The 3rd and 4th rounds of the SLOW MBO league took place over the weekend 10/11th August in the Chilterns AONB. These were both also qualifying rounds for the National league and each used the 1:25,000 Small Area Format (SAF) with 2 and 3 hour options on offer.

Day two was a much more challenging area with some steep slopes and generally wooded terrain. The area was also split in two by a long valley that could not be crossed E-W except at the top and the bottom, making it much more tricky to choose an optimum route. The planner also deliberately clustered coloured controls to give the event a different feel to day 1. All routes from the campsite led steeply uphill and it was interesting to see the different approaches to course selection, with some clearly opting to ‘climb on tarmac’ and others preferring to gain some points whilst climbing saving the tarmac for a fast descent at the finish.

The 3hr event was won by Rachel Drew (covering over 52km and 1000m of ascent) with Ifor Powell and Iwona Szmyd not far behind, whilst the 2hr course was won by Simon Williamson.