Last weekend I participated in the Swedish Championship in Ultra Long distance. It was held in Skogstibble west of Uppsala, and it was a 24 km long course with Mass start. It was held at the same weekend as the World Cup Final in Switzerland, so some of the best Swedes where unfortunately not running. I had originally hoped to run the WC, and especially the Sprint final, but because of the economical situation Norway was only sending 3 men and 3 women, and I was not good enough this year. But SM Ultra was a nice replacement for the WC, and a totally different sort of challenge.
I had expected it to be several forked loops, like in Blodslitet. But from the control codes it seemed to be no forking until the butterfly. Most runners was together on a long line until we had past the road half way to the 3rd control. Between the road and the 3rd control the runners started to spred out, and I got stuck in a lot of fallen trees and was suddenly alone. Got a bit stressed, but continued following the compass in the right direction, and saw the open area to the right before the control. When I was entering the control circle I met the leading runners, and understood I was approx 30 seconds behind them. (A lot of runners missed several minutes on this control, and was already then out of the match for the victory.)
To the 4th control I managed to catch the leading group (who ran too much to the right, and missed the path through the green), and I punched the butterfly control first. Had the same forking as Karl Walheim and Joakim Svensk on all loops. We lost some time to the 5th and 8th control, and when we entered the butterfly control the last time we meet the leading guys who had just left the butterfly, and at the control we also meet some other guys. At the 14th control we where together again, and we where now a group of 8 runners who stayed together most of the rest of the race.
To the 16th control we split up, and together with some others I came to much to the left and punched the control 20 - 30 sec after the first runners. But we got contact on the following leg, and where together at the map change.
The 8 runner group stay together the whole second loop, that was pretty short. We did a small mistake to the 22nd control. The speed was OK, but not very high. This loop had nice runability, compared to most of the other terrain, where it was stony and partly very dense vegetation.
On the last longer loop I understood that it would not be any more forking, and I was a bit disappointed how they managed to make a 24 km long course with 3 loops, without having more forking then a butterfly on the first loop. The speed increased a bit, and I was mainly in the last half of the group. Was not struggling, but didn't feel for running faster either, and the leading guys did a good job, except a mistake to the 30th control.
To the 36th control the others was insecure, and I got the control first. Was leading the group on the following leg, but got stuck in a really stony area, lost the direction, got insecure, and some other took over the lead again.
To the 38th control I thought is was the right time to get a better position before the finish, and I passed some of the others on the open area. The rest of the course had not so stony ground, and I felt OK physical. To the 39th control I took over the lead, but Joakim Svensk passed me just before the control and I thought 2nd position was good enough before the sprint. To the 2nd last control Joakim ran to much to the right, I got the control first, and already then I felt pretty sure to win the race. To the last control I just followed the compass to the field, and I didn't need to sprint in the run in, and could win 4 seconds in front of Martin Regborn. Results and splits
Cool to win my Swedish Champion titel, even if I was just following other runners big parts of the race. But in a mass start doing the right moves on the right times is a big part of the game, and I succeeded this time. That my club mate Anna Bachman won the women's race made it a perfect day for IFK Lidingö!
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Thursday, June 19, 2014
2nd in Jukola with IFK Lidingö!
Last weekend I participated in the world biggest orienteering relay Jukola in Finland. My club IFK Lidingö have had a great spring season, with a 2nd place in 10mila and many runners performing well individual. But the last years we have had problems performing as expected in Jukola, and often lost too much time on the longer night legs in the beginning.
This year we knew we had a competitive team, but had still respect for the tough terrain in Kuopio, and expected it to be much individual orienteering and several teams that would do better then in 10mila. It was not easy to pick the team, because all 10 in the first team in 10mila did great races, and also several guys in the second team. The selected runners for the 6 last legs was the same as in 10mila, and we decided to have one of our best runners Filip Dahlgren on the 3rd leg, to be sure to have a good position before the day legs where it is difficult to catch up time.
Jo Forseth Indgaard who ran the 1st leg was the only who were not in the 1st team in 10mila due to injury problems in the winter and early spring, but he was now back on his normal level. Jo gave us a great start of the relay finishing 2nd after running alone most of the leg. He was 1 min behind Carl Kaas and 1 min before the following teams.
Anders Carlsson followed up in an impressing way. He was alone in the lead already on the first control, and was keeping the distance to several strong runners hunting him. But he unfortunately did a 3 min mistake on the second last control, and changed over 2 min behind the leading group.
Filip Dahlgren lost a bit in the beginning, partly due to long forking, but then he showed how good runner he is and caught up the leading runners. But also he did some smaller mistakes in the end, and changed over 1 min behind the lead.
Erik Ivarsson Sandbeg did as has he did in 10mila; brought us up in the lead and also had the fastest leg time. Impressive! Cool that it was 3 teams from the Stockholm area (Lidingö, Södertälje and Järla) that was in the lead during the night.
I started on the 5th leg a few seconds in front of Järla, but never saw their runner. I though it was more teams close behind, and when I was running I didn’t know that it was more then 2 min down to the next teams. I did a stable and secure leg, without any big mistakes, and could stay alone in the lead the whole leg. I did not run the perfect route on all legs, and also hesitated a few places, but each time I relocated and adjusted my direction very quickly, and avoided loosing much time. It was the fist time I was running absolutely in the lead in Jukola, and it was a nice feeling to run alone and know that as long as I don’t do mistake I will stay in the lead.
Mårten Boströn did also a stable race, and stayed in the lead the whole leg, even if Södertälje was just a few seconds behind to the changeover.
Fredrik Johansson was starting on the last leg together with Jonas Leandersson, and 3 minutes in front of Kalevan Rasti. Fredrik did a good race, but Thierry Gueorgiou did a fantastic leg, and caught up Fredrik and Jonas after half the leg. Fredrik was the only one who was able to follow Thierry, but he never managed to pass him, and finished in 2nd position, 11 seconds behind.
If we should have beaten Kalevan I guess Fredrik would have needed a few more minutes gap. Fredrik was 2nd on the leg, and the 3rd runner was 6 min slower than Thierry. This time Kalevan was in my opinion not winning because they was the most stable team, but because they had the combination of a good enough team and the best last leg runner.
Just after the finish it felt as in 10mila a bit irritating finishing 2nd, when we were so close to the victory, and had been alone in the lead half of the relay. But all runners in our team did really well, and it’s the best result ever for Lidingö in Jukola! To be so close to the victory also makes us very motivated to train even better for the big relays coming up:-)
Also the men’s 2nd team did very well, and was top 20 after 6 legs. And the girls team finished 9th and 15th in Venla. That shows that Lidingö has many runners on a high level in both genders, and that is one of the main reasons we have such a great club atmosphere.
Results and GPS tracking
TV broadcast of the whole Venla and Jukola (part 1, part 2, part 3)
KopterCam video of the start
This year we knew we had a competitive team, but had still respect for the tough terrain in Kuopio, and expected it to be much individual orienteering and several teams that would do better then in 10mila. It was not easy to pick the team, because all 10 in the first team in 10mila did great races, and also several guys in the second team. The selected runners for the 6 last legs was the same as in 10mila, and we decided to have one of our best runners Filip Dahlgren on the 3rd leg, to be sure to have a good position before the day legs where it is difficult to catch up time.
Jo Forseth Indgaard who ran the 1st leg was the only who were not in the 1st team in 10mila due to injury problems in the winter and early spring, but he was now back on his normal level. Jo gave us a great start of the relay finishing 2nd after running alone most of the leg. He was 1 min behind Carl Kaas and 1 min before the following teams.
Anders Carlsson followed up in an impressing way. He was alone in the lead already on the first control, and was keeping the distance to several strong runners hunting him. But he unfortunately did a 3 min mistake on the second last control, and changed over 2 min behind the leading group.
Filip Dahlgren lost a bit in the beginning, partly due to long forking, but then he showed how good runner he is and caught up the leading runners. But also he did some smaller mistakes in the end, and changed over 1 min behind the lead.
Erik Ivarsson Sandbeg did as has he did in 10mila; brought us up in the lead and also had the fastest leg time. Impressive! Cool that it was 3 teams from the Stockholm area (Lidingö, Södertälje and Järla) that was in the lead during the night.
I started on the 5th leg a few seconds in front of Järla, but never saw their runner. I though it was more teams close behind, and when I was running I didn’t know that it was more then 2 min down to the next teams. I did a stable and secure leg, without any big mistakes, and could stay alone in the lead the whole leg. I did not run the perfect route on all legs, and also hesitated a few places, but each time I relocated and adjusted my direction very quickly, and avoided loosing much time. It was the fist time I was running absolutely in the lead in Jukola, and it was a nice feeling to run alone and know that as long as I don’t do mistake I will stay in the lead.
Mårten Boströn did also a stable race, and stayed in the lead the whole leg, even if Södertälje was just a few seconds behind to the changeover.
Fredrik Johansson was starting on the last leg together with Jonas Leandersson, and 3 minutes in front of Kalevan Rasti. Fredrik did a good race, but Thierry Gueorgiou did a fantastic leg, and caught up Fredrik and Jonas after half the leg. Fredrik was the only one who was able to follow Thierry, but he never managed to pass him, and finished in 2nd position, 11 seconds behind.
If we should have beaten Kalevan I guess Fredrik would have needed a few more minutes gap. Fredrik was 2nd on the leg, and the 3rd runner was 6 min slower than Thierry. This time Kalevan was in my opinion not winning because they was the most stable team, but because they had the combination of a good enough team and the best last leg runner.
Just after the finish it felt as in 10mila a bit irritating finishing 2nd, when we were so close to the victory, and had been alone in the lead half of the relay. But all runners in our team did really well, and it’s the best result ever for Lidingö in Jukola! To be so close to the victory also makes us very motivated to train even better for the big relays coming up:-)
Also the men’s 2nd team did very well, and was top 20 after 6 legs. And the girls team finished 9th and 15th in Venla. That shows that Lidingö has many runners on a high level in both genders, and that is one of the main reasons we have such a great club atmosphere.
Results and GPS tracking
TV broadcast of the whole Venla and Jukola (part 1, part 2, part 3)
KopterCam video of the start
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
SM Sprint in Uppsala
Last weekend competed in the Swedish Championship in Sprint arranged in Uppsala. OK Linné had a competent course setter team and I expected challenging courses in nice sprint areas.
The qualification Saturday evening was held a few kilometers south of the city centre. I did a solid race, but lost about 5 sec to the 4th, 9th and 16th control by not running the shortest line. To the 15th control I had not seen the fence when I decides to go left, but had one of the fastest splits even if I change to go right in the end of the leg. I finished 4th, 34 sec behind Gustav Bergman, that have been in really good shape the whole spring. Results, splits and GPS tracking
The final Sunday was held in Uppsala city center, with arena at Uppsala Castle. I did in overall a pretty good performance, in a really nice and challenging course. I had in general a bit slow start and lost aslo a few seconds on the route choice to the 5th and 6th control. 25 seconds behind the leader already at the 6th control is far too much. But the rest of the course went well, and I was one of few runners that found the best route to the 8th control. I finished with the 3rd best time (14.52), 33 seconds behind Gustav Bergman, but unfortenately I got disqualified because I during my morning run by a mistake had been 50 meters inside the embargoed area for the race:-( Results and splits
Østerbø med medaljefart i Sverige, orientering.no
A lot of nice pictures taken by Göran Johansson and a video filmed from the air.
The qualification Saturday evening was held a few kilometers south of the city centre. I did a solid race, but lost about 5 sec to the 4th, 9th and 16th control by not running the shortest line. To the 15th control I had not seen the fence when I decides to go left, but had one of the fastest splits even if I change to go right in the end of the leg. I finished 4th, 34 sec behind Gustav Bergman, that have been in really good shape the whole spring. Results, splits and GPS tracking
The final Sunday was held in Uppsala city center, with arena at Uppsala Castle. I did in overall a pretty good performance, in a really nice and challenging course. I had in general a bit slow start and lost aslo a few seconds on the route choice to the 5th and 6th control. 25 seconds behind the leader already at the 6th control is far too much. But the rest of the course went well, and I was one of few runners that found the best route to the 8th control. I finished with the 3rd best time (14.52), 33 seconds behind Gustav Bergman, but unfortenately I got disqualified because I during my morning run by a mistake had been 50 meters inside the embargoed area for the race:-( Results and splits
Østerbø med medaljefart i Sverige, orientering.no
A lot of nice pictures taken by Göran Johansson and a video filmed from the air.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
NM Sprint in Trondheim
This weekend my Norwegian club Wing OK arranged the Norwegian Championships in Sprint and Sprint Relay in Trondheim.
My preparations was unfortunately not the best, since I got sick when I came home from a WOC training camp in Italy one and half week ago. After feeling worse last weekend I went to the doctor and took different tests, and Monday I started with antibiotics. I got better pretty fast, and Wednesday I could start with easy training again, after one week without training.
I had to skip the Middle and Long selection race for World Cup witch was held on Wednesday and Thursday. But that didn't matter too much, since I anyway had planed to skip the World Cup on Kongsberg, because my focus will be on Sprint and Relay until WOC.
But now back to the Sprint Champs. The qualification Saturday morning was held partly on Kristiansten Festning, which was also used for WOC 2010. I did a good race, with safe and controlled orienteering, and got a shared 1st place in my heat. Results and splits. - Kontrollert kvalifiseringsløp, orientering.no
The final in the afternoon was held partly in a new sprint area, with the finish at Solsiden in the city centre. I did a mainly good race, that was destroyed by two big mistakes.
In the beginning of the course I tried to get an overview and decide as many routes as possible. I was maybe too focused on the coming legs, because after the 2nd control I started to read the map on the leg to the 4th control, and didn't understand a thing when it was no opening in the house I wanted to pass through. I got confused when I stopped and looked around, and I also thought I had punched the wrong 3rd control, since mine should have been on a wall, and not a flowerbed. I was running back to the previous control, and than I understood that it was my 2nd control, and I had to continue to the 3rd control. This mistake cost me 20 sec.
It felt like I had lost 20 - 30 sec, and I hoped it was still possible to win the race, or at least get a good position, if I was running fast and error free the rest of the course. After the mistake I was running quite aggressive, and had a good flow from the 3rd to the 11th control.
The other mistake was to the 12th control, where I didn't see the wall closing the opening between the buildings. When I was not able to enter through the building I ran left, and lost 10 sec compared to the right route.
The rest of the race was OK. I took the best routes, but was quite tired after running fast in the middle part of the course, and lost a few seconds to the fastest runners.
My result is a shared 6th place, 16 seconds behind the winner Nicholas Oskarsson. It's good to see that it's severals Norwegian who is running well in sprint, and that I can't do big mistakes like today if I want to get a top position. Gøril Rønning Sund won the women's class. Results and splits. Oskarsson overrasket med NM-gull, orientering.no
Sunday the Norwegian Champs in Sprint Relay was arranged for the first time. I was running the 2nd leg for Wing, who unfortunately didn't have a good enough team to fight for a top position. My performance was not the best either, and I was both feeling very tired and did some mistakes. Halden won after a tight fight with Frol. Results. Fasting avgjorde NM-sprintstafett, orientering.no
Even if my performances was not as good as I had hoped it was a nice orienteering weekend in Trondheim, and I would like to thank all members in Wing for a well organized event. Live center with results and GPS tracking from all races. The organizer's picture gallery from the Sprint and the Sprint relay.
My preparations was unfortunately not the best, since I got sick when I came home from a WOC training camp in Italy one and half week ago. After feeling worse last weekend I went to the doctor and took different tests, and Monday I started with antibiotics. I got better pretty fast, and Wednesday I could start with easy training again, after one week without training.
I had to skip the Middle and Long selection race for World Cup witch was held on Wednesday and Thursday. But that didn't matter too much, since I anyway had planed to skip the World Cup on Kongsberg, because my focus will be on Sprint and Relay until WOC.
But now back to the Sprint Champs. The qualification Saturday morning was held partly on Kristiansten Festning, which was also used for WOC 2010. I did a good race, with safe and controlled orienteering, and got a shared 1st place in my heat. Results and splits. - Kontrollert kvalifiseringsløp, orientering.no
The final in the afternoon was held partly in a new sprint area, with the finish at Solsiden in the city centre. I did a mainly good race, that was destroyed by two big mistakes.
In the beginning of the course I tried to get an overview and decide as many routes as possible. I was maybe too focused on the coming legs, because after the 2nd control I started to read the map on the leg to the 4th control, and didn't understand a thing when it was no opening in the house I wanted to pass through. I got confused when I stopped and looked around, and I also thought I had punched the wrong 3rd control, since mine should have been on a wall, and not a flowerbed. I was running back to the previous control, and than I understood that it was my 2nd control, and I had to continue to the 3rd control. This mistake cost me 20 sec.
It felt like I had lost 20 - 30 sec, and I hoped it was still possible to win the race, or at least get a good position, if I was running fast and error free the rest of the course. After the mistake I was running quite aggressive, and had a good flow from the 3rd to the 11th control.
The other mistake was to the 12th control, where I didn't see the wall closing the opening between the buildings. When I was not able to enter through the building I ran left, and lost 10 sec compared to the right route.
The rest of the race was OK. I took the best routes, but was quite tired after running fast in the middle part of the course, and lost a few seconds to the fastest runners.
My result is a shared 6th place, 16 seconds behind the winner Nicholas Oskarsson. It's good to see that it's severals Norwegian who is running well in sprint, and that I can't do big mistakes like today if I want to get a top position. Gøril Rønning Sund won the women's class. Results and splits. Oskarsson overrasket med NM-gull, orientering.no
Sunday the Norwegian Champs in Sprint Relay was arranged for the first time. I was running the 2nd leg for Wing, who unfortunately didn't have a good enough team to fight for a top position. My performance was not the best either, and I was both feeling very tired and did some mistakes. Halden won after a tight fight with Frol. Results. Fasting avgjorde NM-sprintstafett, orientering.no
Even if my performances was not as good as I had hoped it was a nice orienteering weekend in Trondheim, and I would like to thank all members in Wing for a well organized event. Live center with results and GPS tracking from all races. The organizer's picture gallery from the Sprint and the Sprint relay.
Friday, May 9, 2014
2nd in 10mila with IFK Lidingö!
It has been a really good spirit in IFK Lidingö the whole winter, with a lot of runners being motivated, training well and pushing each other. After finishing 7th, 6th and 9th in 10mila the last years, we felt it was time to step up this year, and fight for the top positions. After shoving stable performances in the pre season relays with several team, and having many runners doing well in individual races, we felt it was a realistic goal.
This post is pretty long, and I will both give a short report about how all the guys in my team did, and a longer about my leg.
Niklas Serrander gave us a good start at the 1st leg, finishing 2 minutes behind, after having most of the long forkings. Julian Dent brought us the whole way up in the lead during the 2nd leg, having the fastest leg time.
Nick Simonin stayed in the leading group the whole unforked 3rd leg, that this year also was the first with night orienteering. We had hoped it should be possible to get rid of some of the top teams already on this leg, but in stead it tightened together, and Halden was the only favorite that was not in the leading group after this leg. After this leg Klaus Schgaguler changed over in 2nd position for our second team.
Anders Skarholt and Anders Carlsson did as expected stable races on the 4th and 5th leg, and could send out Filip Dahlgren among the first on the unforked Long Night. Also Jo Indgaard did a great 4th leg for our second team, and stayed in the leading group.
Filip is one of the best runners for a long night leg, and he was leading the group for the first half of the leg. But in the end he got stomach cramps, and had to fight hard to stay in the group.
Erik Ivarsson Sandberg did a great 7th leg, and after having the best leg time he could send me out as 2nd runner on the 8th leg, together with Thierry Gueorgiou (Kalevan Rasti) and only some seconds behind Jonas Leandersson (SNO).
My leg was 13 km long and the last with night orienteering. It was also several really good runners having this leg, so I had big respect for my task. But after running 5 night trainings the week before 10mila I felt quite confident.
It’s smart to watch at the GPS tracking or look at my map when you read my comments, to understand better what happened.
As mentioned I started together with Thierry, and he opened pretty offensive. I had the same 1st control as him, and followed him until he was running too much to the left before the 3rd control (where he had a different forking). I had fully control but came to a control 50 m before my control, and was a bit confused when the code was wrong. But after some seconds hesitation I saw my control a bit futher in the march.
To the 4th control it was very green, and I came too much to the left, but I realized it pretty fast and didn’t loos too much time. Now it was some longer and easier legs. On the way to the 5th control I meet Graham Gristwood (Mora), and on the road to the 6th control I could see a headlamp about 45 sec in front of me, that I guessed could be Jonas.
I picked the 6th and 7th control well (when Graham did a small mistake), and when I came out on the road towards the 8th control I was just behind Jonas, who had been running more to the right compared to me.
On the longer leg to the 10th control I thought left of the water was the best option, but Jonas was running straight (and I wondered if he planed to go right of the water). He could have an other forking, where right was best for him, and I decided to go on my own, even if he could have been a good company.
On the shorter legs from the 10th to the 14th control I tried to be very accurate. To the 13th control I came a bit to the left, and hesitated some seconds, and than Graham caught me again. After the 14th control it was very green, and I lost my headlamp. When I tried to get in back on my head also Jonas caught me.
I was running together with them most of the rest of the course, and we kept a good speed on the longer legs. To the 21st control I wanted to run right, and I was happy when the others followed me. On this leg we caught one minute on Thierry, who took the right route choice.
In the green to the 22nd control I got a stick in my eye, and lost a contact lens. It made it difficult to see the map sharp, and after some minutes I decided to also take out the other lens. I could now see the map clear, but it was more challenging to see since far in the terrain since it was still quite dark.
To the 28th control Jonas and Graham went straight over the hill, and I decided to use the path and go a bit more to the right. Here Jonas had the other forking, and got a 20 sec gap. Graham and I also missed the 30th control with 10 seconds, and I finished as 3rd runner, 30 sec behind Jonas. When I heard Thierry was only 2 min in front of me I got happy, because I know we then still ha a good chance to catch them, since we had very good runners on the last legs.
When I analyze my race afterward I'm satisfied. I lost some time to the 3rd and 4th control, but after that I did really well. I used other runners where it was smart, and did my own decisions where it was necessary. I was accurate in my night orienteering and my runnings speed on the longer legs was among the fastest, and I picked the best route choice every time.
Fredrik Johansson was running the 9th leg, the second longest and the first in daylight. He was able to catch Kalevan Rasti since Fabian Hertner missed in the beginning, and in the last part of the course Fredrik and Fabian managed go get several minutes of down to the following teams.
Mårten Boström started on the 10th and last leg together with Jan Prochazka (KR). Both are strong runners, and I looked forward to an exciting finish. They stayed together in the beginning of the leg, but Jan managed to get a small gap when it was forking, and Mårten did a mistake when he tried to catch up. Mårten had still one of the best times on his leg, and could finish as 2nd runners, less then 2 min behind Kalevan Rasti.
Just after the finish I could feel a little disappointed, because we were so close to win the relay, and then finished 2nd. But now I feel really satisfied and proud to be part of this team. All 10 runners did almost perfect legs, and we followed the plan we had made for the whole relay. Also our second team did well, and where in the lead for the first four leg. Also these runners are part of the great result, because they have been pushing us during the winter and made is necessary for everyone ot perform their very best to try to get a spot in the first team. Lidingö's women's teams did also great, and finished 7th, 17th and 44th. We have already started to look forward to Jukola, that are held in Finland in just one month.
Results and GPS tracking from 10mila.
This post is pretty long, and I will both give a short report about how all the guys in my team did, and a longer about my leg.
Niklas Serrander gave us a good start at the 1st leg, finishing 2 minutes behind, after having most of the long forkings. Julian Dent brought us the whole way up in the lead during the 2nd leg, having the fastest leg time.
Nick Simonin stayed in the leading group the whole unforked 3rd leg, that this year also was the first with night orienteering. We had hoped it should be possible to get rid of some of the top teams already on this leg, but in stead it tightened together, and Halden was the only favorite that was not in the leading group after this leg. After this leg Klaus Schgaguler changed over in 2nd position for our second team.
Anders Skarholt and Anders Carlsson did as expected stable races on the 4th and 5th leg, and could send out Filip Dahlgren among the first on the unforked Long Night. Also Jo Indgaard did a great 4th leg for our second team, and stayed in the leading group.
Filip is one of the best runners for a long night leg, and he was leading the group for the first half of the leg. But in the end he got stomach cramps, and had to fight hard to stay in the group.
Erik Ivarsson Sandberg did a great 7th leg, and after having the best leg time he could send me out as 2nd runner on the 8th leg, together with Thierry Gueorgiou (Kalevan Rasti) and only some seconds behind Jonas Leandersson (SNO).
My leg was 13 km long and the last with night orienteering. It was also several really good runners having this leg, so I had big respect for my task. But after running 5 night trainings the week before 10mila I felt quite confident.
It’s smart to watch at the GPS tracking or look at my map when you read my comments, to understand better what happened.
As mentioned I started together with Thierry, and he opened pretty offensive. I had the same 1st control as him, and followed him until he was running too much to the left before the 3rd control (where he had a different forking). I had fully control but came to a control 50 m before my control, and was a bit confused when the code was wrong. But after some seconds hesitation I saw my control a bit futher in the march.
To the 4th control it was very green, and I came too much to the left, but I realized it pretty fast and didn’t loos too much time. Now it was some longer and easier legs. On the way to the 5th control I meet Graham Gristwood (Mora), and on the road to the 6th control I could see a headlamp about 45 sec in front of me, that I guessed could be Jonas.
I picked the 6th and 7th control well (when Graham did a small mistake), and when I came out on the road towards the 8th control I was just behind Jonas, who had been running more to the right compared to me.
On the longer leg to the 10th control I thought left of the water was the best option, but Jonas was running straight (and I wondered if he planed to go right of the water). He could have an other forking, where right was best for him, and I decided to go on my own, even if he could have been a good company.
On the shorter legs from the 10th to the 14th control I tried to be very accurate. To the 13th control I came a bit to the left, and hesitated some seconds, and than Graham caught me again. After the 14th control it was very green, and I lost my headlamp. When I tried to get in back on my head also Jonas caught me.
I was running together with them most of the rest of the course, and we kept a good speed on the longer legs. To the 21st control I wanted to run right, and I was happy when the others followed me. On this leg we caught one minute on Thierry, who took the right route choice.
In the green to the 22nd control I got a stick in my eye, and lost a contact lens. It made it difficult to see the map sharp, and after some minutes I decided to also take out the other lens. I could now see the map clear, but it was more challenging to see since far in the terrain since it was still quite dark.
To the 28th control Jonas and Graham went straight over the hill, and I decided to use the path and go a bit more to the right. Here Jonas had the other forking, and got a 20 sec gap. Graham and I also missed the 30th control with 10 seconds, and I finished as 3rd runner, 30 sec behind Jonas. When I heard Thierry was only 2 min in front of me I got happy, because I know we then still ha a good chance to catch them, since we had very good runners on the last legs.
When I analyze my race afterward I'm satisfied. I lost some time to the 3rd and 4th control, but after that I did really well. I used other runners where it was smart, and did my own decisions where it was necessary. I was accurate in my night orienteering and my runnings speed on the longer legs was among the fastest, and I picked the best route choice every time.
Fredrik Johansson was running the 9th leg, the second longest and the first in daylight. He was able to catch Kalevan Rasti since Fabian Hertner missed in the beginning, and in the last part of the course Fredrik and Fabian managed go get several minutes of down to the following teams.
Mårten Boström started on the 10th and last leg together with Jan Prochazka (KR). Both are strong runners, and I looked forward to an exciting finish. They stayed together in the beginning of the leg, but Jan managed to get a small gap when it was forking, and Mårten did a mistake when he tried to catch up. Mårten had still one of the best times on his leg, and could finish as 2nd runners, less then 2 min behind Kalevan Rasti.
Just after the finish I could feel a little disappointed, because we were so close to win the relay, and then finished 2nd. But now I feel really satisfied and proud to be part of this team. All 10 runners did almost perfect legs, and we followed the plan we had made for the whole relay. Also our second team did well, and where in the lead for the first four leg. Also these runners are part of the great result, because they have been pushing us during the winter and made is necessary for everyone ot perform their very best to try to get a spot in the first team. Lidingö's women's teams did also great, and finished 7th, 17th and 44th. We have already started to look forward to Jukola, that are held in Finland in just one month.
Results and GPS tracking from 10mila.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Danish Spring and WC/EOC selection
The Norwegian selection races for the World Cup in Spain and the European Championship in Portugal was includes in the event Danish Spring held two weeks ago. Good runners from several Nations was competing, and it was a great start of the season home in Scandinavia.
The weekend started with a Sprint in Helsingør on Friday. I did a stable performance, without any real mistakes, but did not have the best flow and it was partly very slippery because of the rain. I was therefore happy to win the race:-)
In Saturday's Middle distance I did mainly an OK race, except that I lost 20 - 30 sec to both the 6th, 12th and 21st control. Thats of course too much to get a good result in a middle distance, and I ended up 15th, 2 min behind Rassmus Andersson.
The weekend was ended with Sunday's Long distance. I did overall a pretty good race, even if I lost a bit more then 1 min to both the 5th and 23rd control, where I didn't have a good enough direction, but also had problems to understand the map. Fallen trees from last winters storm made it difficult to run the optimal route som places. I was happy to finish 4th, as 2nd best Norwegian, 3 min behind Fredric Portin and 2 min behind Olav Lundanes.
After Danish Spring I was selected to run both the WC in Spain and EOC in Portugal. I will get a quite tough program, since I'm selected to run both the Long and Middle in Spain, and Sprint, Middle and Relay in Portugal. It's cool that it's many debutant's in the Norwegian team.
The last ten days I have. been on Lidingö, where I have decreased my winter training a bit to be in better shape for WC and EOC. Last weekend I participated in Måsenstafetten, that went pretty well for most Lidingö runners, and gave us a good feedback before 10mila in one month. At the moment I'm on the plane to Alicante, and are looking forward to two intensive weeks in Spain and Portugal. The WC in Spain can be followed live with TV and GPS tracking on Saturday and Sunday.
PS: Orientering.no has made an interview with me about mental preparations (in Norwegian).
The weekend started with a Sprint in Helsingør on Friday. I did a stable performance, without any real mistakes, but did not have the best flow and it was partly very slippery because of the rain. I was therefore happy to win the race:-)
In Saturday's Middle distance I did mainly an OK race, except that I lost 20 - 30 sec to both the 6th, 12th and 21st control. Thats of course too much to get a good result in a middle distance, and I ended up 15th, 2 min behind Rassmus Andersson.
The weekend was ended with Sunday's Long distance. I did overall a pretty good race, even if I lost a bit more then 1 min to both the 5th and 23rd control, where I didn't have a good enough direction, but also had problems to understand the map. Fallen trees from last winters storm made it difficult to run the optimal route som places. I was happy to finish 4th, as 2nd best Norwegian, 3 min behind Fredric Portin and 2 min behind Olav Lundanes.
After Danish Spring I was selected to run both the WC in Spain and EOC in Portugal. I will get a quite tough program, since I'm selected to run both the Long and Middle in Spain, and Sprint, Middle and Relay in Portugal. It's cool that it's many debutant's in the Norwegian team.
The last ten days I have. been on Lidingö, where I have decreased my winter training a bit to be in better shape for WC and EOC. Last weekend I participated in Måsenstafetten, that went pretty well for most Lidingö runners, and gave us a good feedback before 10mila in one month. At the moment I'm on the plane to Alicante, and are looking forward to two intensive weeks in Spain and Portugal. The WC in Spain can be followed live with TV and GPS tracking on Saturday and Sunday.
PS: Orientering.no has made an interview with me about mental preparations (in Norwegian).
Monday, March 3, 2014
World Cup #1 in Turkey and mixed sprint relay
Right now Øystein is in the wellness centre on the hotel enjoying a Turkish bath and massage. He forgot to lock his computer, and as his room mate I decided to write an article on his blog, since it has been some time since last update. The first World Cup round in Turkey is over and Ida, Øystein and Bjørn will stay here until Thursday before we go to Slovenia and meet the rest of the National team for a six day long training camp. We have some days of easy training here in Turkey after the World Cup, enjoying the sun and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea.
We were supposed to be four runners from Norway, but Silje got sick and couldn’t run the competitions. We came to Antalya on Wednesday night and Thursday we used to prepare for the stony and low visible terrain by visiting the Model event and Antalya O-Days stage 1. With two good trainings we felt prepared for the first World Cup race of 2014. Here is a short summary of the competitions.
Middle qualification
It was a tight race in the short Middle distance and unfortunately Øystein didn’t manage to qualify because of too many small mistakes. Anyway, only the thirty best got to the A-final and there were still some World Cup points to fight for in the B-final. Ida and Bjørn qualified for the A-final with stable performances.
Middle final
The finals were dominated by the Swedes and the Swiss which seems to be in good shape. Ida was best of the Norwegians with an 8th place among very strong runners and Bjørn got a 21st place. Øystein ran through the B-final with following days sprint in his mind.
Mixed sprint relay
Since mixed sprint relay is in the WOC programme for the next years we want to use every opportunity to train for it. Even though people have different opinions about this relay format, it is taken seriously by all the athletes and we have ambitions to fight for medals at WOC. We had to replace Silje, and Anette Baklid fulfilled the team in the last minute. Everybody ran as expected and finally, after some disqualifications we placed 9th. Especially Øystein ran very fast and caught several teams and had second best time on the second leg.
Now we have some weeks of good training to prepare for EOC in Portugal. Danish Spring 21st - 23rd of March is selection races for EOC and WC in Spain. In other words, the next weeks will be important.
News on World of O from Middle Qual, Middle Final (route choice analyze) ans Sprint relay and Live centre with link to results and GPS tracking.
We were supposed to be four runners from Norway, but Silje got sick and couldn’t run the competitions. We came to Antalya on Wednesday night and Thursday we used to prepare for the stony and low visible terrain by visiting the Model event and Antalya O-Days stage 1. With two good trainings we felt prepared for the first World Cup race of 2014. Here is a short summary of the competitions.
Middle qualification
It was a tight race in the short Middle distance and unfortunately Øystein didn’t manage to qualify because of too many small mistakes. Anyway, only the thirty best got to the A-final and there were still some World Cup points to fight for in the B-final. Ida and Bjørn qualified for the A-final with stable performances.
Middle final
The finals were dominated by the Swedes and the Swiss which seems to be in good shape. Ida was best of the Norwegians with an 8th place among very strong runners and Bjørn got a 21st place. Øystein ran through the B-final with following days sprint in his mind.
Mixed sprint relay
Since mixed sprint relay is in the WOC programme for the next years we want to use every opportunity to train for it. Even though people have different opinions about this relay format, it is taken seriously by all the athletes and we have ambitions to fight for medals at WOC. We had to replace Silje, and Anette Baklid fulfilled the team in the last minute. Everybody ran as expected and finally, after some disqualifications we placed 9th. Especially Øystein ran very fast and caught several teams and had second best time on the second leg.
Now we have some weeks of good training to prepare for EOC in Portugal. Danish Spring 21st - 23rd of March is selection races for EOC and WC in Spain. In other words, the next weeks will be important.
News on World of O from Middle Qual, Middle Final (route choice analyze) ans Sprint relay and Live centre with link to results and GPS tracking.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Summary of last autumn
I have not updated my blog since last autumn, and I will now try to make a short summary of what I have been doing the last months. In September and October I was so busy racing, training and travelling, that I did not take the time to make updates, and since November I have stayed mostly home, and had to focus on daily routines like training and work.
WOC 2014 training camp with the Norwegian team in Asiago in Italy
September started with a WOC 2014 training camp with the Norwegian National team in Asiago in Italy, which I have already wrote a report about.
Norwegian Champs in Kongsberg
The following weekend the Norwegian Champs was arranged in Kongsberg, in the neighbor terrain to where the World Cup races will be held in the beginning of June. The Long distance went pretty well, and I finished 6th. On the Middle I came 16th. On the relay I did a good last leg for Wing OK, and after having the 4th best time on the last leg we could finish as 11th team.
Races in Alta Badia and WOC training in Asiago in Italy
The third weekend in September I went back to Italy for five days together with a few runners from Halden SK and some other Norwegians. During the weekend I was running two really nice races in Alta Badia, and I finished 2nd in both the Sprint (with mass start) and WRE Long distance. Monday to Wednesday I got some good trainings in Venice and Asiago, before I went home for Lidingöloppet.
Arranging and running Lidingöloppet home on Lidingö in Stockholm
Lidingöloppet is the worlds largest cross country race, with more then 40.000 participants. It's the main income for my club IFK Lidingö SOK, and I was helping with the organizing every day. On Friday I was also running the first leg for the winning team in the relay Lidingöstafetten.
World Cup final in Baden in Switzerland
In the beginning of October the World Cup final was arranged in Baden in Switzerland. Friday it was an unofficial Sprint relay, and I was running the 3rd leg for the Norwegian first team. We where fighting in the lead the whole relay, and finished 2nd, after the Danish team. Neither in Saturdays Middle nor in Sundays Sprint I did my best, but managed still to to finish 13th overall in the World Cup, as the best Norwegian male.
WOC training camp with IFK Lidingö in Asiago in Italy
After the WC final I travelled directly to Asiago, where I joined the last 3 days of IFK Lidingö's WOC training camp. It was my third time in the Asiago area this autumn, and I started to feel familiar with the terrain for the WOC 2014.
25manna relay in Stockholm
In the middle of October 25 manna was arranged in Stockholm. I was running the first leg for IFK Lidingö, and it went fine until I did a huge mistake in the end. The rest of the team was running pretty well, and we finished in 6th position for the third year in row.
Park World Tour in China
In the last half of October I spent one and a half week in China, and I have already wrote a report from the Park World Tour.
Smålandskavlen relay in Oskarshamn
My season was ended with Smålandskavlen the last weekend in October. It went really well for the the whole team, and IFK Lidingö managed to win the relay after a trilling finish.
The start of the new training period
After Smålandskavlen I took it easier, and so far this winter I have stayed mostly home and had focus on daily routines like training and work. In September I moved to a big house on Lidingö together with four other orienteering runners, and after a very busy period in September and October it has been great to spend more time together with them both for training and social activities.
During November I increased my training, and since December I have been training very well. It has not been much snow in Stockholm so far this winter, and until Christmas it was excellent conditions for orienteering training. During Christmas I had planed to do more skiing in Trondheim, but also there it was snow free in the city, even if it was skiing conditions in the higher parts of Bymarka. The Christmas was therefore a great mix of running, skiing, strength training and social activities..
Even if I so far this winter have been more home than normal, I have been on some training camps and races. In November I was selected in Norwegian Elite training group, and so far I have been on two different training camps, one in Moss in Norway in December and one in Silkeborg in Denmark in January. In January I have also been competing in ski-orienteering two weekends. In the Norwegian Relay Champs I won a silver medal with Wing OK, and I also got the opportunity to competed in the World Cup on Gåsbu (since Norway had some extra places on home ground). I will maybe write some words and publish maps from this activities if I get time.
WOC 2014 training camp with the Norwegian team in Asiago in Italy
September started with a WOC 2014 training camp with the Norwegian National team in Asiago in Italy, which I have already wrote a report about.
Norwegian Champs in Kongsberg
The following weekend the Norwegian Champs was arranged in Kongsberg, in the neighbor terrain to where the World Cup races will be held in the beginning of June. The Long distance went pretty well, and I finished 6th. On the Middle I came 16th. On the relay I did a good last leg for Wing OK, and after having the 4th best time on the last leg we could finish as 11th team.
Races in Alta Badia and WOC training in Asiago in Italy
The third weekend in September I went back to Italy for five days together with a few runners from Halden SK and some other Norwegians. During the weekend I was running two really nice races in Alta Badia, and I finished 2nd in both the Sprint (with mass start) and WRE Long distance. Monday to Wednesday I got some good trainings in Venice and Asiago, before I went home for Lidingöloppet.
Arranging and running Lidingöloppet home on Lidingö in Stockholm
Lidingöloppet is the worlds largest cross country race, with more then 40.000 participants. It's the main income for my club IFK Lidingö SOK, and I was helping with the organizing every day. On Friday I was also running the first leg for the winning team in the relay Lidingöstafetten.
World Cup final in Baden in Switzerland
In the beginning of October the World Cup final was arranged in Baden in Switzerland. Friday it was an unofficial Sprint relay, and I was running the 3rd leg for the Norwegian first team. We where fighting in the lead the whole relay, and finished 2nd, after the Danish team. Neither in Saturdays Middle nor in Sundays Sprint I did my best, but managed still to to finish 13th overall in the World Cup, as the best Norwegian male.
WOC training camp with IFK Lidingö in Asiago in Italy
After the WC final I travelled directly to Asiago, where I joined the last 3 days of IFK Lidingö's WOC training camp. It was my third time in the Asiago area this autumn, and I started to feel familiar with the terrain for the WOC 2014.
25manna relay in Stockholm
In the middle of October 25 manna was arranged in Stockholm. I was running the first leg for IFK Lidingö, and it went fine until I did a huge mistake in the end. The rest of the team was running pretty well, and we finished in 6th position for the third year in row.
Park World Tour in China
In the last half of October I spent one and a half week in China, and I have already wrote a report from the Park World Tour.
Smålandskavlen relay in Oskarshamn
My season was ended with Smålandskavlen the last weekend in October. It went really well for the the whole team, and IFK Lidingö managed to win the relay after a trilling finish.
The start of the new training period
After Smålandskavlen I took it easier, and so far this winter I have stayed mostly home and had focus on daily routines like training and work. In September I moved to a big house on Lidingö together with four other orienteering runners, and after a very busy period in September and October it has been great to spend more time together with them both for training and social activities.
During November I increased my training, and since December I have been training very well. It has not been much snow in Stockholm so far this winter, and until Christmas it was excellent conditions for orienteering training. During Christmas I had planed to do more skiing in Trondheim, but also there it was snow free in the city, even if it was skiing conditions in the higher parts of Bymarka. The Christmas was therefore a great mix of running, skiing, strength training and social activities..
Even if I so far this winter have been more home than normal, I have been on some training camps and races. In November I was selected in Norwegian Elite training group, and so far I have been on two different training camps, one in Moss in Norway in December and one in Silkeborg in Denmark in January. In January I have also been competing in ski-orienteering two weekends. In the Norwegian Relay Champs I won a silver medal with Wing OK, and I also got the opportunity to competed in the World Cup on Gåsbu (since Norway had some extra places on home ground). I will maybe write some words and publish maps from this activities if I get time.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Bergen Sprint Camp
Last weekend I participated in Bergen Sprint Camp together with more than 200 other orienteering runners from 14 different nations. In total it was arranged 5 quality trainings in 3 days, where 4 of them counted as an overall competition. The weather in Bergen was perfect, with several plus degrees and no snow, and Varegg had planed challenging courses on good maps for all the trainings/races.
I have focused on physical training (and forest orienteering) so far this winter, so this weekend was a perfect start on a period with more focus on sprint orienteering. On the Friday Night sprint I had problems getting a good flow, and did also some bad route choices.
The Saturday morning City sprint went better, and on Saturday evening Loops it went well (except the first leg on loop E).
Sunday BSC was ended with a Final, where the top 6 overall runners started together, and the first to finish was the winner. I had the same order in the butterfly as Murray Strain and Mårten Boström, but we took different route choices on several legs. On the long leg to the 10th I and Mårten took left and Murray right, but it was very equal, and I punched the control just in front of the two others. (None of us took the optimal route, as you can see in Jan Kocbach's analyze, where F or D seems to be the fastest.) On the last long leg I took the left route, and when Murray and Morten followed me I tried to keep a stable high speed up the hill, and managed to keep the lead until the finish. Galina Vinogradova won the women's class.
After the Final I also climbed the famous Stoltzekleiven for my first time. Stoltzen is one of the World's steepest uphill races and has more then 300 m climb in less than 1 km.
You can see all maps from BSC in my DOMA, and Jan Kocbach has made a new great app called SPAS (SPlits Analysis System) were you can analyze the route choices of more then 100 runners on each stage. The organizers page with results, maps, route choice analyzes and pictures are well worth a visit. Bergen Sprint Camp was again very well organized, and is one of the best opportunities to train sprint orienteering on quality maps and courses.
I have focused on physical training (and forest orienteering) so far this winter, so this weekend was a perfect start on a period with more focus on sprint orienteering. On the Friday Night sprint I had problems getting a good flow, and did also some bad route choices.
The Saturday morning City sprint went better, and on Saturday evening Loops it went well (except the first leg on loop E).
Sunday BSC was ended with a Final, where the top 6 overall runners started together, and the first to finish was the winner. I had the same order in the butterfly as Murray Strain and Mårten Boström, but we took different route choices on several legs. On the long leg to the 10th I and Mårten took left and Murray right, but it was very equal, and I punched the control just in front of the two others. (None of us took the optimal route, as you can see in Jan Kocbach's analyze, where F or D seems to be the fastest.) On the last long leg I took the left route, and when Murray and Morten followed me I tried to keep a stable high speed up the hill, and managed to keep the lead until the finish. Galina Vinogradova won the women's class.
After the Final I also climbed the famous Stoltzekleiven for my first time. Stoltzen is one of the World's steepest uphill races and has more then 300 m climb in less than 1 km.
You can see all maps from BSC in my DOMA, and Jan Kocbach has made a new great app called SPAS (SPlits Analysis System) were you can analyze the route choices of more then 100 runners on each stage. The organizers page with results, maps, route choice analyzes and pictures are well worth a visit. Bergen Sprint Camp was again very well organized, and is one of the best opportunities to train sprint orienteering on quality maps and courses.
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