Thanks to the Jack Bloor Fund which helped me compete in the 2018/19 U23 World Cup series where l finished 8^thoverall including a 3^rdplace at Hoogerheide and 4^that Koksijde.

My big goal for the season was the World Championships which was held on the coast in Bogense, Denmark. I gained selection with a 2^ndplace in the Elite National Championships, 1^stplace went to Tom Pidcock who became U23 World Champion.

After the national championships in January I went on a training camp for 10 days with my team (Corendon Circus) in Spain to prepare for the worlds and last races of the season. We did a lot of good quality training and coming into Hoogerheide (the last World Cup) I was feeling tired due to the amount of training and travel, but managed to finish 3rd and was very close to the second.

Coming into the worlds I was feeling good and with the result at the last World Cup I had a lot of confidence, I had a good start and was in the front group the whole race, unfortunately I had a puncture with 3 laps to go which meant I lost a few places but managed to get 6th in the end which I am happy with and now looking forward to the final few races left of the season.

www.benturner.online

The Jack Bloor fund supported me to complete my Mountain Leader Summer Assessment. I spent much of my childhood walking in the Yorkshire Dales with my family. Then I found myself working in the outdoor guiding industry and it became clear that to progress my guiding opportunities I needed the relevant qualifications. Hiking guiding was my main area of interest so Mountain Leader was the perfect starting point, however it is a large financial and time commitment. I completed my training course in April 2018 and then I used the summer of 2018 to consolidate the skills I had learnt and to practice for the 5 day assessment. This involved getting Quality Mountain Days, practising wild camping, learning about flora, fauna and weather systems, and most of all practising navigation.

After a lot of hard work the week of the assessment came along in early September in the Lake District. After of a lovely hot summer in the UK, our assessment week had a mixture of fair weather and strong winds and rain, which tested us and our equipment.

Day 1 – We spent the first day starting with a day navigating, it was the day to get our heads in the game for the rest of the week. We also went through a home paper assessment we had done.

Day 2 – We spent the day out in a rocky area near Kirkstone Pass, here we were practising our rope work; belays, confidence roping and abseiling, as well as our movement in steep and rocky terrain. It was a really enjoyable day out on the hill. The evening was spent preparing for our expedition.

Day 3-5 – We spent on a 2 night expedition, where we navigated in the Langdale Valley for 3 days and wild camped in the mountains. We also spent one evening being assessed on night navigation until about 1am, this is tricky, but luckily we had a dry evening for it! We also broke up the hiking a little by doing presentations on topics to do with the mountains, I choose to talk about mountain birds and ecology of dry stone walls.

Finally we returned, a little damp and rather tired but after a warming cup of tea in a pub, I received the happy news that I had passed and was now a qualified summer mountain leader!

I am extremely grateful to the Jack Bloor Fund for supporting me to get this qualification, so I can pursue the career that interests me so much.

Alicante Training week report

After completing my final year of my degree at the University of Leeds I was looking forward to the opportunity to have a week to focus on my training with fellow athletes before returning home and starting full time work in July.

The training began before I even left British soil. Three cancelled trains resulted in a mad dash through Manchester airport, making my flight by seconds. As we arrived late on Monday night, our first training run was Tuesday morning. A few members of the group went for a steady run to stretch our legs, exploring the local area including some trails and the promenade. In the early evening we returned to the trails for another steady run to investigate the potential for a longer hill climb route the following day. On the Wednesday we headed out as a large group, ascending the local trails to gain a great view over the bay. After a fast and competitive descent, we returned back along the promenade before ascending the final hill back to our accommodation.

On Thursday we headed to the track for a speed session. The weather was overcast during the warmup which made for more comfortable conditions than the previous days. The session consisted of 10x300m with 100m slow jog recovery. Although the heavens opened during the session, it was nice to be able to complete a strong session with the group.

Friday morning consisted of a group circuits session followed by a steady recovery run, and Saturday was another steady run in preparation for a harder run the following day. On Sunday some of the group decided to do another track session, however I opted for a tempo on the roads near to the athletics track, which was better suited to my 5/10k based training.

Being able to dedicate a week to focus on my running and train with a strong group of athletes really helped me to prepare both physically and mentally for the summer races over the coming months.

Throughout the summer and autumn of 2018 I had a number of successful races. Shortly after returning from the trip, I gained first place female at the Caistor 10k, were the 30’C conditions were very similar to those I had experienced a few weeks previous, and definitely worked to my advantage.

I subsequently have had a number of successful races, with first female at Haltemprice 10k and second female at Deepdale Dash 10k. I was also part of a successful team at the Northern Road Relays, who finished in 6th position out of 97 teams overall.

Many thanks to the Jack Bloor fund for providing me with such a fantastic opportunity.

World University Orienteering Championships – Kuortane Finland 2018.

In 2018 my major orienteering goal was selection for the World University Championships which was being held in Finland. As this was my second year as a senior the World championships still seemed far out of reach and as such World Uni’s provided a perfect opportunity to get more international experience during my transition towards senior competitions. I worked harder than ever this winter and raced well at the JK finishing 9^th overall in M21 Elite and finishing 12^th at the British Long Championships. These are my best senior results to date and I felt that I had made a big step towards closing the gap to the very best British orienteers. These results also put me in the top 5 under 25’s good enough to secure a spot in the GB World University’s team.

 

Exploring Edinburgh before the British Long-Distance Championships at Balmoral.

From the high of selection, I found it a real battle to make it to the competition in my best shape. I was working super hard to complete my masters, with exams and coursework deadlines falling either side of the competition week. Non-the-less as the team gathered at Edinburgh Airport I was determined to perform as well as possible and enjoy the week to the max. I also kept in the back of my mind that this was all part of my development and I’d still be under 25 and eligible for World Uni’s in 2020, to be held in Russia. Whatever happened this week I would learn some valuable lessons and enjoy the experience!

I had been selected for the Middle, Long and Relay races. This meant that on the first day of competition I would be spectating the sprint relay and most importantly cheering on my team mates. The team consisted of Cecilie Andersen (Oxford), Johnny Crickmore (Herriot Watt), Alexander Cheplin (Edinburgh) and Megan Carter-Davies (Bristol). After Cecilie got off to a great start the team ran well to eventually finish in 4^th place, just a matter of seconds away from a medal! Everyone was tired including the enthusiastic spectators but so proud and motivated for the rest of the week! My first race was the middle distance, held at Lapua in scorching heat! Despite starting well, I lost map contact in vague flat terrain, making a parallel error on my way to the second control.

 

Error at 2: Having lost direction in the flat area of light green low visibility marsh (1.) I saw crag (2.) believing it to be crag (3.) and so ended up too far left with nothing to relocate off.

I hadn’t lost too much time, but I remember feeling like I’d already thrown away any chance of a good result. I made a few more micro-errors as I rushed on, hoping to salvage the poor start. Any orienteer will tell you that you must put such mistakes behind you, it is not possible to make up lost time. However, this is always a challenge when the stakes are high at an international race that means a lot to you! By about half way around the course I made the decision to retire. My reasoning was that I still had two races later in the week and in the intense heat I would do well to save myself for those races. Afterwards I felt terrible and wished I had persevered, if only for the experience.

The next day was the sprint race, I wasn’t racing so took the opportunity to relax and watch the online TV coverage. The best British results came from Alex Cheplin who came 5^th in the mens’ race and Katie Reynolds (Bangor) who came 11^th in the womens’ race. The final two days of competition were the Long and relay races. The long race was tough, with difficult navigation, energy sapping heather and steep climbs. I tried hard throughout the race, avoiding any large mistakes. It was a much better performance than the middle but far from perfect. I finished 51^st. Whilst this was a step in the right direction I knew I could still improve for the relay race! The best results for GB in the long came from Ben Mitchell (University of Western England) who was 30^th and Megan Carter-Davies who finished 15^th.

Long Distance race at Kuortane. Photo: Janna Nousiainen

After the long race all attentions turned to the relay. My team consisted of Nathan Lawson on first leg, then myself before Matt Elkington on the anchor leg. Nathan and I were current Sheffield University students and Matt was alumni; Sheffield Uni were taking on the world! Nathan fought hard on the first leg, coming back in 18^th place just behind the main pack, a solid start. I felt none of the pressure I had experienced before the individual races and as soon as I started, my orienteering began to flow and I could push hard. I was smooth and able to ignore the other runners in the forest around me. My race was almost perfect, I felt like I had finally mastered the Finnish terrain! I handed over to Matt in 13^th having made up 5 places and so relieved to have finally put together a good race. Matt was in a small group of runners from 8^th to 15^th place with all to play for. He raced so well, holding his own in the field of world class orienteers, eventually finishing in 10^th. With each country allowed two teams but with only one counting, 10^th place translated to 7^th Nation overall for our GB/Sheffield Uni team!   

 

Three happy team mates after the relay.

In typical student fashion the week ended with an awesome beer race and a great party for all the teams. The week hadn’t turned out exactly as I’d hoped but on reflection and based on my preparation I couldn’t be too disappointed. I had struggled to interpret the Finnish maps which use 2.5-meter contour intervals meaning all features on the map are much smaller on the ground than expected for those of us used to 5m intervals, standard in Britain and most of Europe. I was glad to have proved to myself, albeit at the last opportunity, that when things go right I can compete with the best orienteers. At 22 I was one of the younger runners at the competition and I’ll have the opportunity to compete in Russia in 2020. I plan to return fitter, stronger and more prepared to handle the navigational challenges that a new region can present!

I’d like to thank the entire British team who made this an incredible week. There was always a laid-back atmosphere in the squad with no one taking themselves too seriously, we looked out for one another and everyone spent the week laughing! Our accommodation at the Kuortane Olympic training village was incredible and we spent many great afternoons swimming in the lake and chilling out on the beach. Thanks to our coaches Mark and Alice who do an amazing job, they are always enthusiastic about orienteering and looking after their team. I’d also like to thank Sheffield University, Airienteers and the Jack Bloor fund whom I once again turned to for financial support. None of this would be possible without your continued support!

The Future

This has been a much belated report on what was an amazing week in Finland. Upon my immediate return I was quickly under the cosh as I attempted to finish my Masters. Thankfully it went smooth enough! The next big change in my life was moving to Australia, Melbourne to be precise! I am under-taking a 6-month scholarship as the Coach in Residence for Orienteering Victoria. This is a great opportunity for me to experience another part of the world and try to deliver a coaching plan for local orienteers. Not only is this a chance to improve others, but also myself. This may be the closest I will every come to being a full-time athlete. I have so much time to train hard, look after my body and race in new terrains, all whilst avoiding the British Winter! I’ll be back in time for our domestic races in April and look forward to another competitive season of orienteering and fell running! I hope I can end the year even closer to the ultimate goal of World Championships Selection.

Pre-JWOC Camp Report- Lucy Haines

This August, I headed to Silkeborg in Denmark with the British orienteering team, to run in the Junior World Orienteering Championship 2019 terrain ahead of next year.  It was an invaluable experience as I learnt the different skills needed to tackle this terrain. We spent the week in a hostel which was situated near all of the areas for training (and lakes for swimming!)

The day after we arrived, we got stuck into the Danish forests. The woodland consisted of large rolling spurs and re-entrants, with patches of light green, which was usually easy to get through. Some of the flat open forest plateaus reminded me of southern areas in the South Downs, whilst the areas of spurs and steep re-entrants were similar to areas of Cannock Chase.

Throughout the week we completed three long, two middle, one sprint and two relay style sessions. All these training sessions involved various exercises and different techniques to focus on which were important in tackling the challenges of this type of terrain. One of my favourite sessions was on the final day, where we ran long legs in groups, each taking different routes (or slight variations in routes) and matching the running intensity. This allowed us to compare paths options to forest options and options of going around the top of a re-entrant compared to running straight, often down a steep gully and up the other side. Often, if the forest was white, it was quicker to go straight.

Another good training session was the relay training as there were other national teams taking part too, like Sweden, Norway and even some of the Danish senior squad who had just returned from the World Champs. The training was set up like a mass start, with over 40 runners on each of the boy’s and girls’ course. This training turned out to be almost as competitive as a JWOC relay! Overall, it was a great week with some great people and I’m grateful for the opportunity to go to Denmark for a Pre-JWOC camp. Thank you to the Jack Bloor fund for their support.

 

Running the length of the Pyrenees – attempt

Rosie Watson

The plan was to run the length of the Pyrenees, following the Haute Route, which was the highest and toughest of the trails which follow the Spanish/French border from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. It would involve navigation of 800km+ of rough trail and 42,000m ascent. I’d be going solo, bivvying as much of the way as possible, and carrying all of my stuff (up to 8 days food in places). And for the extra challenge, I had just 31 days in order to get back to Leeds in time for my graduation.

It was going to be incredible! I was going to have an amazing mountain experience, be living the dream, then come back a true mountain goat with legs of steel ready to finish of the fell running season for the rest of the summer. I was even fundraising for the Jack Bloor Fund after the suggestion by Hilary, which I was super excited to do as it felt so good to be giving back to an organisation which had helped fund my trip. I promoted it all over social media and was overwhelmed by the support I had within just a few days.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite go to plan. Day One was forecast for torrential rain the entire day. I set off in good spirits regardless, buzzing to be on Day One of my trip and knowing the forecast was meant to improve each day for the rest of the week. I ran around Hendaye in the pouring rain to find some camping gas, soaked through within minutes. There was no gas to be found, and after 4hrs of searching and half an hour in McDonalds wondering what to do, I set off without, hoping to get some on the way or to rehydrate my cous cous with cold water.

My pack felt ridiculously heavy. I’d done a month’s running trip with almost exactly the same kit a year before in New Zealand, but this time my training hadn’t been good – I’d been running well a few months before, but had been limited to the roads around Leeds due to final year exams and deadlines – no big mountain days. The month before, when I’d planned to get in the longer runs, I’d been hit by exam-season flu, and had felt exhausted and run down for weeks, and as a consequence had done nothing more than short jogs the weeks before leaving in an attempt to get my energy back. A few days before leaving I finally felt like I was back to my ‘normal’ self, but I was definitely not physically prepared. By this point there was nothing I could do other than hope that my body would adapt as I went – something which is possible on a long trip.

Moving on from the lack of camping gas, things continued to just not be in my favour. It was like my guardian angel had gone on holiday and been replaced by an evil wizard. In the torrential rain and mist I took a turning which gradually sent me back around the hill I’d just been over, so I ended up back where I started – wasting another 2hrs. My map disintegrated. Over the next week it continued to rain, and there was still no gas – meaning the food I could buy was limited to tortilla wraps and pâté/Nutella, packets of Uncle Ben’s semi-cooked rice (they are designed to cook the last bit in the microwave), and cold sardines. Every day the forecast said the weather would improve, and every day it didn’t, again saying the next day would be good… There was five days of mist, making navigation difficult – after spending hours lost on a hillside trying to find the road, I realised I was just metres away but the mist had been too thick to see it. After this (and a few other times being lost in the mist), I followed roads round where possible as the Haute Route isn’t a marked trail and is often on very faint paths (and sometimes off-path), so was pretty impossible in bad visibility. This meant long days on hard tarmac in my worn-out trail shoes, which meant more impact on the legs. My ‘breaks’ where short as it was too cold to stop long, and my legs were cold all day from the rain, warming up once per night usually about 3am when the warmth finally made it down to my toes. It was hard to stay positive through days of just me in the mist, with the only company the endless cows just out of sight with their clanging bells, and every person I met didn’t speak English. I felt rude and ignorant for not being able to speak either French or Spanish, and it made the mist even more lonely – something I had been entirely unprepared for as I’ve never felt lonely in mountains before.

My whole body was hurting but usually, I’d wake up the next day to realise the aches had moved to a different place, so it was just my body adapting, and even within a few days it felt more natural carrying a pack. So, when my feet/ankles started really hurting I presumed (hoped) it was another ache that would move on or disappear. But this didn’t happen and within just 5 days I had to have a rest day. My right ankle was double the size, with my left also very painful, with the tendons making creaking sounds when I moved it. I emailed Jim Davies (sports therapist and legendary fell runner) for advice and he warned it didn’t sound good, and I may need some serious rest. Where I’d stopped was a soul-destroying-ly miserable Col which was apparently right on the mist-line – the guy running the café hadn’t seen the sun since November. It wasn’t a good place to be, so I decided to set off slowly again, doing very short days – my feet had improved even in just one day of rest so I felt there was hope. And this time, the forecast said sunshine ALL DAY, even for the top of the first ‘mountain-peak’ of the trip I had the climb.

The next day it rained and was misty – again, all day, the forecast was wrong. By the end of the day I was barely walking and knew I wouldn’t be able to make it, and had to find some way of having some serious rest. Both ankles were very sore and swollen, and my right knee now hurt too. I was devastated and couldn’t believe after all the planning and support from everyone I had only managed 6 days and wouldn’t complete the trip. I limped down to the nearest village the next day and hitched out – and that was the end of my attempt.

Despite what felt like a failure at the time, I believe it was a hugely valuable experience and taught me a lot, and will prove itself to be incredibly useful for future, bigger adventures. Things like keeping the legs warm when running in the wet, not under-estimating the importance of shoes, having enough food – all simple things which everyone knows in theory, but are easy to let slip in reality. Also, more important things like making an effort to learn some of the language in a foreign country – people have different opinions about this but I made myself swear to never neglect this one again as I found it so limiting and lonely, and felt so rude! Making sure training goes well – and changing plan if it doesn’t. Allowing enough time to start with shorter days and build up, without the pressure to do big days every day. Taking a book, taking LOTS more snacks, and not ditching the guidebook.

There were also some incredible moments which I can remember so vividly – mad even better from the fact that the rest of the time it was one misty blur! A huge eagle swooped across the road out of the mist ahead of me, visible for seconds but so close – it had clearly not heard me as the mist made everything so silent. Another time two shepherds dogs sprinted barking out of the mist – I was immediately worried in case they were guard dogs, but they were so lovely and I stood stroking them for a while – appreciating that language barriers didn’t exist with dogs! They then walked with me along the track as I tried to find the tiny path which took me down to the stream. In the end, they were the only reason I found my way – the point they kept pausing at by the track as we walked backwards and forwards marked the start of the path, and when I turned down it they went ahead, basically leading me half an hour down the very steep, rough hillside to the bridge – a ‘path’ which would have been almost impossible to find on my own as it was surrounded by long grass and tussocks.

 

It took almost 3 weeks to recover – luckily some old family friends let me stay at their house in the Pyrenees so I spent the time with them, helping out with their gardening work. It was great to spend time with them in their beautiful small French village, and at the end of it I was fit enough to do a 5 day trip in the high-mountains – in good weather, finally with some views! Most of the trip was over 2000m, with the first day climbing up to Pic D’Estats at 3143m which was the best mountain day I’ve had in my life, and I had the top completely to myself. Lots of big rocky mountains, snow and beautiful lakes.

 

I’m hugely grateful for the Jack Bloor Fund for supporting this trip, and despite not going to plan it was invaluable in my development and will help future adventures to be more successful.