Blue and Gray Park Meet Report
By Dick Luckerman

The first meet of the 2008-09 season was held under warm, dry conditions at Blue and Gray Park. Tom Hanley set challenging and interesting courses that mostly avoided the dense vegetation typical of October in Kansas City. The White course resulted in the closest competition as Jessica Smith ran the course nearly three minutes faster than Cate Barrett. For the four longer courses, the fastest time was at least 15 minutes better than the next best time. The dominant runners were: Yellow course -- Madelene Hallberg, Orange course -- Matt Barrett, Green course -- Anders Svensson, Red course -- Mike Eglinski. Congratulations to all!

From the comments I overheard, most of the experienced orienteers enjoyed Tom's courses very much. A number of the ROTC teams, however, had a difficult time on their chosen course and probably should drop down a level or two until they gain more confidence. It is always more enjoyable to complete a course.

We will have three different meets on November 1. A typical day-time meet will be held on the west side of Blue Springs Lake. Two other night-time events (both starting at the same time, I believe) will utilize all of Fleming Park surrounding both Blue Springs Lake and Lake Jacomo. One is a 4-hour evening score-O, the other a 12-hour overnight rogaine. The starting point for the day meet is different from that of the night meets, so be sure you know where each begins. Hope to see you there!