Last updated 20:18, Thursday, 09 October 2008

THE TWO-DAY October Odyssey regional orienteering event in the North East was an event of two contrasting halves.

Saturday on Edges Green near Hadrian’s Wall was extremely wet and unpleasant, whereas Sunday on Bewick Moor near Alnwick was bathed in warm sunshine.

Alan Irving won both days on M40L with strong competitive performances.

There were wins on both days also for Uni Parkins on W75, Chris Hemingway on JM5S, and Jon Eaton on Orange.

Hannah Bradley had two great runs (third and first on the two days) to end up as overall winner on JW4. Katrina Hemingway (first and third on the two days) ended up second overall on JW4.

Other notable performances included Lewis Taylor, first on day one on JM5L; Graham Hemingway, second on both days on JM5M; and Paul Eaton second on both days on JM3.

• The Thursday evening Park race proved very popular, using Fitz Park in Keswick. Cool, cloudy conditions soon reduced the daylight conditions for the later starters, making map reading quite difficult.

The 2.5km course with 12 control points saw Steve Birkinshaw take the win by 26 seconds from Phil Winskill, with a stream of juniors following closely behind.

The youngsters can certainly sprint, but speed management is needed to allow map reading and optimal navigational decisions to be made.

Esther Moore once again dominated the shorter course with a great winning margin over the other younger juniors.

James Cousins took a close second place from Matthew Armstrong.

The clocks will be changing soon, giving darker evenings, allowing the night series to get underway.

Navigating in the dark with a torch is a very exciting challenge; finding the control marker beside the feature after careful navigation gives a great sense of achievement.

And the not-to-be-missed Spook-O will be held at Whinlatter on Thursday, October 30. Details of venues are at www.wcoc.co.uk and on the answerphone 01768 895539.

Fitz Park Results – Long: 1, Steve Birkinshaw 12.24; 2, Phil Winskill 12.50; 3, Lewis Taylor 13.14; 4, Chris Brand-Barker 13.48; 5, Graham Hemingway 14.02; 6, Charlotte Watson 14.07; 7, Andrew Bradley 14.53; 8, Jeff Goodwin 15.11; 9, John Taylor 15.20; 10, Angela Brand-Barker 15.28; 10, Tony Brand-Barker 15.28; 12, Howard Leslie 16.40; 13, Roger Jackson 16.59; 14, Nathaniel Green 17.55; 15, Douglas Tickner 18.34; 16, Nick Moore 18.37; 17, Graham Watson 19.03; 18, Malcolm Ruckledge 19.05; 19, Paul Tickner 19.11; 20, Andrew Warner 19.16; 21, Sam Pagett 19.35; 22, Christopher Hemingway 19.43; 23, Alistair Arnott 20.08; 24, Ged Hagan 20.25; 25, Hannah Bradley 20.33; 26, Michael Green 20.48; 27, Colin Southall 20.52; 28, Natalie Burns 22.41; 29, Louise Hagan 22.46; 30, Debbie Watson 22.59; 31, Paul Eaton 23.59; 32, Matthew Whitehurst 24.09; 33, Oliver Whitehurst 24.12; 34, Sarah Whitehurst 24.42; 35, Shirley Moss 25.37; 35, Richard Moss 25.37; 37, Joyce Hemingway 25.56; 38, Steve Whitehurst 30.07; 39, Brian Wilson 31.00; 40, Oliver Burns 32.58; 41, Jon Eaton 33.16; 42, Steve Breeze 34.44.

Short: 1, Esther Moore 14.38; 2, James Cousins 16.13; 3, Matthew Armstrong 16.36; 4, Angela Ruckledge 16.56; 5, Millie Park 17.51; 6, Heather Wornham 18.26; 7, Diana Green 19.05; 8, Samuel Graham 20.02; 9, Bramble Park 20.13; 10, Elsie Barker 20.56; 11, Margaret Angus 21.27; 12, Thomas Burns 24.07; 13, Niamh Hunter 26.54; 14, Joshua Selby 27.48; 15, Scott Keenan 33.10; 16, Matty Keenan 33.44; 17, Rosie Hogg 34.53; 18, Family Birkinshaw 47.57.