Training Log Archive: Kseniya

Ching-Hua took Asya and I to try some outdoor rock climbing at the Gunks in Mohonk Preserve. We actually went on top of this ridge last weekend during the adventure race, and today we scaled the cliffs. Ching-Hua is an absolute pro at this and her climbing friends are also amazing. I ate lot of humble pie on these climbs (loved this phrase from "everything is illuminated") because I have limited climbing experience and poor technique. However, it was a lot of fun, and every time there was a seemingly insurmountable section that made you want to quit, there along side it was that internal drive that made you want to overcome it, and once you did, the sense of accomplishment was overwhelming. Furthermore, once you got to the top and saw the magnificent views right in front of you, knowing that you got there with your own strength (and help from the belayer, of course), all you could do is scream, "YES!!!", and thank life for being there and being able to do it.
In the evening, we saw Meru, a film about three amazing climbers ascending Shark Fin / Meru twice while overcoming tremendous obstacles and injuries. Truly inspiring, and makes you wonder what one could achieve when setting a crazy-ass goal.

Routes I did: Ken's Crack - 5.7; Double Chin - 5.5; RMC - 5.5; half of Jacky - 5.5 (these levels are harder outdoors)

C • YES!!! 3

The need for stress relief overtook the need to take it easy on my injuries, and so I went for a lovely run this morning. Thankfully, the 5 hr excursion on Saturday did not do any more damage, and actually indicated to me that I can do long endurance type races. I want to sign up for a mtn of some sort race now. I can run the Highlander myself too, as course setters have done in the past.

C • no you can not :) 5

side body

The AR this weekend was a good one to go to to gain some perspective on how orienteering is marketed to a different crowd. This note also relates to the current AP discussion on US orienteering marketing.

The crowd was different from what I'm used to at "normal" Oing events: young, very fit men and women, some with face paint, some with team t-shirts; barely any families, barely any older people, the oldest team being Joe's; diverse cultural backgrounds. They did not seem like they knew how to navigate well but wanted to try something fun outdoors. Ching-Hua pointed out to me that these were not your typical AR types.

"Orienteering" as a word was incorporated into the AR flyers and media, the organizers did not have trouble pronouncing it and did not shy away from using it (even though they themselves may not have orienteered proper).

The AR was held at Mohonk Preserve, which as a forest park is only amenable to this type of orienteering, a scale higher than traditional orienteering. Larger format, topo + trail maps, 6 hr time limit. The abundance of crags and junky woods would not allow for an enjoyable normal orienteering course. At this scale, however, it was great: we got to scramble some rocks, see amazing views, go into caves, go into middle of cold water ponds, etc.. It was an aptly set orienteering course in such landscape. The navigation aspect was, of course, relatively simple but that was on purpose. The participating crowd would not approve of anything more drastic, more obstacles, maybe, more excitement, maybe, not harder-to-find checkpoints. I see the draw of this type of race. I've participated in a "Tough Madder" type of race as well, and it gathered droves of young, athletic types.

I don't see a problem of these two scales of orienteering existing simultaneously; they are not mutually exclusive; they could even be complimentary. When I tried to invite some people at this AR to come to an actual orienteering race with actual orienteering maps they did not know what I was talking about. That is a failure of our marketing, not the sport.

In re-branding of HVO we are still sticking to the "purist" approach of "orienteering". It will be an experiment to see if our marketing strategies will work. Possibly for the urban races we will have more room to play with framing Oing in a different way. For now though, we will be sticking with marketing “orienteering” in various ways, of which adventure spirit would certainly be a part of but not the whole approach. In fact, orienteering would stand out in the adventure-themed targeting that is currently happening in NYC because it is unusual, because it has other benefits such as appreciation of nature and outdoors, the navigation aspect, the community aspect. When we started a NYC Orienteers Meetup group it gathered instant attention of adventure seeking peoples. But, the people who actually came to events from the Meetup were not the super buff, “I’m here to test my body limits and look good without my shirt on” type of people but ones that actually seemed more genuine in their pursuits. A few joined HVO club and now participate regularly. These are the ones that stay and then help out; these are the ones that will help us grow the club.

From my experience in personal care product industry, it is so easy for companies to market absolutely anything, even junk, even products with ridiculous names, even products with snail extract! Design and story are key. This adventure race we went to was poorly organized, had terrible maps, and used old-fashioned paper punching. It had food and alcohol sponsors. It had a silly live band playing. It had orange smoke. People loved it.

The question for us becomes how do we frame our orienteering story differently that doesn't involve changing the sport that we love?

C • Teaching 1

C • Design and story are key 9

Originally wanted to go to Harriman to field check and vet my HH courses but stayed at Hua's, being quite sore. Spent all day working on HH and new HVO website together. Registration opens soon and website is launching soon! So excited.

C • HH 2