It was a bright and sunny day for our meet last Saturday, June 17th at Hillside Junior High. Given such nice weather, we had a very large (the biggest I've ever seen) turnout, heavily supplemented by a Scout troop eager to exercise their own orienteering skills.

Several groups tried out the beginner course to get their feet wet. Arun and his wife Colliani, recruits from Micron (by myself), finished grinning wildly and crying out for more. Four scout groups followed of various multiples: Matt's team ran most of the course and set the standard, Terry's group followed closely but wished they ran more to beat Matt, and the clan of Robert came in a close second. Pam's group, with her family of promising young orienteers, rolled in still eager to hit the next course.

The intermediate course drew the most interest, including all those who completed the beginner. Given that this branched out into the Stewart Gulch map, this was a larger leap than usual, perhaps as much to the scheming mind of the novice course setter as the hilly terrain. Frank Kruesi, Rob and Bob Fritsch, and Neil (a solo adult from the scouts) all came back looking hot but happy, with Neil flying so fast the cheatgrass almost missed getting stuck in his shoes. All the beginner groups mentioned above gave the ups and downs their best shot, but saved a few controls for another day. ;^)

Four took up the gauntlet to tackle the advanced course, which reached all the way to the far ends of the map. Stan Stanojevec, nicely recovered from his prior injury, blasted through the course unhindered by his old pair of running shoes. Two new arrivals, however, gave Stan a run for his money. Rick, who loves to run with a purpose, nearly caught Stan's shoelaces. Michelle, with a long history in east coast orienteering, levitated above all that cheatgrass and won by a margin of almost two minutes. Andy Hill, accepting this opportunity as a Father's Day gift from Elijah to run the course (crazy or what?), happily finished but promised further lessons on control placement and description (no more bushes!) to the course setter. Grasshopper humbly awaits his instruction.

The results:

Beginner Course:
 5 controls
 1.3k, 0m climb
 Arun and Colliani Lokanathan:  15:00
 Matt's team (BSA):             11:00
 Terry's team (BSA):            13:00
 Robert's team (BSA):           11:45
 Pam's team (BSA):              28:00

Intermediate Course:
 8 controls
 3.4k, 195m climb
 Frank Kruesi:                  2:04:00
 Rob and Bob Fritsch:           1:31:00
 Neil (BSA):                    0:45:00
 Arun and Colliani Lokanathan:  2:24:44 (DNF)
 Terry's team (BSA):            1:59:00 (DNF)
 Pam's team (BSA):              1:33:00 (DNF)
 Robert's team (BSA):           1:55:00

Advanced Course:
 9 controls
 4.8k, 295m climb
 Andy Hill:                     1:51:15
 Stan Stanojevec:               1:07:00
 Rick:                          1:15:00
 Michelle:                      1:05:30


Location and dates for the next meet are yet to be determined...but see you then!

Jeff