Richard Nuell`s report on his Informal event on the Downs 16 May 07.
THE DOWNS WEDNESDAY 16 MAY 2007
As usual, it was a pleasure to organise and plan one of the BOK evening informals. I now find it more fun to plan events like this where some flexibility is allowed, provided the courses are of an acceptable standard. It is no secret that I always aim to put on something a bit different (remember the BOK LONG-O in 1997 which included Purple and Black courses?). This year, I opted for Yellow, Red and two "Street Score" courses; sorry, no Blue or Green but I feel there are not enough safe, technical bits on the Downs for such courses. Red courses tend to be treated as a joke because they are much less technical, and are always disregarded when results are analysed, but I think most people who did my course (5.0k) had a good challenging run and enjoyed themselves - that's the important thing for me. I was particularly pleased to see so many University students taking part, it being so near to their halls of residence. The Red course enabled them to get a feel of simple orienteering prior to trying the more usual technical courses in weeks to come. My only regret was that, as I was collecting in controls, I wasn't around when people doing the Street Score finished as I was keen to know how they got on; it certainly took me some hours when I checked it all but I am not a fast runner!
Thanks to everyone for coming and to Anne Donnell for her help on the day.
Richard Nuell
