INTERVIEW
Tania Robinson Mick Finn, Editor of New Zealand Orienteering magazine, interviews one of the stars of New Zealand orienteering – Tania Robinson. (reprinted with permission from New Zealand Orienteering magazine).
Tania, congratulations on your stellar career, encompassing many years and great performances at 11 world championships and world cups. And numerous National titles at all distances! Before we get into talking about the big races can you tell us how you got started and when you knew that orienteering was “the sport” for you? I’m guessing that your parents had something to do with it, but maybe not... Well it all started when I was 6yrs old and Mum and Dad set off into the forest on their Orienteering event and left me at the finish area with a bit of pocket money for some lollies (it was normal to leave your kids by themselves back then). So I guess I thought I was missing out and I couldn’t wait for them to get back from their runs to take me around a course so I entered myself and trotted off into the forest. I must say my Mum did get a bit of a shock when she met me in the middle of the forest yelling out ‘HI MUMMY, I’M ORIENTEERING BY MYSELF’. But she left me to it ...I figured it out and made it home and so from then on I had the earned the right to orienteering course freedom. And, in the early days of your Orienteering career was there any advice that you took to heart and still remember? I remember very early on I went and watched the World Champs in Australia. I was about 11 years old and all the Swedes who won had short spikes (haircut), so I came home and got my hair chopped off. This proved to be a bit of a bad move as when I lined up for the Auckland Secondary School 1500 metres they told me...’the boys race is next sonny’. I went on to win by the home straight length. Apparently the magic training formula is 2x7x365 but I can’t say I have ever had the motivation to try that theory out. All I can advise is that you be really honest with yourself and work on that one weakness that always nabs you. Mine is compass work and a bit of ‘crowd screaming at you anxiety’ that you get in the big races overseas. I noticed the Finnish coach runs out in the forest with a load hailer during some training sessions screaming at his athletes...maybe more of that would be good. Looking back, is there anything you might have done differently or you would advise someone else to do differently? Perhaps some aspect of big race preparation/ peaking for the Worlds/getting mentally prepared etc? Physically I think I have been pretty good. Mum and Dad are from a Lydiard background so I have always had a great little training program that allowed me peak just in time for World Champs. I guess it would have been nice to try the pro athlete thing that some of the overseas runners do, but I have an amazing job. It’s taken me all over the world where orienteering hasn’t, and allowed me compete against the world in another field. We even win sometimes. I wouldn’t want to trade this side of my life for anything. I also have a little man in my life that helps keep me sane and busy. I’m quite happy that I have kept a really good balance in my life but I’m positive if you really want to achieve at the very top level you really have to be willing to focus on the one goal...
28 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER SEPTEMBER 2008
