East of Scotland Championships 2009

West Lomond Hill near Glenrothes was submerged in a cloud of mist on Sunday but this didn’t deter orienteers competing in the East of Scotland Championships. The day started very breezy but dry and it was a battle running into the wind. Coupled with tussocky conditions underfoot it was definitely a battle against the elements, especially for later starters who had to contend with heavy rain.

Roxburgh Reivers continued their good form, coming away with seven district champions. Ian Maxwell, Sarah Tullie, Lindsey Knox, Karen Maxwell and Iain Cattermole all successfully defended their 2008 titles. John Tullie and Kirstin Maxwell, both running up age classes, added to the tally this year. All seven will need to wait another week to get hands on their trophies because prizegiving was cancelled due to the incessant rain.

Last weekend was also the Original Mountain Marathon race, this year held in Wales. Douglas Tullie and partner John Rocke had two tremendous days to win the A Class by a substantial margin, covering the 38 mile course in 9 hours. The weather was kinder this year after the appalling conditions in 2008 which resulted in the event being called off part-way through Day 1. Also competing were Robin Sloan and Chris Hall who finished a very respectable 88th out of 285 pairs in the 11 hour Score Class. Hopefully a report from Robin will be added here.