World Orienteering Championships 2012, Lausanne

Following WUOC, I travelled to Switzerland to compete in my first-ever World Orienteering Championships, in Lausanne.  After four years of competing at JWOC it was interesting to see the height of the difference and the races get even tighter.  I raced the sprint distance qualification race at the Lausanne University.  Navigationally I think I made the best route choices and I ran my hardest.  Finding that I was first started added to the nerves the night before but once I got warmed up it didn’t faze me, I just confidently ran my own race.  That is the luck of the draw in sport. With three starting at once in the heats there were still stages on the roads were there were others to chase down if any extra motivation was needed.  Unfortunately the course was not as technical as we had expected so most runners found it navigationally problem-free. Despite a perfect run by the time everyone had finished my time had slipped down to 21^st with the top 15 qualifying.  Lizzie, Greta. Ross and Tim did make it in to the final for NZ.

The sprint final was tricky with several route choices where it paid to stop and plan a route- Simone did. The crowds were huge. I ran this course on Thursday and enjoyed it in an easy 20mins with extra traffic to dodge. It would have been super to race if in top condition.  Lizzie achieved a PB of 9^th.  The rest of the Championships and the Swiss 5 day event for public runners was organised on the forests.  Generally the forests here were lush green, with dense undergrowth on broad hill sides with tricky track networks.  The terrain is deceptively simple.  It is important to maintain focus and take the right track intersections and cut the corners where suitable.  The road to the World Orienteering Championships this year has been challenging with injury so I was glad to be able to compete.  The experiences this year and at WOC have taught me so much that will be very helpful in future races.

World University Orienteering Championships 2012, Spain

Representing New Zealand at the World University Orienteering Championships, Alicante, Spain.  2 - 7 July 2012.   

Angela Simpson

The World University Orienteering Championships are held every two years for current students under 28 years of age.  This year the Championships were held in Alicante with athletes representing 30 countries.  I was in the team of 12 from New Zealand.  WUOC provides a perfect stepping stone event for many athletes from JWOC to WOC with previous WUOC winners including legends Minna Kaupi and Simone Niggli-Ludder.

Spain provided an outstanding event with challenges, atmosphere and learning opportunities which I will never forget. 

The sprint distance race was held in the older part of the city of Alicante.  Before the starts we were quarantined (a usual practise at elite events) inside the Santa Barbara castle, from the 9^th century which looks out over the Mediterranean Sea.  This was a very special place to warm up and jog around.  I felt confident and prepared for my race.  The actual start was 200m outside the castle buildings and headed straight into the complex network of alleyways between the old apartments of the town.  I made careful route choices for the short legs at the start of the course trying to avoid extra stairs and too many corners which would be slower.  This course was well set with a loop through the larger building blocks where distance judgement was critical before heading back up the slope via tiring stairs with intricate corners.  It was sometimes hard to see the best route clearly and slowing down to check your decision definitely was worthwhile.  The 2.2 km course finished with a final loop through the flatter part of town and a final control in a water fountain in the main square.  The finish chute was a tough short sprint down the famous palm tree lined esplanade.  This is certainly one of the toughest sprint races I have ever done.  It was an experience of running at full speed and trying to read the way between narrow alleys while being challenged by endless sets of stairs.  I finished this race in 20.41 earning 18^th position less than three minutes behind the winner Iveta Duchova from Chzech Republic.  I was happy to remain fully focused on my own race, but I also know there were a few places I could have improved by saving some distance.  

The middle distance and relay events were both held near Santa Pola, about 40min south of Alicante city.  The terrain consisted of short pine trees on vague flat hills and steep gullies with detailed rocky cliffs.  We were fortunate to train on a map adjacent to this area prior to the event which made me feel much more comfortable with the unusual terrain.  Strong compass bearings and fast running dodging the spiky trees, followed by careful navigation near the control was the best tactic we found.  I learnt that patience is an art that must be mastered in orienteering which enables you to use your speed where it is most beneficial.  I made a mistake in this course by running to fast and onto a hill feature parallel to the one I wanted.  Errors like this are not uncommon in orienteering as it occurred, just after a really good section of my race where I had the 2^nd fastest split leg.  I became too confident and wanted too much to get away from the fellow runners I had caught.  This is another mental lesson in racing orienteering; to get the balance between caution and confidence.  In New Zealand races, with fewer competitors such levels of pressure are not as common and so this is often a challenge when we compete in the big races in Europe.  This year we Kiwi’s have made a pact to pressure each other more in local events in order to practise these skills further.  I placed 53^rd in the middle distance race, which was won by Lilian Forsgren from Sweden. 

The relay race was very exciting.  Kate Morrison came in just behind the lead group on the first leg and I ran second leg.  I had a clean run and was confident on my compass bearings without letting any distractions from other runners put me off.  I finished in 45 minutes and handed over to Greta Knarston who finished off our race for a respectable 9^th nation.  Sweden won the relay and Spain was excited to claim third position.

Aside from the competitions, this trip provided an excellent opportunity to share ideas with similarly motivated athletes from other nations.  We all stayed together and there was great happiness between everyone which was brought together on the final banquet evening.  It is relaxing and motivating to keep in contact with others who are going through similar efforts as you to balance study life with training for orienteering.  In keeping with my study area of plant biology, it was amazing to see a giant 100 year old cactus near the finish of the relay event and massive fig trees growing in the city parks of Alicante.  The summer weather in Spain was delight for a few days as we rejoiced from the New Zealand winter but the heat was tough to run in.  It was lucky we had allowed time before the events to adjust a little.  We were also able to learn about the relaxed, friendly culture in Spain.  Being there while everyone was so excited for Spain to be winning the EuroCup in football was unique.

Thank you very much to U Leisure for assisting with my competition in this year’s World University Orienteering Championships.  I loved the experience.

Model event near the sea

Monday 2 July
The official model event was organised for today at Caravasi.  I decided that this wasn't going to be so relevant and very hot in midday.  It was coastal dunes (similar area to JWOC 2002) with some steep slopes and terraces.  I went for a run around the university campus in the cool morning air at 7.30am and it was still super hot and sweaty.  The university campus is large with a quiet road around the outside and a few gravel tracks at the far end.  I ran for 30min, including 7 x2min intervals.  It was great to push myself running again, as technical training can be slow due to vegetation.  I know feel confident I have time to recover going into the castle on Tuesday.
The model event was fun for everyone though, I ran 24min around most of the course (missing 4-7).  The terraces in the final section were most interesting and fast forest.  Everyone cooled off in the ocean before returning for lunch- paella and pasta with lettuce salad and bread.  Then siesta was relaxing with most of us sleeping a hour- what else can you do in this heat (-;

In the evening we walked to town 15min for the opening ceremony.  The usual gathering of teams and photographs was followed by a parade onto the stage in a small round stadium.  First time NZ representative, Imogene, was our gracious flag bearer.  The speeches of official were followed by a dramatic dance performance of demons vs beauty, and included destroyed teddy bears, fire throwing/art, a girl dancing in a ring held up above the concrete stage by a crane, a fabric rope dancer held by a crane, a stilt walking monster and a huge monster/transformer on wheels.  It was unusual but skillful.

Model race

Sunday 1 July
After some effort, (thanks managers) we were able to run the regional champs race at Santa Pola map today.  I had seen this advertised and thought it would be perfect training as it is the lower half of the area we suspect the relay will be run on.  So it was perfect, the Swiss team helped and we got a few buses together to take most teams to the event.  Starting at 10.30am was roasting but we toughed it up faced the mental challenge and made the most of the training chance.  I found it very beneficial to be in a racing setting with true controls (very bright orange against the dry dirt) and other people to ignore.  The gullies were steep and rocky but not impassible as long as you keep going.  My fear of them is overcome.  The broad hills have scattered trees but we found it better not to try and read the green patches as they were ok to run around just set a strong bearing and go- check it often to make sure the trees dont push you off and use aiming off techniques.  The gullies can be rocky to run in so some found it better to run on the spurs then sidle in early for the control. Once we got going the organisers at this event were good, with camera start and finish, and plenty of 1.5l water bottles for finishers.  This 6.2km course was 54min for me at steady pace and I was happy, able to maintain focus and forget about the heat.

Spent the afternoon resting in the hostel and went to the local mall for some shopping.

Training in Alicante

30 June
Collected another car today and the whole team came out to El Molar, the other side of the road from our training on Thursday.  Similar middle distance terrain, I am feeling very used to it now, not just suprised and overwhelmed by the Mars-like terrain.  Simon set a control picking and route choice exercise through the patchy green vegetation.  Today was good compass bearing practise.  There were many new tracks so it made for confidence practise in trusting yourself and using contours.

To this map we drive past Santa Pola and the middle and relay areas as well as through the middle of a huge estuary which is now used for making salt.  It was a suprise to see flamingos feeding in the ponds (-:

Moved to the official accomodation after lunch.  We are in a big blue hostel building out of the university campus.  Half the teams are here including Swiss,and other half are at Villa Universitariet, where the organisers are about 15min walk in the sweaty sun away. 

Food is provided here so we are sorted, but dreaded the 10min walk in hot sun the first few times, trying to step between shade of the palms
(-:

Alicante

Wednesday 27th June

Immy and I got up early to meet Alberto for a final training in El Escorial.  Thankfully he offered to drive with us halfway up the mountainside to the map as it was enough climb to run halfway and running all the way to the startpoint would have been enough training by itself.  So I got to drive thorugh San Lorenzo for the first time and see the massive monastery that is famous there.  Solid rock bricks about 5 stories high with round stones along the streets.  A pretty watered garden out the back with pruned hedges and flowers looked refreshing.

The forest tracks were amazing for running with one going around the hill face perfect for interval trainings (just what they need on Pirongia).  Compass and simplification were important on the El Escorial Norte map for keeping the right height, and choosing the right rock pile while not falling over on the rough ground.  The green stripe was fine to run through, thankfully not prickly today, but some head high sticky shrubs developed on the lower part of the map reducing visibility and making for good confidence training.  On the second downhill course here I had to cross through a paddock and over a rock wall passing past a big cow with horns and a bell.  Scary, it was a matter of "if I dont look at her, she wont notice me", right (-: The course was largely successful, cliffs here are huge similar to Australia.  I got put off a bit on leg 1-2 where tracks were vague.   

Final training in El Escorial

El Escorial map

 After training we tidied up and Silvia delivered us to the train station, where we took a 3hr train ride to Alicante.  Scattered stunted pines on broad spurs and steeper dry gullies filled with broadleaves were the scenery from El Escorial to Madrid.  It looks perfect for running, despite the heat.  We were glad to be in the clean and airconditioned train for the afternoon.  We changed trains at Madrid Atocha station amid masses of people and a long queue for tickets.  We had hoped to meet other team mates here before leaving but they just missed it and got the train 2hrs later.  From Madrid the train quickly left the towering apartments of the city and headed straight (literally no bends on this track) for the Mediterranean coastline.  The citys seems reasonably compact with apartment lifestyle the norm.  On the other side of Madrid were plenty more crop fields growing wheat, grapes and some other leafy stout tree on red dusty dirt and patches of white soil (unsure what that was- salt or fertiliser?could also see it flying in on the plane).  In the countryside houses were scarce despite the cropfields and those that there were looked very typically Spanish with orange/white walls.  It was cool that there were also patches of forest remaining, mostly open and runnable.  It must take forever for the trees to grow in this climate. Xylem water tension limitation to height growth- Mike? (-:  Even with all this vast crop land it was suprising to us to come through towns built with apartment housing.  They dont seem to spread out as much as NZer's.  Each small town also has a cool castle on its nearest hilltop.


As more hills developed in the distance, we sensed Alicante nearing and palm and banana trees popped up.  We must be in the tropics (-:  But it was still dry and hot, next to no rain last winter has made it extra tough.

Alicante is a bustling city, I was amazed by the giant fig trees outside the train station.  Our hostel was in the old part of town, a huge apartment room for five of us.  Out for dinner in the streets. Local tapas-tried 8 between us so lots of variety- special spicy sausage, crushed dried capsicum, garlic mix, sardines with potatoes- potato crisps, beef stew-the best deal, vege mix. Then off to find churros!  Wow so full after that, crunchy doughnut sticks and a cup of melted choc to go with it! 

It was also the night of the Semifianl of Euro cup, Spain vs Portugal so the city came alive.  The streets were packed with fans of all ages, and every bar had a screen on the street.  We wandered between a few then choose to move to the one without such a screen delay.  A close game with no scoring so it went to penalty shooting, both teams scored two then Spain scored an extra and won.  Happy Spaniards (-:

So to celebrate, everyone went down to the beach to watch fireworks, The festival of Fire in Alicante is holding fireworks on the beach for five nights in a row.  Cricky it was crazy, for 20mins plus, boom boom bang, colourful fireworks over the ocean.  Then at the end there were some scary strings of crackers very closeby along the streets!  Spain knows how to party.

Gene and the Aussie team are also in this hostel so it was cool to catch up.

Thursday 28 June

Got up early to go and find some training.  Nothing much is organised so we found our way to the Uni, decipered Spanish to get maps and drove to El Molar which is past Santa Pola near El Marina town.  It was cool to drive back through the actual middle and relay area too.  So we had lunch under "shade" of tree/ aircon of car trying too cool down in midday 30plus degrees as we put off going training. Going on these maps we had been studying for so long made the running was so fun.  It feels real now, and we are able to handle it.  We know what it is like, small scattered trees, ignore the green blotch mapping too hard too read and unnecessary detail to me.  Cliffs are much smaller than in Madrid only 0.5m here.  Well mapped area and fast running despite looking green.     

El Molar training

Stopped at the beach for a swim on the way home, super salty and flat sea, and still warm from the sun but refreshing.  (-:  Paella for dinner this evening, tasty Spanish meal.

Friday 29 June

    

Leaving accom at 6am to get out to training map for long distance terrain (San Pascual Ibi) before heat of the day and to get beck in time for hostel breakfast.  Aircon in room  now which is much appreciated and makes for better sleep but traded for lesser space, but its only one night or so.  Lack of good directions from the event so we tried to find it on google then headed off, but there was confusion in the control circle and we drove round the villages for 45min plus including to the end of a road which we decided was wrong when it turned into gravel.  Looking for a road with a curve here, three hills a plateau and orchards on the flats is not enough description obviously (-:  A call to the camp organiser saved our day and breakfast, we rolled up to the map perfectly.  50mins training was all we had time for and I actually think this was good as we were not tempted to run for longer which would just tire us- quality is more important than quantity.  We got a good feeling for the terrain in this session.  Banks are climbable 50cm and useful to run along the tops as they are smoother than the rocky ground elsewhere.  Green is fine to go through just low vis, and watch your head, my hat was good at blocking trees.  Black circles are huge 5m diam rock water tanks.  Pits are not very big and caves are spooky.

Thanks to some skilled driving we made it back in time to eat all the breakfast food the hostel had on offer.  Then rest the rest of the day while the others in the team arrived. We all moved down the road to a larger hostel then reunited and had lunch together.  Plenty of seafood paella to go around.  After siesta in the aircon rooms we jogged to Monte Tossal Castle for sprint training.  This was the most technical area ever, with tight corners and walls to run around.  the steps were accompanied by childrens play slides only once could I utilise these (-:  In the slope to the north the green was patches of caccti!! Watch out for that! 

Monte Tossal training

Cooling off in the Mediterranean after training

Hot and dry in beautiful El Escorial

Hola!

It has been a great trip so far. Super hot here in La Escorial at midday.  Caught bus from Madrid yesterday to El Escorial, amazing unusual place to me.  Dry rolling hills with scattered pines and gullies with denser trees.  Arrived to meet the other girls near the bus stop.  Walked five mins to Albertos apartment, amazing to see people I recognize again.  Swimming pool out the front is amazing even at 8pm it was where everyone hangs out to cool off (=  Then we had dinner together at 9.30 Alberto made a Spanish omlette and shared the prize of his last orienteering race, a salted leg of ham-yum!  Imogene, Georgia and I are staying in a beautiful new apartment 5min walk down the road.  The town is at the foot of a steep mountain.

 Went for run at 9am this morning in forest, orienteering.  Open scattered pines with big rock clusters.  One technical map then a faster broad hills course on open forest with small erosion ditches.  Slippery ground and crackly because it is all so dry.  Seems like a desert here.  Lavender is growing wild on the ground!  Cows wander freely with big horns but they are friendly we hear.  Navigation went well.  I took it slowly to start with, and got the first controls bang on.  Feeling confident now.  Orienteering is orienteering as long as you are adaptable.  Grey rock was not flat and easy running like in Finland or Australia, but rather rough and broken so it was better just to go direct.  Rock pillars were huge 10m tall and cliffs best to avoid.  Black squares were ruined square rock walls.  The rock wall fences seem so solid they would have been difficult to build.  Legs feeling normal again which is great.  No pain in shins orienteering today but used the ice pro just incase and because I didn´t want to waste the water which is so precious in Spain.

In Dubai, Greta and I were able to use the gym between flights which was very nice.  The cycle bike and cross trainer were something we recognized well despite being in foreign lands.  Also the shower was refreshing.  A worthwhile break in the flight which seems to get longer every time we come over.  No delays.  Flying into Mallorca was an eye-opener, the landscape was very dry and looked similar to the middle distance map we will run on at UWOC- broad hills with scattered trees and then steep cliffed erosion gullies more than 15m deep.

The night in Zurich worked well.  Didnt see much of the city though.  Public transport worked amazing, trains trams and buses all flow together.  Legs still felt funny.

Staying indoors for the afternoon as it is still hot.  Catching train to Alicante tomorow.  Glad we got here early to adapt to the heat as much as we can.
Adios, Angela

The UWOC sprint race will be held within the Santa Barbara castle of Alicante.  Starting at the top and racing down into the village houses with their flowerpots, then finish along the famous sandy beach.  I wonder if we will have to run in the sand for long??
More info on Alicante city here http://www.alicante-spotlight.com/photos/alicante01/44.htm

Swiss images

Challenges of 2012

Thought I would get back onto this blog page as I am setting off on another adventure.  As a way to record what Im up to.   

Next week I am heading off to Europe for this years World University Orienteering Championships in Alicante, Spain (http://sd.ua.es/en/orienteering-championship/)and the World Orienteering Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland (http://www.woc2012.ch/).  It will be exciting to race where the atmosphere is so high.
In Alicante I will race the Sprint, middle, and relay.  The sprint is in the city and willl take in small alleyways and possibly Monte Tossal which is a castle like maze.  The middle. relay and long will be on technical, open, scattered shrubby terrain.  Compass bearings will be useful I expect.

I have a map database here: It is where I upload my routes from races and trainings.
http://www.numberoneaucklanddoma.com/maps/index.php?user=Angela

In preparation this year, I have been doing lots of aqua jogging.  This is because I suffered a shin stress injury.  The pain developed over summer is slow to heal.  The best way to recover shin stress injuries is by not running, not a pleasing recommendation when I have races to train for.  So aqua jogging and biking have kept me fit. Two hours solid aqua jogging last week was a mental effort.  These sessions including lots of intervals have taught me mental strenght and how to listen to my body responding to training.  Sports phsycology coaching through the Hillary Scholarship has been a new experience and I plan to use these techniques to make stronger race decisions with focus, and in particular avoid distractions during spectator legs.

Over the summer, I competed at Sprint the Bay.  Awesome unique courses once again make this a highlight event.  I was in the yellow jersy going into the final stage and planned to keep it but accidentally ran past a simple control during our map change and thus lost the lead.  Well, next years Sprint tthe Bay should be bigger with international competitors likely as the race follows on from the World Cup and Oceania series.  http://www.oceania2013.co.nz/  http://www.sprintthebay.org/

NZ National Championships held by NW Orienteering Club were another highlight lead up event.  The middle distance map Middle Earth is now one of my favourite NZ maps.  Such tricky detail to simplify, all on a hillslope so you have to keep an eye on height also.

And more recently Queens Birthday weekend events were held at the start of June in Waitarere forest.  The loops race on Monday was the best.  A mass start loops style race made
 for close head to head racing and put pressure on everyone.  Just what we need before heading off to Europe.

On the local scene, I have arranged evening club training sessions to talk about orienteering techniques and do paper exercises.  Now, I am of to Kairangi for the final event before I fly out.  Plenty of mud, and chillyness likely. (-:

Back in NZ

Now that I am back in New Zealand, I figure it is time to update and record how it all went. I can get more out of my racing by analysing it now for future improvements. I did make notes while I was away but I didnt get to a computer to type them up. So I'll put up a few thoughts over the next few weeks.
I am also thinking more about doing serious "paper" technical exercises. It would be great if us NZers could make a few each then circulate a few each week to share ideas on. Let me know if you want to join in. (-:

Angela at the Junior World Orienteering Championships 2011 slideshow

Here is a short video of my time at JWOC 2011 in Poland. It was the time-of-my-life. Open fast terrain, technical well organised races and an awesome team to share it with. Thank you to those who donated photos.

To Sweden

Now the time has come to leave beautiful Finland and go by ferry to another beautiful country, Sweden. Ran a course in forest behind Jyvaskyla yesterday, between the thunderstorms. Was really nice forest in places and also big ski and forestry paths. Would be good for running training just like Whaka in Rotorua (:

Very excited for racing at Oringen with 10,000 competitors!! The terrain will be tough I am sure. The courses are all quite long so it will be fun. 115 girls in my grade. I am just aiming for tidy races and minimal losses. Compass and confidence are two things I will need to use. I will also focus on accurate entry and exit from control sites, this is where I figured my mistakes began in Fin5. Yay lets keep going (=

Finland!!

Fin 5 was a really fun week of orienteering. I had 2 training's in the forest with a local before the first race. This was very helpful. I was suprised by how rocky the forest was. Maybe a bit like Australia. Broken rock on the ground made it hard to run. Navigation was not too bad as there were big hills and cliffs to use. I learnt the Finnish technique of going straight no matter what. (= This worked pretty well although I think I was still not as fast as it as the top girls. This requires confidence that just comes with experience. I came fifth overall for the week of racing in D20E.

I was lucky enough to get a start in the elite sprintrace. One of the best sprints ever. So many controls and a mixture of forest and town. There were a few tricky walls. I had a fairly clean run also so I was happy. Lost time on one leg (13-14) near the end when I had a plan but did not stick to it definately enough.

After Fin 5 I had a day in Helsinki to see the city. A quick visit to Suomenlina was interesting. A very historic fortress on an island in the harbour. I then had a few days staying with Petteri Mukkonnen in Kangasala. The terrain there was even trickier than Fin 5. We trained on the Ponsa map twice. It was much flatter and less definate features than around Lohja so you really need to use your compass. The forest was so nice for running though. Petteri made a contour only map for one training at Ponsa. I was okfor the first 3 controls on this map but once I was slightly off the bearing on a leg and it was very hard to relocate. Continued with the normal map. We also trained at a map on edge of Tampere city which was off depression terrain type. The terrain is definately quite heavy running so you get tired faster. I see now why you need to dointervals up an overgrown hillside.

I am now staying in Jyvaskyla for a few days with Hanna Raitenen. We will do a few trainings before heading to Oringen on Friday. We did a small sprint race today in the town of Multia. It was a ´typical´Finnish sprint race with lots of vegetation and not so many buildings. I lost 30sec getting stuck in some shrubs. I was 2nd junior girl.

It is Thursday now. I was about to go out for morning training on map behind Hannas apartment. However the sky got darker this morning and now there is a massive downpour and thunderstorm! Lightning too! crazy! Hopefully it clears up soon. The forest map is of a hilly area with many paths and a downhill ski jump.

I will take rest on Friday and maybe easy jog on Saturday to prepare for Oringen. It will be a tough week of long races (-: Very exciting

Podium finish in the JWOC Sprint!

It was really amazing to get up on the podium along with the best in the world. I felt so proud of New Zealand and the teams abilities. We are totally able to make it when we stay in control.

We had a model event in Lebork on Saturday which was a good chance to check out the mapping style and get a feeling for the terrain. The model allowed us to see both forested and urban areas. I was excited for the race and tried to stay confident.

On the morning of the race we were all quarantined within a 500msq area until our respective start times. The warm up map was basic and we tried to stay relaxed as we watched others warming up around the sand track. My start was in the middle of the field so not too long to wait thankfully. It was a good temperature and not too hot.

The sprint in Lebork town started with a challenging mixture of park/forestland and then finished with fast legs through the town centre. I started cautiously to allow myself to get into the map. There were a number of impassable hedges to read your way around and the route choice to control 4 caught me for a few seconds but I chose to run hard up the 15m of uneven cobbled stairs as opposed to contouring up through the forest. I had caught the Polish girl who started 1minute ahead of me by about number 6. This was a good boost but I tried to maintain my own focus.

After passing under the bridge the next few controls in the buildings were tucked in corners of little alleyways. I felt I was slowing down each time to check them. It was exciting coming through the spectator control with so many people shouting. I made sure to keep focused on the next leg. About this time I saw Laura Robertson (NZ) who had started a few minutes ahead of me. In hindsight I took wrong route choice to number 17. I didnt take time to notice the covered alleyway south out of the control which would have provided a more direct entry into number 17. Instead I ran back out the way I came in and zigzagged all the way around to 17. Control 21 was a neat site tucked right at the bottom of the stairs. It was great to sprint down the finish chute with so many people and New Zealanders cheering.

At the finish I was suprised and very happy to be in a good position. I knew other good girls were still to finish so it was a nervous wait but I am very glad that I could make it onto the podium. It was a special moment for New Zealand and the team.

I would like to say thank you very much to all our suppporters, coaches and team sponsors, Vitasport, Leppin, Compasspoint, Puma, USL, Inov8, University of Waikato.

Almost JWOC time

Very excited to race now. The training is over and I have a feeling for the terrain. The opening ceremony is tomorrow evening and the first race is on Sunday. Today we went for a short 30min easy jog around the middle/long/relay map. Very similar to other training areas we have been on. The distinct features were pits, of which there were heaps and only those over 1m deep marked. Also many small 2x2m fenced areas in the forest shown as black crosses.

Tomorrow we will go to Lebork for a model of the sprint area. This will be a good chance to see exactly the mapmakers style. I am planning to do another short jog and a few strides/short sprints. The official opening ceremony is at 8pm in the town center of Wejherowo.

Internet access is limited here so you can follow the team progress on the New Zealand Junior World Orienteering Championships team blog page. We will update this regularly to keep you informed. (-:

All going well. Thanks

Meeting the terrain for JWOC in Wejherowo

It is nice that the team is here now. They had a bit of hectic travel but are mostly recovered from the flight now I think.

It was great having Simon to take Nick, Krystal and Jim out training the first few days in Wejherowo (veyherovo). Jim had a bit of advice too. Utilising the ridgetops. The Bliza hotel was comfy, looks old on outside but was nice inside. It was close to town and there were even fridges in the rooms which we dont have here at Hotel Victoria. We ate out at different places each night. The local dishes are interesting and food is quite cheap. We had pizza one night too. The Victoria is nice though. I am sharing with Kate and Laura. The food here is classy restaurant style. Cooked lunches and various soups and mains for dinner. All quite fine. We are buying water now as it the water in this hotel is a bit odd. Got a 6litre bottle pretty cheap.

We had the most summery day so far today. The forest is so nice. I feel like I am getting quite used to the terrain style now after almost a week training here. I have been to heaps of the training maps now. Most of the terrain is hilly spur gully style but you still have to be very accurate with compass to get exact direction. There are other training areas we have been to which are much more vague and flat. These maps give you a chance to make sure your navigation is on spot without tiring yourself out. I have been happy with my training so far.

A new bulletin was released today which is interesting. No spectator control for you guys in the forest events which is boring. The butterfly loop may be fun, girls have never had that before at JWOC. The idea is that we all have to be in a quarantine from 8.45am on the race days. This means a very long wait outside for the later starters. /-:

We tried out the hotel swimming pool this afternoon which was fun. Slide was soo slow. There is a steam room with ice and a sauna so we enjoyed swapping between the pool and hot rooms. (-: Even a cold shower afterwards which was nice.

The Australian and Japanese team are also at the Hotel Victoria now (-: Toby and Laura did their exams this afternoon with James watching. Bit strange. The permethrin works well I think. Havent had any ticks on me yet.

In Gdansk

Yay! Finally made it to Poland. Long wait in Munich airport then a short flight to Gdansk.

Flying in to Gdansk the region is typical european and looks quite similar to Denmark last year. Lots of fields for crops with patches of forest in between. I was lucky enough to sit next to mayor of Gydnia on the plane and he gave be a bit of info about the citys. The 3 cities have population of about 1million all together. And Gydnia is 50% forest which makes it nice for living. You can easily go in the forests after work etc, perfect. I found the bus to the main Gdansk station. We drove about 40min through suburbs with huge housing blocks and through some really open forest areas. Looks super open just like those photos we have seen. Didnt really believe it until I got here. Cant wait to run in it. Smooth rolling gullys and only leaf litter on the ground. Already identified what would be green, leafy srubs like in Denmark. Should be ok to run through just make sure to keep direction as lower vis.

From the station it was about 15min walk to Hostel Zappio. The buildings are really old and some amazing carvings and paintings. Also neat park areas in between. Amazing location for the hostel. Next door to a very old church, so much so that it is on a lean in one end! The hostel is a tall skinny building with spiral staircase and 5 levels! 50m from river and 200m from the Old Street where all the historic builings and archways are.

Went for a short 35min run through the town along the river, people fishing. Good quick way to see the place (-: on the other side of train tracks I found a patch on forested road to run up which was nice. Not so open here but it was nice. Good to run again after such long time travelling.

Tried traditional bogart? and potatoes for dinner in a cafe on the street with rugs for you to keep warm. Reasonable temp for shorts this morning but wasnt very warm in evening and very windy in places.

Off to find a train to Wejherowo (said Veherovo). Hopefully its not too hard. It is difficult in shops because I cant really communicate. Some places speak a little English but not much. Yay will be great to get to Wejherowo now.

On the way!

Exams all done. What a great feeling. All went pretty well although plenty of last minute study was used. Hopefully it will pay off though as I was pretty happy with them in general. Very similar to the previous years papers I had studied. Biochem and ecology were best. Didnt really like the management one. And soils was ok as well.

Finished Biochem at 5.30pm and then grabbed my gear and headed off to Auckland. Sad to say

goodbye to everyone but will see some of you soon. (-:

A long night on the plane but I managed to get maybe 5hrs of sleep, in short sections. Why do they try to serve dinner at 1am? Haha everyone just wanted to sleep.

Now I have 12 hours to wait in Hong Kong airport. Such a long time. But I have a shower and massage so its all good. Kankles building up! watch out everyone (-: 2XU tights and plane soxs supposed to help but they cant stop it. Looks nice outside here today. Not too hot even which is great. I have walked right around the airport terminal and it did actually take me most

of an hour which was great (-: (and not even

stopping at shops). Maybe Ill do another loop later. Would they think Im mad if I run (-: haha So it is a huge airport. Lots different planes too. Amazing location for a city. Huge apartment blocks like 40 stories high right below steep mountains, quite a contrast.

Really looking forward to getting to the forest in Poland. Half way there!

Can watch Jukola videos now. Such a cool race to do one day.

Closer and closer!

Heading to Poland this Saturday! I am ready to see what the terrain is really like now. Planning to spend the first few days in Wejherowo checking out the different types of green vegetation and comparing route choice options. Three more exams and then I can go! (-: