The Possum Trot - Meet Report and Results

By Dick Neuburger

What should we call it? After consultation with Fritz Menninger, of both Orienteer Kansas and Possum Trot Orienteering Club, and the usual "namer" of things in the Kansas City area, it was duly named "The Possum Trot". Mike Shifman had long wanted to design a long orienteering course and finally got his chance for the December 7, 1997, event held at Longview Lake Park in the southeastern part of Kansas City. Mike chose as the finish area the radio control flying field at the east edge of the map and designed WHITE, YELLOW, and ORANGE courses to be held concurrently in that area. But the shape of the map dictated a one-way race due to the narrowness of the runnable areas.

The competitive field was small but of high quality: 2 former elite US champions and another former US champ in the 35 and over class. We were honored to have Peter Gagarin fly in from Sunderland, Massachusetts, who wanted to be sure to participate in the "first" Possum Trot.

So, at 1:00 p.m. sharp, the minivans and pickup left the assembly area for the start of The Possum Trot at the opposite edge of the map. The length of the race had grown from the announced 13 km to over 16 km, and the weather was dreary, freezing, and overcast, but the 12 participants seemed eager to get started. After a few short safety instructions, the mass start began. The first three controls were forked but the remainder of the 38 controls were common to every map. The race crossed the main road three times and Mike Shifman manned the first two crossings (note the splits in the results).

The event was a big success for our small club and we intend to make it an annual affair. The winner of this year's T-shirt, Peter Gagarin, has already christened it the "last leg of the Long Distance Orienteering Grand Slam." Be sure to attend next year's event which promises to be bigger and better!