Training Log Archive: BorisGr

Event: Grizzly Orienteering: Pattee Canyon II
 

Picking up controls. Here are some disjoint thoughts on yesterday:

The third Grizzly Orienteering event is in the books. We had 35 starts, over 60 participants, and a handful who finished the beginner course and then went out on advanced beginner right away.

Of the participants, 20 were attending their second or third event and the rest were new. The participants were split fairly evenly between individuals and groups. A couple of people ran their courses, but most walked. There were about ten folks who had registered, but didn't show up. This was offset by about a dozen people (including those who posted the fastest time on the beginner course!) who stumbled across us and decided to go out on a course.

We got great help from volunteers (including Alar Ruutopold's nieces!) staffing registration and start/finish in two shifts. This needs to be formalized more for future events, but worked well enough today that Alli and I were only responsible for beginner instruction, which is the major choke point and the biggest source of potential Covid unease. The large poster of the map helped a lot, as we did not need to crowd over individual maps when explaining map symbols and such.

Weather: high 30s in the morning to low 40s in the afternoon. Cloudy, with occasional snowflakes falling. There were 6-12 inches of snow in the woods, which obscured some dot knolls, but did not seem to impede navigation for most folks.

Covid precautions: participants were assigned 15-minute time intervals during which to arrive. This was enforced especially for those who needed beginner instruction. We need to formalize this more for next time so that it's automated. The event setup was spread out over three stations: registration table (two volunteers per shift); beginner instruction (two instructors per shift); start/finish (one volunteer). Everyone was asked to wear masks. We had a box of extra masks on hand, as well as wipes and hand sanitizer. Borrowed compasses were immediately sanitized upon return.

All in all, this felt like a big success: participants seemed happy and interested in coming back for more, and we did not feel unsafe due to the many Covid precautions we took.

C • Beginner instruction 11

Putting out flags. Using the small training flags and no Si makes this much more manageable.

A lower body routine, then half an upper body one.

Elliptical intervals while watching the Queen's Gambit. Good series.

We have 60 people signed up for GrizO's third event this weekend, including 24 who have attended at least one event already. It feels like there is a market for orienteering in Missoula. (I expect actual attendance to be in the 40 person range, based on rates of RSVP's actually showing up, but that would still be pretty great.)

C • Alone and outdoors: Oriente... 10

We got another 6 inches of snow overnight, and the Missoula Nordic Ski Club groomed the U of M golf course again. Conditions were decent, and a bunch of people were out, including several who were clearly strong skiers. My T-Rex arms were pretty dead by the end.

C • Grooming 3

Putting out streamers and vetting control sites for Sunday's GrizO event at Pattee Canyon. Probably about 4-6 inches of snow on the ground. It has the effect of pushing down he undergrowth, which makes for some fun running in a number of areas. Also, my new neoprene socks arrived. They were great for keeping my feet warm when standing around in the snow!

Skate skiing the golf course with Alli and Inara (in the Chariot behind me). It appears that virtually anything we do is newsworthy here.

C • Snow already? 2