Possum Trot Orienteering Club News

2011-12-30T12:04:00.002-06:00

Thanks to grants from PTOC, we were able to attend two A-meets in 2011: one near Buffalo, New York, in August, and the other in St. Louis, Missouri, in October. Matt, Joe, and John used the grant money in New York, while Jessica, Matt, and Joe were able to attend the meet in St. Louis.

In New York, there were 3 very good people in the M-20 category who got 1st , 2nd , and 3rd every race, so Joe did badly (4th in middle and long, and 6th in sprint, actually) and Matt did worse. John ran in the M-12 category, getting 1st in the middle, and 3rd in the sprint and long. The middle race was wet and muddy (Joe lost his shoe at one point, and had to dig it out of the mud and get it back on!), the sprint was in a grassy area near the middle with simple navigating and lots of running, and the long had very steep re-entrants with some difficult navigating. It was our first trip to New York, and we enjoyed the top-rate competition. We also feasted on some awesome pizza near the motel twice (with leftovers for our post-race refueling)!

At the end of October, we headed to St. Louis for a sprint, the Night-O Champs, a middle race, a corn maze, and the Relay Champs. Matt was sick and had to walk the most of the courses. Joe didn’t do well on the Night-O because he was too cautious, so he ran slower than he should have. However, he kicked @$$ on the middle and got 1st place overall on the red course. (It must have been the huge breakfast he ate that morning, instead of his usual fasting!) The corn maze was a big draw for Jessica, but she didn’t enjoy it as much as she thought she would. For the relay, Joe did well on PTOC’s 8-point team (consisting of Paul Clatterbuck, Angie Barrett, Dick Neuburger, and Joe), but Mom got lost. If Matt hadn’t been sick, he could have replaced Mom and we might have placed third. Instead, Matt helped the 12-point team (consisting of Reta Roe, Jessica, Matt, and Mike Shifman) finish 3rd.

Venice orienteering map

2011-11-15T03:45:00.000-06:00

Possums in Venice

2011-11-13T12:09:00.001-06:00

Possums Nancy and Dick Neuburger participated in the 32nd Venice (Italy) Orienteering event on November 12-13,2011. It was a blast! There were many streets ending at a canal (and no bridge to cross) and many other dead-ends. Streets were narrow and crowded with tourists. Nancy was 10th out of 27...not bad for an international event. I hope the map uploads OK.

Sent from my iPhone

2011-08-05T16:36:00.003-05:00

Lawrence Races August 14th

2 Races map to both events at:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=214426795695415408713.0004a9c0f5680d0a6c2b4&msa=0&11=38.976459,-95.234256&spn=0.018249,0.042272

Burcham Park
Registration begins at 8:30 1st Start at 9:00
Short Point to Point Course

Downtown Lawrence
meet on Massachusetts between 7th and 8th
Registration begins at at 9:30 Mass Start at 10:00
Historical Hunt
Find historical monuments in Downtown Lawrence and answer questions about Lawrence history
Bring a pen

Wyandotte County Park (Bonner Springs) Meet Notes

2011-02-25T17:13:00.003-06:00

6:15 p.m. Registration at Shelter D
7:00 p.m. Mass start (everyone starts at the same time)
8:00 p.m. Course closes (10-point penalty for every minute later than 8:00 p.m.

The controls are hung! The snow (as of Friday afternoon) varies from 1" to 1' (in drifts) so wear your boots or bring some dry footwear to change into after your run.

You have 1 hour to find as many controls (in any order) as possible. The point values vary from 10 to 40 points. There will be a 10-point penalty for every minute of overtime. 600 points is the maximum possible score. Ties are resolved by your elapsed time.

There will be limited refreshments. Toilets are 100 meters away from the shelter.

Please volunteer to pick up controls after the event. And thank Dan Welch for a great course!

Map to the event by Google: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&ie=UTF8&msa=0&ll=39.107136,-94.866579&spn=0.003863,0.006856&t=h&z=17&msid=205753908162625516878.00049cfecba753ae35dc9

Dad Perry Park, Mar 5, 2011

2011-02-14T13:01:00.001-06:00

Orienteer Kansas will host an event on Saturday, March 5, at Dad Perry Park in Lawrence.

Registration begins at 1 pm
Courses close at 4 pm.
(The start time gives people a chance to watch the KU-Mizzou basketball game before the event).

We'll have 4 short courses, each about 1km in length. Difficulty varies from beginner to intermediate. You can do as many (or few) as you want. There is one entry fee, no matter how many courses you run. Entry fees are the same as PTOC events. There is a complex trail network in this park, making it fun and challenging to navigate.

We appreciate email pre-entries to help us figure out how many maps to prepare (email to mary.orienteerkansas@gmail.com)

NOTE - NO TOILETS WILL BE OPEN AT THE PARK.

Dad Perry Park is a city park. It is about half forest and half open. The forest is thick, but there is a dense trail network.

Map to the start
http://maps.google.com/maps/mm?ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=38.962045,-95.285969&spn=0.016218,0.038581&z=15

Camp Jayhawk event is rescheduled

2011-02-14T12:57:00.002-06:00

The Camp Jayhawk event, which was postponed due to deep snow, has been rescheduled for this Saturday, February 19.

Registration and Starts will be from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Courses close at 2:00 p.m.

Check the website for the latest information: http://www.ptoc.org/

Blue & Gray Event Notes

2011-01-27T18:39:00.004-06:00

Thanks to the relatively warm and sunny weather this week much of the snow has melted and our meet will proceed as scheduled. As you can probably tell from looking around your own neighborhood, some snow still exists and could be substantial on north facing slopes. Dress accordingly. I would advise bringing an extra pair of socks (and shoes) to change into afterwards.

Much of the infield area where we will be parking is clear of snow and has a healthy stand of grass but is naturally completely saturated. We should drive slowly over it to avoid creating ruts. Make turns slowly! I would encourage everyone to enter by the west entrance and turn onto the infield soon thereafter. I hope to be free to guide the parking as people arrive. My plan is to form two rows of cars--one facing north, the other facing south. The line facing north would exit by pulling forward, turning left and leaving by the same entrance they came in. For this to work all cars in that line must leave room in front of them for other cars to (slowly!!!) drive by. The south-facing line of cars will leave by pulling forward onto the gravel drive and exiting by either entrance. If buses arrive, I plan to encourage them to park on the edge of the gravel drive in the most out-of-the-way place possible.

Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow! I'm sure Tom Hanley has planned some challenging courses for us!

Posted by Dick Luckerman
Possum Trot Orienteering Club

Burr Oak Woods Meet Notes

2010-11-17T17:30:00.003-06:00

With a few minor changes from the email I sent out on the yahoo group--

A few meet notes for this Saturday.

The registration and starts are at the shelter just outside the entrance to Burr Oak Woods. There is parking north of the shelter in Pink Hill Park.

The course lengths are as follows:

White--1.6 km
Yellow--2.7 km
Orange--4.5 km
Green--5.9 km
Red--7.2 km (a good practice for the Short Possum in 2 weeks!!)

There are 1 or 2 water stops on each of the orange, green, and red courses (none on white or yellow).

White course is in an open park (Pink Hill Park), like the summer sprints. Yellow on up will be in the woods of Burr Oak Woods. Rough open is ROUGH in most, if not all, cases. Wear pants and/or leg protection--it is very thorny in places.

The weather is supposed to be perfect for orienteering (partly cloudy and 60 degrees). Hope to see you there!! :)

Angie Barrett

Training at Landahl

2010-10-31T19:37:00.003-05:00

We did a short training session at Landahl after the event. We focused on contours. The exercise tested the effect of contours (up and down) on how well we moved through the forest. We tested up and down in the woods; flat in the woods; and flat on a trail. The test was simple - move at a consistent effort (running or walking) for 20 seconds, then count your paces back to the start point. With a set of paces in each condition, you can get a good sense of what slows you down.

Everyone went furthest on the trail. That's to be expected. Everyone was slowed by the hills and the forest. Again, that's to be expected. By doing tests like this, you can get a good idea of how much the forest and the hills slow you down.

If you do this sort of test with several other orienteers, then you get a sense of each orienteers strengths. Nancy moved well through the forest. Matt was especially strong going up hill. Joe blazed the downhills.

Submitted by Michael Eglinski

Orienteering Training at Landahl Park

2010-10-29T17:35:00.002-05:00

There will be a free orienteering training session at Landahl Park tomorrow (Oct 30). It will begin at 12:30 p.m. and last about 30 minutes. It will be led by Michael Eglinski and tomorrow's subject is contours. Sign up at registration. Be sure to come early enough to finish your course before 12:30.

Possums in Colorado

2010-07-23T13:25:00.004-05:00

Possums in Colorado

July 17 - 21

11 members of Possum Trot Orienteering Club went to Colorado to participate in the Rocky Mountain O-Fest this past weekend. Much fun was had by all and we enjoyed the weekend very much. The Barretts extended the weekend to Tuesday to run in the US Champ Relays where they took 2nd place in the 12 Point category. Congratulations!!

Mike Shifman also stayed to Wednesday to compete in the US Champ Night-O and Ultra Long events.

Those placing in other events:

Cate Barrett 2nd in F-14 for 2 day Classic Courses

Joe Barrett 2nd in M-18 for 2 day Classic Courses

Angie Barrett 2nd in F-40 for the 2 day Classic Courses

Nancy Neuburger 1st in F-65 for the 2 day Classic Courses

Mike Shifman 2nd in M-70 for US Champ Night O

Mike Shifman 2nd in M-70 in US Champ Ultra-Long

Posted by Paul Clatterbuck

Jesse James Park Sprint

2010-06-30T17:39:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to give you some updates.

Saturday, July 10, start times 8am to 10am (this is not a shady park, so it starts to get really hot shortly after 8am--unless we get some beautiful weather like the past few days!)

ONLY ONE COURSE--I tried to come up with 2 original, interesting courses but couldn't, so the only course will be approximately 2.8 km (we still need to run the course to make sure everything works as planned), there should be no poison ivy and very little tall grass so wearing shorts is an option, also we have only seen 2 ticks in all of our mornings there.

Parking--either in the first parking lot on the left (portapotty is there; about 150 m walk across the street to the shelter by the pond), or you can go past the white fence on the right and turn right into the grassy area next to the pond (about 15 m from the shelter).

If I think of anything else, I will let you know. Looking forward to seeing some of you next Saturday!

Angie and Joe B.

Flying Pig XIV and Interscholastic Championships

2010-04-22T14:54:00.002-05:00

Jessica, Matt, Joe, Cate, and John Barrett went to Cincinnati, Ohio, for the Flying Pig/Interscholastic Championships on the second weekend of April. Jessica, Matt, Joe, and Cate ran as a Junior Varsity school team, while John ran as a Primary school individual, since there was no one else to make a team with him.

Friday was a middle distance race--not part of the Interscholastics--so Matt and Joe decided to run Green (there were some highly ranked young men coming, which meant a great opportunity for competition!), and Cate ran Yellow to add to her ranking races. Jessica ran Orange courses and John ran White for all three days. The Green (ISVM and M-18) was moderately difficult for Matt and Joe, but both ran clean races--finishing 3rd (Joe) and 6th (Matt) out of a field of 45. Jessica placed 5th out of 13 on the JV female Orange course. Cate thought that the Yellow was harder than others she has run, but she finished 2nd out of 13 females. John got lost twice--one minor mistake and one major--and finished 3rd that day.

Saturday was a long course--5.9 km for Matt and Joe, 5.3 km for Jessica and Cate, and 2.7 km for John. This first day of Interscholastics was a fairly easy Orange course for Matt and Joe, who finished 1st and 2nd out of 55 JV boys (Joe got confused finding his way to one control). This was Cate's first attempt at an A-level Orange course, and it was easier than she expected. Cate and Jessica finished 2nd and 3rd in the JV female group of 19. Almost a clean sweep for the Barrett Homeschool team on Day 1! John got turned around once, but figured it out and placed 2nd out of 6 Primary boys.

Sunday was another middle distance race--Day 2 of Interscholastics, with much more difficult courses than Day 1. Matt was sick with a stomach virus, but kept moving and finished 14th that day--2nd place for the overall two-day competition. Joe had a mistake-free run and finished first that day and first overall in the JV male category. Both girls got lost a few times on their "very difficult" Orange course, finishing 5th (Cate) and 9th (Jessica), but still managed 2nd (Cate) and 5th (Jessica) places overall. John had a perfect run on Sunday, and finished 2nd that day and 2nd overall in the IS Primary male category.

Despite the troubles on Day 2, we finished first in the Interscholastic JV school competition (14 teams total), bringing home two huge trophies. (Mostly due to Joe's urging and threats--he wanted that trophy so badly, and his siblings didn't want to let him down!) With almost 400 people, it was the biggest A-meet we had ever entered. Thank you, PTOC, for the chance to compete with some of the best young orienteers in the country, with challenging terrain and courses! We'll bring the trophies and maps to some of the upcoming meets. We can hardly wait until next spring to defend our title as ISJV champs!!!! (Unless we decide to compete as a Varsity team!)

Jessica, Matt, Joe, Cate, and John

Indian Cave State Park - Important info

2010-04-08T10:02:00.003-05:00

1. US 73 is closed between Falls City, NE and the park. Enter Indian Cave SP from the north: Exit 110 from I-29, US 136, Brownville, NE. Go west on US 136 from Brownville for 1.2 miles, turn left (south) on State Route 67, drive 9.2 miles to State Spur 64E, turn left (east) and drive 5.2 miles to the park. After paying the day-use per car fee of $4.00, take the second left (one-way road) down the hill to the St. Deroin picnic area.

2. There is a $4.00 per car day-use fee. Pay at the self-service station at the park entrance.

3. Note the updated schedule: The Rogaine is now a 10-hour day event: 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. The 3-hour Score O schedule remains the same: 1:00 - 4:00 pm.

Final Meet Notes--Wallace SP

2010-03-26T22:09:00.001-05:00

Final Meet Notes

--The last control on the regular courses accidentally got described two different ways—as a trail crossing on the control code sheets, and as a bridge end on the map. The control is located where the two meet, and the code letters are the same on both—OO. Sorry!

--The park is very wet and slippery—be careful on the hills and creek banks.

--Rootstocks marked on the map are waist high or higher; however they have been doing a lot of tree cutting and felling recently in the park so there might be some missing or added since we field checked certain areas.

--Do NOT drink directly from the gallon water containers—cups are provided for drinking.

Angie

Wallace State Park Meet Notes

2010-03-19T11:26:00.002-05:00

March 27, 2010
9:30am -- Register for Relay (and standard courses)
10am -- Relay start, registration for standard courses continues
approx. 10:30am -- Standard course starts

About the Relay
There will be 3 legs ( white level-0.9 km, yellow level-1.1 km, and orange/green level 1.1 km).
Maps will be printed at 1:5000. Teams can consist of either 1, 2, or 3 individuals or groups, but you must run all 3 legs. We will keep times of individual legs and the final team time. The relay will give you an opportunity to warm up and see how the map corresponds to the terrain. This is our first solo attempt and mapping and course setting, so please be patient and understanding if things aren't perfect. :) Especially the vegetation--the white forest seems to be growing more thickety (and the thicket thicker!) every day that we go to the park. I think that spring has sprung! However, no ticks or poison ivy leaves ... yet. We suggest pants and/or gaiters.

About the Standard Courses
The usual colors: white-1.4 km, yellow-2.1 km, orange-3.4 km, green-4.5 km, and red-5.4 km. The courses are a little on the short side for two reasons--hopefully you will have just run the relay, and there are lots of hills at Wallace SP. The maps will be printed at 1:7500, so be forewarned if you are used to running on 1:10,000. The green and red courses are not technically difficult, so you will be getting those maps when the timer starts. The others will pick up their maps at the registration table.

We hope that the park dries out before next weekend :), and we look forward to seeing many of you there.

Angie, Matt, and Joe Barrett

SLOC A-Meet Report

2010-03-16T22:27:00.002-05:00

St. Louis A-Meet Report

A large group of PTOC members (around 20 of us) traveled to St. Louis for an A-meet on the weekend of March 5-7, 2010. The weather was picture-perfect—sunshine and 55 degrees most of the time. There was an A-meet sprint in Forest Park on Friday, and then we all traveled over an hour south to Hawn State Park near Farmington, MO. Saturday included an A-meet middle distance race in the morning and a fun sprint (which ended up being longer than some of the middle courses!) in the afternoon. On Sunday, people chose between the challenging Grunt, Runt, Green, and Orange courses. PTOC didn’t have anyone competing in the Grunt, but the other three races were well-represented. The weekend was a complete success: many awards won, acquaintances made and friendships renewed, fantastic opportunities to practice orienteering skills, and time to relax and have fun in the woods as well. Here are some details from the juniors who benefited from PTOC’s Junior Grant.

Matt: I ran the first sprint as fast as I could and made no mistakes. I got first place on the green/brown/orange course, which was really exciting! On the middle, I ran M-18 for the first time at an A-meet. I didn’t do quite as well as I had on the sprint. It was challenging, and I made one big mistake on control 3 when I tried to follow a bearing and missed the trail I was aiming for. I was 7th overall on the green course, and 1st in M-18. The second sprint went about as badly as the first sprint went well—even John, my 9 year old brother, beat me! I ran fine until looking for control 8, which found me off the map wandering around with several other guys for about ten minutes. The Runt was long and hard. I made two 10-minute mistakes on controls 3 and 10, but other than those I found them all fine. I was so tired I could hardly make it up the hill to the last control. I enjoyed running in the open and challenging woods of St. Louis, but the sprint is my favorite category.

Joe: For the Forest Park sprint I came in 5th on the green/brown/orange course. I found all the controls easily except #7—I was in the right place, but I didn’t know where I was on the map for 20 seconds or so. My middle race was a disaster. I ran M-18 (green), and it took me forever to find control 3. I cut off the trail way too soon, and spent 10 minutes trying to relocate. I ended up second in my age category. The fund-raiser sprint was good—I found my way but didn’t run my fastest, so my finish was average. For the final day, I ran the Runt (9.5 km). I finally beat Matt! It was a clean run, a lot better than the middle race the day before, and I came in second place overall. I was very tired when it was over! I liked the Runt the best that weekend, because I did well. Switching the map scale from race to race was hard to get used to, but it was an excellent weekend of orienteering.

Cate: I ran yellow for the first time at a national meet. The first sprint was easy, because it was all on trails, and I finished second on the yellow/white course. For the middle race the next day, I had to follow creeks as well as trails, which made it a little more challenging. The afternoon sprint was even harder, since everyone had the same course, but I was still able to find all the controls. I had to run an orange on the final day, because that was the easiest course that was offered. Only one control gave me some trouble, because I didn’t go far enough up the hill the first time. I eventually found it, and finished the rest of the course without mistakes. The middle yellow was my favorite race of the weekend. I’m looking forward to the Interscholastic Championships in Ohio next month.

John: I ran in the M-10 category, which is the white course. I was able to do the first two races without a shadow this time. The first sprint didn’t go well, because I had a hard time finding the finish and then skipped the last control and had to go back and punch it. The other boy my age won that race. On the second day I ran better and got first place. I like running in the woods better, but the map on the second day was so small I couldn’t really read it. I accidentally punched a yellow course control, but figured out my mistake and punched the right ones after that. For the last two fun races, I ran with Mom on the sprint and Jessica on the orange course. I read the map some of the time and ran along with them the rest of the time. I’m glad I went, because I got some really nice awards and had fun orienteering by myself.

Possums at the Gateway Grunt

2010-03-09T11:43:00.003-06:00

Congratulations to all the Possums and OK'ers that won awards at the Gateway Grunt in St. Louis and Hawn State Park last weekend March 5 -7, 2010. The Barretts all won a couple awards each and Nancy, Mike S, Mike E, Gene, and Mary also won.

Photos by Dick N are here.

Partial results are here.

Gates at Wyandotte Co Lake Park are OPEN

2010-02-06T08:16:00.000-06:00

Feb 6 - Wyandotte County Lake Park -- Exit I-435 at Wolcott Rd (N93rd Rd), go south about .5 mile, then turn left onto N93rd Ln, then left on West Rd for about .5 mile to Marina Parking Lot.

UPDATE 8:15 a.m. Sat morning: The gates are OPEN! The event is on schedule (Sat 10:00 a.m. Registration and Starts, Last Start 12:00 noon).

USOF Rankings for 2009

2010-01-21T11:46:00.002-06:00

Congratulations to the following Possums on their 2009 Rankings!

Name,Ranking,Class
Cate Barrett,1,F-12
Joe Barrett,2,M-16
Matt Barrett,4,M-16
Jessica Barrett,2,F-Orange
Angie Barrett,5,F40+
Reta Roe,10,F65+

And to Orienteer Kansas members:

Mary Jones,7,F45+
Michael Eglinski,7,M45+

Road Trip to the Gateway Grunt, Mar 5-7

2010-01-21T11:27:00.001-06:00

Several Possums are planning to go to the Gateway Grunt, March 5 – 7, 2010, in St. Louis and south in Farmington. Present plans are to leave Friday morning in time for the Sprint at Forest Park from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. and then to drive to the Super 8 in Farmington, MO for the events on Saturday and Sunday. We will drive home Sunday afternoon. Doesn’t that sound great!

If you would like to join the group, please notify Dick Neuburger, rneuburger@gmail.com or phone 913-888-1528, so that we can plan carpooling and motel reservations. We’ll leave registering for the events to you.

See you Sunday at Monkey Mountain!

Dick N

SM Park 1-hr Score O will be held as scheduled

2010-01-03T09:06:00.002-06:00

As of 0900, Sunday, Jan 3, the Park Department is clearing the roads and we will have access to Shelter #4. Registration begins at 12:00 noon and ends at 12:45 p.m. Mass start is at 1:00 p.m.

Posted by Dick Neuburger

Possum Trot Weekend

2009-12-09T19:09:00.003-06:00

Possum Trot Orienteering Club invites you to the 13th Annual Possum Trot Weekend, December 12 – 13, 2009:

Saturday, December 12, 2009 – Kansas Orienteering Championships hosted by Orienteer Kansas (U of Kansas West Campus)
Saturday evening, December 12 – Possum Trot O Club Christmas Party
Sunday morning, December 13 – Possum Trot XIII (a 15-km goat event) at Knob Noster State Park, MO

Details at: http://ptoc.org/trot/PT13inv.htm

NOTE: Meet notes for Possum Trot XIII have been posted.

Matt Barrett's Meet Report on the US Champs, WI

2009-10-29T21:45:00.003-05:00

Thanks to a generous grant from PTOC, I was able to travel to the 2009 U.S. Individual Classic Orienteering Championships in Greenbush, Wisconsin. Five other Possums also went to the Championships—Mike Shifman, Paul Clatterbuck, Dick Luckerman, Reta Roe, and John Barrett. After 9 hours of driving over 2 days, we arrived in time to do a local event on Friday. There were four different courses which you could choose from, so you could practice for the A-meets that weekend on similar terrain. The weather was cool and misty, with periods of heavy rain. The practice course was very easy, so I hoped that the orange courses would be equally simple.

The Northern Kettle Moraine Park map had two parts, one with nothing but contour lines and woods and another with many trails. On the first day, which was the US Championship, the advanced courses were on the side that had no trails, while the orange, yellow, and white courses were on the side with trails. The orange course was mostly running along paths with the controls a short distance away, which made for easy navigating. I came in 4th place out of four with a time of 43:12, missing 3rd place by just 7 seconds. Looking back, I should have run faster; but I was worried about how long I could keep up the pace for the 4.7 km race. There were only 3 minutes, 19 seconds between first and fourth place in the M-16 category. Among the other members of Possum Trot, John Barrett got 1st place in M-10 (the other two boys were not eligible for medals), and Mike Shifman got 2nd in M70+. The lack of catching and collecting features on the advanced courses gave those competitors some trouble that first day.

Awards were also given out for winners of the combined two day results. I knew that I had to run fast the second day, because I had a good chance of making up enough time to get a medal! All of the courses on Sunday were on the section of the map with trails and open areas. This time the orange course was more difficult in both navigation and climb, but shorter in distance (4.2 km). You had to run on compass bearings for several of the controls and use contour lines and vegetation boundaries, rather than just paths. I made one bearing mistake and ended up in the wrong depression with three other people, losing around 3 minutes. Overall I had a good run with some fast splits, and finished 2nd for the day with a time of 40:21, making up enough time to also get a 2nd place medal for the weekend.

I had a lot of fun at the Championships and discovered some things I need to work on. I need to train more physically, because I felt that I could have had faster times if I was in better shape. Another improvement I could make is getting better at reading the map while running. The courses in Wisconsin were relatively easy, so I could have run the whole way, but I had to walk several times to read the map. I am going to practice a lot this fall and winter, so I will be ready for the meet in St. Louis next March.

US Champs in Wisconsin Meet Report by John Barrett

2009-10-29T11:12:00.001-05:00

I went on a trip to Wisconsin to go orienteering. I have done orienteering before, but I had never been to an A-meet. I was both nervous and excited. For the practice course, I did half of it with Mom and Jessica (my sister), and half of it by myself. It was kind of easy.

On Saturday, I ran a white course with Jessica as my shadow. She didn’t help me at all—this was the first time I ever did a whole course all by myself. I messed up one time when I got to # 8 but forgot to check the numbers on the clue sheet, so I thought it was the wrong control. I ran back and forth three times between #7 and #8, before I realized that the control numbers didn’t go in order. After that I ran so fast, but I still ended up in 3rd place, with a time of 32:33. The other two boys in M-10 were not part of USOF and couldn’t get a medal, so I got 1st place.

On Sunday, I was excited about going orienteering again. The course was the same length (1.9 km), but it had more hills than the day before. I just made one little mistake that day when I ran past #9, because it was in a depression. I got to the intersection at the bottom of the hill and realized I ran too far. I had to run back up the hill to look for it. I ran a lot faster the second day with a time of 25:31, only 5 seconds slower than the first place winner.

I learned that you have to always check the control numbers on your clue sheet. I am really looking forward to going to the next A-meet, which is going to be in St. Louis. I am also going to start orienteering by myself on the white courses.

Possums at US Champs in Wisconsin

2009-10-26T20:34:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to John Barrett and Mike Shifman, medal winners at the US Orienteering Championships near Plymouth, Wisconsin on October 24, 2009. John was 1st in M-10, and Mike was 2nd in M70.

Pictures

Weston Bend State Park Course Notes

2009-10-11T20:03:00.003-05:00

Weston Bend State Park
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Registration and Starts 10:00 a.m.
Last Start 12:00 noon

Course setter: Mike Shifman

4 courses: WHITE/YELLOW (about 2.0 km), ORANGE (3.2 km), GREEN (3.8 km), RED (5.5 km)
Vegetation is denser than indicated on map. Expect longer times on the courses.
Some poison ivy and stinging nettles. Wear long shirts and pants.
Terrain is steep.
Restrooms at start/finish may be closed. Pit toilet available down the hill to the west near the railroad tracks. Plan accordingly.

PTOC Season Rankings

2009-10-03T22:54:00.002-05:00

Season rankings for the Orange, Green, and Red courses are now posted to the PTOC website (Results page). Mary Jones is the Rankings Coordinator. Your place = your points at each event. Low score wins. There will be prizes at the end of the 2009 - 2010 season. The rankings are on Google Spreadsheet; you must have a Google account to view them.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Aor_VBg_qODCdFl3OTlDRXAtT2RHcWNFcFhJeS1YU2c&hl=en

Results - SM Park Sprint #9

2009-09-19T20:06:00.001-05:00

Results - SM Park Sprint #9
Final Sprint of Summer Series
4.2 km
Course Setter-Mike Shifman

Men

Mike Eglinski 26:20
Fritz Menninger 28:45
Matt Barrett 30:18
Paul Clatterbuck 31:55
Joe Barrett 34:14
Raymond Wren 36:04
Dick Neuburger* 37:50
Eddie Shikles 84:44
John Barrett 86:46

Women

Nancy Neuburger* 44:04
Cate Barrett 47:12
Mary Jones 49:42
Rita Roe 56:22
Melodie Armstrong 73:16

Groups

Golden Girls 44:44
Go Roe Roes 58:36
Gogols 64:16
Trail Sharks 82:49
Troop 167 89:36

*Ran on 9/15

Shawnee Mission Park and Potluck Picnic

2009-09-10T05:32:00.002-05:00

Shawnee Mission Park Sprint & Potluck Picnic
Saturday, September 19, 2009
4:00 - 4:30 p.m. Registration and Starts
5:45 p.m. Potluck Picnic
Shelter # 11 (East end of lake)
Google Map

•Schedule
◦4:00 - 4:30 p.m. Registration and Starts
◦5:45 p.m. Potluck picnic
◦After picnic - Summer Sprint Series awards
•Sprint
◦About 4 km
◦Mostly open fields, but some tall grass. Wear long pants and use insect spray for chiggers and ticks.
◦The World Disc Golf Championships were held here on August 27 - September 1. The Sprint course uses part of the disc golf course. Watch out for frisbees and be courteous to the golfers. Some controls are near disc golf tee boxes and targets.
◦Watch for traffic when crossing park roads.
◦DO NOT cross through the Park Ranger residence yard located on the top of the hill east of the start and finish area. The course is designed to avoid this area.
◦Adults $3.00; Juniors $2.00
•Potluck picnic
◦Bring a dish to share.
◦You must provide your own beverages, plates, and utensils. There is no barbeque grill. Water will be provided.
◦NO ALCOHOL please.
◦Stay for the Summer Sprint Series awards following the picnic.

Johnson County Community College Sprint

2009-07-16T16:40:00.003-05:00

Summer Sprint #6
Johnson County Community College
Saturday, July 18th
Starts 9 am to 10 am

Enter JCCC from Quivira, at 1st right past College Blvd
Follow O signs to upper level of parking deck just South of Regnier Center
Regnier Center is the east most building on the campus just south of the Carlsen center
Course is 2.9 km
You can run in shorts
Since this is a College there may be a test after the run.
There are several road crossing and curbs on course, be careful and watch for traffic, although traffic is usually minimal on Saturdays.
There are numerous forbidden areas on the map:
o Parking garages and Maintenance area shown with purple lines
o Landscaping and plant beds shown as olive green
o It is extremely important that runners stay out of the landscaped areas-those who cross them will be disqualified.

Lawrence Sprint #2 - Constant-Burcham Park

2009-06-17T21:18:00.003-05:00

Lawrence Constant-Burcham Park
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon
Saturday, June 20

Parking and the finish are at Constant Park on the north east corner of 6th and Tennessee.
The start is about 750 meters from the parking/finish area.
The course is 2.96 km.
You can run in shorts. We've had a lot of rain this week, so there may be a few muddy spots.
The map uses two special symbols: Purple lines indicate an area that has not been field checked. The area is wooded and you won't go into the forest, but you will use the trails that go through the un-fieldchecked. Olive green indicates areas that are off limits. Most are landscaped areas.
The course crosses a train track. The track is active but trains are not common during the day. Look both ways as you approach the tracks and do NOT cross the tracks if a train is coming.
After the run, I encourage you to spend some time in downtown Lawrence.

Michael

Lawrence Arboretum Sprint

2009-06-15T20:38:00.001-05:00

Lawrence Arboretum Sprint
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, June 20

Gene Wee, course setter for the Lawrence Arboretum Sprint, cautions:

"My course for Sat. may have people choosing to run through knee-high grass. Either spray bug repellent or wear gaiters or long pants. . . or take the routes with 100% mowed grass or pavement."

New PTOC Board and Officers

2009-05-24T15:55:00.002-05:00

The following were elected to the Possum Trot Orienteering Club Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting, Thomas Stoll Memorial Park, May 23, 2009:

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Angie Barrett
Casey Caughron
Paul Clatterbuck
Kevin Shipley
John Clausen

The Board then elected the Officers of PTOC per the Bylaws:

OFFICERS
President: Dick Neuburger
Vice-President: Paul Clatterbuck
Secretary: Angie Barrett
Treasurer: Reta Roe

Congratulations to all!

Sprint, Potluck Picnic, and Annual Meeting this Saturday!

2009-05-18T17:50:00.002-05:00

Don't miss the Sprint, Potluck Picnic, and Annual Meeting this Saturday, May 23!

http://ptoc.org/Assets/invitations/Potluck%20Picnic%2023May09.html

Nominations by email for Possum Trot Orienteering Club Board of Directors are open until Friday, May 22. Email: president@ptoc.org
Nominations from the floor will be accepted at the Annual Meeting.

Mike Shifman has prepared a great 2.5-km Sprint (Park Orienteering) Course (4:00-5:00 p.m.) utilizing the brand new Johnson County Community College map. Start and Finish are at the North end of Stoll Park.

Everyone is welcome to attend the PTOC Potluck Picnic (6:00 p.m.). Bring a dish to share. You must provide your own utensils and drinks. NO ALCOHOL PLEASE!

A short meeting honoring last season's volunteers, a president's report, and the election of Board of Directors will follow the picnic at 6:30 p.m.

See you soon!

Flying Pig A Meet, Cincinnati, OH

2009-04-24T13:09:00.002-05:00

Flying Pig A-Meet (Cincinnati, OH)
By the Barrett Family

Following the Ran-It Granite (MD), we headed to Ohio for the 13th Annual Flying Pig from April 3-5, where we joined fellow Possum Trotters Reta Roe, Dick Neuburger, Paul Clatterbuck, and Jason Plunkett. We were in for another weekend of challenging courses, a thrilling relay, and orienteering camaraderie. The middle distance was Friday afternoon, a sprint Saturday morning, the Relay Championships Saturday afternoon, and the long distance on Sunday morning. All of the races were scored and awarded individually (no combined time results), so there were multiple opportunities for medals.
The hills were just as steep as they had been in Maryland, but the woods seemed greener—both on the map and in actual leaf growth (everything was sprouting!). The extra foliage, combined with the abundant depressions, made it easy for the course setters to keep the controls out of sight until we actually reached the feature.
There were around 150 participants at the Flying Pig, some of them familiar from the A-meet the weekend before. Only Reta, Dick, and Paul ran in all four races (they must be in great shape!). Eight of us won medals for the middle distance courses, despite the drizzling, cool weather, the muddy trails, and the parallel errors by some of us. After that race we got to feast on delicious pizza at a local restaurant, while discussing and comparing our route choices and splits. (We don’t have the information about the sprint and the long distance.)
The day of the Relay was picture perfect—a beautiful day for spectating and running, with sunshine, blue skies, and warm temperatures. PTOC entered two 12-point teams. The courses were regular length, which made waiting difficult and nerve-wracking for those on the second, third, and fourth legs. However, the excitement of seeing a team member suddenly come into view for the uphill climb to the hand-off/finish line was exhilarating! With some great runs by members on both teams, the A Team placed 2nd and the B Team placed 3rd. We’re hoping to get 1st and 2nd next year (and maybe 3rd, if we can convince some of you to join us!). The post-race treat of a huge bag of M&Ms (provided by Dick) was a welcome ending to a fabulous day. Well, the kids really enjoyed them—the bag was almost empty by the time we finished the nine hour drive back to Kansas City that night!.

Meet Report: Ran-It Granite, Maryland (March 27-29, 2009)

2009-04-21T21:24:00.001-05:00

Meet Report: Ran-it Granite, Maryland
by The Barretts

A small group of us from PTOC (namely, the Barrett family) traveled to Maryland for the Ran-it Granite, March 27 - 29. We skipped the sprints on Friday, but ran in the middle distance on Saturday morning, entered a team for the sprint relay that afternoon, and ended with the long distance on Sunday morning.
The organizers promised open woods, and they were right. The white woods were easy to run, but the hills were not!! The contours were steeper than most of the parks around Kansas City. However, there were plenty of features (including numerous depressions) and paths to help us relocate when necessary. The weather was less than perfect—drizzling and cool with lots of rain during the nights, making the ground and paths muddy and slippery. With over 300 participants, the competition was tough, especially in the M-16 category with 14 boys—yet, Joe finished in 2nd place and Matt in 4th place for the weekend. Jessica (F-orange) and Cate (F-12) finished first in their categories, and Angie (F40+) got third place.
The sprint relay was a first for us, and the highlight of the weekend. The excitement was high for both the runners and the spectators, although the runners felt more nervousness and pressure than during a typical race, since they had team members counting on them. The PTOC team finished 19th out of 39 teams.
The Ran-it Granite was a well-organized meet by the Quantico Orienteering Club, with challenging courses, as well as the added fun of the sprint relay and a photo contest for anyone who took pictures (we have yet to find out the winners of the contest). We hope to make it back to the East Coast for some more orienteering adventures in the near future!

Possums at the Flying Pig - US Relay Champs

2009-04-04T21:22:00.006-05:00

Possum Trot Orienteering Club won its first (ever?) medals at the US Relay Championships held at the Flying Pig O'Meet in Cincinnati, OH! PTOC A (Paul Clatterbuck, Cate Barrett, Dick Neuburger, and Joe Barret) won the 2nd Place medals, and PTOC B (Angie Barrett, Jessica Barrett, Reta Roe, and Matt Barrett won the 3rd Place medal!
And on the previous day, Joe, Cate, Jessica, and Reta were 1st in their classes. Angie was 2nd, and Dick and Matt were 3rd in theirs.
Congratulations, Possums!

Here are some photos by Dick and photos by the Barretts.

Possums in Granite

2009-03-29T17:12:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to the Barrett Family!

After Day 1 of the Ran-It Granite A-Meet in Maryland (20 miles west of Baltimore), 3 Barretts are in first place!
Cate: F-12 (WHITE)
Joe: M-16 (ORANGE)
Jessica: F-Open (ORANGE)

Matt is in 5th place in M-16 (ORANGE), and Angie is in 4th place in F40+(GREEN)

Jessica, Matt, and Joe were 19th (out of 38) in the Sprint Relay!

Way to go, Possums!

(For full results, go to: http://qocameet.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=32 )

2009-03-20T19:18:00.002-05:00

Indian Cave State Park Meet Notes
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Course setter: Dan Welch

Welcome to beautiful Indian Cave State Park! We hope you enjoy our event!

On January 18, 1963 Nebraska’s Falls City Journal announced above its full page headline:

Indian Cave State Park!

Man, even as cold as it is today, that wonderful piece of news sure does warm up a guy’s blood stream.That January the Nebraska, Forestation, and Parks Commission approved wooded Missouri River bluff lands in the Indian Cave area straddling the Nemaha and Richardson County line as the site of the state’s fifth major Park. The site was chosen after 18 months of intensive search in southeastern Nebraska for a wide development project. The original 2,400 acre site has grown to over 3,200 acres. The park is remembered for its Cave containing the only known example of Indian petroglyphs in Nebraska, its steep, wooded Missouri River bluffs, and Lewis and Clark Expedition overlook as well as its special summer American heritage program that displays old time crafts and one room schoolhouse learning.

Park address:
65296 720 Road

Shubert, NE 68437-9801

Park Phone: 402-883-2575

Directions from I-29 and Hwy 159 (Exit 79)
NOTE: Google maps shows using US 136, north of Mound City, MO. The following directions assume using Hwy 159, south of Mound City. Either set of directions will get you to the correct place.

Drive west on Hwy 159 through Rulo, NE to Falls City (about 24 miles).

Turn right on Hwy 73 (initially north and then turning west) to Hwy 67 (about 9.3 miles).

Turn right (north) on Hwy 67 and drive to Hwy 64E Spur (also 720 Road) (about 8 miles).

Turn right (east) on Hwy 64E and drive to Park Entrance (about 5 miles).

Other Notes:

Park entrance fee is $4.00 per vehicle (carpool if you can).
Event site is 1st left turn after entrance (Day Use area)
The map is derived from USGS contours and ortho photos. The contours are very rough, with much detail missing; i.e., only the big reentrants are shown. Keep track of your distance.
There will be NO WHITE (Beginner) COURSE due to the scarcity of linear features, only YELLOW, ORANGE, GREEN, and RED.
The woods are open, but there is much deadfall (from a recent ice storm) making running difficult.
The terrain is very steep.
Purple X’s denote an uncrossable portion of the one-way road; the earth banks are vertical and over 10 feet high in places.
There is a 3-hour time limit on all courses.

Watkins Mill SP, 3/14/09, Meet Notes

2009-03-11T15:22:00.001-05:00

Directions to Watkins Mill State Park:

From I-35, take Exit 26, State Highway 92 at Kearney. Go east on Highway 92 for 6 miles. Turn left (north) on county road RA for one mile. Turn right at the main entrance to the park. All three of these turns have state park signs.

Go 0.4 miles on the Park Road to the first right. This is signed for the campground. The road ends at the top of the hill. Straight ahead is a parking area. A right turn goes into the campground and event registration.

Other Park Information:

The showerhouse will probably be closed; however, nearby restrooms are available.

A playground is located near registration and the start/finish area.

Dogs are allowed in the park, but should be kept on a leash at all times.

Mapper’s Notes:

Vertical green lines indicate thickets
Brown x’s are major stumps or rootstocks
Black circles are man-made objects
Blue circles are wells
Green circles and green x’s are distinctive trees. Generally, circles are
deciduous and x’s are conifers, but there may be some exceptions.

Coursetters’ Notes/Safety:

You may encounter horses (with riders) on some trails. Please give them the
right-of-way.
Some trails could be muddy and a few controls could be in swampy areas
because of recent rainfall.
Because of warm weather, some course setters found ticks last week.
No courses are near the Park Road; however, all courses cross the spur road
and campground road. These have a 10 mph speed limit, but participants should check for traffic before crossing.

Field-checking at Indian Cave State Park

2009-02-08T20:39:00.002-06:00

Four Possums: Dan W, Mike S, Paul C, and Dick N, took advantage of the warm temperatures to complete preparations for the Indian Cave State Park event coming up on March 28. We used the 2 1/2-hour drive time to plan field-checking and control site vetting activities. We met for our sack lunches, exchanged maps, and used the afternoon to vet the tapes that had been hung in the morning. Afterwards we enjoyed delicious pizza in Fall City. Plan now to attend the event in beautiful Indian Cave State Park. Here are some pictures.

Possums in Georgia

2009-01-27T09:56:00.003-06:00

Congratulations to the Barretts! Cate (F-12), Joe (M-14), Matt (M-16), and Jessica (F Yellow) were all first in their classes at the Georgia Navigator Cup, Jan 17 - 18, 2009. Mom Angie just missed first by a little over 1 minute in F40+. Reta Roe and Dick Neuburger also were there. And representing Orienteer Kansas, Michael Eglinski was first in M45+ and Mary Jones was first in F45+. Congratulations everyone!
And from Angie Barrett: "Matt and Joe got first place at the Extreme-O in Georgia 2 weekends ago. :) (a proud mother talking here!) They were competing against 19 other teams/individuals. They can't wait until next year!"

Welcome message

2009-01-25T21:16:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the Possum Trot Orienteering Club News Blog.This blog is intended to be used by PTOC's officers, meet directors, course setters, etc. to announce:

Meet cancellations, driving directions to event sites, requests for help with vetting, control pickup, etc.
Achievements of local orienteers, requests for carpooling to out-of-town events, etc.

Please check back often to get the latest news of Possum Trot Orienteering Club.