20/4/04: JK-Blodslitet:
The JK this year has restored some of my faith in British Orienteering. This really was the most entertaining and fun races I have ever been to in GB - at times you could have been forgiven for thinking you were in Scandinavia. The finish arenas were good for spectators, there actually were some spectators, there was commentary (repititious but generally really good), there were shops and stalls. Even the TV cameras were there. OK, so there were some small organisational glitches but nothing serious.

As for the orienteering, the terrain was fantastic, and although the courses didn't excactly make the best of it, they were challenging enough to catch plenty of people out. Yet again, my body let me down as I injured my back during the middle race - I managed to finish in 3rd place, but had to sit out the classic. Jenny made a few mistakes and finished 3rd in the middle. She made some big mistakes in the classic to drop places before succumbing to a stomach bug and missing the relay. I took a few painkillers and got myself round the 3rd leg (after good runs from Tim Tett and Dave peel) without any problems only for Jamie to pull us up into first place. This was my first major relay win - I just hope we can do as well in a couple of weeks without the benefit of "Jamie Stevenson, World Champion!" Congratulations too to the SYO girls!

A week of training in the Lakes followed as I struggled with my back and Jenny with her stomach. Some highlights included Bilbo's evening event on new area White Moss Common and Jenny's successful attempt at the Fairfield Horseshoe with her Dad in apocalyptic conditions (I bailed out after 90 mins). We were pretty tired by the Blodslitet, but had to run very hard to avoid being beaten by any super-fast fell runners (marky and Phil). Dickie and Helen ran very well to win in close(ish) finishes. It's a great and unusual event (I've never had 45 controls in a course before) and it would be good to see more people there next year.

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