EPILOGUE FOR JWOC 2007
The AUS Team remembers After all the hype and euphoria that was JWOC 2007 in Dubbo what lasting impressions did the Carnival leave on our young JWOC Team? Their Team Manager, Hilary Wood, questioned each team member about their memories and here is a selection of their responses. Q: What was the highlight for you in Dubbo? Vanessa Round – running almost as well as I’d hoped. It was a big relief. I would have been really disappointed if I’d run badly after all the build up (obviously!). The best thing was that it was in front of a home crowd – it just made it so exciting and it was great that I could share the excitement with everyone who was there. Bridget Anderson – everyday was a highlight for me but I guess one of the best experiences was the first time I ran through a spectator control during the Sprint. The noise was so unbelievably loud and it just felt great to know they were all cheering for you. Morten Neve – it was all pretty exciting; probably going through the first spectator control in the Long Distance. Realising I was on a pretty poor time I was amazed at the shrieking from the crowd as I ran through – everyone sounded way too excited. (When I finished I found out Vanessa was just behind me and had posted the fastest time so far – that probably deserved the cheer I heard.) Rachel Effeney – the Relay was my highlight as it was a great conclusion to a fun week. Simon Uppill – my result in the classic Long Distance. Also that this year was a chance to show Australian orienteers what competing at JWOC is really like. Heather Harding – running in front of a home crowd – the cheering and support was amazing, especially running out as the first Australian starting in the Sprint. Belinda Lawford – Just being in the team was awesome and seeing all the other teams and what they were like. Louis Elson – meeting people from other countries and playing ‘Stomp Ball’. Rhys Challen – running JWOC itself was a highlight though I particularly enjoyed the Long Distance from the spectator’s point of view and meeting new people. Rob Fell – the trip highlight was the camp in Blackheath with the morning run through Govett’s Leap. But the Dubbo highlight was definitely the great feeling at the Model event. Jess Davis – definitely the party and meeting people from all around the world. Oh, and Vanessa and Simon doing so well. I actually cried when Vanessa ran down the finish chute on the day of the Long Distance. And bonding with my roomies.
Q: In preparing for JWOC in Dubbo what did you do differently to preparing for national championships? Bridget Anderson – I consulted three different people 8 months before JWOC about how I should train up until JWOC. But my training wasn’t only physical, I did a lot of mental training teaching myself how to concentrate and relax before a big race. I also became way obsessed with Armchair–O as I lined my whole toilet with granite maps. Vanessa Round – I hadn’t focussed on a carnival so intensely and for so long as I did for JWOC. All my training and racing was directed towards JWOC. I travelled interstate for relevant technical training more than usual. Also, I put a lot more effort into making sure training was a priority. More thought went into the mental aspect as I really wanted to make sure I would run well. Simon Uppill – the running training I did for JWOC probably wasn’t too much different to what I would have been doing anyway. This is because running at the elite level (21E – not 20E) in Australia is relatively similar to the competition at JWOC. Although I have done more running training in the lead up to JWOC than I have in previous years, I believe this is what I would have been doing anyway at this point in my life to compete for a M21E national championship, and I will continue to build on this. The major difference would be the amount of training in relevant terrain, which I may not necessarily get for a national championship. Another difference is that JWOC itself provided a powerful motivator for training. Belinda Lawford – I haven’t really ever prepared properly for national champs before so it was all new to me. I trained on granite areas as much as possible and went through things that would come up at JWOC such as dealing with spectators. Morten Neve – most of it was similar. Usually I would try and be well rested for lots of races through the year, but I tried not to sacrifice much training this season, just focussed on JWOC. DECEMBER 2007 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 23
