WUOC 2014 had been my main goal for this year, and was the competition that I really wanted to perform well at. Unfortunately, everything has not gone to plan and my performances were not as I desired. This year has been the first time that I have run a ‘European season’, competing right from the very beginning, after I arrived to Sweden. Over the long summer months I kept racing without properly training; WOC, Oringen, and now WUOC. I felt my shape never really improved, and I spent too much time in a state of ‘pre-race rest’ which resulted in a physical downturn. My body and mind are somewhat ‘rundown’ as of now, in desperate need of a break from orienteering for a short while.

Although I was not at my best at WUOC, it was still an awesome experience, again highlighting the path I want to take in the future. I ran the sprint mixed relay, long, middle and relay. I had been selected to run all the races, but I decided to skip the sprint after the long distance and I disagreed.

Sprint Mixed Relay

Park race, which had some minor challenges. I ran 4^th leg, following Laura, Gene and Tessa. Apart from a lack lustre top speed, it was a good technical race. I missed a route choice after the public control which cost us 2 places overall, so we finished in 16^th.

Long

I struggled in the warm up, and never really got my body into gear. The race was decided by pure running speed and a couple of long legs which offered numerous route choices. I struggled to see the optimal route to the second control, and then struggled with the physicality of the terrain later on. I finished in 44^th, in a race which left my whole body is a state of turmoil.

Middle

I fell sick after the long and was really nervous about starting the race. The terrain was extremely diffuse with numerous linear water features, pesky pits and blocks of low visibility green. The technique required was a mix of risk minimisation and careful compass control which I felt I had for a large portion of the course. With the sickness, my top speed was hindered, but I had a good race in the beginning and I was 16^th at the 20^th control. I didn’t cope with the very demanding final section of the course very well, employing a too ‘high speed, high risk’ approach. I missed the longer legs (21^st  and 24^th) which meant I dropped down the overall standings. I ended up in 26^th, which I am mostly happy about given my illness and seasonal fatigue.

Relay

My sickness had evolved somewhat, and I was left without much energy. I ran second leg, with Gene running first and Jourdan third. Gene felt the effects of a very demanding week, saying that his legs didn’t really agree with him on first leg. For my race, I knew it wasn’t going to be anything near special, so my goal was just to have a steady race. I was fairly clean, apart from one large mistake to the 13^th where I had no real plan going into the green. The NZ team finished in 26^th position, including some countries second teams.

All maps and results are available on the WUOC website.

It was inspiring to see my flatmates and club mates, Razz, Albin, Oskar and Bettina smash out their races during the week. Even better was the Linné (Swedish) relay team which took gold in the mens relay. It is pretty awesome that I am able to train and learn from some of the very best in the world!

I have now drawn an official close to my season for this year, and I will begin a period of rest before I start to focus on the training again. I am extremely motivated to improve my orienteering, and I really look forward to the months ahead which should offer stable training regimes. I have learnt so much this year, sometimes I forget how much I have actually accomplished. Transitioning from junior to seniors is always tough; doing this in a completely foreign environment, even tougher. But with my club, new friends that I have made this year, and the support emanating from back ‘home’, I feel more motivated than ever! It is almost time to take it to the next level.