SELOC Successes
A much busier weekend than last, with SELOC members competing far and wide as well as at the first in our autumn Saturday series in Nuttall Park, Ramsbottom where around half the entrants were SELOC members. Stephen Richards included a “Norwegian-style” course in the options on offer, where competitors just received a map with start and finish pre-marked, then found out the rest of their course one control at a time by way of a small map extract at each control showing the location of the next. With 19 controls, they were zig-zagging all across the area. Full results are on the website, along with the full course so that competitors can see where they went.Elsewhere on Saturday, the Wilson family opted for a trip to Anglesey taking in ERYRI’s weekend of events in the wooded dunes of Newborough Forest. The technical terrain is superb, but now getting a bit clogged with brambles though this didn’t stop Steve taking 6th place on the Blue course, unusually far ahead of Cath in 21st who suffered from blisters. Anna and Daniel ran Yellow and were well-placed in 3rd and 4th spots. There are no results published for Sunday as yet.Paul Turner took the urban option on Sunday and it paid off with a win in the MSV class at POTOC’s event in Leek, which should do his standing in the West Midlands Urban League no harm at all. Michael Hood headed in the opposite direction to the EBOR event on Skipwith Common, near York, where his good form didn’t desert him and yielded 5th place on the Blue course.
Upcoming Events
The next event in SELOC’s Saturday series is on 16 November amongst the industrial archaeology at the Burrs Country Park just outside Bury town centre. Information is on the website. We also have a Tuesday series going with Age Concern Bolton, with events in the final short series of 3 events in Leverhulme Park on 5 and 12 November, if anyone can make it.On Wednesday night, 6 November, we have the second event in this winter’s SROC Street League though being in Heysham, near Morecambe, it is the one furthest away for most SELOC members. But that won’t deter the enthusiasts! LOC have a conventional urban event just up the road in Kendal that same night, the first in a night urban series. Will anyone risk SROC league points to go find out what it’s all about, or maybe even do both? LOC registration opens at 17.30, so it’s possible.Then next weekend has one of MDOC’s bigger offerings of the year, with their Twin Peaks weekend returning to the tough terrain of the upper Goyt Valley near Whaley Bridge on Saturday, followed by an urban race in Stockport on Sunday. Anyone not fancying an urban run could head to HOC’s event on Titterstone Clee, near Ludlow, or up to the far side of the Lakes for WCOC’s Copeland Chase long distance score format event (though there is a 1 hour option too), near Whitehaven.The weekend after that sees this winter’s North West Night League, sponsored by Bright Bike Lights, get under way with SROC hosting in the woods of Arnside Knott on Saturday night. SELOC will also have competitors heading all the way to SE England for the British Schools Championships near Slough on Sunday 17 November. A little nearer home on Sunday will be events from SYO on Bowden Housesteads near Sheffield or a West Midlands League event on the slopes of Long Mynd in Shropshire.Plenty going on with a huge variety of formats to choose from for those willing to travel, though that’s always going to be the case in a sport such as ours.