Scottish 6 Days
28th July to 3rd August
At the end of Day 6
The biennial Scottish 6 Days festival was held this year in Strathearn in southern Perthshire with around 2,500 orienteers attending from all over the UK and from 26 countries in total. The areas used were varied in terrain but each provided a tough challenge in their different ways. The weather stayed fine and throughout the week there was a holiday atmosphere at the various venues.
More than twenty ELO members took part at some point in the week. In terms of results the highlights included …
- Kathryn Neill – 3rd overall on W40S
- Emily Atkinson – 7th overall on W12A
- Sheila Strain – 6th overall on W70L – and on Day 3 she was the course winner ***.
Congratulations to them in particular but also to everyone who tackled these tough courses – especially those who managed all six races and even squeezed in an extra urban event on the ‘rest’ day.
Like most orienteering events the 6 Days is run predominantly by volunteers and ELO successfully played our small part on Day 5 at Craig a Barns. Many thanks to all the members and their families who pitched in to help – particularly those who made a special day trip up the A9 to do so.
Michael Atkinson has kindly trawled through hundreds of 6 Days photographs available online to make a compilation of those featuring ELO members.
These big events are definitely more fun with plenty of members attending. This is partly because even on days when you haven’t had a great run then you can take pleasure in a teammate’s strong performance. Let’s hope we have an even bigger contingent at the next Scottish 6 Days which will be held further west in Lochaber in 2021.
*** Given Sheila’s distinguished record it is very surprising that this is the first time she has won a 6 Days race in over thirty years of trying