WUOC 2014 Race Recap

     WUOC 2014 was one of my main goals for this season and was a competition that I thought I would be able to perform well at. I was in good shape physically and my orienteering was not even comparable to my orienteering when I arrived in Europe over two months ago. I was very well prepared for the races and new if I could orienteering at my own level and do my own race I would see some good results.

Sprint:

     The sprint started out very well for me as I was running fast but under control. Going to the 7th control I planned on going to the left as soon as I saw the leg but as I was running down the path the right option looked shorter so I changed my mind and went to the right. I did double check the map to see if I could get through and thought I could. It ended up that it was a trap. Looking at the map now I think I just saw the contour line under the black wall and the little tiny dot of white which made it look like I could get through when running at a high speed. That cost me way too much time and I was so rattled that I chose the worst route choice to the 8th control with 45m climb and didn't even see the other option. It wasn't my day and my result (44th) did not show what I was really capable of. 

Looking at #7- can't believe I didn't see I couldn't get through
Photo:Robert Svoboda

Sprint Finish
Photo: Robert Svoboda

WUOC Sprint Route (right click and open in new tab for better quality)

Middle:

     I started out quite conservative in the middle running at around 70%, basically letting the orienteering dictate the speed and making sure I didn't lose time on the first few controls. I had a few smaller mistakes up until the 19th control where I lost control.  As I left the 18th control I thought I was drifting off my compass going through the green and when I hit the trail I was confused and thought I could be at the trail junction to the NE. I continued to run down the trail until I was sure where I was and then attacked the control from there. I had another big miss at the 21^st  control after losing some confidence from the mistake at #19. I ended up with a result that I was happy with (53rd) but I know I have the potential to do much better that I did. My orienteering is slowly starting to become more equal with my running speed but I didn't feel like I pushed hard enough at any point during the race.

Middle Finish
Photo: Robert Svoboda

WUOC Middle Route (right click and open in new tab for better quality)

 Relay:

     The relay was really exiting and the most enjoyable race I have ever run. I had a really great race in general but again it could have been a whole lot better. It was pretty chaotic at the start of the mass start and I was happy that I was able to do my own race so that I went to all the right forkings and not just run like an idiot and follow whoever. I was running very well up until right before the spectator control where I got a bit ahead of myself in planning the final loop after the spectator control and skipped the 16th control. Something just didn't seem right as I was running to the spectator control and then I realized I had skipped #16 and had to start running back to it, most likely swearing the whole time as I crashed through the green as fast as I could. It is a terrible feeling running by so many teams that you were ahead of just because you unintentionally missed a control. I was running in 12th up until that point but dropped to 20th and maintained that position to the changeover and tagged off to Eric who was running second. Eric had a good run and tagged off to Graeme who also had a decent run. We ended up finishing in 18th which is the best result Canada has ever had if I am not wrong.

WUOC Relay Route (right click and open in new tab for better quality)

    Thanks to coach Toni who gave us encouragement, advice and confidence when we needed it for each race and to team leader Jared who let us know everything that went on in the team leader meetings and who kept things organized. Also thanks to my teammates who made WUOC 2014 a memorable experience.

     Next up is the US individual Championships in New York followed by the North American Orienteering Championships in Ontario in early October on back to back weekends. I will now take a bit of time off from orienteering and let the body and mind recover after a long two months of orienteering away from home. It will be nice to get back on a more consistent training plan after racing in Europe which requires a lot of resting to be added into the training plan before the major competitions.

Damian