COURSE PLANNING – Winning times

Australian 3-Days

Winning Times & Relative Speeds

Adrian Uppill, Course Planner (Day 3)

One of the main factors in determining the success of an Orienteering event is to get the course winning times right for the respective age classes. This can be a daunting exercise for the course planner particularly for a new map where the crucial factor of running speed may be unknown. There is also the problem of selecting the right running speed for each class so that when applied to the recommended winning time as specified by Orienteering Australia rules, the correct course length is determined. And finally, how many courses need to be planned and how are the age classes to be grouped? A useful tool to assist in this complex task is the determination and application of relative speed factors, or Relative Speed for each class. Relative Speed for an age class is calculated by dividing the fastest run rate in Men 21 Elite by the fastest run rate of that class, for that particular event. Relative Speeds for an event can then be compared to other events. An examination of the 2005 Australian 3-Days event at Jindabyne, ACT, had already been undertaken to determine Relative Speeds for each age class. The data was smoothed and compared to other Orienteering events, including data from Canada (Zissos, A., Course Planning & Route Choice, 2003). In general terms Relative Speeds from other events supported the Jindabyne analysis. The Relative Speed factors were also applied with success to a badge event in SA. It was therefore considered that the Jindabyne data was sufficiently reliable to use for the 2007 Australian 3-Days in determining relative running speeds and course lengths for all classes and ultimately class groupings. Although the terrain differed, the runnability was expected to be similar. The Relative Speeds used were:

Age (yr) Men A Women A M AS *(75%) W AS *(75%)

16 0.743 0.576 18 0.804 0.650 20 0.880 0.703 0.660 0.527 21 1.000 0.848 0.750 0.636 35 0.885 0.699 0.664 0.524 40 0.810 0.654 0.608 0.491 45 0.763 0.615 0.572 0.461 50 0.712 0.575 0.534 0.431 55 0.666 0.538 0.500 0.404 60 0.621 0.508 65 0.588 0.474 70 0.548 0.430 75 0.460 0.378 80 0.383 0.311

Table 1 - Relative Speeds (smoothed) derived from 2005 Australian 3-Days, Jindabyne.

*In order to satisfy Orienteering Australia course length requirements of ‘AS’ course lengths to be 45-55% of the ‘A’ course length, a relative speed of 75% of the ‘A’ age class was used for the AS classes. Relative Speeds for ‘A” classes in Table 1 are shown at Graph 1. Using a spreadsheet, indicative course lengths were determined by selecting an approximate M21E run rate and applying it to Orienteering Australia winning times and the Relative Speeds as determined. 18 hard navigation courses were considered to be appropriate for the expected entry numbers, with classes grouped according to course lengths.

Graph 1 - Relative Speeds (smoothed) for 2005 Australian 3-Days, Jindabyne

The three course planners then fine tuned the run rates for their event area. Run rates varied from about 5.0 minutes/km for Day 1 & 2 at ‘Twigham’ to 6.0 minutes/km for Day 3 at ‘Worlds End South’. Predicted winning times for men and women 21Elite classes together with actual winning times are presented at Table 2. As can be seen from Table 2 the deviation was well within an acceptable range. Winning times for ‘A’ classes were also within acceptable limits, although for Course 18 on Day 3 class winning times were longer than the previous two days reflecting the steeper terrain & stony nature of the Day 3 area.

Day Map Class

Predicted winning time (minutes)

Actual winning time (minutes) Deviation %

1 Twigham Men 21E 31.50 30.22 -4.1 1 Twigham Women 21E 29.41 28.77 -2.2 2 Twigham Men 21E 85.32 83.77 -1.8 2 Twigham Women 21E 59.72 61.03 2.2 3 Worlds End Men 21E 44.22 44.65 1.0 3 Worlds End Women 21E 40.31 42.22 4.7

Table 2 - Predicted winning time to actual time

A comparison of relative speeds for the 2005 Australian 3-Days (smoothed) to the Burra 2007 3-Days event is shown at Graph 2. The dip in the Burra graphs for the 35 and 40 year age groups reflects orienteers that are running “down” for their age in the Elite classes. Similarly the low 20 year factor is due to orienteers running “up” for their age in the Elite classes. If the graphs are adjusted for those running “up” or “down”, then the Burra graphs equate closely to the Jindabyne (smoothed) factors but only up to the 65 year mens and the 55 year womens classes. Above these age classes the relative speeds for the Burra 3-Days was less than expected.