PWF

Results are posted below as well as on Attackpoint, WinSplits, and on QOC's very own RouteGadget.

A gorgeous day with all the Fall colors in a (recently reopened) Prince William Forest Park – what more could an orienteer ask for? Sunday started out a bit cool, but by the time most people hit the courses, the weather was perfect for running with temps in the high 50s and the sun shining brightly. The courses, designed by Amber Tomas, were challenging with lots of climb, but many positive remarks were overheard at the finish. Unfortunately Amber herself was a little “under the weather,” so Greg Lennon, Vido Aleksiev, Tom Strat, and John Vallin stepped in to set the controls – and there were a lot of them.
We had a large number of participants with total attendance approaching 300. Parking became an issue, as it always seems to at Prince William Forest Park, but we survived. We had a lot of non-members and several people joined. Groups came from Patuxent NJROTC, Herndon NJROTC, Fork Union Military Academy, and John’s Birthday Party!
Like the Lake Needwood event, we had our “moment of crisis” with a fire engine racing into the parking lot with lights blazing and siren blaring. Turns out that a runner on the Brown course twisted her ankle and called “911.” The emergency folks had no idea where Brown Control 3 was, but we gave them a map and told them the most direct driving route. We then sent a volunteer, Patrick Farley, on foot to the site about 2 km away and he got there before the emergency crew – great job, Patrick! The injured runner was safely evacuated and the Park Ranger commended us for the way we handled the situation.
Volunteers are an essential part of any event and we had a number of folks who stepped forward to help out. In addition to the course designer and setters mentioned above, our registration duties were masterfully handled by Gary Smith, Karla Hulett, Rae Ann Hicks, and Patrick Farley. Kudos to Kathleen Lennon who has prepared exceptional registration kits and a great layout for setting up. Follow her precise instructions and you cannot go wrong! E-punch management was performed by our outstanding team of Valerie Meyer and Amy Louden with Ben Bloshock helping out after completing his run. We had a remote start for the longer course, which was manned by stalwarts Sidney Sachs and Dan Tam Do. Beginner instruction (and we had a LOT of beginners) was performed by Mark Hicks and John Baker. Finally, control pickup runners were Charles Carrick, Nadim Ahmed, Don & Marit Davis, Dan Pike, Don Ames, Mark Mace, Sam Listwak, and Greg Lennon.
One last thing – if you missed getting a guided tour of the fort that Nicole and Max built, you missed a real treat. Thanks guys!
Bill Wright
Event Director