Discussion: Gold!

Congrats. Pretty sweet terrain and map eh!

Very enjoyable. Tough to execute and keep a fast pace.

Well done.

So interesting to read the log of an elite orienteer over such rugged terrain. I got the sense that you guys never make mistakes and are never out of touch with the map. I'll have to go back and look at the map now considering your comments. Sorry we had to leave early and miss this event--it sounds like it was a wonderful challenge. Congratulations on your championship.

Well, if elite orienteers were always in full control and never made any mistakes, the sport would be a lot less exciting... ;) At the World Champs in Norway a few weeks ago there were certainly many mistakes made by world stars, displayed on the big screens in the arena, transmitted in real-time from the GPS units the runners were carrying.

If you want to be fast, you can't read every single detail along the way. That would be like visiting 1000 controls along the course and that is simply too slow. The real trick to the sport is to let go of control in a controlled fashion, i.e. to use compass, map simplification, catching features, attackpoints etc to move faster through the terrain than would be possible if you have to know in every moment your exact location. This obviously comes with a risk and that's why even elite orienteers sometimes makes mistake.

That is a very nice description of the essence of orienteering racing.

Congratulations on the gold!

Well said Magnus! It's all about finding that balance and running on the edge. Easier said than done :)

That feeling of running and navigating 'on the edge' is a real rush!

Agree. I feel like a real bad-ass when I take the straight route, and only knowing roughly where I am. But I always tell everyone: "It doesnt matter if you dont know where you are at the moment, as long as you know where you are going; that´s what matters."

btw. Congrats on gold. youve earned it.