WOC Reflections

A great team to be part of (Photo: Simon Errington)

Over the first week in August I was competing for the British team at the World Orienteering Championships (WOC) 2018 in Sigulda, Latvia. I was selected to run the middle distance and as reserve for the long distance. In the end I was called up for the long distance so I ended up running both disciplines. I finished 53^rd/72 in the middle distance and 28th/71 in the long distance. My aim was a top 20 position in the middle distance and I was far from this on the day.  Sometimes sport doesn’t go your way but there is always lots to learn and you just have to keep working hard and the results will come. This is the first time, as a senior, that I have really focused and trained specifically for (technically at least) for a championship. I didn't manage to bring everything together on the day but I have learnt a lot through training for  WOC and WOC week itself. I have written a bit about my WOC experience below.

Middle of the middle distance (Photo: IOF Orienteering)

  For me I will only be satisfied with my performance if I’d done the best I could do on the day. If that doesn’t get me my the position I thought I was capable of beforehand then so be it. Nevertheless I was incredibly disappointed with my performance and 53^rd is far below what I think I am capable of achieving. There are many factors that affect any performance and over the past week I have been thinking about this. In a nutshell, I know that I perform best when during I focus on what I can control. The only two things you have complete control over are how I choose to orienteering and the decisions I make when I pick up the map.  It is pretty much impossible not to get distracted during a race but the key is to recognise when your mind has wandered quickly and bring your thoughts back to the task at hand - where I will run in the very next second. This requires a lot of practice and discipline, and in this case I got distracted by things I couldn't control. I found the TV cameras very distracting and this affected various processes of my orienteering. In addition I never really managed to relax and orienteer confidently when I was running, letting the pressure of the occasion get to me. Probably my worst performance at a championship as a senior.

Arena passage in the middle distance (Photo: Simon Errington)

After the middle I didn’t know that I was running the long yet. Feeling quite frustrated and knowing that I could have done a much better job I went and re ran the middle course the next day. I’m really glad I did this as it helped me get back a bit of the relaxed feeling that I like to have when I’m orienteering. After the relay I found out I was running the long. I was really excited about this as it was another opportunity to race against the best. After such a disaster in the middle my I just set out to focus on the orienteering and enjoy it. I felt much more confident running the long; partly because I have run WOC long twice before and also because I feel my strengths are more suited to the long distance.

Beginning of the long distance (Photo: Janis Ligatnes)

I came 28^th/71 with a time of 1:36:34. I rushed a bit in the beginning and wasn’t careful enough with my compass losing about 3 minutes. After that I ran “strongly” - For the whole race I felt like I was crawling up and down the hills at snail pace but I knew it was the same for everyone. Looking at the gps tracking I actually managed to catch quite a bit of time back up here until, just as I was really getting fed up with the hills, I added in an extra one by running up the wrong hill just before #10. Things weren’t looking as they should and I realised my mistake, but I was not amused and lost another 3mins. After that I was pleased with my orienteering until the finish. There are positives to take away from my performance in that it showed that my current fitness is enough for a top 20 but in order to do so I need to get a hold of my navigation. There were ~6mins between 14^th and 28^th place. Just taking a few seconds to check my compass in the beginning and before #10 would have saved this.  

During the long distance (Photo: Janis Ligatnes)

It is always a pleasure and privelidge to be part of the British Team. With such a fantastic support team of Ed, Liz and Jack and great team mates makes it a fun week and much easier to pick yourself back up again when things don't go to plan. Coverage of the British Team at WOC can be found at On the Red Line and Maprunner. A big thanks to both for their support at WOC. In addition a big thank you to the North West Orienteering Association and West Cumberland Orienteering Club for their continued support. 

After a bit of a hectic two weeks moving to Oslo and settling in (more on this in a later post) there is no time to lose until the World Cup Round 3 in just two weeks time. These will be in Sarpsborg, Norway from 31st August - 2nd September.  You can follow the competition here.