8 minute read
CLASSIC INJURIES
The damage – Above left: Peter Yeates displays the collateral damage. Painful – Above right: Mary Enter hobbled around all week on this. Right: The culprits – one of the offending pairs of shoes. Far right: The Editor wears softball shoes and hasn’t had a blister for years.
FOOT “Oh”
ANOTHER Xmas 5-Days has come and gone but the scars will remain for a few more weeks yet. I read in a recent edition of The Australian Orienteer that the most common injuries suffered by orienteers are ankle injuries.
There were 20 or so experienced orienteers at the lodge we hired for accommodation in Jindabyne. A quick straw poll found this not to be the case. The largest number were foot injuries and all of them blisters. Not just little or annoying blisters but large, bleeding, debilitating, almost life threatening, blisters.
The Editor was amongst the 20 and he felt moved to photograph the gruesome injuries.
A discussion ensured, lubricated by the Dandenong Ranges Orienteering Club’s special re-hydration fluid (recipe available). Amongst the gathered we found we had several thousands of kilometres and events experience. Several of us had been logging our events for Mike, who was compiling statistics for another article, and in my case I had competed in 145 events in the year 2005.
I had endured 189 hours running (shuffling) and covered 1062kms. So why was my left heel a bleeding mass at the end of Day One?
The answer, unfortunately, lay in the choice of shoe or rather the lack of a choice of shoe. I had completed 45 bush events in a “popular brand” of orienteering shoe with spikes resulting in 45 blisters.
I competed in 93 Park & Street events in a different “popular brand” Gel running shoe resulting in no blisters.
I competed in 7 Rogaines covering 212kms in a “ not so popular” brand of trail running shoe resulting in no blisters.
Aware of the fact that friction between shoe and sock is a common cause of blisters I always wear a popular brand of knitted sports sock costing $30.00 a pair.
I have tried several methods to overcome the problem, using various types of tape etc, with mixed results. I have been able to achieve some protection using the new style “compeed” blister dressings held in place with wound dressing tape but this will eventually give way if it gets wet or I make a mess of the navigation and I am still out there after 50 minutes or so. They also cost about $1.20 each, so two, per event is a significant reduction in the amount of money I can spend on “special re-hydration fluid”.
Back at the Xmas 5-Days, we gathered around a small bin armed with various tweezers, pliers, fish scalers and other sharp implements, removing grass seed. There was on display a smorgasbord of running shoes. What was immediately apparent was the poor quality or complete lack of padding in the heel of “the popular” brands of “O shoe”. We also observed that the amount of shock absorbency was also poor and that the low cut of the sides and heel counter, gave little support when compared to more conventional runners.
Don’t get me wrong, I quite liked my “O shoes” - the security of the enclosed toe and the grip of the spikes gives one great confidence. But the sole is very narrow and this made them a lot easier to stuff into the already full rubbish bin.
I have spoken with Kevin Maloney, Melbourne’s travelling “O Shop” man and he has ordered a new pair of a not so popular brand of spiked orienteering shoe that I have been assured are on a broader laste and have better padding and cushioning.
They sound terrific and I am prepared to give them a go. However Kevin’s a bit worried about the broader laste in case I am unhappy and try to stuff them somewhere other than a rubbish bin.
Provision of Water by Organisers
Andy Hogg (OA Director, Technical)
Evan Barr’s story certainly makes for scary reading. It’s a good reminder to all competitors that we need to listen to our bodies and learn our limits. This is particularly true for juniors, who are just beginning to learn how their bodies cope with training and racing. Orienteering also throws down the challenge of multi-day races. The difficulty here is learning the best way to recover between days. I remember being particularly worried about this when I was racing – so I asked the advice of a leading sports nutritionist in WA. I was expecting to hear which sports drinks were best, which foods to choose and so on. But after a moment’s thought, he told me to just eat and drink as much as I could of whatever I could find! But I digress. The point of this note is to comment on what organisers can learn from this episode about the importance of water on courses. Orienteering Australia is at odds with international convention on this issue. For example, our rules require water to be placed at controls (or compulsory crossing points), while IOF rules allow for placement of water anywhere on the course. Both sets of rules require water every 25 minutes (at the estimated speed of the winner). The problem with the IOF rule is that frequently the runner might be faced with a choice: should I divert from the best route on my course to take some water, or should I save the time? In Australia, races are frequently run in hotter conditions than European races, and dehydration is a bigger factor. So, we don’t allow the runner to make this choice – water is placed at a point where all runners must pass, minimising the time penalty for taking a drink. Some organisers complain that this rule is an unfair restriction which complicates the logistics of providing water. My only advice on this would be that if water must be placed on a track for logistical reasons, then an extra control can be added to the course at that point. In some countries, it is common for runners to take water with them on the course. I ran a British Elite Champs a few years ago; this 90 minute race (actually 1:50 for me) had no water on the course! Luckily it was only 10° and drizzling, so I only needed to open my mouth for a drink! But a situation like this in warm weather would be a debacle. Which is why I will always defend our relatively strict rules on the provision of water. Of course, when water is provided there must be enough water for all competitors. If water runs out, it is not only a safety/dehydration issue, but also a fairness issue – if early runners have the benefit of a drink but not the later runners this can make a substantial difference to performance. OA has a recommended amount of water (300mL per competitor) for water at drinks controls. But it’s clear that in warm conditions this may not enough, and it’s not unknown for an entire container of water to be spilled accidentally. It is always worthwhile leaving a large safety margin on the amount of water provided. Having said this, the Christmas 5-days is usually a low-key event, and is not covered by the OA rules. In low-key events, organisers always need to strike a balance between the organisational load and the requirements of competitors. From what I hear of the 2005 Christmas 5-Days they balanced the load very well, in general. But the provision of water, both on the course and afterwards, could have been substantially improved. This may or may not have altered Evan’s case – he suffered from a series of unfortunate circumstances. But Evan’s experience and Julie’s excellent article provides a timely reminder to all organisers to take the issue of water seriously.
Buy yourself a JET this year!
JET compasses have the unique super-fast “Rare Earth” broad magnetic needle for the fastest settling and stability when running over rough terrain. Guaranteed to save precious seconds every time you check your bearing.
says Grant Bluett who runs with a Silva 6 Jet Spectra
SILVA 6 JET SPECTRA
For competitive orienteers who prefer the ultimate in thumb compasses. Features the broad fluorescent Jet needle and the unique time saving ‘Spectra’ colour coded ring. Elastic thumb strap and rubber pad for a safe and sure grip. Map scales in 1:10,000 and 1:15,000. Available in left and right hand models.
$138 from your local O-gear shop at events.
SILVA 5 JET
Features a scratch resistant ‘comfort-fit’ curved back-end baseplate and the unique fluorescent red/white, broad Jet needle. Easy-to-grip housing with enlarged dial. Detachable map scales in 1:15,000 and 1:10,000 and silicon baseplate feet to prevent unintentional slipping on maps.
$133 from your local O-gear shop at events.
SILVA 1S JET
Same high-performance Jet needle as in above model. Large magnifying lens in baseplate for enlarging fine map detail. Other features as in 5 Jet.
$145 from your local O-gear shop at events.
