Samantha and Hillary Qualify!

2006-08-01T15:07:00.000+02:00

Quick news from Denmark: Hillary and Samantha Saeger both had great runs this morning in the sprint qualifier and will compete this afternoon in the sprint final!

We really should have live access during the finals this afternoon, starting after 5pm in Århus, so check back for news.

Interviews, Maps & Routes: Middle Quali

2006-07-31T19:31:00.000+02:00

[Please note: the Team USA trailer link below was incorrect and has now been fixed. It should point you here.]

Tonight we bring you exclusive inside commentary from the Team USA middle distance runners. Each runner has provided their maps for you to follow along and imagine their run.

Clem (Men C):
"The main thing I learned was that there is no margin for error - any deviation from perfect and you will lose places."

"The confidence I had going into controls today will help me tomorrow... especially on the second half of the course, the controls showed up where I expected them to be. "

Worst leg: 3-4

Best leg: 6-7 "I thought it was clever to go through later control - and I had expected a control to be there from studying maps before WOC."
Clem's map

Pavlina (Women C):
"I didn't learn anything new - just a reminder to do the things I need to do!"
Note: Pavlina considered all of the legs to be "best legs", except for two where she made mistakes.

First bad leg: 2-3
Long leg 5-6: "I ran all the way down to the trail junction to be careful - the woods were really open and you could see well, could have saved time."
Pavlina's map

Suzanne(Women A):
"It's really amazing to be running at a race where everybody around you is running around your speed or faster and you don't expect people to make mistakes. Even at JWOC, you could sometimes be either really accurate or really fast and be okay, but here you really have to do both to do well. It's amazing to be in the woods where everybody is really smooth. It makes you realize how important all the micro route choices are - you can have a leg that you run well and you run clean, but it's not as fast is the others. And yet in spite it all, it's still orienteering - it's still all the same challenges and what's happening in your head is still the most important thing going on in the race."

Worst leg: 5-6 - "I lost a lot of confidence on that leg"
Best leg: 2-3 - "Happy with this leg because i got myself mentally back into the race."
Suzanne's map

Boris (Men B):
"I'm angry now and I want to run well - I've lost a hell of a lot of the confidence that I came to WOC with."

"This is the first WOC I've come in to with reasonably high expectations for myself, and they all went out the window about 2.5 controls into the course. That's not a situation I'm used to and I don't know how to respond to it."

Best leg: first leg - "Blast out of the start, run really fast with Thierry down the trail, with Thierry up the trail, when the trail ended, we came to this clearcut area. He went around and I was like, 'That's not the way to my control' and sure enough, round the hill...

Worst leg: 2-3 - "Twisted my ankle the first time - made a rookie parallel error. Back and forth on the hill. Instead of making the best result possible, wanted to fix everything all at once."
Boris' map

James (Men A)
"Basically did what I wanted to do today. I performd technically well. My running was consistent, just not at an elite level. If I was going to get beat, I wanted it to be on the running side as opposed to 'being out in the woods'. Also, with this terrain being relatively easy, there's also a good challenge to have that mental discipline - stay focused, run hard, and put in a decent performance. My training was very methodical and this terrain was very methodical. I knew that from the Nov camp."

"I'm only running 3-4 days a week of high intensity - the other days are no running, to let my muscles recover. I was hoping to be feeling stronger today, but I wasn't."

"I prioritized the technical side over the physical side, because I knew that was key. I had the technical side first and the physical side would follow. You couldn't do the reverse. The fact that I was able to stay on technically, and fizzled a little physically mean that I was still okay."

Best leg: "In this terrain, i didn't think of any of them as good, I just got 'em done."
5-6 - Nontheless, "I thought that my round route was a redeemer - the round route paid off."

Worst leg: 8-9 - "I actually had a mistake. Nine was bad first because I lost time, but almost more so because it faltered the confidence. At an elite level you can't afford that."
James' map

Hillary (Women B):
Hillary's map

Middle Quali Results

2006-07-29T22:34:00.000+02:00

The results and maps from the middle qualification races are up on the WOC 2006 website. You can see results as well as maps and split times on Route Gadget.

You can see plenty of Americans and Canadians in Eddie's photos from today.

The media crew has interviewed each of the six runners - look for individual comments and maps with routes tomorrow!

Middle Qualification Race

2006-07-29T08:08:00.000+02:00

The startlists for Saturday's Middle Distance Qualification Races have just been posted. The races will be on the Hjortsballe Krat, 1:10,000 map, with a projected winning time of 25 min, top 15 finishers from each of the 3 heats of 45 competitors will advance to the final.

Women:
4.5-4.6k, 210-220m climb, 14-15 controls
Hillary Saeger 10:06
Suzanne Armstrong 10:22
Pavlina Brautigam 10:46

Men:
5.1-5.2k, 210-225 m climb, 15-16 controls
Clem McGrath 10:07
James Scarborough 10:41
Boris Granovskiy 11:09

We will try to post the updates on the finishers as they come through—Good luck to everyone tomorrow!

Team USA Trailer

2006-07-29T07:58:00.000+02:00

Excited to see the summer action of Team USA? Check out the Team USA WOC 2006 trailer for a sneak peak at what's to come.

Team USA!

2006-07-28T12:18:00.000+02:00