okansas.blogspot.com Occassional thoughts about orienteering
Thursday, July 24, 2003
A French O' map
I've orienteered in France once, back in 1987. Here is a map from the first leg of the WOC relay.
Even looking at just two legs my strategy is apparent -- run the trails, be safe.
I remember being fairly intimidated at the race. I felt nervous standing with runners like Morten Berglia, Kent Olsson and Jaroslav Kacmarcik. I'd never run the first leg of a relay (when Peter first suggested I run the first leg, I thought he was joking!). I'd never run a WOC. I'd been the last selection on the U.S. team.
I was reasonably happy with my run. I finished in just under 80 minutes (best times were just under 64). The team did all right, too. We finished 15th (remember this was before the break up of the Soviet Union). Norway won by five minutes in 4:11. We finished in 5:16 minutes.
Just for fun I compared the U.S. result in 1987 with the U.S. result in 2001. Either the Norwegians are whole lot better now than in the late 1980s, or the U.S. hasn't improved (and has, in fact, gone back). It is a bit disappointing. Let's hope for better in Switzerland in a couple of weeks!
posted by Michael |
8:46 PM
