WOC 2007, Kyiv

INDEPENDECE CUP Day 3: БИКОВНЯ СхіД by Mhairi

The third day of the Independence Cup, a short race, was probably the best of the three races with a good map and good terrain. The WOC middle and relay will be held on generally flat sand dune terrain with areas of complex contour detail and a regular path network. Therefore this area compares well with what we might expect in the races and is highly relevant.

The map was generally of a high quality. Contours were mapped well despite the vague nature of parts of the terrain and the 2.5m contours were clear to read and see in the terrain. The vegetation was sometimes mapped interestingly particularly where there were green stripes. This seemed to be a common theme with all the maps we used. Any parts of the forest which had patches of green stripes were often entirely covered in brambles. Although this discrepancy could be a result of mapping early in the year before the brambles have grown up it is likely to be something we will have to deal with at WOC. This map was a good example of how it is likely to be for the middle and relay areas. Brambles grow in any area where it is flatter and less detailed and are slow and even difficult to run through at times.

The visibility was excellent and only reduced by slightly bushier trees in the light green areas although not significantly enough to slow you down. It was always possible to run at high speed with the guys running about 5min/km and the girls about 6min/km. In the areas of more complex contour detail the visibility was even better than excellent as there were no bushes and no undergrowth, hence the forest was lightning fast.

Good techniques for racing well in this terrain are fairly simple (in theory!). I think one of the most important areas is ensuring that all your orienteering is very smooth. In terrain as fast as this, saving small amounts of time will be vital and seconds will count. So running on a good line, excellent control flow and good use of compass is very important since generally the best route is straight. Using map to ground technique while running straight makes it easier to pick up the subtle features. Confidence running straight and distance judgment is also useful since often there are few catching features behind the control.

posted by daniel @ 2:46 pm