How the West was Won

Monday, 6 March 2017

Geelong Street-O   -   How the West was Won

This week it was Toby C as course setter that maintained the high standard of navigational challenge that we have seen all series.

Being the series end, and with series winners still to be resolved for some grades, the competitive ones amongst us were keen to get going.

We had an enthusiastic group of new-comers from the Life Learning program run by the Geelong Sustainability Group and also great to see the return of former regulars Lorraine and Ron C.

The charter for Toby was to set a slightly shorter course than usual to allow for an 8pm finish with results to be announced on the night. The map area covered the hills of Newtown to the south, the flat areas of West Geelong to the north and plenty of offset laneways throughout.

In A grade, Luke H had a very strong run to blitz the field, with Andrew T and Greg C next.

In B grade, Sofie lay down the challenge to Don and myself before we started and then also delivered on it !! However it was Ron T choosing B grade over his usual A grade run, that took the honours of 1^st home ahead of Sofie.

The tight tussle in C grade continued with Stuart McW again returning to the winners post, followed by Brad, Damian and Paul.

Heather had D grade to herself and was back in good time to help with compiling the overall scores.

No surprises in the walking, with Michael H again producing the top score (67 points) to make that 5 wins in a row. The gap to the field was significant this week, but the contest for placings was very tight. It was Lynda, Linden and Elna (all on 54 pts) that edged out Linelle and Henk (each on 52 pts).

Of the newcomers, there appeared to be smiles all round and quite respectable scores. Special mention should go to Sally A and Jen C. They chose to have a go at running D grade which required 9 controls. They were clearly enjoying themselves so much that they stayed on the course for a total of 13 controls. Well done !! 

A well laden table of treats (thanks to all of the contributors !!) was enjoyed by all participants as the overall scores were compiled.

Prizes of local olive oil or honey were up for grabs for series winners, and Freddo Frogs for those dedicated participants that attended all events in the series.

We do like to celebrate participation over winning, but we also recognise the need to acknowledge the competitive beast that resides within many of us !!

In the Men’s walking it was Tom F that held on to be the series winner. Tom has been a staunch supporter of Geelong Street-O for many series now, and it’s great to see him be rewarded for a fine series.

The Women’s walking was always going to go down to the wire – as it turned out we couldn’t split Lynda McM and Linden Y, a fitting result given that the “Clonard Cluster” often walk together.

D grade was easy to determine, as Heather L was the only qualifier (a minimum of 6 events).

C grade had a clear Women’s winner – well done Mel B.
The Men’s C grade was extremely tight and fittingly we couldn’t split Stuart McW and Damian W.

B grade had Sofie as the clear Women’s winner, with myself winning the Men’s. With Sofie’s late series run of good form, the interest lay in seeing if she would outscore the field in B grade. Unfortunately for Sofie she ended up level-pegging with me.

Ron T had previously wrapped up the win in A grade Men’s. We had no Women runners in A grade.

Thanks to all those that helped in many ways throughout the series. Special mention to Joyce M. She has looked after the cake and watermelon for the last couple of series, not an easy job for a senior citizen !!

I’ve had several offers of support for next series. I will distribute a separate email summarising those offers and asking for confirmation.

Cheers,

Alan Cooke

0427 777 061