Mashup 2010 - Another Success

300 runners and walkers enjoyed a great day searching for flags, flour and fun out on the Mendip Hills - raising £5,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust in the process.

The new electronic scoring system worked a treat and the overall winner was announced and weighed in record time. Competitors then relaxed in the sun with tea & cakes before progressing to either the Garden Steak Bar for chargrilled Priddy steak or the 51st Flag Dining Hall for an amazing selection of home-cooked food.

Plain Flour, the new band made up from Mendip Hashers, got the party started and Groovegrinder took it on until late.

Motley Master Plan
The home team 'A Motley Crew' won the overall Beacon Batch trophy with a complex plan that involved each of the four members taking it in turn to break off and run almost every path on the course.

Captain Tony Hogg's map shows the route to be taken by each member, the flags they should collect and their expected time at each location.

Solo Runners Not Far Behind
Clare Prosser was the highest scoring individual runner with 920 points, only 70 short of Tony's 4 member team! Roger Mann was the mens winner with local legends John Reynolds and Alan Williams not far behind them.

Break for the Border
The three lad team, 'Lads on Tour' won the Black Rock trophy, which is awarded for being most late home. They had a clever plan to run off the race map to find a pub in Blagdon but although they got to the village, none of its three pubs were open and they faced a long dry climb back up the hill to the finish.

Full results and photos are now on the event website at www.mendipmashup.org.uk

2010 Route Map Published

The 2010 race map has now been published with changes as follows:

Flags in the Mineries area are more or less as before, except for the hidden flag of course. The Charterhouse area has had a revamp with three new marked paths and more flags within reach of the 1 hour entrants. Addlestones' Orchard has a new marked path and some minor tweaks. Some of the paths in Black Down and Rowberrow are also different this year.

The total number of points to be had is 1040, the same as last year. The five 'hidden' flags are 6ft tall and not really hidden at all - just not marked on the map.

As usual, flags are named after various things to reflect the spirit of the event, some more bizarre than others! Any guesses for the reason behind numbers 31 and 42 this year?

Mashup goes Electric

This year's Mashup will use an electronic scoring system to record the flags found by each runner. Each team or individual will be issued with a small 2 inch long dibber that is held on the finger with an elastic strap. The dibber is inserted into a control box at each flag and automatically records your points on each occasion.

Back at the finish, the dibbers are unloaded into a computer which produces a print-out and instantly calculates the results.

Teams will be issued with one dibber per team, which must be taken to each control.

Whilst we liked our old-fashioned card and pencil system, it proved to be time-consuming to calculate and even with a team of experts and a double-check plan, was prone to errors. This new high-tech system should be more accurate and allow us to get down to enjoying the winner's weight in beer all the sooner.

The complete system has been very kindly loaned to the Mashup by BOK (Bristol Orienteering Club) - thanks guys!

2010 Entries Open

Entries are now open for the next Mashup, to be held on Saturday 19th June 2010.

The format will be very much the same as previous years but with a few refinements here and there. The race area is to remain the same but with improved scoring and results calculation. Groovegrinder have been booked again to play the main set but we are still in negotiations with another band to start the party. The food will be again be honest, home-cooked and sustaining but the dining area is to be extended outside.

There has been continual interest in the event over the winter, from previous competitors and others. Entries are expected to reach their limit - don't miss out, sign up now!