Despite the foreboding weather and weather predictions throughout the week, the day turned out perfectly beautiful by FLO standards. A little warm, a little humid, (at noon, maybe 90F, maybe 70% RH) but both fairly seasonal. Not too bad- that is, until one begins chugging along a Blue course, or a red course, or even the Yellow, on this day - then you notice the heat. All the smiling faces coming out of the woods, assured the course setter of a job well done, but with nearly 25% DNF on the day, the heat was surely a handicap.

I deliberately shortened the lengths on the Advanced courses, expecting fairly slow minutes-per-kilometer paces and I'm glad now that I did. Long time orienteer Dave Ashley (and current US Mountain Bike-O Team member) led a nicely grouped bunch of top six entries on the Blue course, but at about a 14.5 min.km pace. At Ocala Forest last month the winning time was about 10 min/km, by comparison. But at LBE it's not just the heat, it's the jungle. As a courser setter I love it, but as a competitor, it can be a challenge. I heard of many creative short cuts that turned out well for some folks, even if the map indicated a huge green area was to be traversed. The rains in the preceding days were also a concern, not for the sloppy puddles, but for the rising river, and although it was up 6' or more from normal, it did not affect any control placements.

I thought I would not have to shorten course lengths on Yellow or Orange (no 'white' course today: not suitable) and the winning times look OK with 66 on orange and 43 on Yellow. However, Dave Ashley's Orange run was his second of the day and the second place finisher came in at 109 minute. Likewise, the second place on Yellow was at 69 minutes and the whole field had some pretty high times. They got their money's worth of hiking, but I think the difficulty was a bit more than it should have been.

So, FLO's 300th event is in the books, and we look forward to 300 more. Even more than that, we look forward to hosting even more people than the 49,522 who've enjoyed (I assume they've all enjoyed it) the events so far. Check out the videos and stills that will undoubtedly be posted on this web page soon.

A hearty "Thank You" to all the helpers for this day: Janet Putnam, Ray Bruneau and daughter Sheryl, Lammi Lambert (Who did registration ALL-DAY!) and Boris, Jack Cash and Jerry Sirmans, plus the others who stepped in on short notice whenever needed: Mike Dempsey for one. Thanks to all for coming out. Have a great summer and we look forward to seeing everyone at the next event in the Fall: September 14 at Rock Springs Run State Recreation area.

Bob Putnam
Course Design and Event Coordinator

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YELLOW

Name	Time
SBF	43:01
Troop 773	69:32
Junos & Even Reed	74:28
Suckapauw	93:16
Superwomen	95:28
Sharkey	102:45
Team Awesome	149:40
Dirk & Natalie	164:14
Pinoys	DNF

ORANGE

Name	Time
Dash (2nd course)	66:50
ABC&D	109:14
Lightning Theifs	132:48
Bjordust	170:06
The Little Family	DNF
Carrolls	DNF
Black Boobie	DNF
Glen Fitzgerald	DNF

GREEN

Name	Time
Mike Dempsey	108:35
David Crane	109:04
Kris Mante	129:51
Team Hiroshime	135:10
DEB & Paul	136:37
Running on Empty	145:45
Hawkins & Lunt	162:44
John Griffin	179:00
Nils & Nori	176:52
Jenzel	DNF
Rick Holly	DNF
Eric Gilhooley	DNF

RED

Name	Time
Jen & Ray	124:00
453	139:41
SBF (Second Course)	144:43
Cameron Haupt	155:51
Steven Spencer	183:28
Dennis & Carolyn	200:55
Jonathan Haupt	DNF

BLUE

Name	Time
Dave Ashley	87:40
Gareth Hearn	88:05
Primal	94:22
Ron Eaglin	101:02
Sheriff’s Posse	110:48
Greg Owen	114:12
Hien Ngyen	153:50
Ray & Ray	166:48
William Pogorzelski	195:12
Remembering Jericho	219:43
Bill Dean	DNF
Blaik Matthews	DNF

DNF	Did Not Finish
DQ	Disqualified (Missed Controls)
OT	Over 3 Hour Time Limit