by Judy Koehler

The forecast was for cold weather, heavy showers, thunder storms, and hail, and we had all but the thunder. But on the positive side, what we did have was close-in parking, personalized clinics, no waiting, and courses to yourself.

Christine and Graham Brew clearly understood the concept of orienteering as they had the fastest time on the both the White and Yellow courses. Joe Miller was only 5 seconds behind on the Yellow course, and then went out on the first leg of the Motala. Nikolay Chukanov was first on the Motala that took in a variety of terrain as it visited the Eastern, Western, and Southern portions of the park. On the Motala, orienteers had to run by the Finish and then back to the Start to pick up the next map, allowing for a spectator leg for those enjoying treats at the Finish and for those in the group picnic area.

A highlight for me came when I asked one of the newcomers how she came to be at our event on a cold and rainy Sunday. She replied that she had wanted to try something new for her birthday. She was browsing the web and found a link to our website on an adventure racing website.

Thanks to the hardy band of volunteers that braved the weather: Scott Aster (course setter, Finish, breakdown), Brett Carver (course setter, starts, breakdown, control pickup), Rick Budde (set-up), Martin Taylor (set-up), Mark Burchill and Mel Conrad (set-up, starts), Jennifer Kerr (clinics, starts), Gary Kraght (registration), and Neil Peterson (registration, break-down, control pick-up). Also thanks to Bruce Wolfe for staying and helping with breakdown, and to Eron Flory for volunteering to help with control pick-up.

Thanks to Greg Ehrensing and Rosemary Johnson for help in getting equipment for this event and the next, Bob Cooley for the maps, Harold and Penny DeMoss for the loan of their tents, and Jill Meuchel from Sonoma Country Regional Parks.

As we were picking up controls, blue skies appeared and the colorful sails on the boats on the lake were visible.

Pl  Name(s)                             Time

White Course    (2.2 km, 35 m climb, 10 controls)

   1  Christine & Graham Brew             19:19
   2  Julia McIlroy, Trisha McMahon       34:10

Yellow Course   (4.0 km, 115 m climb, 15 controls)

   1  Joe Miller                        1:01:04
   2  Olga Kraght                       1:54:34
   3  Kevin Walker                      2:10:23
   4  Richard & Ty Gampell, Irene Kim   2:46:33

  Second Course

      Christine & Graham Brew           1:00:59

Motala, Leg 1 only (1.6 km, 70 m climb, 7 controls)

  Second Course

      Joe Miller                          28:34

Motala     (Leg 1:  1.6 km, 70 m climb, 7 controls;
            Leg 2:  2.0 km, 45 m climb, 8 controls)

   1  Nikolay Chukanov                    39:19
   2  Bruce Wolfe                         43:35
   3  George Minarik                      46:23
   4  Eron Flory                          50:41
   5  Gary Kraght                       1:01:18
   6  Jennifer Kerr (GCO)               1:27:08
   7  Paula Zurowski, Mike Meagher      2:02:13