Orienteering race (Relay Race) 1:16:05 [4] ***** 7.92 km (9:36 / km)
17c
Måsenstafetten - a traditional Swedish season opener, on the map "Särtryck från Bushhyttan öster" just south of Skavsta airport in Sweden. I was in the Men's Open, 4th leg out of 5. I ended up running in the mini-mass start along with the fifth leg runner (the one and only Ian). I had a great first half, to the spectator control, following the crowd for a bit and then finding a few of the intensely difficult controls on my own. l made a big mistake on the long leg leaving the spectator control though - frustratingly, I was only about 20m away from the control but had to run 400m away to relocate off an open marsh I had visited early. I did eventually find it, but also messed up the next one, and so abandoned my run - I had a plane to catch, and the car going there was leaving at 3pm, with or without me! So my time represents my time to No. 11, then skipping 12-17 and running straight back to the finish - which was being dismantled as I passed through - not a good sign. The other Oxford and Cambridge teams were also completely outclassed by the natives, and finished last, and fourth last, out of 55 teams. Still, Oxford did beat Cambridge, once more.
A slightly disappointing end to a 5-star week of orienteering in the most difficult of Scandinavian terrain.
