Compass Sport Cup Final

Sunday was the CompassSportCup Final at Moseley Green (BOK). Prior to the race, I was feeling good, I've been running well in the last few weeks, feeling comfortable in training and been getting some good results at races. I was entered on the Light Green (3.4km 110m climb 11 controls) as was running as a junior for my club (OD [Octavian Droobers] ) so was confident that it was going to be more of a run than orienteering.

The Course

Stood in the start box, I was putting pressure on myself to run hard from the off as it was such a short course. About a minute to go, and I was raring to go, I'd warmed up well, part on my own part with Harrison and Ali.
As soon as the clock bleeped I was off, which was a mistake, I just forgot about the orienteering, but nailed it up the hill to 1 and dropped in well. This was first mistake. What I've been working hard on for the last few months is trying to settle in to races more and take the first few controls steadily before turning on the gas a bit. So out of 1, I had no plan which caused me to make a 180 degree error and get the wrong path. It was one of  those times in a race where you're convinced you're in the right place when you just clearly aren't. Headed up the wrong path in any case, sure i was on the right track, thinking the stripped trees was the ride i was looking for, headed down a row and found myself on a path and headed left, more or less the direction my compass took me. Thought now that I was in the wrong place when in fact, i was back on course. Nightmare! Suffice to say, I ran again in the wrong direction, really pushing to catch up the time I know I'd already lost. Ended up after a minute or so, glimpsing the road through the vegetation and suddenly, the horrible realisation of just how far away I was hit me. Knew I'd thrown the race but burned back to 2 and a leg that should have been 1:30 tops ended up taking me 7:07. Kicking myself, I headed off to 3 and again, made another mistake, coming in too low and so losing more time. Took a poor route to 4 annoyingly (can you notice a theme to this race?), nipped through the light section in the thick green and came out, as I expected, on the edge of the rough open, and they got it right, it was rough! Spent too long bashing through to the control, which I found  fine, just took too long due to the undergrowth.
By this point in the race, mentally, I was defeated. 1km or so in to a light green course and I'd lost 7 or 8 minutes (14:51 overall time) so just couldn't motivate myself to pick up any kind of speed. Straight route to 5, cutting through the rough undergrowth and up the side of the green to drop in to the control, after another slip finding the pit above even though it was 200m from my control, before finding my own control. Chloe Potter had caught me up by this point, fuming at this point, because although she is, in her own right, a fantastic orienteer, she's 1 year my junior and, a slower runner than myself so on this sort of course, I shouldn't have been caught. Straight enough to 6, found the crags and ran along then a lovely contouring leg in to 7, which I seemed to come across rather quicker than I'd expected. Off to 8, actually quite a tricky leg, took the straight route choice, but again ended up too low which was frustrating but found it ok, before being stuck behind a fairly pedestrian orienteer so was even more frustrated as she checked her control codes at the punch box, before kindly telling me it was the right control, then punching despite the fact I knew that and was clearly waiting for her. Anyway, good route to 8, went dead straight through the lovely bit of forest it was in, then dropped over the lip of the depession and off up the hill to 10. The hill was a real effort here, just didn't have it in my legs to keep going, but cut in too early and ended up too left over the wall so spent a good coupe of minutes faffing before finding it, just as Chloe was moving of towards 11. I went straight from here whilst she took the path, despite the undergrowth, I made good time as there was a sort of path trampled through from previous runners. Shot off from the last control as wanted to beat Matt on the run in for the 'Golden Boot' trophy. Run in took 36secs over 250m so was pretty pleased with that really. Just not with the race.
In the end, I was 11th when I should have at least made top 3 from the people there. This has been a bit of a theme with me in races this year. Next to my injuries, it't been the most common cause of my bad runs, in that I go out to run rather than orienteer which I just have to practice and stop, as when I don't do this, I tend to get good results.
Next on the calender is Saturday with the 2nd Interland Selection Race up in Macclesfield Forest, so I guess just forget about this race and really focus on that. Onwards and upwards...

The 'Golden Boot'