The Australian 3 Days held over Easter in and around Canberra was a carnival of contrasts.
Day 1 on Gudgenby was very technical and in places very thick making it a tough physical challenge. Day 2 in Kowen Forest was fast and furious in typical pine plantation forests. Day 3 at Collector featured a significant amount of fallen timber making it a very difficult map to run straight lines on.
The event was well organised and it featured excellent commentary. The highlight of the day was the chance to score prizes in the “most interesting injury” Oldest piece of o-gear” slowest and fastest” up the finish chute competitions.
The following is my summary of performances:
Lisa Lampe W45A
A miss punch on the prologue event was Lisa’s biggest problem during the championships. Lisa like many before and after her missed the middle control in a straight line of 3 on the very technical ADFA map.
However she performed very consistently in the three days recording 12, 15th & 16th to end up coming 13th overall.
Michael Lloyd M Open B
Michael does not get many chances to orienteer up there in the coal fields of Queensland. His experience in the terrain is more a case of blowing it up for the huge machines to load the coal . However with that said Michael did rather well in the carnival. Placed 4th on day 1 and 6th on day 3 Michael may well have podiumed had it not answered the call of a manual or two he needed to study for work on day 2.
Sarah Garnett W50A
Sarah was the model of consistency and had three excellent runs to record her highest placed overall placing at the Aust 3 days for some time. Finishing 8th overall in what is one of the hottest classes in the women’s division was a fantastic effort. (8th, 10th,9th)
Rick Steele M50A
Rick over the past few years has been running M45As at major carnivals. However he stepped up to the “A” division for this event. A mp on day one cruelled any chance of a solid placing but day 2 21st and day 26th showed what might have been.
Bronwyn Steele W21E
Bronwyn has been missing from the sport for a number of years. A knee rebuild ( hockey injury) followed by extensive O/S travel saw Bronny otherwise engaged. However Bronny came back to the sport this year and it was amazing to see just how well she ran on very limited preparation – mind you she is fit enough with a hal marathon on the agenda shortly. She placed 13th, 17th 18th 19th to finish up 14th overall a great effort Bronny!
Dick Ogilvie M65A
If ever there was someone knocking on the podium door over recent years it has been Dick. In recent weeks he has been showing good form and the three days was just the place to put it all together. Dick placed 6th, 3rd, 8th to wind up in 3rd place on the podium.
Maureen Ogilvie W75A
Well Maureen certainly had a great carnival. She was placed 1st on each day and was odds on to be W75A Champion
Dave Lotty M65A
Injuries are taking a toll on Dave and he certainly struggled to be competitive during the carnival 10th, 13th 10th for an 8th place overall. Had he come into the carnival injury free it may well have been a different story.
Catherine Murphy W21E
Catherine entered the carnival on limited preparation and knew that the two long days would be physically too much. She ran well in the sprint on day 1 to place 25th and was 21st on the first bush race. She then ran a modified course on the remaining two days.
Linda Sesta W40A
Linda was again a model of consistency racking up 3rd, 4th, 3rd to finish on the podium in 3rd place
Aldo Sesta EOD Orange
Unfortunately The results of EOD were not included in the carnival results. However a little birdy told me that Aldo ran each day but there was some suggestion that he saved himself for the sprint up the finish chute each day
Terry Murphy M60A
Unfortunately in the week leading up to the event Terry sustained a nasty ankle injury that prevented him donning an o-suit. He had to spend the days as chief photographer and cheer squad leader.
Helen Murphy W60A
Over the past 12 months Helen has been running shorter courses due to injury. At theses champs she stepped back up to the W60A class and performed well. She achieved 15th, 16th 14th to finish in 15th position overall.
Clare Murphy W21A
Now if you want consistency Clare’s 3rd, 3rd, 3rd to finish 3rd overall was it. The W21a Class is very competitive with a number of former elite runners stepping back into this class. Well done Clare
Ian McKenzie M55A
Over the past few years Ian has battled injury. It was great to see him back out in the forest competing at a very much reduced walking pace. However Ian was in good form and in the large M55A field he finished mid field 20th, 29th, 24th to finish 21st overall.
Ron Pallas M45AS
Well one could write a book on these performances. The errors got bigger 14 minutes day 1 (14th) 37 minutes day 2 (21st) and a mp on Day 3 ( I was there and did punch it as Mark Wilmott was right behind me to verify that. However that was the way it was.
Gayle Shepherd W35AS
Once again there was a huge level of consistency here. Gayle finished 13th each day but faded to 14th overall on the result board when the medals were being handed out. Blisters and some minor errors slowed our seamstress somewhat.
Nick Wilmott M21AS
Never one to be orthodox Nick entered M21AS or “Sledge” as it is known. Choosing not to compete in his normal age class he was giving
away 20+ years on the majority of his fellow competitors. However Nick was not daunted by this and performed extremely well over the 3 days. He finished 10th, 8th, 6th to end up 5th overall. (Pity it wasn’t a five day event as he may have ended up on the podium!)
Margaret Wilmott W50A
Margaret’s carnival started poorly with a mp robbing her of any chance for an overall placing. However Margaret was very pleased with her runs on Day 2 15th and day 3 17th.
Jane McKenna W21AS
Jane ended up a very creditable 3rd place in W21AS. She had an outstanding run on day 1 to lead the field but two slower runs (5th and 6th) saw her drop down the leader board but she managed to take her place on the podium.
Dave McKenna M45AS
Dave also stood on the 3rd place podium position. His runs 3rd, 2nd and 9th were all strong but one must realise he tailed Jared around after each of his runs and by the end of the carnival he was knackered!
Jared McKenna M/W10N
With Dave in high pursuit Jared had a very good carnival. The N class allows parents to shadow and assist if necessary. Jared was way too fast for Dave and assistance was out of the question. Jared recorded 2nd, 2nd, 1st to finish in 1st place overall.
Jitka Kopriva W60A
Apart from a slow run on day 1, 14th, Jitka had a very good carnival with 6th and 5th on days 2 & 3.. She finished in 7th place overall in what is probably the largest and most competitive women’s class.
Zuzu Burford M55AS
Zuzu’s overall placing relied on a good 3rd day result unfortunately after 2nd day 1 and 2nd day 2 14th on Day 3 saw Zuzu relegated from 1st place. None the less it was an outstanding result for a quietly competitive orienteer.
Angela Murray W65A
Day 1 was Angela’s undoing and tough technical terrain cost her the chance of a top 5 placing. She recovered from 14th on day 1 to post very competitive times on Day 2 8th and day 3 9th to finish 10th overall
As is always the way - you compile a list and you leave someting out.
Stay tuned for results from Snowy 3 days and a few photos. Plus the results of the Uringa finish shute challenge
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