NW of Little Truckee Summit, off of Cottonwood Rd. US Orienteering Middle Distance Championships.
Middle Distance generally hasn't been my best event. However, I was encouraged that I had been running well in the Sprint the previous day. This event almost got cancelled. Earlier this day, the air quality at Lake Tahoe was 500! Air quality index values over 100 are considered hazardous. It was affecting some people, but not others. Instead of getting cancelled, the event was only delayed by 4:30 hours.
S-1 - After running to the start triangle, like others I ran down the hill and was moving quickly. I tried going straight. At the road, I noted from the cliff, being just to the left of where I should be. The boulders I saw afterward seemed large enough to map but most of them didn't seem to be on the map. From 100m out, I saw a control ahead at what seemed to be the mapped stream (dry) and was drawn to it. It turned out not to be mine. Looking upstream, I saw rock and it was what I needed. I'd lost 1:20 minutes, per my GPS track.
1-2 - I went straight. Seeing that I was parallel to the dry stream bend confirmed I was doing okay. I saw the big boulder ahead and ran toward it to spike the depression. The control couldn't be seen until I was on top of it.
2-3 - I went straight, and picked-up the shape of the spur ahead. I came around the correct boulder from the right side and was happy to have spiked this.
3-4 - I aimed off to the left to reduce climb. This brought me to a set of rock before the control. There seemed to be a lot more rock there than was mapped. I contoured over and saw the control on the much smaller rock.
4-5 - I felt tired, especially climbing. I don't recall seeing the boulder or dot knoll along the way but looked for and found the distinct tree with the control by continuing straight.
5-6 - I got to the road and then the road bend before attacking successfully.
6-7 - I went straight but wasn't sure that I was seeing all of the mapped boulders along the way. I noted being at a dry stream bend on the mapped stream, so just a little north and left of straight. A former QOC runner was ahead and to my right. I kept my line, eventually passing him, until I saw control to my right. I didn't think it was mine but I went to it to be sure since it was close. I think it was in the ditch/reentrant and so I attacked from there and was successful.
7-8 - I went straight but drifted left. At the drop-off, I didn't see the control so I cut right. I could see 3 people there. Two turned out to be Forest Service people and the other was perhaps a course official. They were at the control and helped give it away, but I had seen the rock well before seeing the control. A more direct line might have saved me 20-30 seconds.
8-9 - I ran straight, but used the southern of the 3 large cliffs to confirm. After that I read the reentrants and boulders to spike the control. I'd attacked off of a mapped boulder right next to the trail at the end, to spike it. Janet Tryson was coming into the control from just south and got there behind me.
9-10 - I'd seen the spectator control before going out. After walking away from #9, I was mostly trying to keep myself running, since I knew the road was a catching feature.
10-11 - I went straight but paused to read the control description when I hadn't seen the control at some earlier rock. I was taking my time so as not to make a mistake too.
11-12 - This was an easy short leg and I went straight.
12-13 - I went to the high side (right/east) to spike the control. I was moving a little slower to be careful.
13-14 - I saw the foot trail to my left but wasn't sure if it was the mapped one. I kept straight climbing a little, but then dropping back to the foot trail. I decided to use it after that. I read the area before the control as a clearing and hadn't picked-up the mapped scattered trees (in light green). However I interpreted the area correctly, and eventually ran through it to spike the control.
14-F - I was tired. I'd been winded through much of this course.
After downloading, I discovered that I was in the lead. I didn't know how many had gone out before me but it turned out that my start was rather late. Other age group competitors had unexpected troubles, ran other age groups, or hadn't come. Still, it was a happy thing to have won the race and get the M60+ Middle Distance Champion title! I'd lost less than 2 minutes over the course.