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2nd Annual Susquehanna Stumble Elk Neck State Park March 27, 1999 course results: Long Stumble  Short Stumble  White  Yellow  Orange  Course Setter: Mark Voit Meet Director: Brad Whitmore Helpers: Eddie Bergeron, Jim Brown, Megan Donahue, Roy Ferguson, Sandy Fillebrown, Mary Frank, Diane Gilmore Notes from the Second Susquehanna Stumble -- Mark Voit For some obsessed orienteers, the Billygoat simply isn't challenging enough, so for them, Susquehanna Valley Orienteering (SVO) hosted the second annual Susquehanna Stumble at Elk Neck, Maryland on March 27. Like other "goat" events, the Stumble is long and hilly -- this year's edition covered 17.5 km with 550 meters of climb. Following is allowed, but participants need to pay special attention to the map. Sprinkled throughout the point-to-point course are several windows containing 3-5 controls each that can be visited in any order, in score-O fashion, maximizing route choice and rewarding orienteers who can plan several controls ahead while oxygen deprived. A Short Stumble (9.5km/275m), essentially the first loop of the long course, was also available for saner souls not wishing to undergo the full ordeal. Quantico's Ken Walker, Jr. won the long event, with a time of 139:39, followed closely by Clem McGrath (DVOA) only 15 seconds back. Ted Good (QOC) was third, and Peggy Dickison (QOC), the first woman finisher, completed the course in 173:42. Along with the satisfaction of a course well run, each of these competitors received a modest amount of prize money to be applied toward training and travel expenses. Eddie Bergeron (SVO), the first runner on either course to reach the split control (#20), won the Short Stumble in 65:46. As course setter, I particularly enjoyed sitting in the woods watching the turbulent scene following control 1. Most everyone followed the road option to #1, and the wise used that opportunity to study the four-control window between controls 1 and 6. Following #1, the 43 person field split into three roughly equal parts, some heading to control A, some to C, and some to D. Minutes later the forest became a chaotic sea of swarming orienteers as the various streams of people collided on their way to the other controls in the window. Other special features of this year's Stumble included back-to-back windows between controls 9 and 18 (offering 2880 potential route-choice sequences!) and the finale of the long course -- a four-control go window largely in view of the finish area. The final window provided one last chance for runners to outfox/outrun one another before a cheering throng of spectators. These expectations were rewarded when the leaders, Ken and Clem, entered the go window almost simultaneously. After 17 km and 29 controls, Ken proved to be slightly less exhausted then Clem, and pulled away at the very end. Before darkness fell, fourteen hardy orienteers had finished the Long Stumble, thereby earning coveted Susquehanna Stumble towels. We hope that even more of you will join in this growing tradition next year at the 3rd annual Susquehanna Stumble. Special thanks to DVOA for their help in putting on this year's event. Here's what some participants had to say: Ken Walker, Jr.: "I thought this format was really cool. The windows give you the opportunity to sneak by other runners, and also force you to think pretty far ahead on the course (I can always use practice at that) and most importantly, they made the race more fun." Peggy Dickison: "I seemed to have a hard time deciding the best way to navigate through the three windows, and in the second one I lost track of which control I was heading to, resulting in me having to backtrack across a beach to get an isolated control. It was frustrating running against the orienteering traffic coming from the control I had missed." "The first loop was fun because the Short Stumblers were running it, too, so there were lots of people around. With the windows behind me--except for the final four controls--I did better, orienteering steadily and getting closer to the guys ahead of me. I wouldn't say I felt strong throughout the race, but I was able to run pretty well the whole time, which was encouraging." Clem McGrath: "Started out quickly on the road to #1 to digest the overall course outline and begin to formulate strategy. Didn't cut in soon enough, as several people were already out of the control by the time I got there. The next few controls were a solo affair; although I saw people, weweren't really running together. I soon saw both Mihai and Kenny and Ted for the first time. We would see one another intermittently throughout the race." "The last controls before the halfway point were again solo. By the break I actually I thought I had slipped away from the pack but was told I was really a few minutes back. (A mistake plus a less than ideal path in the last window may have hurt) However, two controls later I would see Kenny and then Ted. Back in the race! No idea about Mihai, though." "Kenny and I apparently inched ahead of Ted during the latter stages, but a mistake cost us and he moved back into the lead. But by spiking a control and taking a better route, we moved ahead again. At this point, by pushing hard and taking a faster route, I moved ahead of Kenny and ran down the beach towards the final window and the finish. Convinced it was a race for second (because Mihai had surely finished) I did not push as hard as I should have; thus, Kenny was right there going into the window. We both struggled to the next controls, but Kenny went harder and punched the 2nd to last control ahead of me. He then surged and parlayed the few seconds there to a full fifteen by the finish to earn a well deserved Stumble victory." Ken Walker, Jr. on Window #1: "Coming out of #1, most people were heading to C, but I went down to the left more and followed a reentrant into D. From D, getting to C was easy, I just contoured to the reentrant bottom and followed it into the control. Next I crossed over and headed up the other side to A, where lots of people were already going, so it was easy to find. Again I just chased a line of people to B, and when they turned down towards D, I ran up to the road andout of the window towards #6." Peggy Dickison on Window #1: "My plan in navigating the first window was to start with C, head uphill to A, cross over to B, and then back downhill to D. This would leave me close to the road and a good route to #6. But, in typical mob orienteering fashion, I ended up paying less attention to where I was going and more on keeping up with the orienteers around me, and I suddenly found myself at D. A quick change of plans ensued, and I finished the window at B instead, not far from the road." MEET RESULTS LONG Stumble: 17 - 17.5 km 550 m 33 controls Split Final Window sequences 1 Ken Walker Jr. 67:52 (3) 139:39 DCAB AD-IT-ME-HI-UP GEF IJKH 2 Clem McGrath 69:18 (4) 139:54 ABCD AD-IT-ME-HI-UP GFE IJKH 3 Ted Good 66:20 (2) 147:51 CABD AD-UP-HI-ME-IT FGE JIHK 4 Mihai Veres 65:12 (1) 148:53 5 Tom Strat 77:02 (5) 169:37 CABD AD-UP-HI-ME-IT FGE 6 Tim Good 78:02 (6) 170:30 CABD AD-IT-ME-HI-UP GEF IJKH 7 Peggy Dickison 90:53 (10) 173:42 DCAB IT-UP-AD-HI-ME GEF IJKH 8 Bob Ireland 89:10 (9) 209:13 9 Eric Smith 95:50 (12) 216:10 10 Ross Smith 78:21 (7) 222:20 11 Ronald Bortz 96:29 (13) 240:03 12 Charles Leonard 94:30 (11) 241:55 13 Francis Hogle 115:16 (14) 264:20 14 Mary Frank 136:42 (15) 285:18 Dave Pruden 83:10 (8) DNF Back to top SHORT Stumble: 9 - 9.5 km 275 m 20 controls 1 Eddie Bergeron 65:46 DCAB AD-UP-HI-ME-IT FGE 2 Greg Walker 80.32 3 Mark Dominie 90.43 4 Shawn Leonard 94:36 5 Leslie Kuipers 94:36 6 Rich Fulton 96:02 7 Dave Shaw 101:26 8 Ted McDonald 102:03 9 Ann Leonard 104:30 10 Rob Wilkison 104:33 11 John Edwards 107:37 12 Ron Woods 114:59 13 Mark Early 118:41 14 Randy Hall 126:03 15 Scott Shaw 139:50 16 Jim Browne 142:38 17 Ralph Tolbert 146:26 18 Kathy Bannister 150:30 19 Ed Nieman 157:45 20 John Dunn 170:29 21 Ben Leonard 173:52 22 Barb Dominie 174:15 23 Kate O'Shea, Pete Vermani, Amy Bracken, Nghai Nguyen 201:56 Rob Broussard DNF Jill Person DNF Back to top WHITE Course: 2.5 km 35 m Nathan Mendendez 32:32 Troy Mendendez 40:42 Tim, Martha Blaisdell 45:20 John, Katharine Blaisdell 50:52 Linda Boyd 54:05 Manny Menendez 55:55 Jesse Doggett 58:12 Lambrecht Family 67:42 Craig Smith 86:05 Back to top YELLOW Course: 3.9 km 50 m Andrew Blaisdell 49:00 Diane Gilmore 61:37 N. Borozny 67:35 Frank + Dwight 68:44 Roy Ferguson 83:08 John, Kevin, Kristi Kirschauser 93:14 Back to top ORANGE Course: 4.6 km 130 m Eric Menendez 54:20 Lisa Lambrecht 58:43 Dave Zador 64:30 Fred Ayres 65:56 Kurt Lambrecht 67:37 Kay Sheehan 82:33 Bruce Boyd 84:26 Sue Dumler, Peg Edwards 94:15 Frank+ Dwight 100:13 Marsha Medendez 121:35 Jeremy Gigg 146:30 Trye D'Eramo, Travis Whigham, Patsy D'Eramo, Mark D'Eramo 161:19 Back to top