Intrepid orienteer fans head to capital
Determined runners battle icy conditions
The Edinburgh BigWeekend saw several Forth Valley Orienteers runners establish excellent results as the new season opened in an icy capital.
Ross McLennan and Peter Molloy were first veteran and first junior at the Fight With the Night Sprint, with Ross’ time of 25.56 was good enough for sixth place overall and Peter one place further back in seventh spot (26.15).
Saturday’s City Race was to have been the opening round of the British League, but organisers elected to void the courses for scoring purposes due to extensive black ice on the roads.
With no league points on offer, Peter Molloy opted to skip his entry in the junior category and ran instead against the veteran men and elite women, leading them home in 62.51 for his first win at this level.
James Hammond won the young junior race (20.14) and Lizzie Stansfield was first woman and fifth overall in the junior event in 24.54.
Off the podium there were fine performances from a number of others including Mark Holliday (5th UltraVet Men in 65.20) and Douglas Lee (10th Elite Men in 85.39) on his debut in club colours. The final day of racing was on the slopes of Arthur’s Seat, and British No 1 Graham Gristwood opened his account for 2018 with an early assault on the Brown course which stood the test of the pack as he won the event with a time of 58.31.
Peter Molloy continued his rich vein of form on the weekend with sixth place overall on Brown (75.24), in the worst of the weather. Grace Molloy was third in the women’s race in 65.24 and it was a good day for the Hammond family with James claiming third on Light Green (45.42) and Rebecca fifth on Yellow (24.07).