Possum Trot Weekend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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)

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

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

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 )

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

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

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

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

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.