JK2023 Overall Winners, Sasha Chepelin and Megan Carter-Davies
The four days of the Easter JK Weekend enjoyed lovely conditions in the Lake District. The weekend included World Ranking Events in Sprint, Middle and Long, and then forest relays on the final day, Easter Monday.
Congratulations to Sasha Chepelin (Interlopers) and Megan Carter-Davies (Swansea Bay OC) the overall champions. Megan took the win on all three Women's Open elite courses, but her club Swansea Bay were not able to retain the JK Women's Trophy. Sasha won the Men's Open elite middle race and was second to Joshua Dudley in the long. He anchored Interlopers to the JK Trophy win, coming from fifth place (90 seconds off the lead) at the start of the last leg.
Day 2's Downhill Run-in
During the competition we made use of Twitter (though we had little mobile signal on the relay day.) We used the feed to post pictures and news, and we had short clips of both eventual champions running in at the end of the middle race.
Megan Carter-Davies
JK2023 Day2 World Ranking Event W21E winner Megan Carter-Davies @SwanseaBayOC running to last control. pic.twitter.com/L65rPi9mv3
— On The Red Line (@OnTheRedLineO) April 9, 2023
Sasha Chepelin
It was again close at the top of M21E results at the JK middle, with Sasha Chapelin taking the win ahead of Alastair Thomas +4s, Chris Smithard +17s. pic.twitter.com/jel9XsAn9N
— On The Red Line (@OnTheRedLineO) April 9, 2023
The JK
The JK is a massive organisational undertaking. Many thanks to the clubs and many volunteers helping to put it on, and particularly those taking on major roles led by co-ordinator David McCann of Manchester & District OC. It was great to see his work recognised at the Individual Prizegiving.
Overall Competition
The individual JK competition is worked out by adding times for the middle and long races.
JK Overall Results - All Classes (pdf)
The Elite Classes Podium
- Sasha Chepelin (Interlopers)
- Joshua Dudley (MAROC)
- Nathan Lawson (Octavian Droobers)
- Peter Taylor-Bray (Manchester & District)
- Joe Woodley (Lakeland)
- Oli Johnson (South Yorkshire)
- Megan Carter-Davies (Swansea Bay)
- Pia Young Vik (Norway / OK Linné)
- Fiona Bunn (Edinburgh University)
- Cecilie Andersen (Bristol)
- Jo Shepherd (Halden SK)
- Tilla Farnes Hillum (Norway, NTNUI)
Day 1 - Sprint
The sprint races were at Lancaster University.
The Sprint Podium, photo: Wendy Carlyle.
M21E
At the top of the men's race there were six runners within 12 seconds, with Will Gardner running the second half fastest to take the win by just one second from Jonathan Crickmore.
One of the splitsbrowser graphs available through Routegadget
Jonathan Crickmore in the sprint, photo: Wendy Carlyle.
- Will Gardner(Octavian Droobers)
- Jonathan Crickmore (South Yorkshire)
- Nathan Lawson (Octavian Droobers)
- Alastair Thomas (West Cumberland)
- Duncan Birtwistle (Octavian Droobers)
- Chris Smithard (Forth Valley)
Will Gardner finishes the Middle Race
Nathan Lawson, photo: Wendy Carlyle.
W21E
In the women's race Megan Carter-Davies, leading throughout, won with a margin of 32 seconds ahead of Cecilie Andersen.
- Megan Carter-Davies (Swansea Bay)
- Cecilie Andersen (Bristol)
- Alice Leake (Airienteers)
- Fiona Bunn (Edinburgh University)
- Pia Young Vik (Norway / OK Linné)
- Chloe Potter (South Yorkshire)
Sprint runner-up Cecilie Andersen ran first leg of the JK Trophy Relay
Mairi Eades (Edinburgh University) in the Sprint Race, photo: Wendy Carlyle.
Day 2 - Middle Distance Races
Day 2 Assembly, photo: Wendy Carlyle.
JK Middle World Ranking Event Results
Middle Distance Podium
M21E
- Sasha Chepelin (Interlopers)
- Alastair Thomas (West Cumberland)
- Chris Smithard (Forth Valley)
- Peter Taylor-Bray (Manchester & District)
- Joshua Dudley (MAROC)
- Nathan Lawson (Octavian Droobers)
Alastair Thomas was only 4 seconds behind Sasha Chepelin
W21E
- Megan Carter-Davies (Swansea Bay)
- Helena Karlsson (Sweden, Nydalens SK)
- Fiona Bunn (Edinburgh University)
- Pia Young Vik (Norway, OK Linné)
- Alice Hugosson (Norway, Nydalens SK)
- Jo Shepherd (Halden SK)
Day 3 - Long Distance Races
Bigland is one of the best areas in the country for our sport. To quote the programme:
The area is a superb and varied mix of Lake District terrain with almost no green on the map. The most testing part of the area in terms of both running and navigation is an area of broadleaf woodland on a steep slope. This includes many knolls, re-entrants and rock features.
Day 3 Assembly, photo: Wendy Carlyle
JK Long World Ranking Event Results
M21E-1
Joshua Dudley took the win in M21E-1 (there were too many entries for the available start slots, so slower runners the previous day ran a same length course M21E-2.) With 20 minutes of the 90 minute course left he was in second behind Sasha Chepelin, and over the last controls he went from a minute behind to a minute ahead.
- Joshua Dudley (MAROC)
- Sasha Chepelin (Interlopers)
- Nathan Lawson (Octavian Droobers)
- Joe Woodley (Lakeland)
- Oli Johnson (South Yorkshire)
- Ben Mitchell (Swansea Bay).
The quickest three on the JK M21E-1 course, L-R Sasha Chepelin, Joshua Dudley, Nathan Lawson.
.
W21E
Megan Carter-Davies took the win in W21E in 74:42, 8:44 ahead of Pia Young Vik.
- Megan Carter-Davies (Swansea Bay)
- Pia Young Vik (Norway, OK Linné)
- Cecilie Andersen (Bristol)
- Fiona Bunn (Edinburgh University)
- Tilla Farnes Hennum (Norway, NTNUI)
- Anna Ulvensøen (Norway, Nydalens SK).
Fiona Bunn, like many GB athletes, wore the colours of her Scandinavian Club in the Long Race
Day 4 - Relays
Dale Park is almost entirely deciduous open forest. There is lots of contour detail and many rock features.
All today's relays began with a big uphill run. This is the JK Women's Trophy and the senior men starting. @GBRorienteering pic.twitter.com/RsrnmsC3ww
— On The Red Line (@OnTheRedLineO) April 10, 2023
There were 54 entries in the JK Trophy and 27 in the JK Women's Trophy. The target winning times are 32 minutes / 25(27) minutes / 32 minutes for the relays, not so long as international races. There were a dozen other relays at much the same time too.
Interlopers won the JK Trophy in a close race, as usual taking less than time than the individual winner had the day before. Forth Valley were second, defending champions Octavian Droobers third, Edinburgh University fourth and South Yorkshire fifth only a minute and ten seconds behind the winners.
L-R: Nathan Lawson, Duncan Birtwistle, Will Gardner, Sasha Chepelin, Peter Hodkinson, Aidan Smith, Alasdair McLeod, James Hammond, Chris Smithard.
Aidan Smith
Peter Hodkinson, photo: Wendy Carlyle.
The JK Women's Trophy was also close, apart from Nydalens SK from Oslo running away with the Trophy in 70:23. The team of Alice Hugosson, Anna Ulvensøen and Helena Karlsson were over ten minutes quicker than runners up South Yorkshire. The gap would have been less had strong teams from Edinburgh University and Lakeland not been missing punches. Airienteers were third less than a minute behind South Yorkshire, and only 4 seconds ahead of Edinburgh Southern. Nydalens won last year's TioMIla Damkavlen, with Anna and Helena in the team. Overall JK2023 runner-up Pia Young Vik was also in the team and is now with OK Linné.
So the relays maintained the pattern of the weekend: very close in the men's, a clear winner in the women's.
Alice to Anna
Anna to Helena
L-R: Laura King, Fay Walsh, Tamsin Moran, Alice Hugosson, Anna Ulvensøen, Helena Karlsson, Pippa Dakin, Imogen Pieters, Chloe Potter.