From the sublime to the ridiculous!

For the last couple of years, EBOR have been good enough to let me and my two eldest daughters run as 'guests' in their club championships. This year, the venue was Cropton Forest, as used for day 2 of this year's JK, and only 20 mins 'over the hill' from home.
Despite the bracken coming up and areas of thinning and brashings, the planners made a good job of taking our course through the 'best bits', particularly the quarry area down the steep slope above the Rosedale road, and threw in a good long leg with route choice! I chose to go through the Forestry Commission campsite, passing Dean F putting his tent up! He said later that he left a drink by his tent, to take in passing, having seen me take that route!
Thought I had blown it when I lost contact with the 'disappearing ride' through a patch of rhoddies, but others had bigger problems here. I also managed to cleanly 'spike' the last two controls on cairns in young trees at the end. Pleased to have come first, though Steve C was not only not pleased to get beaten by a guest, but also by young Stuart H, so losing his EBOR Club Champion title!
Eldest was 3rd out of 3 on her course, but Steve C kindly gave her the 3rd place trophy, as there were no other EBOR runners to present it to!
Sunday saw us return to the same venue for the Handicap Relay. Fun concept - 6 legs ranging from long green to white, teams of 1, 2 or 3, age and numbers in the team determining the start time for the team. With a W10, W14 and M45, we start quite early!
I totally blew it on control 2 - a pit in an area of rhoddies - took 9 mins for a 2 minute leg. Myself, Martin D of CLOK and Roger S of EBOR were all within metres of the kite, quartering the area, before finding it under a bush. I think that qualified as a 'bingo' control!
Our team started the last leg just in 4th place, with young Jake F just ahead of Ellie, but an EBOR W16 just behind, and all running the White course! Little Elle ran like the wind, hardly reading the map, but just couldn't keep up with the other two.
However, one of the first 3 teams were disqualified, so we ended up 4th overall, just missing out on the selection box prizes! All Dad's fault!!

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