Author: Alan Gartside

The hCOW tables for WEE10 and 11 are now available. They show the effect of terrain on event times, with the urban scamper of Craigavon producing a fast event (negative event variance) while the more traditional terrain of Stormont had speeds going the other way. The calculations of hCOW are intended to iron out those differences before resetting handicaps. As this week’s event is the last WEE of the season it will be used to find the series hCOW champion (totally unofficial, you understand), that is the person (or persons) who run nearest to handicap (as amended by terrain) on Read More …

The WEE hCOW table has been updated from the Bangor Castle results. Resources/OneDrive Public/hCOW/hCOW2021 They show a large variance in performance against handicap, from Anne Bell having hers cut by 1:06 mins/km to Fred Hamond having his raised by 0:55 mins/km. Despite propping up the race results (by a long way!) I demonstrated the hCOW concept of regularity by having my handicap increase by a mere 5 secs/km. I can easily account for those by my headless chicken act in trying to follow the indistinct tracks in the woodland!

Would August’s event planners please note that LVO Map Printing Services will be unavailable from 10th until 23rd August so please get your printing requirements submitted asap? As soon as you are content that the map will be unchanging submit the OCAD file as there are things to be done to it even before the CONDES course overlay is applied.

Ballyclare and Tollymore have produced lots of table updates, to be found in various folders under “Resources>OneDrive Public”. In “Colour Standards” there’s the colour standards table updated with the performances at Crossmurrin and Tollymore. The lack of colour events through the autumn meant that many folk lost their colour standard (needs 3 results within a year) but the 2 NISeries events, combined with the August restart events have got things going again. In “NISeries” the NISeries table is available (it’s a copy of the official posting on the NIOA website). At the moment the target is for your best 4 Read More …

The no loitering protocol meant that I got to consult with very few people over the colour balance table samples. There were 2 points raised. The first concerned the white shadowing on the course overprint which, especially in the complex fencing and hedging around the leisure centre created doubts about the existence of gaps in line features, a concern with which I agreed. This week’s map will not have shadowing but I shall bring along a shadowed version of the long course map for comparison. The second point was about the intensity of full yellow areas (open land) and how Read More …

These updated tables have been slow in coming due to me forgetting to download after finishing last Wednesday. With thanks to last week’s and this week’s organisers under the guidance of MarkP my time was recovered from the SI units. While it may not cut much ice in the racing it allowed me to show an improvement of 42secs/km in my handicap – hurrah for hCOW! Resources>OneDrive Public>hCOW>hCOW2021

The hCOW results relating to last Saturday’s NISeries event are now available, showing a large gap between speeds at WEE events and the technical and physical test that was Crossmurrin. As this was the first in the series no place points were available as everyone was running(?) to set their handicap. There will be place points on offer at Tollymore! “Resources>OneDrive Public>hCOW>hCOW2021”

I received positive comments about the white shadowing on the course overprint on the WEE series maps. I have since been adjusting the colour balance, trying to get the club printer output to match the IOF standard definition document. This involves making small changes to the intensity and proportions of the 4 inks of the laser printer and this process induces a sort of colour blindness after several hours of adjustment. Accordingly I would like some opinions as to whether or not I’ve got the balance correct. I will be along to WEE7 on wednesday with the LVO-printed template and Read More …

For next wednesday’s WEE planner SarahG has set courses which cover Antrim Castle Gardens and visit lots of controls, with the result that there’s not much room left on the map for control descriptions. This means that the map legend will be obscured. For the Short course there will be a legend on the reverse side; for Long course runners who are concerned about their O-vocabulary there will be legend slips available at registration.

The updated hCOW tables (WEE6 and handicap movements) are available at “Resources>OneDrive Public>hCOW>hCOW2021”, allowing you see how your handicap is faring. This was my first WEE of the year and, true to the concept of hCOW (honourable Company of Orienteering Walkers), I perambulated the whole course (apart from a stumble down one of the steep slopes!), thus setting the “proper” hCOW standard. If there any other real hCOWers out there we might start a walkers’ league!