Sydney Summer Series

Summer Series event two at Meadowbank last week was an absolute ripper. Despite the chilly winds, Steve Dunlop set one of the all time puzzlers at this great riverside location. No matter how long the control locations and map were studied, an efficient loop was hard to come by - lots of in-and-out controls being the order of the day (or should I make that evening!) - and a greast variety of competitor routes resulted.

Once again record numbers fronted the starting gun, and maps ran out! With around 180 punters pulling on the running clobber, this is the biggest ever crowd at 'The Bank' - imagine what might be in store once daylight saving ends!

Although the control spread looked very 'do-able' at first glance, 500 or above proved elusive on the night, with Wayne Eliot "Ness" taking the lolly scoring 490 points, and back in 43 minutes! Michael "The Postman" Burton made a broad sweep of the map connecting all but two 10 pointers (#2 and #4 I think) for 580 but lost 100 of these in being ten minutes late. Michael was one of the few that visited the western controls (29,20,30) with most runners feeling the attraction of the eastern points, and the railway overbridge! Dave Lotty, in an effort to run a low score, tried approaching #23 from the bike track above, only to find himself heading over the railway bridge and no way down through the formidable fence. 'Thanks Dave', was the collective word from fellow SVM's. Other runners found the intense apartment development at this location a navigation puzzle, especially when approaching from the east.

All in all a great event, well set, with runners going in all directions - as it should be. Some great contests are looming this season as well. In Open Women, Gil and Rebecca are into the fun, as are Michael "I'm" Free and Peter "The Freight Train" Annetts in Open Men. Also great to see Karin and Josh Blatchford down from Newcastle for the event, with Josh scoring an impressive 440 (and he's still a junior!!).

This week sees the last of the pre-daylight savings events at Abbotsford - the Quarantine Station with Steve Flick at the controls. This map has not been used for a few years, so will be fresh to most of the newer SSS brigade. It's another great harbourside venue of course - this time from the south side. Expect great park and harbour foreshore running and some excellent views. Not to be missed!

Also good to see the results posting now up and running with new webmaster David Noble taking charge. The enquiries about the series continue apace