Australian Champs Carnival

Time flies when you're having fun! It's been a whirlwind since landing 'down under', meeting loads of really great people and seeing some amazing places. Last week saw South Australia host the Australian Orienteering Carnival which incorporated the Australian championships in all of the major orienteering disciplines. As this is the pinnacle of orienteering over this way, it was a great opportunity to pit myself against some of the best runners from this part of the world.

Before the racing could kick off though, there was just the small matter of driving all of the 'short' 700km to Renmark to the north. To most people a day spent in a car is a boring, frustrating task but for myself and Joe (who had arrived the day before) it was just a great chance to see more of the country that we'll be calling home for the next 6 months. Another major bonus of driving was the opportunity to stop off for a short training session on Kooyoora (the venue for the 1985 world championships!). It can't be understated how incredible this terrain is, with enormous boulders intertwined with complex contour detail which is smothered by native vegetation, all on a mountain which rises ominously from the surrounding barren plains. It was unlike anything I'd ever orienteered on (the closest is maybe the Aveyron region in France?) but it made for an absolute treat, which was made all the better by actually orienteering really well. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to kangaroos darting through the forest as I run though! So in high spirits we set off for Renmark fully invigorated for the races to come.

A taste of the Kooyoora terrain

The week began with the Australian middle distance champs on Crooked Straight, another incredible area featuring numerous complex erosion gullies and contour detail on the bank of the Murray River. For some odd reason I had managed to blag last start, despite the fact I'm sure my world ranking was not as good as others in the field. Perhaps hanging around at the event and watching it for so long offers some explanation for my total capitulation on the course? Despite following my normal routine for warming up and getting ready to the race I felt flustered and rushed from the word go. Perhaps I put too much pressure on the race (not sure why I would) or maybe it was just nervous excitement that made me rush off the start without ever really thinking of where to head. Suffice to say, this plan on such a difficult area did not pay dividends! I was scrappy and lost reasonable time on the first few controls before settling but then blowing it completely on number 8. From here I knew the race was gone but still attempted to navigate properly, admittedly with varying degrees of success. Smashing my ankle on the way to 15 didn't help proceedings but I just never found a rhythm on the day and so finished miles down the table, I'm not sure where, I haven't even looked at results. Not a good start to the week and it left me questioning a lost of decisions I'd made more generally about the sport.

The Murray and a couple of good for nothing Brits





But tomorrow is always another day. After a beer or two and some seriously good BBQ with the Dalheim's and the other families we were staying with, I was determined not to make the same mistakes in the relay the next day. We were faced with similar terrain and realistically, similar pressures to perform as Victoria had a strong team (myself, Bruce Arthur and Joe). In contrast though, I was relaxed and raring to go for this one. Took the same approach I've taken to most relays this year and just cruised off the start, meaning I hit my forking cleanly and soon formed a pack at the front with Henry McNulty, Tommy Hayes and Pat (on the kiddy course). On the turn around at the North West, it was soon myself and Henry racing at the front on our own and to be honest, I was loving it. Physically, mentally and technically I was worlds better than the day before meaning racing across the baked earth and dodging in and out of the gullies was a real treat. After hammering through spectator in to the more technical section it became excitingly nervy as we picked our way through the different gaffles we'd been given before regrouping at the last control for a final push to the finish. Unfortunately Bruce mispunched on the 2nd leg DQ'ing the team but we would otherwise have come a comfortable 2nd! Despite the obvious frustration from this, personally I was just happy to have finally had a good run in the forest out here as before this I'd been really disappointed and honestly quite down about my orienteering ability in this terrain. It also provided me with some much needed confidence before the sprint champs the following day.

Above one of the many erosion gullies, incredible terrain

Renmark school provided the setting on a scorching day for the sprint. Traditionally I've seen sprint as my strongest discipline as physically I feel very capable on them and I generally tend to feel more comfortable, leading to better results. Today was much the same, I tend to question myself far less before sprint races and I knew that if I could string together I'd be right in the mix. The race went generally well, I found I was flowing well and always had a good idea of direction whilst picking out potential traps. It was by no means flawless, I lost significant time in the weird mapped bit around 7 (25s?) then another 10s error at the end missing a turning, as well as a couple of sub par routes. However the tough training from the last few months shone through a bit as physically I felt good, perhaps not hitting top gear but certainly able to hold a high pace whilst navigating confidently. This is what probably pulled me through to the take the win from Tommy Hayes by 12s which for me is a very positive result given his performance at JWOC last year! I could really do with having this sort of confidence in my technique in the forest and it's definitely something I'd like to work on whilst over here. More importantly though it meant I could continue Ralph and Pete's British tradition of coming over here and nicking the sprint win!

Working hard at the sprint in order to celebrate with "The Big V"!







After 3 tough days of racing it was nice to enjoy some more relaxed racing in the Tri-Adelaide 3 days which ran alongside the schools competition mid week. A really tricky sprint was followed closely by some fantastic pine forest orienteering the following days, something which felt much closer to home for us Brits, almost Scotland-esque. The first couple of days went ok, generally orienteering well but being let down a touch by some sloppy errors later in each course. Luckily though these results gave me enough of a cushion to royally mess up the mass start on the last day to take the overall win which was nice! Despite not being massively happy with my races, it was good to begin identifying errors which kept cropping up and has given me some clear aims to work on before next season's races. Whilst this may be controversial, we didn't just orienteer whilst we were here! Alongside the races, we visited some of the areas tourist attractions including the Whispering Wall, The Herbig Family Tree and Angus Haines' mansion! Orienteering/running really does take you to some awesome places that you may never have otherwise gotten the chance to visit which I think is an oft understated advantage of the sport.

Joe impressed by the Whispering wall amongst our many other tourist visits.

The following weekend saw the Australian Long distance and South Australia Middle distances take place. The area for the long did look really promising, with a lot of potential for long legs and some tricky control sites in the green bush at the bottom. The course started well and I found a good flow through the lush pine forest before hitting the scrubbier bush to the south. However here I feel the course became a tad boring, which was a shame considering the areas. Essentially the next 8 controls consisted of "smash along the path, dip in and get the control, back on the path, repeat". It became a bit of a running race which whilst it was fun and suited me relatively well, for a championship it was a little disappointing. More disconcertingly for myself my I began to tire rapidly and have difficulty breathing in a similar manner to Edale this year, not an experience I want to repeat in a hurry. This proceeded for the next 25mins~ meaning I dropped from a leading position at control 10 to being way off the pace after the middle style section after spectator. This, coupled with a miss near the end scuppered my chances of a podium and left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Physically I should have breezed through this course, despite it being demanding but for some reason my body disagreed. I have a number of theories, being a bit rundown after 6 races in 7 days, an increased pollen count on the day or an over tight GPS vest being the primary ones. Either way, it was another fun race to tick off and added more challenges to the list in the coming months.

Insane terrain the last day (creds: Orienteering Australia)

The week culminated with the South Australia middle champs. The terrain was nothing short of spectacular, reminding me of a Lakeland open fell but lightning quick and with more rock features than you could shake a stick at. Unfortunately, by this point, the week and a long race had definitely caught up with me physically. No matter, everyone was tired and so I really just wanted a good technical performance to round out the week. Generally, this was relatively successful, I can put my timeloss which cost essentially another win down to 3 controls. 2 of which I would highly debate the mapping/controlling as I felt I orienteered well to each feature but either the control was hidden or it was slightly off. The last was just a very lazy routechoice from the 2nd last control, dropping me from 2nd to 4th in the blink of an eye, even more frustrating because I knew I was taking the wrong one! What a time to have a brain fart! Either way, it was an awesome area to finish what was an excellent week of racing on. The long drive back to Melbourne (727km) this time was slightly less entertaining however it did feature a visit to some stunning painted silos, Mt. Arapiles (amazing climbing area) and dominoes did perk it up somewhat!

Mt. Arapiles and the Silo art

 In summary, the last week at the Aus champs will definitely be a highlight of my time here! Not only were the areas and courses generally excellent, but it was a chance to meet some of the wider orienteering community in Australia and experience more of the country by travelling and visiting numerous exciting locations. Whilst there were a lot of positives, I know there's plenty to work on in the coming months before competing next spring. Despite my frustration immediately after each race for silly mistakes, I'm now treating them as positives and am looking forward to working on them to improve. Have to say a massive thanks to the Dalheim's et al for looking after 2 poor lost brits this week! For now, it's time to sink my teeth in to some solid training but with some exciting races on the horizon including Sprint in to Spring, the Bright 4 Peaks mountain races and the start of the Melbourne track season, so watch this space for further updates on my adventures!