JOK Chasing Sprint 2008 Comments

Controller's comments (Roger Thetford, TVOC and JOK)

Although we lost permission for the intended venue at Hambleden (new owners), Bloom Wood is well suited to an event like the Chasing Sprint. I
tweaked Mike's original courses only slightly (his legs must be more bramble-resistant than mine!); the final versions offered nice variety of
terrain and leg-length, plenty of fast running and the need to keep concentrating, particularly during the Chase.

The cowboys being in residence was quite a shock, but they were friendly when approached and y'all seem to have survived. Pauline coped well with the complexities of negotiating with two sets of landowners and gamekeepers via a third party (BKO, thanks Liz), and organising a small band of helpers to do two, three or even four jobs each. Jon Cross's commentary was outstanding and added greatly to the event. Assuming that he had electronic assistance, I was very surprised to find that the commentary was actually being delivered with the aid of only sharp eyes, results lists, start lists and some rapid mental arithmetic.

Thanks for coming, and congratulations to all the winners. And yes, we should have provided more SI units for the Chase.