GREAT LEGS – Aust 3-Days

Australian 3-Days 2005, Day 3, Buckenderra South

by Nicki Taws & Anthony Scott

ON Day 3 of the Australian 3 Days event held last Easter near Jindabyne, the first eleven courses had a similar long leg, with slight variations on the control siting at each end. This leg was set with no particular optimum route in mind – the challenge was for the competitor to decide on the most suitable route for themselves and to execute it cleanly.

The red line on the leg tended to lead the eye to the righthand route, down the steep gully, around the side of the steep slope and across the track with various options for going through saddles or over low hilltops depending on where the final control was. The left route was not necessarily obvious at first, particularly as it involved a steep climb out of the gully early on. However once up the top there were fast track options and very little climb left to do. If executed well, the right-hand route had similar climb to the left, however it was easy to drop much further down the gully than intended, resulting in unnecessary climb.

Contouring around the steep slope also carried the risk of getting stuck in green or slow rocky areas. On M21E, leg 8-9; Julian Dent had the fastest time (8.22) and took the right-hand route, as did Rob Preston (8.44). However, Grant Bluett ran the left route in 8.29 with a fair-sized wobble at the end which probably cost him much more than 7 seconds. Rob Walter (9.34) ran a similar route to Grant but also lost time, probably well over a minute, when coming off the knoll at the end (following another competitor to a nearby control). Tom Quayle ran wider on the left route than either Grant or Rob and nailed the control in 8.39. Kerrin Rattray took a similar route to Julian but was sucked further down the gully than intended by following a competitor in front of him, and then almost made a mistake similar to Rob Walter’s coming off the top of the knoll at the end. He recovered from both these near-disasters to run the leg in 9.05. In the words of the competitors: Grant Bluett (8.29): “Why I took that route …… it was one of the two options that I thought was the fastest, the other was more to the right doing a lot of running on the side of the hills. I thought the way I chose was the safest of the two. I got a little confused in the circle, there seemed to be a lot of ‘greeny’ stuff just before the control, and the gully was more defined than I thought it should be, I probably lost about 40 seconds.”

Tom Quayle Tom Quayle (8.39): “Happy with route choice to the left, and using a later control (number 12) as an attack point.” Rob Preston (8.44): “I hadn’t planned the leg ahead, but quickly decided not to go left, but rather run into the large gully and study the route when I got there.…… Thought about running over the hill immediately before the control, but was tired and decided it would be easier contouring to the right. The rocky ground was quite slow, and I got nervous about attacking the control from the side, so I climbed a little, and then saw the gully from above.” Kerrin Rattray (9.05): “I left the control looking down at the major gully ahead. Adrian Jackson was in front and I initially followed. Once in the gully I saw the left option. It was too late and I was committed. I wanted to leave the gully earlier but got sucked into following it all the way….. decided to go over the last hill as it was an easier approach Anna Danielsson

down to the gully.. nearly made a mistake…needed to check the compass coming off the hill.” W21E had a similar, but slightly shorter, leg (control 10-11). The fastest times were made by those taking the left route; Hanny Allston (8.37), Jo Allison (8.47) and Alison Jones (9.32), although these three women ended up running together which would have helped their speed. The right hand route proved to be slower and also created problems in its execution. Jo Allison (8.47): “I chose the (left) route because; a) it was a safe approach into the control, b) it went back past the triangle and control 1, so I was familiar with this area, and c) it got the climb out of the way early on.” Mace Neve (11.30): “I wanted to go through both saddles just before control 11, and I didn’t want to drop right down to the paddock. The plan was to go a lot straighter than I did. But there were two girls in front of me and they both headed down the gully so I did too. I wanted to stay with the group.” Anna Danielsson (12.04): “I was too tired to run up the hill (on the left-hand route), so decided to go right. In the end I lost direction and went too far down. Stood still for a long time and was really confused”.

M21E had another interesting route choice later in their course (control 16 – 17). The controls at the start and the end of the leg were only one contour different in height, around the side of a steep hill. The main route choice was to drop initially and attack from the clearing at the bottom (Julian Dent 3.57, Rob Walter 4.13), or to climb initially and approach the control on a tricky diagonal downhill through some green and rock features (Rob Preston 3.52, Grant 5.27). In the words of the competitors: Rob Preston (3.52): “Looked at this leg while I was struggling up to 16, and considered contouring. Changed mind, and ran straight up the hill and over spur. Was catching Eric Morris so followed his line, angling down the hillside. Through a gully, with rocks either side, through another gully. Hesitated about 100m from the control, but spotted the two boulders to my right and dropped into the control.” Grant Bluett (5.27): “…..this was a shocker. I went straight but never picked up anything on the way, I couldn’t read the rocks when I went through the big gully (gullies?) before the control. I came out on the vague spur a little below the control and stood for quite a

Grant Bluett

while trying to read myself in. I couldn’t do this so I had to choose to go up or down. I thought that I was usually too high on the other controls this week so I would go down. I was wrong!” The times and route choices for these legs show that there was little difference between quite different routes – time lost was mostly due to navigational mistakes. Therefore route choice should be made primarily with: a) a good attack point in mind; b) regard to the “obstacles” on the leg, ie. climb, steep descent, green; c) how you are feeling physically and mentally at that point of the race. Once the route is chosen, make it a “no regrets” leg, ie. commit to it – run the leg like there was no choice and execute it to perfection. There’s nothing worse than running the leg believing that you are losing time by going the “wrong” way (when in fact you probably are not), then really losing time by missing the control because you were distracted and annoyed all the way there. JO ALLISON takes us through her entire course on pages 40 and 41 in this edition.

I enjoy reading your magazine and will settle down the first night I receive it for a good night’s reading. Alas, once again I was disappointed because the 2004 Australian Championships course comparison was devoted to the elites. An outsider would think elites were the only competitors in major events. Since the elites make up just a small percentage of the Orienteering community I think more space should be devoted to the more numerous age groups like W50 or M55. There are some wonderful orienteers in these age groups.

Let’s face it, unless one has competed on the course, and more specifically, on the leg it is hard and not interesting to compare which runner took the best option.

After the Easter 3-Days in Perth (2003) I was asked to submit legs for Day 3. I chose and submitted to our secretary W40 and M50 legs. I don’t know whether they got to you or whether they were not chosen but things haven’t improved since then.

With twenty-four or more courses at the Australian Championships, what could be done is to compare an elite with (say) an M40, or a W40 with an M55. Surely there are common legs used for different age groups. I would love to compare my route choice three months later when the winner’s route is published in the magazine.

John King (M55 – OAWA)

Ed: The Great Legs section is very popular and readers clearly like seeing how others solved the route choice puzzles. This edition carries some detailed route choice analyses from Jo Allison and Thierry Gueorgiou which will be of great interest to elites and non-elites alike. These analyses can be treated as good ‘armchair coaching’ in which orienteers of all standards will gain from the insights on route choice and decision-making by competitors who were on the course and under pressure.

The elites are very good at providing their route choice analyses to this magazine and I’m most grateful to those who take the time to do so. If others believe that there have been great legs on their particular courses then please send them in and I will be happy to print them whether they be single legs or entire courses. But, I can only print what I receive.

I need to have a detailed analysis in text similar to those provided by Jo Allison and Thierry Gueorgiou. I also need the map file in OCAD8, preferably with the leg and route choice drawn onto it. Alternatively, send the map file and a hard copy of the map with leg and route drawn – I will add them to the map file.

Words of Wisdom on Route Choice

• Don’t change your route choice part way along the leg – once the decision is made, stick to it; • Choosing a route which is not a straight line must give you a significant advantage such as less climb, a fast track, avoiding thick vegetation - otherwise don’t choose it; • Don’t be put off by other competitors choosing another route – they may be wrong; • The best designed legs will always have you wondering which is the best way to go – that’s the skill of good course setting; • You can always find out which choice was best by comparing split times afterwards.

NEWS

Russian Ski-O Development

THE reason why the Russian juniors are so successful in Ski-O is their development program. Throughout Russia there are regional championships for 13 to 20 year-olds. The best 1,000 from the 37 regions qualify to take part in the finals. What potential for development!

Firebug settlers changed our climate

A report of a study in the latest issue of the journal Geology supports arguments that early settlers changed Australia’s landscape. The geological record shows that the interior of Australia was much wetter about 125,000 years ago and research indicates that the burning may have changed the climate by weakening the penetration of monsoon moisture into the interior.

The last Ice Age changed the weather across the planet but monsoons returned as the glaciers retreated 12,000 years ago, with the exception of the Australian monsoon, which brings about 100 cm of rain annually to the Top End and the far north Queensland coast as it moves south from Asia, though only about 33 cm falls on the interior.

Researchers from the University of Colorado and John Magee of the ANU in Canberra, used computerised global climate simulations to show that if there were some forest in the middle of Australia, it would lead to a monsoon with twice as much rain as the current pattern.

Fossil evidence shows that birds and marsupials that once lived in Australia’s interior would have browsed on trees, shrubs and grasses rather than the desert scrub environment that is there today. It also shows large charcoal deposits, most likely caused by widespread fires, which date to the arrival of the first settlers. People are also blamed for killing off 85 per cent of Australia’s huge animals, including an ostrich-sized bird, 19 species of marsupials, a 7.5metre lizard and a Volkswagensized tortoise. Australian Geographic

Swiss at Aust 3-Days

Sara and Rolf Gemperle

completed their Australian bike tour of over 6000 km from Cairns to Melbourne in time to compete at the Aust 3-Days last Easter. Rolf is former Swiss National Women’s Squad trainer (he won M40 at Easter) and Sara is in the Swiss Elite Squad (Sara finished 5th in W21E at Easter).

Their epic journey down Australia’s east coast was done on touring bikes with a special tandem for young daughter Elaine.

Good News for Orienteers

SEX, jogging and some mental exercise can help reduce the risk of developing demetia and other degenerative brain conditions, says Thailand’s head of their Neurological Institute.

He confirmed the results of Australian research which found that cryptic crosswords and a long run helped create new brain cells and stimulate existing ones, forestalling the symptoms of Alzheimers and Parkinsons by increasing levels of prolactin, a protein hormone commonly found during sex and pregnancy.

Bankok Post

IOF World Rankings

Men: 1 Valentin Novikov RUS; 2 Mats Troeng SWE; 3 Thierry Gueorgiou FRA; 4 Jarkko Huovila FIN; 5 Emil Wingstedt SWE; 6 Jani Lakanen FIN; 7 Mats Haldin FIN; 8 Holger Hott Johansen NOR; 9 Johan Näsman SWE; 10 Pasi Ikonen FIN; 49 Grant Bluett AUS; 55 David Shepherd AUS; 96 Troy de Haas AUS. Women: 1 Simone Niggli-Luder SUI; 2 Heli Jukkola FIN; 3 Jenny Johansson SWE; 4 Karolina Arewång-Höjsgaard SWE; 5 Hanne Staff NOR; 6 Marika Mikkola FIN; 7 Tatyana Riabkina RUS; 8 Minna Kauppi FIN; 9 Emma Engstrand SWE; 10 Dana Bro_ková CZE; 47 Jo Allison AUS; 71 Natasha Key AUS; 76 Hanny Allston AUS;

Distracted by other competitors?

– the Orienteer’s problem

Troy de Haas, one of Australia’s leading orienteers, is a picture of concentration at the Oceania Championships earlier this year. Photo: Rob Crawford

ONE of the most common things you’ll hear after any event is competitors complaining about mistakes they made when they were running with others. Things were going really well, spiking all the controls and very much in control when they caught ‘Joe Bloggs’ and made mistake after mistake after mistake. I know of a fellow Sport Psychologist who in fact calls this type of problem “the Orienteer’s problem” as every orienteer she has worked with at some stage has to deal with the problem of being distracted in the forest by fellow competitors and making a navigational error.

What’s happening?

So why does this occur? To orienteer well requires a great deal of concentration. Virtually all a competitors’ attention needs to be focussed on the process of navigation – reading the map, identifying the surrounding terrain and planning where to run next. Any attention not focussed on the navigational process is required for ducking branches, climbing logs and just keeping going physically. When we see another competitor what happens is that our attention shifts to that other competitor and, more importantly, away from navigational/orienteering tasks. Additionally we don’t just see Joe Bloggs. The mind is often then flooded with what are known as ‘automatic thoughts’ – thoughts, memories and evaluations associated with Joe Bloggs.

The automatic thoughts could be of any nature, but might be along the lines of “there’s Joe Bloggs”; “He started 4 minutes before me”; “I’ve got him covered”; “which way is he going”; “He usually knows what he is doing”; “He’s going left, I’d better go with him”; “Wonder if we’ll catch Fred Bloggs – he started 2 minutes ahead of Joe”; etc. etc. If our attention was just able to take in that “there’s Joe Bloggs’ we might not lose concentration however generally automatic thoughts also rush in meaning we are not concentrating on the important and challenging task of Orienteering which results in mistakes. If, additionally, Joe Bloggs’ attention is on you and he is focussed on his automatic thoughts about the situation then both of you are on the way to errors.

So what to do?

How do we overcome this problem? There are three key steps:

The first thing to do is recognise that there will be times when you are orienteering when you will be distracted, be it by fellow competitors, your own internal thoughts or, as outlined here, by both. Even races when you orienteer relatively error-free and well you will probably be distracted from navigation and orienteering for short periods of time but it doesn’t result in errors/lost time. The difference is that on days when you don’t make mistakes your attention returns to navigating/orienteering relatively quickly.

Secondly, be aware that your attention can waiver and try to notice when it’s happening. If you consistently lose concentration in a particular situation (e.g. when you see another competitor) then noticing you are no longer focussed on orienteering should be easier. If it happens on random occasions then realising you are not focussed on orienteering might be more difficult but it can still be done. The trick is to be able to notice that it is happening (i.e. that you are distracted) and notice it as quickly as possible.

The third part of the plan is that once you have noticed you are distracted you need to have a plan to return to what you should be doing (i.e. orienteering/navigating). What is the key thing you should be doing? For most people it is navigating. To get back to navigating identify something that you are supposed to be doing and tell yourself aloud or in your head to do it. For example if you notice that you are distracted then say to yourself “Where am I now?”; or “Where am I going next?”; or even “What feature am I going to see next?” and then follow up your statement with that action. Look at the map and bush around you and work out where you are now, where you are going next or what feature you will see next.

This process of telling yourself what to do and then following it up with swift action not only puts your attention back where it should be, on navigating and orienteering, but also ‘trains’ your mind not to wander off onto distracting thoughts in the future.

To summarise, you will lose concentration at some stage while orienteering – it is a rare competitor that doesn’t! The challenge is to recognise that it’s happening or happened. This might be when you realise the thoughts in your head are about a fellow competitor or other thoughts not relevant to the actual process of navigating. Once you have realised you are distracted you need to get back into the process of navigating and orienteering. The way to do this is to have a key element of navigating, such as identifying where you are on the map, and tell yourself, preferably aloud, to do it!

Jason McCrae is a registered Intern Psychologist in the ACT currently completing his Masters in psychology. He is also OA’s Manager (High Performance). He can be contacted on Jason.mccrae@act.gov.au