Mark Hennessy chose the old shelter at the base of Mt.Tarrengower near Maldon as the assembly area for a very well attended event. There were 82 separate entries with courses 2 and 3 proving most popular. Courses appeared a little shorter than usual because of the steepness and the intricacies of navigating in granite terrain. Mark made great use of the western face of the mount, placing his controls on the difficult courses in some very intricate sites. Careful navigation was crucial, with those making mistakes having the often difficult task of relocating on the side of the mountain.
Course 1 was won by Patrick Jaffe who treated it as training for the Junior World Orienteering Championships later in the year, when he will be representing Australia. He finished ahead of Bryan Keely and Ben Goonan, and that was after playing soccer in Melbourne beforehand. We wish him well overseas. Young Jimmy Cameron won course 2 in a time of 40 minutes, further evidence of his continuing interest and improvement in the sport. Jenny Bourne and Steve Bird, both very experienced runners, came in second and third respectively. Twenty six people competed on this course.
In terms of competitors, the standout course was course 3 with an amazing 32 runners. The title here was taken out by Henry Cameron in a time of 29 minutes, followed by Stephen van Rees and Reuben Cameron. There continues to be keen competition among the Cameron brothers. Course 4 was topped by more of the young guns, with Serryn Eenjes taking the honours ahead of Karina Cherry and Solomon Cameron. Racing was tight with the top three separated by just 31 seconds. Bendigo certainly has a large number of enthusiastic and ever-improving juniors.
The novice course only attracted one competitor this week with Judy Hill walking her grandson around the course.
Thanks to Mark, who is based in Melbourne and who is also heavily involved in organisation of the Australian Championships later in the year when they are to be held around Ballarat. A great job Mark!
Results are HERE Splits are HERE TBT is HERE NEXT WEEK: Mandurang.
David Brownridge
