Discussion: WOC has arrived :)

Hello All,

A quick note from Vasteras. We've all arrived in Sweden and are training our little butts off trying to get ready for the races starting on Sunday. Ok, well, we're not training that hard, but we have been getting ample time in the woods to get a little last-minute technical training in.

The terrain is very technical and pretty tough running too, so it will be very challenging orienteering. We've been on 3 maps in the last few days. Lots of wet marshes, lots of high blueberry bushes. Rock and contour detail vary considerably from place to place, but where it is detailed it is very tough, especially on 1:15,000 scale.

The hostel is working out well, but we're a bit out in the boonies. James and I have managed to snarf a Wi-Fi connection at the corner of Biskopsgatan and Vasagatan, so it looks like we'll have free (allbeit cold) internet access for the week.

Cheers,
Brian

Cool! Technology in works! The future of the communication lies with Wi-Fi. Good luck in your adventures and keep the rest motivated in training :)

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the news.

Don't know if you saw the interview with Thierry Gueorgiou on www.alternativet.nu? Interesting. Including the following statement:

"And, by the way, before a competition I never think about the result I can hopefully achieve or where my name may end up in the result list. I am only focused on my orienteering and on how I will find 12 controls in the sprint final, 18 in the middle distance final and finally 20 controls in the relay. My goal is thus simple, to give my best, and thereby I will not be disappointed about my results."

If the terrain is tough, as it sounds like it will be, remember the old basics -- keep in contect with the map, and choose your routes to make the orienteering as simple as possible. Tough terrain may well be to your advantage.

I'm sure you guys will give your best. But I'll add "good luck" anyway.

Peter

PS. Have you figured out yet who is running which events?

Hello All!

We are having a team dinner and meeting this evening (thurs) and hopefully we will be able to sort out the "who is running what" question. The women have already worked it all out and as mentioned we should work out the mens details this evening. I will try to announce this after the meeting or tommorrow at latest.

A few other things we'll be discussing at this evenings meeting: Experiences from the training week, what have we learned? What are the critical factors to be successful in this terrain? Pre-planning of practical and logistical details for the week.

Tom Hollowell

Who is running what distances?

Long Distance Men: Brian May, Eddie Bergeron, Mikell Platt
Long Distance Women: Sandra Zurcher, Karen Williams, Erin Olafsen

Middle Distance Men: Brian, Eddie, James Scarborough
Middle Distance Women: Sandra, Erin, Pavlina Brautigam

Sprint Men: Eddie (others are still considering it)
Sprint Women: Sandra, Karen, Pavlina

Relay Men: (preliminary) Mikell, Brian, James
Relay Women: Karen, Pavlina, Erin

We had a very pleasant team dinner and short meeting yesterday then got everyone accredited afterwards. Everyone is very focused!

Tom

Go Team!

Run fast, run smart, have fun!

Go Team USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You guys rock! Have a blast and kick some butts. We are rooting for you!

Good job guys - there were a lot of really good races from all of you guys in the long qual. Come back swinging tomorrow!

Congrats Cherie! A great result for NA.