GB athletes comment on their performances at recent British Middle Distance

The British Middle Distance Championships were organised by the East Anglian Orienteering Association and held at Rushmere Country Park on a varied area of heathland and native woodland.

Alice Leake (Airienteers), says: 
"I really enjoyed the event, thank you to the organisers. It was an unexpected win for me, but I am really happy to take my first senior title in the forest to add to the sprint. I think that the fast terrain played to my strength as a runner, but I was also really pleased with my clean and confident navigation throughout."  

Grace Molloy, (Forth Valley Orienteers), says: 
"It was great to be back at a championship event and I was pleased to come away with the silver medal. My race was okay - I was lacking a bit of technique sharpness as it is early in the season and I wasn't able to match Alice's pace. I felt I improved through the race and I now know what I need to work on going into the rest of the races this Spring. The area was new to me and I enjoyed the varied terrain and the challenges set by the planner."  

William Gardner (Octavian Droobers), says:  
"To take my first British title at Rushmere was a fantastic feeling and quite a surprise. I had not expected a great performance given a suboptimal build-up and preparation, but on the day itself, I felt really good physically and managed a stable technical performance. I really enjoyed the terrain and the high levels of runnability suited me perfectly. Thanks to the organising team for putting on a great event."

Alastair Thomas (Edinburgh University Orienteering Club), says: 
"It was really nice to be back at a big event, my first British Champs race since 2019! The terrain was quite easy but I tried to run too fast and got caught out quite a few times, however, it's always nice to get on the podium! More please :)"  

Graham Gristwood (Forth Valley Orienteers), says: 
"Living in Scotland the terrain was pretty different to what we have around locally. I was pretty pleased with my run, although it certainly wasn't totally perfect. I especially enjoyed the last part of the course in the tricker forest terrain just north of the arena. I'm happy to still be able to be competitive with the speedy youngsters!"

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M21 Results - British Middle Distance Championships 2022

W21 Results - British Middle Distance Championships 2022

Full results are available here:  www.britishmiddlechamps.org.uk

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British Orienteering would like to take this opportunity to thank the clubs and members for their hard work in pulling together a great British Middle Championships event this year. A special thank you to the Event Organiser Freya Askham (South Midlands Orienteering Club), Planner Michael Chopping (Norfolk Orienteering Club), Controller Jeff Baker (Lincoln Orienteering Club), and Mapper Steve Hardy (South Midlands Orienteering Club).

Thank you to all the 750 competitors who supported this event and travelled from around the country to compete.  Many congratulations to all those 2022 British Middle Distance Champions who secured medals in their individual classes!  

It's great to have the buzz of orienteering events well and truly back again!