May 23, 1999

On what was a gorgeous day for an O-meet, we had a great one. We reused the courses froM the 1997 Short Course National Championships, and other than one grossly miss-hung control flag things went off without a hitch. The errant control was on the Green course, and did cause some consternation.

The course setter (Snow) didn't trust the vetter because the vetter had taken forever to run the Orange course during the '97 meet. But the vetter (Snow) knew the course setter had really screwed up a meet here in '98, so neither trusted the other. The meet director (Snow) claimed that as a tribute to the Colorado Rockies pitching staff, the control was hung high and outside (of the control circle). The controversy may never be settled.

Sonic Booms and Close Finishes
The sonic booms you probably heard that day can be traced to two of ourfinest. Elis first cruised the Red course at a near 6 min/km rate. Not to be outdone, Mikell then ran it at a sub-6 min/km rate. For those of us who can't run that fast on a smooth road downhill, orienteering at that speed is beyond comprehension. Dan Walker was only slightly subsonic with his sub-8 min/km run.

Three of the four RMOC women on the USOF Standing Team decided to keep us at the finish on the edge of our chairs by finishing within a minute of each other. When the dust had settled, Beatrice claimed victory over Susan and Sandra. I'm sure all three gave their routes a good going over to try to find a second here and there. Susan then went out and ran the Green course, although rumors that she then ran home to Golden could not be confirmed.

Even with the mis-hung control, the Green course seemed to please most. And we even had a Bike-O teaM compete on White. So other than some late afternoon hail and rain it seemed that a good time was had by all.

Acknowledgements
This meet couldn't have happened without a lot oF help. Mil Plant ran the registration and kept things sane in the Start/Finish area. Beatrice helped with signage, setting and picking up controls. Also helping to pick up controls were Bob McBride, Mary Kay Waddington and Marlyn Peet. And while no one wanted my prerace Beginner's Clinic, people flocked to Sherry Litasi's most excellent postrace Beginner's Clinic.

Thanks to all.

White