The Junior Inter Regional Championships were held this year in the Forest of Dean and Mendip Hills, which was indeed a trek for Eryri members Grace, Evie and I. The long journey was worthwhile though- it was truly fascinating to see so many ditches in one area! Despite the impressive number, Evie and Grace remained unfazed, both performing very well, and it was not counting ditches that lost me time either, rather misreading codes on the control description sheet! Lessons were learnt and glasses were worn for the relay, which Wales entered in 7th place.
Despite the relay being run in the Mendip hills, the only hill I experienced was the brutally steep 200m run-in, which resulted in a better run for me in comparison to the individual, and so it seems, for the rest of the team, as we came 6th. This was despite being at the mercy of the Scottish team the night before, with a ceilidh that started well after most people had gone to bed. Overall, Wales were placed 7th and it seems to have been an enjoyable and valuable experience for all. It was also a good bit of team bonding for the next event...
2 weeks later we were challenged this time to reach Norfolk (a long journey but not as long as
Anwen’s journey from Dundee) for the Junior Home Internationals. The individual race was a mixed bag for me, with most controls quite satisfying but a few complete disasters. Not so much for Anwen who had a happily low number of mistakes. The team, however, finished the day a large margin behind Scotland, England & Ireland, in 4th place.
Saturday night was, once again, punctuated by a ceilidh, this time lasting 2 and a half hours, leaving everyone suitably tired for battling through dense rhododendrons while desperately trying to keep track of ruined earthwalls in the relay- a rewarding run for both of us, improved further by the party atmosphere maintained by the team.
Wales remained in 4th place, but continued celebrating in honour of the incredible time that we had had - I’d like to thank everyone involved in organising these events and looking after us as a team, for a memorable and treasured experience.
Olwen
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