Variant 5

03.05.2007

Özgür,Tipi, Tatiana and I were the Istanbul IOG members who participated in the 5 day race, Variant5, in Targoviste, Bulgaria. Although the wait at the border was tiring, the trip there was pleasant. Variant5 is an Orienteering Club in Targoviste and also has a branch in Switzerland. The person in charge of organizing the race was Marc Lettau from the Swiss branch. There were 550 participants from 12 countries in the race. On the first day we ran the sprint distance in the forest around where we were staying. The area was full of trenches left over from the war. On the other days we competed in forest areas with differing characteristics. For results and pictures:

www.variant5.ch

37. Shaffhauser OL

04.04.2007

This year’s second national race in Switzerland and the 37^th Annual Schauffhausen Race.  This 1 day race has 25 controls and is 13,5km long with a 360mt climb.  It’s a good course but very challenging.  The map marked tree stumps with a black X and while I was looking for something man-made, I found tree stumps. Aside from this confusion, I made mistakes choosing routes on the long stretches of the course and this costed me a total of 01:31 minutes. After the race, as a part of the IOF class, we observed the race and made evaluations. Also Beat Meier and I were interviewed by Ol-Faschschrift Orienteering magazine about orienteering in Turkey.

www.solv.ch

IOF Adviser Clinics

01.04.2007

The class for refereeing International Orienteering Federation races was held in Switzerland this year. Training was done by Marcel Scheiss from Switzerland and Vincent Frey from France. It was a three day class with 17 participants from 9 countries.  The class was rich with information about race types and rules, control mechanisms and course preparation.

www.orienteering.org

Spring Cup

26.03.2007

Denmark’s 17^th annual  International Spring Cup was organized this year in Roskilde with 2500 participants from 35 countries. My start on the first day was at 21:30, the course was 6,3km with 13 controls. The weather was cold and rainy that day. My 20W headlight’s batteries lasts for 70min.  The forest was wet and swampy in most places and aside from the trails, the terrain was thick with vegetation and fallen trees. I finished the course in 50minutes. The view from the finish line to the gathering area was a sight worth seeing: one walks for 500m on a trail lined with torches on each side. On the 2^nd day, the course was 11,5km with 24 controls. The terrain in the forest was more difficult to run than on the previous day.  I started out fast and made a mistake going from the 2^nd to the 3^rd control and made a few other errors along the course which added 01:34min. On Sunday I went on the Switzerland with a tick still on me. Most of the forests in Europe contain these ticks and one should be immunized against them. Information at www.zecken.ch. I had to take a 20day course of antibiotics.

www.springcup.dk

IOG Winter Cup

15.12.2006

The forest was under a blanket of thick fog on the morning of the race. I bandaged my ankle and warmed up during the time before the race. The course was 6,770 mt long with a 290mt climb and 21 controls. The forest was covered with thick overgrown vegetation after the autumn rain showers and I was forced to slow down to a walking pace at certain spots on the course. I chose to take a direct route to the 14th control from the 13th control. As a result, my whole body was scratched up as I ran through the thick vegetation. I would have gained an extra minute had I ran on the trail to the 14th control. I was worn out after that and had a difficult time going to the 15th control. I made small mistakes here and there but my overall time was 65'47" and I got first place. I want to thank everyone who prepared the course. For race results:

www.istanbulorienteering.org

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