The JK 2026
15 competitors from QO took part in 4 days of events between, 3th to 6th April 2026 in various locations in Perth and Kinross, Scotland
Start of day 2
Day 1
The Day 1 sprint was held in the city of Perth, which offered some interesting park orienteering and some simpler urban running in the pedestrianised city centre. Sporadic rain showers started around the midday mark, meaning that a few runners managed to get round in the dry, but mostly the runs were in the rain over slippery green cobbles. This made the many tight turns tricky, and several QO members reported nearly coming a cropper. A spectator control had been set up adjacent to the finish, which had it not been for the rain would have likely attracted bigger crowds. The navigation was on the whole not tricky, but this meant that poorer route choices had significant bearings on the final times. Ollie made a surprise return to orienteering following a lengthy recovery of a fractured foot and torn calf, and was promptly pipped to the line by Robert but a mere 1 second. It was however Finley who came out with the highest QO score, finishing 4th in the M16, followed by Ailani who finished 8th in the Womens open.
M12. Dylan Goddard – 11th.
M16. Finley Goddard – 4th.
M21E. Adam Fieldhouse – 48th
Robin Fieldhouse – 49th
Robert Fieldhouse – 68th
Ollie Rant – 70th
M45. Mark Goddard – 45th
M70. Ray Toomer – 18th
M21E Hazel Mudd – 47th
Women’s Open Ailani Braine – 8th
W40 Linda Mudd – 40th
W60 Sheila Braine – 13th
Vicky Fieldhouse – 55th
W70 Sue Toomer – 19th
Day 2
Day 2 moved over to Rannoch Forest on the south side of Loch Rannoch which offered a tricky mixture of terrain that mostly consisted of detailed vegetation boundaries, bogs and several hundred thousand fallen trees. The overnight snowfall and glorious morning sunshine made for some rather picturesque runs, but this changed to heavy sleet by the time the later runners were coming back. Many members reported that the colouration on the map was a stretch at best, and the white (denoting runnable forest) was almost always covered in fallen trees, meaning that average paces were much lower than is typical. The terrain was very physical with pretty much every QO member hitting the floor at some point. This time it was Dylan’s turn to come out on top, storming to an impressive 2nd place on the M12B, with Finley close behind finishing 6th on the M16A.
M12B. Dyland Goddard – 2nd
M16A. Finley Goddard – 8th
M21E. Adam Fieldhouse – 40th
Robin Fieldhouse – 48th
Ollie Rant – 103rd
Robert Fieldhouse – 112th
M45L. Mark Goddard – 44th
M70L. Ray Toomer – 27th
M21E Hazel Mudd – 54th
W21S Ailani Braine – 17th
W40L Linda Mudd – 24th
W60L Sheila Braine – 36th
Vicky Fieldhouse – 65th
W70 Sue Toomer – Mispunch :(
Day 3
Much like day 2, day 3 was in Rannoch forest, with the same run in, but now covering a bigger part of the forest. The day started with an overnight snowfall and glorious sun, lulling many members into a false sense of security with many thinking that t shirts would be fine. However, throughout the day there were sporadic blizzards which covered the course area, obscuring trods and pitfall hazards. The terrain was described as being some of the hardest ever encountered by QO members, and even more physical than day 2. Waste deep bogs, multiple fallen trees stacked on top of each other and a fast flowing boulder filled stream were just some of the obstacles encountered. This was well reflected in the winning times, with the M21 winner finishing in 1 hour 42 minutes on a course designed to be 1 hour 30.
Dylan came out again as the highest scoring QO with a 2nd place on the M12B course, followed by Finley in 8th on the M16A. Ollie and Rob came in 4th and 7th on the M21E2 course (results that were partially aided by a very high DNF rate)
M12B. Dylan Goddard – 2nd
M16A. Finley Goddard – 8th
M21E1 Robin Fieldhouse – 30th
M21E2 Ollie Rant – 4th
Robert Fieldhouse – 7th
M70L. Ray Toomer – 31st
W21S Ailani Braine – retired
W60L Sheila Braine – 29th
Vicky Fieldhouse – 61st
W70 Sue Toomer – 24th
Overall (combined times of days 2 and 3) Dylan won the M12B, whilst Ollie came in 2nd on the M21E2.
Day 4
Day 4 moved venues slightly to the moorland of Tullochcroisk on the flanks of the mountain Schiehallion. The terrain was significantly different to that of days 2 and 3, with the entire area being very runnable moorland and patchy birch forest. Another overnight dusting of snow made for tricky car park access for some, and some scenic starts but soon melted as the sun came out. Thankfully, Dylan was able to collect enough snow just in time to build us a QO snowman positioned adjacent to the run-in, (complete with compass and dibber) providing much needed support. 3 QO teams were in the Relay. In the Men’s Premier we had ‘QOntrol 1 is optional’ with Adam, Ollie and Robin. In the Men’s short, we had QO Hard or QO Home with Finley, Mark and Robert, and in the Senior Women we had In a QOuandary with Hazel, Vicky and Linda.
Despite Adam’s excellent run following Phil Vokes, Ollie managed to make several silly mistakes, only for Robin to make back up a few places to place the team in 21/38. A strong performance from Finley, Mark and Robert place the team in 13/44 whilst an unfortunate mispunch ended the race for Hazel, Linda and Vicky. Rumours are that Ollie is being thrown out the Premier team for next years JK....
Ray Toomer shares his thoughts on this years JK.
Had reasonable day 1 and day 2 but cant remember too much about them due to epic on day 3.
Day 3
A reasonable start then problems making sense of vegetation boundaries at control 2 got me in a grump. Not bad for the next couple of controls then big decision for controls 5 to 7, go down to a path then have to climb back up or go direct through mixed terrain. Decided to go direct, the going was rough but nav was ok so not too grumpy now. Down hill leg through varied terrain, still having issues matching the vegetation boundaries but hit control 8 spot on. Another long leg to 9 through mixed terrain so decided to follow an old wall, out of the way rather, but which would take me to a reasonable attack point. Going in the right direction but couldn’t spot the wall and then came into an area of windblown trees. Still going in the right direction but the fallen trees were piled everywhere and looking 50m either side I couldn’t see anything but fallen trees so decided to just press on. Making any progress at all was taking ages and with bracken and snow cover I had several falls through to other logs about 5 or 6 feet below. On the occasion that I was left hanging upside down, most of my body in the void, I was wondering if anyone would ever find me! Eventually, battered and bruised, I emerged to easier ground and spotted the wall. I was still alive and from thereon in the nav was OK. Maybe the Quantocks are a great orienteering venue!
Sue Toomer shares her thoughts on this years JK.
Given that ‘Sprint’ is not a word that is appropriate to an aged arthritic tortoise, I was happy with my performance on day 1, even achieving a bronze standard!
Day 2 was tough - few features by which to navigate, tufty grass, heather and bogs with a sprinkling of snow. Even so, I was happy with my run until I downloaded and found that one control hadn’t registered and yes, I am certain I went to it!
Day three felt long, arduous and tricky and at one point, when squelching through a bog as the snow was falling, I was asking myself why I was out there and why I had opted for the long course rather than the short. However I got round, happy to have done it and glad to be in one piece.
Despite the conditions it was a great weekend. Good company and a sense of achievement. Shame all these outdoor shops don’t sell new knees.