Event Details
Club: | SMBO |
Event Name: | Yarrow Valley MBO Score Event |
Date: | 10/06/12 |
Format: | MBO Score |
Mapping: | Ordnance Survey |
Time Limit: | |
National League: | - |
League: | SMBO Spring League 2013 (Round 4 of 4) |
Electronic Punch: | SportIdent |
Event Report
Sunday the 10th of June saw over 50 competitors from north and south of the border head for the small but distinctively bright red hall in Yarrowford village in the picturesque Yarrow valley 4 miles outside Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. Yarrow Valley, for those of you not so familiar with the Scottish Borders, is on the other side of the Tweed valley ridge and is a hidden gem of tough ascents that are rewarded with fantastic long flowing natural descents.
Walt and I spent Friday night setting out the southern half of the course in pouring rain and mist. Fortunately the ground got to dry out a bit during Saturday and from the hill tops we got to admire the stunning views out to the Cheviot hills down in Englandshire in the south and almost to the sea in the east as we set out the Northern half of the course. It’s always good when, even though you’re carrying your body weight in check points you still end up with a huge grin as you enjoy the awesome Yarrow Valley descents.
Sunday dawned overcast but dry and keen competitors started arriving early who were soon put to work helping us set up the event centre. The area was slightly different from last year as we made more use of the tracks in the Ettrick Valley in the south. We had added some new tracks to the existing area too and the course was challenging with lots of decisions to be made. Before we could draw breath the 4 hours were up and competitors started to return looking pretty tired, very muddy and happy as a tired, muddy person can be.
The competition was very close fought but the overall winners were;
Generation Team – Gerry and Robbie Saddler (250 points),
Mixed Team – Keith and Lynne Brydon (313 points),
Male Team – James Daplyn and Paul Ryan (321 points),
Female – Angela Brant-Barker and Anne Plant (320 points)
Male Solo – Graham Fielding (379 points)
A big thanks to everyone who helped collect in check points after the event. I’m hugely impressed that after such a tough event you were willing to head back up into the hills again to help us! Also a big thank you goes to the land owners and the village hall committee who have been so supportive of our event. Finally I’d like to thank our sponsors who have provided the SMBO with great prizes this year so thanks to Alpine Bikes, Cairngorm Brewery, High 5, Naked wines and VP Publishing.