After last year’s snow in the south east, we were treated to a weekend of sunshine and warmth in the north east. The cool, overcast start at the Sprint changed dramatically overnight and the good weather persisted until the end of the relays. The sunshine was complemented by some excellent terrain and courses, marred only slightly by the logistical nightmare of bussing everyone in and out for the relays.
The Day 1 Sprint was certainly fast, technically less challenging than last year but with some interesting route choice provided by the central motorways dividing the competition area. Alice Bedwell and Dave Parkin won their classes (W45 and M75), with Mark Saunders 2nd (M50).
Days 2 and 3 at Kyloe and Cockenheugh offered a mix of woodland and open moorland, with the added bonus (for climbers) of passing very close to some well known crags and enticing boulders – quite tempting to stop and have a closer look. Alice Bedwell excelled herself by adding the overall W45 JK title to her Sprint win and there were some notable performances from other BOK runners too. Mark Saunders was 3rd in M50; Jackie Hallett, Alison Simmons and Jo Foster 4th, 5th and 7th in W50 (Alison having won Day 2); Clive Hallett 7th M45; Dudley Budden 3rd M60; Dave Parkin 2nd M75; Anne Donnell 2nd W75 and Pat Grenfell 1st W80. Our juniors too enjoyed some good results – Isla Simmons finished a very creditable 14th in W18E (before going off to the World Schools in Spain); Rosemary Hurford was 1st in W18L; David Maliphant, Jamie Hayward and Ben Kelsey 3rd, 5th and 6th in M18L; Ben Maliphant 10th M16A; and Adam Potter 12th M14A.
The Relay courses at Dipton Woods were themselves excellent, although the 90 minute wait for a bus in each direction was somewhat disappointing! The BOK To Front team of Clive Hallett, Phil Murray and Mark Saunders finished 3rd in M120+, while Jackie ‘n’ The BOKs (Jackie Hallett, Jo Foster and Alice Bedwell) were 6th in W120+. In the M48- class, our BOK To The Future team of Jamie Hayward, Adam Potter and Ben Maliphant finished 12th and the Assorted BOKs juniors (Rosemary Hurford, Abigail Kerr and Jack Kelsey) did well to finish 20th in the Mixed AdHoc class.
So an excellent JK weekend all round. Many thanks to the organising clubs, and also to the weather for holding long enough – Tuesday saw a return to cloud and a cold north easterly wind and on Wednesday several BOK families were treated to thick fog on Lindisfarne.
