Discussion: Preparation for the WOC in Finland

Saw the following in Compass Sport, written by Jamie Stevenson, a top Brit:
"In comparison with the relatively open terrain at the World Cup, the areas around Tampere are much more demanding. To do well at WOC one will need to be a demon in technical, generally fairly unpleasant terrain. The physical demands, if one compares with the lung busting hills of Scotland or the heavy marshes in Norway, are not so great, but the forest is so much rougher, that hopping, jumping, balance, and the ability to grit your teeth temporarily while not losing contact with the meticulously (over-)mapped terrain is the trick."

Hmm, maybe those of us in New England ought to train at Harold Parker every week....

my impression from visiting the training and model areas in Tampere (unfortunatly I don't have the maps with me in MD this week), is that the terrain can range anywhere from thick steep and rocky, to semi-open and very runnable, but _always_ very technical. It's certainly no worse than your average finnish forest. some of it (relay especially) is pretty nice -- far less undergrowth than harold parker, I don't even want to think about what that place would be like in the summer!

I agree that keeping in contact with the map is the key. it would be quite difficult to relocate if you have zoned out while running on a bearing or something.

Would be nice for all team members to be at FIN5 which is 2 weeks before WOC. That would give adequate time for acclimatization.

I looked at the training maps on the WOC web page (www.woc2001.fi). The terrain looks interesting. A couple of things stood out:

1. The terrain varies a lot. The maps labelled 3 and 9 are adjacent -- but they seem to have distinct terrain types. Maps 1 and 8 are near each other. They also have distinct differences.


2. The mappers seem to use a lot of form lines. When I'm running I have trouble noticing the difference between a form line and a contour.
posted

anyone know the estimated winning time for the new sprint event? is it in the woods or similar to park events?

Good question.

I have not seen anything about the winning time or type of terrain (park versus forest) for the sprint event.

The field will be limited and the US will only get one entry. A press release on the IOF home page shows:

"The full allocation of start slots per class is:
3 places FIN, NOR, SUI, SWE
2 places CZE, DEN, EST, GBR, LTU, RUS
1 place to all other full member federations."

The latest WOC bulletin doesn't provide any detail about the winning times. But, it promises more information in the next bulletin.

Apparently a lot of top runners are opposed to the sprint VM next year. A group of 41 elite runners (mostly PWT participants, I think) wrote a protest letter to the IOF. Allan Mogensen was quoted in a Danish newspaper as saying he wouldn't rule out boycotting the sprint. The Norwegian and Czech national teams have apparently sent protests to the IOF.

The main issues of contention appear to be: the WOC-week is already tough enough, adding another event will be too much; a sprint series is preferred to a single race; and the decision to hold a sprint WOC was made so late that some runners may have gained an advantage by training in areas that were recently embargoes.

The WOC 2003 web page has some info about the sprint VM for 2003. They're planning a 15 minute winning time and it sounds like park terrain.

"This is the day of the opening ceremony. During the ceremony the sprint, which is the first of the four WOC finals, is going to take place. The sprint is a novel and very attractive discipline of orienteering. Supposedly this event is going to be a first edition for a WOC. The start and the finish will be located in the arena where the opening ceremony is held. The running time of the fastest athletes should not exceed fifteen minutes. The suburbs of Rapperswil/Jona and its old town will make up the terrain for the sprint. This blast is extremely attractive for the media and audience. It is going to be the kickoff for the WOC week."

Anybody for ORingen or FIN5 before the WOC? What are the team plans about running at one of those? Looks like ORingen finishes one day and FIN5 ends one week before the WOC.

if I make the team, I'll run at Fin5 and then stay for the training week (I doubt the team will go to o-ringen), otherwise I'll skip fin5 and have some "training" at o-ringen.

Rick and Linda Worner are leading a group of younger juniors to both of these events.