Relay

The final race of JWOC! The girls' relays started 1 hour before the boys' with Kate and Selena running first leg. Kate would hand over to Jaime and then to Angela, while Selena would hand over to Anna and then to Laura. Kate had a very strong start in the fast terrain but a small mistake just after the spectator control put here back a few places but still finished in 14th. Jaime and Angela both had good runs making for a consistant team performance. Angela crossed the line in 11th but placed 9th because nations may only count their first team as an official placing. The 3 consistant times made for NZ's best female result in the JWOC relay. As the girls' exciting race came to a close as the boys' was heating up with Matt just coming through the spectoator in 2nd place.

Both Gene and Tim had good starts to a very close relay. The good visability meant it was hard for the front runners to escape the pack and the bunch was still very close at control 5. A long leg to the spectator control allowed for a long line for form with the faster runners pushing the pace. The racing remained close all the way to the line with Gene finishing in 7th handing over to Matt and Tim handing over to Scott. Matt caught and passed all the runners in front of him to be leading the relay until he was passed just before the spectator. He handed over to Toby in 3rd just ahead of some other very hot runners. Toby hadn't been feeling great before the race and could not replicate his running form from the previous races. But his very clean race gave NZ a respecable 13th across the line but 12th in the final results. Scott and Nick both had good runs and the NZ boys second team placed well with 28th across the line.

A great finish to New Zealands most successful JWOC!

Written by Gene

Middle Final

Today we had the final for the middle distance. With 6 of the team making the A final there was a lot of excitement surrounding this race. Toby, Gene, Angela, Jamie, Kate and myself made up the 6, while the remaining members of the team all made the B final. A very impressive effort!!!

First up was the B final. I missed out on all the action as the A-finalists were quarantied for the morning before their races. The terrain for the middle final was a lot greener and phsyically much more demanding than in the previous races. Today was all about being aggressive through the green, strong up the tough hills and making no mistakes.

We left quarantine and arrived at a rather familiar place after a short bus ride. The organisers had decided to use the same start area for the middle final and the middle qual. The warm up map was identical so no new areas of map greeted us as we arrived at the pre start. I was very excited for this race and a little bit nervous. I think most of the team felt similar. By now we had completed 3 Jwoc races so the intense pre race nerves had subsided a little, replaced with focus and excitement.

The team performed really well in the finals, absorbing the pressure of some big name competition and the fact that it was the JWOC middle distance final. Angela was a victim of somewhat poor officiating and was disqualified. As we ran into the event arena there was a marked crossing point on the map. However there was an unmarked, but tapped ( to stop runners ), crossing point down the fence closer to the control. Angela mistook this point as the correct crossing point and was subsequently disqualified. A protest was made, arguing that it was unfair that runners after Angela were told by officials to go through the correct gate. Sadly this protest was unsucessful and the disqualification still stood.

Results from the A-final are below. I cannot find the other results and the majority of the team is having a swim to recover. But look on the JWOC wesbite!!!

Jamie 43rd
Kate 49th
Angela DSQ

Matt 15th
Toby 30th
Gene 55th

Tonight we have the medal ceremony for the middle and long distances. Tomorrow is the relay. We are all excited and hopefuly we can do NZ proud.

Over and out.

Middle Qualification

Fast running today, in the forest of Wejherowo. The New Zealand team did great, with three boys, Toby, Matt and Gene, and three girls Angela, Kate and Jaime, qualifying for the A finals. The best team result in a few years.

The courses involved open forest with a patchwork of green and recently felled areas and finished off with a few fast track running legs. It was essential to keep map contact all the way.

Tomorrow is expected to be just as fast but also more technical. We are all excited and will battle our hardest. Those in the B final will also have a tight competition. Laura and Tim start just 1 minute apart.

Angela

Long Distance

The weather was cloudy but not raining so good conditions for racing. The early starters began at 9 and the latest start was at 2:30 which went there was a lot of waiting around. Those who started early would get a good day of spectating while those who started late would spend a very long time in the quarantine area since everyone had to be in quarantine 9.

The Boys’ course was 11.1km and the girls 7.7km. Both courses had some large variation in leg length and also included butterfly loops. In previous years the girls’ course has not had a pivot of any sort so it was a welcome addition to their JWOC long. The boys’ course started 4 medium length legs then a long leg before some more shorter legs including some very dense area. A 2^nd long leg led to the butterfly loop with the pivot control being either 10, 13, and 17 or 10, 14, and 17 depending on which order you were to complete the loops in. The next 5 legs were of a medium to medium-long length and led into a flat park for the final 2 controls. The girls course had a similar structure except the long leg to 5 led into the butterfly loops with the pivot control being either 6, 9 and 13 or 6, 10 and 13. They too had a long leg from the pivot with some medium legs leading them into the park and the finish.

Again New Zealand performed better in the long than in previous years with the top place in the girls being Angela Simpson finishing 21^st and only 6 seconds off being in 18^th. Next it was Kate Morrison in 35^th, Laura Robertson in 90th, Selena Metherell in 98^th, Anna Gray in 102^nd and Jamie Goodwin in 106^th. In the men’s race all of the boys again finished in the top 100 which is a top result for New Zealand. Toby Scott and Matt Ogden both had great races with Toby in 22^nd and Matt in 30^th. Nick Hann placed 90^th with Tim Robertson just behind in 93^rd and Gene closely following in 95^th.

Written by Gene

Sprint

The sprint started late in the day and so we had the whole morning at the hotel, waiting, re-packing our bags… We drove to Lebork after lunch and arrived at the quarantine area. First starts for men were at 2pm, and women at 2:30pm, so some people had a lot of waiting around if they started late. Toby even brought a bed with him. Scott was 4^th starter, so he was the first to leave out of the New Zealanders at 2:03. We were given a warm-up map of the pre-start area so we could have a jog around while waiting for our time. The first part of the course started with a few controls around a park area, with tennis courts, sandy areas and lots of impassable fences. Route choice was important here too. The men’s course then had a long leg over the river and onto the forested hill, with 2 more forested controls to follow. Near the end of the day tracking in the undergrowth helped a lot to lead people into the controls. Some easy legs through a park led to the compulsory taped route under the main road, and then we entered the city of Lebork. Control 11 had a dead-end alleyway to catch out unwary runners, and then there was a 50/50 route around a building to the spectator. Having crowds of people standing around cheering is nothing like orienteering in New Zealand. Back into the quiet streets for some more controls, including another dead-end route which caught out Tim and I. Some more route choice legs led us in a loop around the back of the arena all the way back to where we entered the city. Finally there was a 90m run in to the finish, down a chute lined with people all the way. Although route-choice was not over challenging over the course, there were many traps to punish people who relaxed too much. The heat of the day also had an impact on people’s performance, draining energy. The advantage of running early meant you missed most of the heat, but were forced to watch your name slip further and further down the board as more runners kept coming in. Unfortunately Scott managed to stand on a piece of glass while running and it went through his shoe into his foot. He didn’t think it was too bad though and kept running, only to find his shoe was soaked in blood. He was taken off to hospital and received 3 stitches. New Zealand had a stand-out performance from Angela, 6^th place meaning a spot on the podium! Matt also gained 21^st in the men. All of the men from New Zealand were in the top 80, which is a great result. Overall a great JWOC sprint, especially the atmosphere and results.

Results

Men

Matt 21^st

Toby 30^th

Gene 45^th

Scott 58^th

Nick 75^th

Tim 78^th

Women

Angela 6^th

Race Day

Well here we are on race day! The few of us who have been sick seem to be ok now and there are no other major problems. The opening ceremony yesterday evening went off with a bang, thanks to the cannon! Much better than just cutting a ribbon or raising a flag. This was also our first chance to see all our competitors before race day.

A huge shout out is due for our sponsors for helping us get this far! Their products will prove essential throughout the race week as they have during the training week.

VITASPORT are keeping us hydrated with their powdered electrolyte drink. This with be extra crucial on the long distance day when we are sure to sweat out litres and litres. Drop a comment and keep up-to-date on their Facebook page

COMPASS POINT gave us the last of our gear earlier this week to add to the previous orders and we are fully kitted out with our desired shoes, compasses and all other bits and pieces of O gear we need. Check you their online store at www.compasspoint-online.co.uk.

USL (UNIVERSAL SPECIALITIES LIMITED) have supplied us with top quality sport products including strapping tape and warm up rubs. Most of us have also had a massage in the past week thanks to their massage lube.

LEPPIN and POWER BAR have given us essential racing and recovery nutrition which will play an important part in our hard racing over all the distances over the next week. Their products are also perfect for recovering after a race and simply for extra nutrition throughout each day.

Be sure to check our results which will be live on the web.

Written by Gene

2 Days Out

After the hot past few days the weather has taken a turn for the worst and we have had misty rain most of the day and it is colder, but still not as cold as New Zealand. This morning we checked out the model event for the long, middle and relay races. The small section of map was interesting and was the final chance for everyone to become completely confident with the terrain and the style of mapping. It was also important to take note of the pits and boulders that were and weren't mapped. The program says that pits less than a meter deep and boulders (as rare as they are) less than half a meter high will not be mapped. This was a light or very light session for everyone.

We spent the rest of the day around town and the Hotel. We have been given our SI cards and timing chips for you shoes and are now waiting for the sprint start list to be released. Our team vans have also been returned now and we will be relying on the transport provided by the event organisers for the remainder of JWOC. More teams have arrived at our Hotel but we are still waiting for Belgium and Finland.

Racing is close and I’m so nervous!

Written by Gene