1,715 competitors in all with 711 French, 417 from Norway, 240 from Spain, 99 from GB and there were 68 in my M55 class
The first 3 days were in the high Pyrenees based at Font Romeu at 2,000m where the terrain was mostly runnable forest, with some open and semi-open areas. The biggest hazard might well be the effects of altitude as the areas are at around 1700 to 2000 metres above sea level. This should also help me acclimatise for the forthcoming Word Masters in August which takes place in the alpine terrain around Sestriere, Italy at an altitude of 2035m. Here in the Pyrenees we stayed at Camping du Lac Matemale http://www.camping-lac-matemale.com which had the luxury benefit of a sauna and hot tub which I used a couple of times.
An evening meal at La Pinada campsite – still very hot at sunset
The last two days, after a day of rest and transition, were in the lowlands to the west of Narbonne where we stayed at Camping Pinada at Villerouge-la-Cremade http://www.camping-le-pinada.com which had a fun atmosphere and inviting pool which was very welcome in the high temperatures. Moving down to the Narbonne area not only meant a significant rise in temperature but also a complete change in terrain and vegetation which now included some very tough undergrowth indeed. One of the more challenging was the Kermes Oak which is a low-growing, evergreen oak with very spiky leaves – ouch!
Day 1 Bolquere / Barres – 3.7km; 160m climb; 15 controls
A middle distance event to get the competition under way. A walk uphill through the ski chalets to the start then off through #1 and #2 which were fine, but I mistook my position crossing the last path before #3. Thinking I was further south than I actually was meant that I missed the control by some distance and took quite a while to realise my mistake and re-locate. #4 to #9 went well but a lot of undergrowth and brashings made the leg to 
#10 very difficult and slow and I actually located the control only after relocating in sight of the buildings. Then ran too fast trying to make up time and was a little disorientated coming out of the road underpass and started off in the wrong direction for #12. It was then fast to the finish on the edge of the town. 12th in class could have been a little better perhaps.
Day 2 Les Airelles – 5.7km; 180m climb; 12 controls
An anti clockwise route around the ski station with the two long legs 5 – 7 crossing several, now grassy, pistes. Cautious to #1 as I got used to the terrain so hit & used the track until the sharp left hand bend, then cut right downhill to follow the stream to the control. Hard work uphill through #2 to #4 and then the veg opened up. After crossing the road I followed the track to the piste and then the stream up to #6. To #7 was flat out ticking of features until crossing the next 
road & then following and counting off the broken banks / walls to #8. Traversing the valley to #9 and dropping down the hill to #10 were both quite hard work before speeding up towards #11 until hitting the rocky hill top followed by a nice downhill finish. 10th in class was ok.
Day 3 La Quillane – 5.7km; 220m climb; 13 controls
Oh dear, not so good today as I didn’t hit #5 first time and spent ages re-locating as I just couldn’t match the veg on the ground to the map. From #4 I used the cleared ground along the pylon line to cross the marsh then headed south through the open forest with the thick veg on my left which I intended to cross at the 
next marsh then into the control. Seemed doable, but it all got very thick, & extremely slow going and ultimately confusing towards the end. There was some nice runnable terrain to follow, but also some more muscle sapping marshes to cross, probably not helped by some of my route choices. The end result was 31st today and a tired, exhausted and disenchanted body.
A day of rest and transition down to the lowlands followed taking it slowly with the caravan through the hairpins. Stopped for a pickup at Perpignan airport as Catrin, my wife, was returning from a few days in the UK where she had been to a Rolling Stones concert in Hyde Park.
Day 4 Conilhac-Montbrun – 5.3km; 85m climb; 16 controls
Quite a long walk to the start on the top of the plateau from where there were some splendid views of the surrounding countryside and many vineyards. Not a good start as I run into the wrong valley to #1 but pleased with navigation through 2-3-4. Then there’s the longest leg of the day which has some interesting variation of terrain along the way. However there is only one logical crossing point of a river ravine which helps focus planning and I choose the dry valley up to #5 after 
crossing the second smaller river. I was a little anxious about #6 & #7 but they turned out ok then I stayed high to #8 and around the 
veg to #9 then zig zagged to #10 and downhill through the final controls to take us into the run-in to the finish. And what a welcome reception it was to be presented with a bottle of local red wine when passing through download. 10th today felt good and I was happy with that.
Day 5 La Campane – 3.3km; 140m; 14 controls
A shorter course today which looked like it would be quite fast but the terrain deserved rather more respect that I gave it. #1 was ok, but my plan of approach to #2 changed as I approached the 
steep drop off the plateau and then I went too low and wasted time traversing to and fro along the slope. Then finding #3 also proved quite a challenge and I went too low again. The remainder of the course went reasonably but I’d already lost too much time for a good result and finished a distant 26th.
We stayed on in the area for a few extra days and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the area, visiting Carcassone, Narbonne and local towns & villages and stumbling on a music festival in the quaint cobbled village of Lagrasse. There was some lovely walking and cycling along the Canal du Midi and more strenuous cycling off-road through vineyard covered Corbieres countryside.
Philip Eeles 