Run Run Away

Question:

PS. Layne – do you have an odd-ball category in our race reports? ) You betcha. We have a Multisport category <G. What was the name of this beast and where was it held? (Enquiring minds …)

Heh. Keskiviikkorastit, location Numminen, date 22.5.2002 and starting time 5pm-6.30pm. Jarno — The woods are lovely, dark and deep But I have promises to keep And miles to go before I sleep And miles to go before I sleep.  - Robert Frost

Response:

Keskiviikkorastit,

I don’t know why you’d type that, but gesundheit to you. "Make no mistake about it! Without humor, freedom would drive you insane." Bill               I am so cool, that sheep count ME before they go to sleep. http://hometown.aol.com/mrrobottow/

Response:

As my first race of actuall running is still waiting to happen I thought I’dd post a little report of the orienteering race I took part in today.

Hey Jarno, congrats on the exciting race and thanks for posting this report, I enjoyed reading it! Some friends of mine have done orienteering, these races take place now and again here in Switzerland. I might actually give it a try the next time I hear about such an event. Your report sounded quite exciting indeed. I like finding my way as long as I have a map (I have sub zero sense of orientation without a map!). A few years ago, I did something similar on horseback a couple times (once even won); that was a bit different, tho – there were quiz type questions or assignments posted at the checkpoints, and the final result was a combination of points from speed and points from the # of correct questions. It was a helluva lot of fun! nina

Response:

Orienteering is, after all, mostly running, LOL Yeah, ok…

For me, a typical event consists of: 5%  standing still, looking at the map 10% walking, looking at the terrain 70% running, in the right direction 15% running, in the wrong direction Anders

Response:

Still not running… "Make no mistake about it! Without humor, freedom would drive you insane." Bill               I am so cool, that sheep count ME before they go to sleep. http://hometown.aol.com/mrrobottow/

Response:

Orienteering is, after all, mostly running, LOL Yeah, ok… For me, a typical event consists of: 5%  standing still, looking at the map 10% walking, looking at the terrain 70% running, in the right direction 15% running, in the wrong direction

My 3.5K included also moments when I was going down a very steep drop from a cliff/rock/hill and kind of lost my footing and slided down – lucky me nothing serious happened…so I would include 1% wild sliding to the estimate ) Seriously, the way I took a couple of descents was…risky…gaining quite a bit of time there…but afterwards the risk-analysis told me that I need a more conservative approach to my orienteering next time. However, my HR was so high that irrational behavior is not so surprising, and I’m sure that’s one good thing to be learnt from high effort exercises like orienteering: staying calm under pressure. Jarno — The woods are lovely, dark and deep But I have promises to keep And miles to go before I sleep And miles to go before I sleep.  - Robert Frost

Response:

Orienteering is, after all, mostly running, LOL Yeah, ok… For me, a typical event consists of: 5%  standing still, looking at the map 10% walking, looking at the terrain 70% running, in the right direction 15% running, in the wrong direction

I’m sure 2001 Orienteering Sprint World Champion Jimmy Birklin had quite a different ‘work-out’ as he stormed the race running 4 min/km mostly in the right direction I think ) Jarno — The woods are lovely, dark and deep But I have promises to keep And miles to go before I sleep And miles to go before I sleep.  - Robert Frost

Response:

Jarno, Congratulations on your great time

Thanks! Thanks for posting this – I just got back from my first ever orienteering event While I’ve used map and compass or aerial images for years, I’ve never participated in an orienteering event, so the whole structure was new.

You know what – I actually didn’t use the compass at all, as the course was such that the distances between controls were short enough for relying only on map (and I was too busy running)… Boy, just when I thought running couldn’t get any more fun, it just keeps getting better and better  Maybe it’s not a runner’s high (sorry, guys, I don’t have anything to compare with to know , but I’m still grinning the next day after a neat run

Me too…two days after…and waiting for the results on next week’s paper!  I found out that running in orienteering is much much harder. My average heart rate for any lenght of run with my 6-7 minutes per kilometer is between 127-137, but my average HR for the (3.5+X) course was 158! I agree. I pushed a little harder since I knew I was going to have to slow to bushwack to control and to punch the card so used that as recovery time.

I always sprinted flat out as I saw the control marker, and shuffled with the little card that had the control ID numbers on it + control placement details, control card, map and finally with my car key which was in my right pocket only God knows for what reason. I think I’ll be better prepared next time, I amazed but pleased that I didn’t actually lose the key during those control hustles. At least one guy came back worthy of a "best blood" award And most people were covered with an assortment of twigs, fresh poplar buds (sticky), etc. And to think we used to get yelled at by our parents for such activities

You should have seen my shoes after the event! And also during the event, as I ran with untied shoes for about a K because I was too busy to stop and tie my laces…talking about parents yelling ) The other thing that was kinda neat for me is that there were probably 20-30 runners there, but because of all the different start times (start when you felt like it between 5 and 7pm) and courses, everybody was scattered all over the place – like a big running party without the congestion of regular races. (this is significant – I *am* claustrophobic) I probably bumped into half a dozen people, but everybody was really low key and having a bunch of fun. Will do one again, but probably not until September when they have another event out our way. Thanks for sharing your race with us, Jarno

Glad to make my debut, my first running race report coming up in July (half-marathon). Jarno — The woods are lovely, dark and deep But I have promises to keep And miles to go before I sleep And miles to go before I sleep.  - Robert Frost

Response:

As my first race of actuall running is still waiting to happen I thought I’dd post a little report of the orienteering race I took part in today. Hey Jarno, congrats on the exciting race and thanks for posting this report, I enjoyed reading it! Some friends of mine have done orienteering, these races take place now and again here in Switzerland.

Yes I know, as there’s been a lot of hmm…contact…between Swiss and Finnish as the Women’s World Champion (2001) Vreni K