Orienteering Results 8-7-99


Remember our O-motto: We go Rain or Shine.

Rock Springs Run Training Day August 7

This event is always interesting. August is hot. No one feels like walking very far. Attendance at an August event can be anywhere from 30 to 230. This year I made it even more interesting by apparently omitting the "Training" note from the schedules. My memory is vaguely reminding me that I intended last winter to forego August Training Day and just make it a simple WYOG event. That's how the schedule listed it, but I set up a Training Day anyway. Confusing to anyone who showed up, but no one seemed to mind - much. However, it was odd to have several new folks come out and no one - that's zero - accepted our special Guided Walking Tour. Oh well.

The event was a success in that about 60 people showed up on a hot and sunny August day, the Saturday before school opens, when most parents were out in the malls buying last minute supplies. I'll try to post names of attendees and helpers onto the web page (have patience, tho'). Lots of new faces, several of whom were fresh off the Tibet Butler Training in July. That venue is producing lots of new members.

The heat, 95F, with high humidity, was draining, literally. I went through about 64 ounces of liquids after a 5km run setting flags and another 4 km run correcting (!!) one of them. Everyone else seemed to be well prepared with their own water. We sold maybe 4 sodas all day. Most everyone went out on the Orange training course, for which I provided a set of Notes, hopefully imparting some new skills. The Advanced Training, also with Notes, proved a little too advanced for most, even with it being under 3km length. It seems that diabolical setters like me really can fool people over short distances.

Everyone was accounted for in the end, and the forest fire (not planned) did not reach us. And it served as a warmup, and how, for the Labor Day event September 6, right back at Rock Springs in fresh new areas not seen before, we understand. Thanks for all the helpers who showed up: Russ Steinke, Jonathan Linforth, Tom Reynolds, Janet Putnam, Kim Johnson, Bev & Dave Ousley, David & Elsie Matthews, and Ray Bruneau who hung around for the last people to return with retrieved controls.

The 1999 World Championships of Orienteering Underway This Second Week of August.

News Flash!! Ordinarily, few here in FL would follow the competitive side of O', but I want you to know how we are 'connected'. First, the USA's Pavlina Brautigam has finished 43rd IN THE WORLD in the Short Distance Race at WOC in Scotland. Hooray for Pavlina. That is a phenomenal achievement . She's married to Joe Brautigam, who drew the very first FLO color maps back in 1992, of Moss Park and Paisley. Joe and Pavlina, along with their daughter, also attended our first FLO Class A event and all did extremely well.

In the WOC each of the four team members from each country race in one of four preliminary heats to qualify for the final and it's been rare that any US runner has even qualified for either Short or Classic distance. I have no results from the Classic Distance races, so I don't know how close any of them came, but none were in the Classic final. For the Women's Short race, the length was about 5 km and for the Classic, the length was about 9 km. The Men do about 8km and 16 km, respectively.

The second FLO connection to WOC is through the Swedish runners. Remember last March when Hakan Eriksson and some friends came to visit and to train? Via the club newsletter, we invited FLO'ers out to Little Big Econ to meet and run with them, but only Bev and Dave Ousley were there. They were hosting/setting it up in my absence. The news today (August 9) is that Hakan came in 16th and one of the other team members who came with him to FL, Jimmy Birklin, came it 4th - In the WORLD Classic Distance event!

Shouldn't you come out to meet these people when they come here to train next time? I think it's impressive. And I think it's wonderful for world class competitors like that to come to FL to train. I think it would be even more wonderful if we could convince other World caliber O'ers to train winters in FL; such at the US Team members. Maybe someday.

But in the meantime, FLO can bask in the faint-but-present light of Pavlina's and Jimmy's and Hakan's successes, knowing that, for the Swedes, their trip here at the beginning of the season may have had some small part to play in their performing so well.

Congratulations to them. We look forward to more visits.

Bob Putnam
Last Updated on 8/10/99
By Ron Eaglin