Border Liners Orienteering Club held the latest event in their Saturday Series at Hallin Fell last Saturday. The threatened rain never materialised and conditions were perfect for running on this great little area overlooking Ullswater. While the courses were relatively short in distance they more than made up for it in ascent, with even the shortest course visiting the summit cairn.
The longest, Blue course (5.1km, 320m ascent), was won by Border Liner James Chapman (M40). James pulled out a good lead on the first (and longest) leg, briefly losing it with a technical mistake on number 2 before drawing ahead to be a clear winner in a time of 44:36, two minutes quicker than second place West Cumberland runner Steve Birkinshaw (M45). The Green course (4.4km, 250m) was won by Graham Patten (M60, WAROC) coming back after injury in a time of 41:39 well clear of Ian Cumpstey (M45, BL). Close behind Ian were Emily Brown (W21, BL) and Stella Lewsley (W70, BL) with Border Liners taking five of the top six places. The Short Green course (2.9km, 150m) was a close run affair with the lead changing multiple times and the top three places finishing within 34 seconds of each other. Winner was Northern Irish orienteer Ewan Ewart (M14, Laggan Valley) in a time of 37:58, 20 seconds ahead of his dad David (M50) with Matthew Cochrane (M70, South Ribble) another 14 seconds adrift. The Very Short Green course was won by Janice Nichols (W65, BL) in a time of 56:04.
The Orange and Yellow courses are designed for juniors and newcomers to orienteering and it was encouraging to see some new faces. The Orange course was won by Leo Davis (M14) in a time of 48:32 with Border Liners Dylan Clarke and Thomas Hartley close behind. The Yellow course was won by newcomer Mechaela Major (W21) in a time of 28:27 just ahead of Border Liner Matthew Hartley (M10). Mechaela enjoyed her run so much she then went round the Orange course.
Border Liners next event is on Saturday 17th May at Knipe Scar near Bampton. This is part of the Northern Championships weekend and a counter in the UK Orienteering League. However courses are available for all ages and standards – see the Border Liners website ( https://borderlinersorienteering.org/ ) for details.
Border Liners Orienteering Club 