EPILOGUE FOR JWOC

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.

Simon Uppill. Photo: Erik Borg Bridget Anderson. Photo: Erik Borg

Rob Fell. Photo: Erik Borg

Rachel Effeney. Photo: Erik Borg

Vanessa Round Bridget Anderson

Heather Harding

Rhys Challen. Photo: Erik Borg Morten Neve

Jess Davis

Rachel Effeney – with only a short time to prepare, my physical preparation didn’t change however I focussed on being relaxed and building my confidence in the terrain at the training camp. Louis Elson – I did not do much differently. Obviously I tried to train on granite maps as much as possible but I tried to treat it as any other big event in general. Heather Harding – not having the experience of running a JWOC before I tried to prepare and organise myself for the week – e.g. mentally preparing for each race in terms of things like adjusting to spectator controls and home crowd support. My training was also at a slightly higher level to maximise my fitness level. Rhys Challen – Nothing especially different as I have always treated the nationals as big and important events. Rob Fell – prepared my training program specifically to deal with the week–long program. Was not expecting selection and so needed a special ‘catch up’ training program. Thanks Grant!!! Jess Davis – I definitely trained harder and there was probably more mental preparation required. Visualising running with the best orienteers from around the world and that kind of thing. Although the real thing is still a bit of a shock.

Q: If you have the opportunity again what would you do differently?

Vanessa Round – I don’t think I would change anything. I did a lot of specific granite training and thought a lot about what I could do to make sure I was confident I would run well. Not having a niggling injury since Easter would’ve been nice, as my physical preparation wasn’t ideal, but I coped with that and it all turned out fine! Jess Davis – I would have trained a lot harder. Those Europeans can sure run fast. Between AUS Champs and Xmas 5–Days last year I lost a lot of fitness and I ran really badly at the 5–Days. I had to work really hard to actually get back to a normal level of fitness again. So I won’t be slacking off like that again. Bridget Anderson – I would have done training a little bit different beforehand. I think I could have done more base training, but other than that I thought my preparation for JWOC was pretty good. Morten Neve – don’t go into any particular race with a varied attitude. Run every race as well as you can. Otherwise I am pretty pleased with my build up, wouldn’t do too much differently. Hopefully next year I’ll have another years training under my belt. Rachel Effeney – I would spend more time in the terrain. Simon Uppill – I think my physical training for JWOC was adequate, although it’s possible that more fitness training for the Long Distance could have improved my result in that race. As far as technical aspects I feel we were provided with easily enough opportunity to prepare. However, often this was on the same areas and this meant that it was possible to become ‘lazy’ with your orienteering because you know the area well. I’m not sure how this could have been different due to the limited number of training areas. Heather Harding – I would try and be fitter. You don’t realise just how tough the competition is and how tough the racing is (especially the Long Distance and backing up after each race) at that level until you experience for yourself.

Jess Davis. Nick Andrewartha. Photo: Erik Borg

Belinda Lawford

Belinda Lawford – I would do more races where I am under pressure so I am used to it. Louis Elson – I would have trained harder for the Classic (Long Distance); in particular my strength on the hills as I feel that is where I lost most time in the Long Distance event. Rhys Challen – I would do a lot more navigational training not just in the few months before the event. While my fitness was not high it was more than equal to the pace I could navigate at. Rob Fell – would have begun training pre selection trials! Support was excellent though. Having the experience of JWOC means I would be a lot more comfortable competing if I had the chance again.

Q: What was a low point for you and how did you get over it?

Vanessa Round – the low point was when I realised it was all over, all the internationals left and we had to go home. I’m probably not over it yet, but instead of going straight home to normality, I went skiing for the first time!! I had a low after Easter when I got an injury and didn’t know how long it would take to get better. Luckily it wasn’t as bad as I feared and I just did what I could to keep going. Morten Neve – I simply couldn’t believe how physically tough the Long Distance was. I thought I’d get through it OK. I was wrong. I just wanted it to end. Hard to talk your mind into focussing on the next few days. Hanny had to do that for me. Jess Davis – Probably not running at my best. I was very disappointed with how I ran in the Long Distance. I got over it by simply focussing on the next race. This will definitely motivate me to train a lot harder for next year. Rachel Effeney – being sick throughout the events was frustrating and definitely a low point. I tried to not let it affect me by focussing on my navigation for every race. Simon Uppill – my mistake in the Middle Distance qualification. This mistake had occurred because I hadn’t done what I had planned in the race. To get past this I went over the mistake, figured out why it occurred and how I could avoid it, and then concentrated on the Final the next day. Heather Harding – My performance in the Long Distance race was a low point – it physically and mentally exhausted me and I lost some confidence. For the next race (Middle Distance qualifying) I changed my focus, so I managed to relax and regain my confidence. Belinda Lawford – probably being sick because I couldn’t really get myself to focus on my next race. I don’t think I did get over it. Bridget Anderson – my result from the Middle Distance Final. I don’t know how I got over it. I just forgot about it by dinnertime and starting thinking about the Relay the next day. Louis Elson – I was disappointed with my Relay run but I got over it pretty quickly because once the race was over there was nothing I could do about it. Rhys Challen – catching a cold during the training camp prior to JWOC, I didn’t get over it – that was the problem. Rob Fell – The low point was the variety of illnesses that overcame the team leading up to the competition.

Q: Sum up your JWOC in Dubbo in one word. What is that word?!

Um…Europeans!!! (Jess Davis) Snacktacular (Rob Fell) Can’t be done! (Louis Elson) Awesome (Heather Harding, Belinda Lawford, Rhys Challen, Vanessa Round) Rewarding (Simon Uppill) Fun! (Rachel Effeney) Superawesomefantastic! (Bridget Anderson)