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.