that it is not that physical. Previous 

training days on Cannock Chase and further afield in the Lakes have involved 

many more contours. All who came yesterday managed to complete 

all exercises without being clapped out at the end. 

About twenty members and a trio of young ladies from the Shufflers 

turned out ready for some practice. I was fortunate to have Mike and 

Tony on hand to help give advice and follow people in the wood. I can’t be 

in 20 places at once. 

Having the club chairman living nearby with a photographic memory of 

the wood was useful. If you need a tripod re-building, just drop an email 

to Richard and he’ll dash out across the main road and the job’s done. 

The question is IS IT 20M FROM THE RIGHT PLACE! 

What was encouraging to see yesterday was the number of newcomers to 

the club attending coaching for the first time and going home with a real 

buzz and enthusiasm having learnt something new. 

Now, Richard, about this tripod! 

Andrew Clough 


Another champs success for 

Molly 

Where did you say you hid 

it 

Smiles all round on a cold 

day at Bishops Wood. 

Does Colin 

have a cunning 

plan, or 

is he just 

trying to 

confuse the 

following 

hordes. 


More fun & 

games for the 

Choc “O” 

Planner and 

assistants 

Have you checked out the event calendar on the club website. 

You will find a lot of local, and not so local events listed. A 

click on the listing will bring up a bit more detail and a link to 

the organising club. 

Yours Truly will endeavour to keep the item updated by adding 

additional events on a regular basis 


Member Profile 

Pet Pay 

Mike has started to buttonhole club members to provide some insight as 

to what makes orienteers tick. 

The first input is from our much travelled veteran orienteer Pat pay. 

I began orienteering in April 1968, when I phoned WMOA and was asked 

to come and help at the Midland Championships being held on Bringewood 

Chase, Ludlow, the scene of this years SINS. 

I had no transport in those days and I remember trying to hitch a lift to 

Ludlow on a Sunday morning, I got to the event at noon only to be told by 

the organiser that the competition was all over. I had to catch a bus 

home. I had read about "O" in the colour supplement in the Observer, 

written by Chris Brasher, even before I tried it out I felt it might be 

for me using my military training. 

My first event was with Harlequins in Kinver million, I took 3 hours for 

2.5km! I remember crawling about in young fir trees 3ft high without 

finding anything. Those trees are about forty feet high now and as I 

drive by on the Bridgnorth/Stourbridge road I look at them and smile. 

Harry Price was our leader in HOC and Chris Schaaning one of the first 

members. I saw Chris at Hawkbatch and he is still going strong at the 

age of 83. Ken Broad was also around in the early days. I was newsletter 

editor and secretary for several years. We had one or two juniors. Our 

son Richard was M12 British Champion and with the two Maynard boys 

won Both the British and JK Relays, how we could do with them now. 

Eventually, in 1985 I decided to join Wrekin OC as their base was nearer 

home and they had regular training which was a positive for me. Each initial 

year of the 5 year age group I try to make more effort to get fit 

and concentrate, I have managed Championship standard on two occasions. 

My best result was 6/70 in the British Champs at Penhale Sands a few 

years ago. I like sand dunes, and on that day was caught by a good W50 


and we helped each other through to the finish. This year’s JK in Northern 

Ireland is similar terrain and I am hoping to see that lady again! 

There was an area in Somerset last year which was dreadful. Wet slimy 

ditches and windblown and I broke my compass, least said the better. 

That is the fascination of orienteering. It’s a puzzle to pick up and solve. 

It’s the same for everyone whatever the conditions, we are all seeking 

the perfect run when everything fits into place. 

I try to keep all my maps and record comments on each event, filed annually. 

Whenever there is an event planned where I have been before, I get 

the maps our and have a look. It does me no good but it is good fun anticipating 

what might happen. Each year since I retired I try to attend 

the Swedish O Ringen. I’ve been 8 times now but will not go this year as 

there is an overlap with the Scottish 6 day. It is well worth the effort 

to visit the capital and home of Orienteering. 

This year has not been very successful so far, my run at the British 

Nights at Bentley Wood (M70) short contained a 30 minute tour round 

the middle of the map. Quite a few others had similar problems so now I 

don't feel so bad. Most years I compete in 70-80 events and I never 

grow tired of the sport. I like to train twice a week on terrain but preferably 

on paths. I try to find some O each weekend. If not I will find a 

Should you find a membership renewal form in 

your envelope with this copy of Wrekinoitre, it 

means you have not renewed and this will be your 

last newsletter. 

So if you wish to remain 

members please let me have your renewal 

ASAP. 


Hi Andy/Deb you asked for comments from Twemlows well here are mine, 

please edit it as you think. 

I went to the club training event at Twemlows on 5th March and what an 

eye opener it was and very informative . 

Orienteering has always been a mystery in some departments for me and 

club events such as these that Andy and Debbie laid on was a great opportunity 

to learn some of the tricky bits when map reading and realise 

some of the important skills that are necessary to compete. 

I had picked up very little experience in the past to navigate around a 

course and settling for a direct route using only the compass reading, 

what a mistake to make. 

Being in the company of experienced orienteers like Mike and Sandra to 

explain the importance of using attack points at a slow pace instead going 

head first into it using only the compass bearing with a hit and miss result. 

I would also like to add that the maps that were prepared by Andy 

clough were a tremendous help describing the recommended attack 

routes to take for any budding orienteer, (a great learning idea) I think 

it would be a great idea for any beginners that they could taken around a 

course such as Twemlows at a jog/ walking pace with an experienced orienteer/coach 

and be given an explanation how and why to handle attack 

points and map reading. 

I believe that if we are to attract more beginners to join the club this 

kind of introduction must be made more readily available and more frequent. 

Tuesday training nights are very good for the regulars who value these 

sessions but are far too short for beginners to be of value I have been 

with the Shropshire shufflers for many years and I am continually trying 

to encourage the runners to give orienteering a go but always get the 

feeling from them that they consider the sport too technical to take on. 

I realise that the coaches do make themselves available on Tuesday 

nights but as I said they are too short for beginners and that they need 

this kind of club event to get started and understand the basics of the 

sport I would like to finish this comment by saying that we have to be 

patient and be available to put on events like Twemlows and I am sure it 

will bring results in the long run for the club 

Derek Lloyd 


The Harvester relay returns to Ecclesall Woods near 

Sheffield on the 16 & 17 July 

This is an overnight relay for teams of 7 or 5 orienteers depending on 

which class we go for. I think that if there is enough interest we can enter 

at least 1 team, perhaps 2 in the B class (handicap) 

Starts at 01:30 hrs with 2 night legs, 1 at dawn and 2 in the morning, 

courses are between 4 and 7 km, full details on SHUOC web site. 

This is a great relay to experience based on a very famous Swedish relay 

and Wrekin will pay half the entry fee, we need to get a team (s) sorted 

before the end of April so if you are interested call or E- mail Clive. 

Now for the interesting bit ! - 

Wrekin is organising the Shrewsbury urban ‘o’ on the 17 July. 

BUT we should be able to make it back for those who want to take part 

even if you are half asleep – it has been done before when a Wrekin team 

‘stopped off’ at Lickey hills for a warm down after Star posts (ask Brian) 

Clive 01952 771137 

British relays 

These will take place on Sunday 15 May, the day after the British champs 

in Warncliffe woods. 

They will be held in Tankersley woods, near Sheffield, these are normal 

relays held in the daylight 

And as not many of us are going to Ireland for the JK then we should get 

a good turn out ! so give Pat Pay a call before the end of March – I’m 

going and don’t want to have to run all 3 legs. 


South Shropshire Circular 

This year the SSC went ‘on tour’as Shropshire is hosting the Housman 

100 mile challenge walk later in the year and so at 7 am on Saturday 

morning we descended on Glyn Ceiriog community centre to mark the 

checkpoints and route on our maps – you bring the OS map of the area 

but aren’t given details of the route until the day of the event. I think 

this makes these sorts of events much more fun rather than being able 

to go and rece. the route weeks in advance ! Neil Fullwood (organiser and 

all round nice guy) advised that due to the nature of the area we need to 

carry more food and water than normal as there would be great difficulty 

in placing enough feed stations along the route. We were also advised 

to look at the mountain weather forecast a few days before the 

event, perhaps not such good advice as I think there were around 50 no 

shows on the day! 

Traditionally a number of Wrekin orienteers have taken part and this 

year Sharron, myself,Brian and Alan went along with a few Shufflers 

that we had talked into running (Orienteers are often overheard at 

training discussing events !) so we had the company of Dave Woodvine, 

Libby Collins and Helena Bramwell as well as others from the club. 

The route started on tarmac and headed gently uphill to the first check 

point on Vivod mountain and then on to the second above Llangollen on 

the corner of Ceiriog forest, at this point it had started to rain a little 

We then ran on to the third at the cairn on Moel Fferna, the same check 

point used for the last Berwyn challenge, then we carried on through 

what felt like a very cold shower to the memorial stone on the Wayfarer,at 

this point Brian made a very good decision and turned left down 

the Wayfarer to Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog and hot drinks and food in 

someone’s conservatory. The rest of us in, different groups, carried on 

through more interesting weather heading for the summit of the Berwyns 

( about 15 km’s away) The route between each control was very easy 

navigation mostly following fences and the ridge along the top of the 

mountain but the conditions under foot were very wet and boggy – lovely ! 

The route up to the summit involved a couple of steep climbs, the last 

going past the point that we needed to return to on our we off the moun- 


tain (some people choose to turn left here rather than face the climb – a 

good decision) 

We carried on ! At this point I had to put my gloves on, unheard of as I 

don’t feel the cold. Took me 20 minutes but at least my feet were warm 

unlike the 3 girls with me, one had lost a glove and so had a plastic bag 

over one hand still with half a banana in the bottom (a hand warmer perhaps) 

They all looked like drowned rats – me as well I expect ! Our 

faces were that numb that we couldn’t speak properly (so they had 

stopped yakking anyway !) 

The hail that was hitting us horizontally stung and the wind was trying to 

blow us off the ridge but we kept going anyway as there wasn’t much we 

could do about it and as soon as we got off the top the weather improved 

and the wind meant we were dry in minutes. We then had a long decent 

To the conservatory mentioned earlier which was in just the right place 

to refuel and recover, we then headed north along the Upper Ceiriog 

Way up a very steep hill that some will remember as the finish of the 

Berwyn challenge, it was as hard going up as going down – work that out ! 

We eventually started to descend into the next valley and a short but 

pleasant run alongside the river Teirw, through a wood and on to the next 

check point, after this we followed some lovely old drovers roads to another 

farm and downhill to the road and a short tarmac run to the finish. 

As usual we were supplied with a full meal and as much tea and coffee as 

you could drink. This is such a great event to take part in, the organisation 

and the friendly and laidback approach works so well – I had a bacon 

buttie at a check point a few years ago although I did get some abuse 

from other runners. We will try a get others to take part next year although 

this event is now so popular that it is full by the time of the Long 

Mynd Hike. 

For all those who hear beeping and bleeping on any training night we ran 

26 miles with about 5000 ft of climb and I burnt 3500 calories. 

Clive & Sharron 

(The bleeping is not Clive swearing, it his fancy wrist GPS) 


Hay Wood 27 th Feb 

This year my challenge is to try and do all the West Mid League events. 

The first one being ODs Hay Wood just North of Warwick not an event 

I would normally go to as its long way south of Whitchurch and not being 

too technical more a runners area. 

Encouraged by Tom and Di Jacks that we should go we left at 8.15 to get 

an early start picking up Tom and Pam on the way. It had rained heavy 

during the night but we had a fairly dry and easy run down passing the 

odd Birmingham City supports coaches on their way to Wembley. 

When we arrived at the car park field there was only about 8 cars but 

already the field looked to cutting up badly at this point I should explain 

that certain Prestige German rear wheel drive cars are fantastic to drive 

on Tarmac but far from happy on ice, snow or very wet fields so I followed 

instructions from the Marshall and Parked as he wished, as I got 

out my feet sank in what can only be described as a green sponge full of 

water oh dear looking at the car wheels they were already up to the 

metal rims without moving and the Renault parked next to us had sunk 

already up to its bumper. 

Forget the car lets enjoy the event, I give the passengers the instructions 

not to get changed after their run until we get the car out. So off 

we go to the punching start the four of us closely followed by Clive and 

Sharron who assured me with big grins they had a tow rope. The path to 

the start was also just a very muddy track with some large puddles it was 

as we were approaching one of these mud puddles at a slow jog I managed 

to trip over a tree stump and land in sight of the start on the edge 

of this puddle getting very wet and muddy and filling the emit card with 

mud. The comments at the start ranged from they will need to re map to 

put that depression on now, to have you run once already fortunately 

Clive and Sharron missed it. I enjoyed the run just not fast enough seem 

to be going backwards, but back to the car I was first back so I put my 

coat on and thought I would see if I could drive out and Park on the lane 

or road which is where the rest of the cars had been directed too. No 

chance wheels just sunk further into the muddy field I was beginning to 

get worried but had Clive and the 4x4 with tow rope as back up. The others 

came back up to 40minutes later no one was getting out of the field 

unless you had 4x4 and having tried Towing the car out with Clive’s 4x4 


the rear bumper was now touching the ground, so wind all the windows 

down fill the ruts with stones and get 20 pushers and lift it rock it kick 

it and eventually we get the car out. No stopping I drive to the first gate 

on the road about half a mile from the car park to wait for the others 

and get changed. The car was covered inside and out in mud and from 

having the windows down to give more pushing leverage the inside had got 

plastered from the spinning wheels as had the passengers. 

Special mentions, thanks to Clive and Sharon and all pushers The valetors 

who spent all morning on the Monday cleaning the car and to the Guy who 

bought the car in the afternoon I hope you’re not an Orienteer. And well 

done to Di who beat me by 2 seconds 

Not sure why I should have paid a £1.00 to park still I have ordered a 

4x4 next with 4 doors and a tow rope. 

Richard Lewis 

This is not Richard, but just an example of how to get everyone else 

thoroughly filthy whilst relaxing behind the wheel. 


" So, for getting low marks in the Incomprehensible Test..... 

you have to go on two 2 Day expeditions with overnight camps" 

This got me off to a cheery start with 28 students at Charlton School 

who had in fact opted for the Duke of Edinburgh Expeditions and who 

might benefit from some map reading skills. 

Having endured (oops, sorry, enjoyed) over 20 Mountain Marathons and 

Polaris Mountain Bike Trails (or should that be trials) I spoke about energy 

requirements, calorie intake, clothing and comradeship for a while 

before we got onto the map reading. 

With the benefit of Rod's survey and Lesley's map, plus our punches 

neatly inscribed WRE (thanks Pete and Dave) and plundering some of 

our stash of punch cards, I was all set for an orienteering session. Tony 

had showed me the British Orienteering dvd so I picked up some ideas 

from that and we were off- set the map, lay it on the floor and walk 

around it to face different directions then do the same with it in your 

hand, looking at the map to see what's ahead then looking ahead to identify 

features. This seemed to work quite well for everyone. 

Next it was time to put out the controls, my flat red/white plates with 

punches on. A pair of students put out a control, then a pair of 

'controllers' checked it was correct - if they disagreed, all four would go 

together, but this was rarely needed. 

Then it was break time .... so collect them all back just in case. 

After this, with everything set up again, it was time to tackle mini course 

of 4-5 controls as many as they wished. Some speedy teams did the lot, 

finding 25 controls on 5 courses, so not wanting them to get bored while 

others took their time I resorted to something we did on one of our 

training nights, A puts out a marker and returns, shows B on the map 

where to find it. B returns with the control, than has a turn. 

I really enjoyed this morning of coaching. There was lots of enthusiasm 

and I hope we can all do a bit to encourage newcomers to our summer 

training events. 

Mike Callow 


WMOA training day 

Courses: 1. BO safety course 

2. Event organisers course. 

Date: Saturday April 16th, both courses. 

Venue : Adcote School, Little Ness (Nesscliffe) 

Cost: Free 

Lunch: Yes 

Exciting filler 'O' 'activity' : Yes 

The BO event safety course will be delivered by Hilary Palmer and is the 

one that organisers of all events (levels A-C) and controllers will eventually 

need to take. 

We will be sending 'cascade tutors' (Tony + any other volunteer) to 

learn the course for future delivery at club level as and when needed. 

Any volunteer club 'cascade tutor' (please check you are suitably qualified 

with tony), can claim travel expenses back via Helen Errington. 

Those wanting to do the basic 'event organisers' course will be able to 

take the 'safety course' on the same day as they will run one after another. 

The organisers course will be tutored by Henry Morgan assisted by the 

glamorous ......errr.......tony......who will also be i/c biscuits and activity 

'coach'. 

Lots of further details on the rationale for the event safety course in 

Winter edition of FOCUS. 

Please let Tony or a committee member know if you intend to 

partake of either, or both, courses. 

Tony can be contacted on (01743)884219 


DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 

WRE website www.wrekinorienteers.co.uk (look for the “event calendar” link) 

HOC website www.harlequins.org.uk 

OD website www.octavian-droobers.org 

COBOC website www.coboc.org.uk/ 

WCH website www.walton-chasers.co.uk 

March 

27th WCH Sherbrook & Wolseley WM League 

Park SJ995209 between Stafford & Rugeley 

EOD £10 less £2 if BOF member SI electronic punching 

APRIL 

OUR OWN TUESDAY EVENING EVENTS WILL BE STARTING IN APRIL, MORE DE- 

TAILS AS SOON AS AVAILABLE 

2ND COBOC SUTTON PARK 7’S SP115962 EOD £5 SI PUNCHING 

20TH (WED) OD BURTON DASSETT COUNTRY PARK 

28TH (THURS) POTOC KIBBLESTONE SCOUT CAMP 

28TH (THURS) HOC NUNNERY WOOD 

MAY 

8TH (SUN) HOC KINGSFORD FOREST PARK (NO FURTHER DEATAILS ) 

19TH (THURS) HOC CLENT HILLS 

22ND (SUN) OD WM LEAGUE ELMDON PARK SP 168833 park £1 

EOD £9 less £2 if BOF member. Emit punching card hire £1 

28th Weekend SINS 

www.sins.org.uk

Wrekinoitre No 196 - Wrekin Orienteers

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