JWOC Long Recap

Since arriving back in Canada, I have had some time to dwell over my JWOC races and pin-point what went well and what needed improvement in each of my races. I am specifically going to focus on the long because it was a very unique long in certain ways and a race that helped re-build my confidence. One thing that struck me as slightly odd about this race was how much downhill running we had (usually its the other way around). The race was held near a ski resort which seems to be a re-occurring theme at JWOC. We started at the top of the mountain and ran all the way down but not without what felt like an absurd amount of uphill (turned out to be only 270m).

The first few controls were a little bumpy for myself you could say...

More like downright bad :(

This is not how you want to start a JWOC race. It all started from some nerves at the start line which eventually lead to complete panic. Needless to say, I was a little shaken by the time I had found control 3 having already lost at least 10 minutes. It was a wake-up call, reminding myself that this race was going to be just as technically challenging as it was physically. 

The next few legs went surprisingly well, as I found them without a hitch before hitting the butterfly loop. It was like deja-vu from the first three controls. 

You don't want to see my route... trust me

Not only did I have have trouble with these controls but it was the beginning of  125m climb through the spectator control (why they do this, I have no idea. Everyone is so exhausted and in a lot of pain resulting in very awkward photos). I should also note that the men had a map exchange going through the spectator control so we had no idea what was coming next. 

Turned out to be nothing special

So I messed up the butterfly loop but found 18 without a problem....

Now you are probably wondering why I wrote about this race seeing as how many things went wrong. The best part of this race wasn't the unique terrain, results or the orienteering but rather how much fun I had out there. I have never been so wet, so exhausted and had so much fun.