WOC sprint finals

Watched the sprint finals of the World Orienteering Championships in Forres this evening. Interesting to be at a sporting event when the venue is the town itself (closed to traffic) and spectators are all over the course.

After watching some of the slower competitors through this control, I went over to the finish where, thanks to some computer trickery, TV and a big screen, it really was easy to follow how the race was unfolding and really exciting in the men's competition. Starting at one minute intervals, slowest to fastest qualifier, the top 10 were split by only 15 seconds, with the winner and third from Sweden. Contrast this with the women, where the Danish winner was 40 seconds ahead of second and another minute covered 2-11.

The less said about my run in the morning, the better. Rather too technically difficult for me, I didn't lose too much on the first half, but blundered badly on the second half, only to discover at the finish that I'd failed to punch (the right) control 12 so I was disqualified! Nice to meet Wendles for the first time.