Discussion: Daze 2
in: 2012 Laramie Daze (Aug 28 – Sep 3, 2012 - Laramie, WY, US)
May 1, 2012 3:53 AM
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This is what it will look like in Daze 2 terrain at gryning:
It's hard to see them, but somewhere out there, there are turkeys. Guaranteed.
For Daze 2, we did something we've never done before: we got a very, very special course consultant/designer. I can't say her name, because, as she put it: "Fame is like an arrow aimed at the heart, but which pierces the soul instead." I know at least one person out there is be wondering already: "Could it possibly be Tove?" I'm sorry, but I just can't say anything more about this.
Tthe process was both amazing and eye opening. From the start, it was idealized by our specialist that the intended 5.5 km course at Middle Crow's Toe would be denoted by 10 controls, and that they would harmonize in nature while at the same time maximize racer excitement and drive to superior athletic achievement.
After hearing that, I was already a little excited myself! Usually when I'm designing courses, I just take out a crayon and draw a quick line on the map, and make little "x's" on the line where it looks like a control could go, and that's that. The person who taught me the first principles of course setting so long ago would say over and over that fat crayons made for better courses than the little thin ones; I never did quite grasp what he meant by that.
We began with no fewer than 353 control possibilities selected from an inspection of the map, and each potential control was analyzed using 7 different metrics. Using this, we culled down to 3 "finalists" per course control, and then it was up to me to walk into the terrain and make the final selections. I really wished I had had a cell phone with me so that I could have had live consultations as I went along; sometimes the pressure felt almost too much to bear by myself. But at the end, we had 10 perfect controls, perfect individually as well as the way each one fed into the other, creating a unique portfolio and orienteering experience such as probably has never been seen before, and which will likely never be seen again.
Well, maybe you can see one of the controls again, because I am going to reveal the exquisite placement of the #5 control. Really, you look at it, and you imagine a bunker of daffodils in the King's Garden, and a bumblebee about to alight. You can almost even smell....the delicate fragrance of spring, on the last day of April...
Though this, too, I can guarantee: winning this race will be no delicate matter. It will require running, and very hard running at that, from start to finish, until the thing is done.
I was amazed to see the time on the test run this afternoon: 40:52, almost identical to the test time for Daze 1. This despite the courses and terrain being nothing the same.
Finally, a few questions have arrived, and even though they are not very good questions, I will answer them anyway:
1) Q: These course are only 5 kms, and are mass started. Won't there be problems? What if there are a lot of people?
A: Then there will be a lot of maps.
2) Q: I am worried that there could be long lines at the control punches, and I will need to punch very quickly. May I use my mixed martial arts skills to move up in the line?
A: You sound like an idiot.
3) Q: What should I do if the person I am following stops to look at the screen on their GPS?
A: You should find someone faster and more skilled to follow.
 |
| From publiken |
It's hard to see them, but somewhere out there, there are turkeys. Guaranteed.
For Daze 2, we did something we've never done before: we got a very, very special course consultant/designer. I can't say her name, because, as she put it: "Fame is like an arrow aimed at the heart, but which pierces the soul instead." I know at least one person out there is be wondering already: "Could it possibly be Tove?" I'm sorry, but I just can't say anything more about this.
Tthe process was both amazing and eye opening. From the start, it was idealized by our specialist that the intended 5.5 km course at Middle Crow's Toe would be denoted by 10 controls, and that they would harmonize in nature while at the same time maximize racer excitement and drive to superior athletic achievement.
After hearing that, I was already a little excited myself! Usually when I'm designing courses, I just take out a crayon and draw a quick line on the map, and make little "x's" on the line where it looks like a control could go, and that's that. The person who taught me the first principles of course setting so long ago would say over and over that fat crayons made for better courses than the little thin ones; I never did quite grasp what he meant by that.
We began with no fewer than 353 control possibilities selected from an inspection of the map, and each potential control was analyzed using 7 different metrics. Using this, we culled down to 3 "finalists" per course control, and then it was up to me to walk into the terrain and make the final selections. I really wished I had had a cell phone with me so that I could have had live consultations as I went along; sometimes the pressure felt almost too much to bear by myself. But at the end, we had 10 perfect controls, perfect individually as well as the way each one fed into the other, creating a unique portfolio and orienteering experience such as probably has never been seen before, and which will likely never be seen again.
Well, maybe you can see one of the controls again, because I am going to reveal the exquisite placement of the #5 control. Really, you look at it, and you imagine a bunker of daffodils in the King's Garden, and a bumblebee about to alight. You can almost even smell....the delicate fragrance of spring, on the last day of April...
 |
| From publiken |
Though this, too, I can guarantee: winning this race will be no delicate matter. It will require running, and very hard running at that, from start to finish, until the thing is done.
I was amazed to see the time on the test run this afternoon: 40:52, almost identical to the test time for Daze 1. This despite the courses and terrain being nothing the same.
Finally, a few questions have arrived, and even though they are not very good questions, I will answer them anyway:
1) Q: These course are only 5 kms, and are mass started. Won't there be problems? What if there are a lot of people?
A: Then there will be a lot of maps.
2) Q: I am worried that there could be long lines at the control punches, and I will need to punch very quickly. May I use my mixed martial arts skills to move up in the line?
A: You sound like an idiot.
3) Q: What should I do if the person I am following stops to look at the screen on their GPS?
A: You should find someone faster and more skilled to follow.
This discussion thread is closed.