For me these training days were a process of reaquainting myself with the terrains that I visited last summer on the Pre-JWOC camp but for Dan and Niamh it was a whole new experience. The terrain in Hungary is almost the complete opposite of what we just competed in whilst in Bulgaria. It is flat and sandy and very very bushy. In fact it is the bushes, more specifically the large patches of juniper bushes that pose the biggest challenge.
At first glance these areas just look like a green mess on a bit of paper, and to be honest the reality isn't much better. However after a few times running in the unique terrain we had worked out a few strategies to best navigate in them.
Tall trees are good to look for and you had to almost navigate as if it was a maze, looking for the patches of yellow which were passable and avoiding green at all costs.
After the past few days spent in the training areas I feel much more confident for the races coming up. On Monday we have the long, then on Thursday it is middle qualifier, followed by middle final on Friday and then the relay on Saturday. And we cannot wait, bring on the races!!
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Thursday, July 5, 2018
In Transit
Its Thursday the 5th of July and today we travel. Veliko Tarnovo is the current location and Kekskemet is the target destination.
5.30am. We wake up and do the final packing, then head outside to get a taxi down to the bus station. 6.20am. The bus leaves. It was sweaty and uncomfortable but we got to Sofia. Good. Now for a taxi to the airport, as we drove we realied that our coinage might not cover this taxi fair so some notes had to be broken out. Fair play taxi man, fair play. Terminal 2 was now our loaction. Except the flight was from terminal 1; about 1km away. Who messed that one up, not me for sure. Another taxi was hailed, some coins played and now we are at the airport.
3 pizzas and some card games later and its time to fly. Brum brum. Budapest here we come. Budapest we are here.
Team!!!
We met the rest of the guys and then got into the hire cars and hit the road, the final part was upon us. And done. Hotel arrived at.
Man it is LUSH. Like I mean nice! No time for that though as we headed out on a little team jog to stretch the legs and finish a nice days travelling.
Essentially what happened there was we got from EYOC to JWOC and are now in Hungary ready to get our JWOC campaign to get underway. And I cannot wait!
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
EYOC Aftermath
Baby Shark doo doo doo doo doo doo... our new favourite song. Being cooped up in hotel rooms for 4 days really does lead you to getting rather bored.
The next 4 days were spent as follows:
2nd: relaxing in the hotel with a trip to the gym just to loosen the legs
3rd: recovery jog round a park in the city we were staying and some preparation for the long race at JWOC
4th: again another recovery run round the same park and some prep for the middle and relay at JWOC, but also a swim in the pool and most importantly organising the transport to the airport the next day.
These 4 days were very important for the recovery from EYOC which of course meant having a buffet breakfast and a 3 course meal for lunch and tea was vital!
Having this time also gave us time to reflect on all of our races and analyse what we should do in order to have the best chances at JWOC.
Looking back at the EYOC races I feel my runs were alright, could've been worse but most importantly could've been better. In the sprint my navigation was just too slow in the technical bit and i never felt i fully got up to speed. The long was a bit better however i had one big mistake meaning i lost 4 minutes at least. Again the relay was better with only a couple of misses this time. So overall i am pretty happy with my first (and last) EYOC performance.
We fly out to JWOC on Thursday to meet the rest of the team for JWOC, yayyyy!
The next 4 days were spent as follows:
2nd: relaxing in the hotel with a trip to the gym just to loosen the legs
3rd: recovery jog round a park in the city we were staying and some preparation for the long race at JWOC
4th: again another recovery run round the same park and some prep for the middle and relay at JWOC, but also a swim in the pool and most importantly organising the transport to the airport the next day.
These 4 days were very important for the recovery from EYOC which of course meant having a buffet breakfast and a 3 course meal for lunch and tea was vital!
Having this time also gave us time to reflect on all of our races and analyse what we should do in order to have the best chances at JWOC.
Looking back at the EYOC races I feel my runs were alright, could've been worse but most importantly could've been better. In the sprint my navigation was just too slow in the technical bit and i never felt i fully got up to speed. The long was a bit better however i had one big mistake meaning i lost 4 minutes at least. Again the relay was better with only a couple of misses this time. So overall i am pretty happy with my first (and last) EYOC performance.
We fly out to JWOC on Thursday to meet the rest of the team for JWOC, yayyyy!
Sunday, July 1, 2018
EYOC Forest Races
The morning of the Long distance race marked the begginning of an almost non stop schedule for the rest of the competition.
Firstly we all had to be on a bus at 7am, meaning getting up at 6am for breakfast. This was a tough ask (bearing in mind 6am is 4am in the UK) and almost too hard for some... But we all made it onto the bus and soon on the long bus journey to quarantine. As we progressed into Bulgarian foothills, the roads became narrower, the villages we passed got smaller and the hills bigger.
Eventually we arrived at quarantine, at a place that looked to be a school. We soon found out that our short stay for the morning would be in an english teaching summer school; with the students still there...! At one point they all came out for a lunch break and started asking for autographs of everyone, I felt honoured and quite amused.
A long, long time later (almost 5 hours) and I could finally start to get ready to race. Kit on, check everything and then head to jog up to the start and warm up, almost exactly like I would in the UK. Anyways I got to the start fine, no drama, ready to race. Excited to race.
The race itself was okay, but not amazing. I've come to realise now that it was just an average run. Not what I had hoped for, but probably what I deserved. The course on the other hand was very well planned and a constant challenge. A mixture of really technical controls in green areas, and two mega long legs with no clearly faster routes. In the end I think that I got the fastest routes just lacking a bit of execution so I still lost a faur chunk of time.
At the finish I knew that I had performed okay but not great and was hopeful that I would be rewarded with a good result. 14th wad good but without a few of my mistakes it could have been a whole lot better... maybe next time!
So that was the long, next I was bundled straight onto a bus in soaking wet clothes (yes I forgot to mention that I finished in a thunder storm!) And back to the accomodation. Quick change, a bit of food and then back out to the EYOC party.
A few hours later, lots of food eaten, a bit of dancinh completed and we headed back to the hotel, hot and bothered, sweaty and tired but very content and happy. Nice.
7am and time for the final day of competition. No bus to catch today since we were allowed to take our own transport to the race, so it wasn't as rushed as previous days. Once there, we checked out the arena, I got my kit on and then the team did the classic Paul square warm up. Good times. I was on first leg, and I felt confident. Not too many nerves on the start line but I was just a tad anxious to get started and just to get stuck into a bit of racing. The countdown began, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO! We were off, a pack of 18 year old boys from all round the world, charging into a forest, weird huh but I wasn't thinking about that, instead I was very focused.
The first control gaffle in a relay I think is perhaps the most important, you sit in the middle of the pack, wait for the split at the front and then choose your pack correctly. Job done. Now I can race. The next section of the course went really well, I ran to my gaffles, chose good routes and at about two thirds of the way round was leading/ very near the front of the course. Here I made a little miss which lost me about 1 minute and I dropped back, I was joined in this little mistake by Aston Key, the Australian runner and from here on in we raced the rest of the course cleanly and clawed back some time to the leaders. Well when I say the rest of the course, I got gased a little bit on the run in...
I finished quite happy but again a little frustrated at what could have been! However seeing Sweden and Finland finish behind me was a nice touch. Dan got a branch in his eye and couldn't see for half the course, not ideal and then David ran very well on last leg. Overall an okay team performance.
So that was it. Three years of racing EYOC and it's now over. I am so grateful for having the opportunity to compete at these competitions over the years and I feel like they will provide invaluable experience for the coming years. I certainly felt a lot more comfortable putting on that GB top and racing this year than I ever have before. Anyways, thanks to everyone that had helped me!
Now to rest, but only for a week!
Firstly we all had to be on a bus at 7am, meaning getting up at 6am for breakfast. This was a tough ask (bearing in mind 6am is 4am in the UK) and almost too hard for some... But we all made it onto the bus and soon on the long bus journey to quarantine. As we progressed into Bulgarian foothills, the roads became narrower, the villages we passed got smaller and the hills bigger.
Eventually we arrived at quarantine, at a place that looked to be a school. We soon found out that our short stay for the morning would be in an english teaching summer school; with the students still there...! At one point they all came out for a lunch break and started asking for autographs of everyone, I felt honoured and quite amused.
A long, long time later (almost 5 hours) and I could finally start to get ready to race. Kit on, check everything and then head to jog up to the start and warm up, almost exactly like I would in the UK. Anyways I got to the start fine, no drama, ready to race. Excited to race.
The race itself was okay, but not amazing. I've come to realise now that it was just an average run. Not what I had hoped for, but probably what I deserved. The course on the other hand was very well planned and a constant challenge. A mixture of really technical controls in green areas, and two mega long legs with no clearly faster routes. In the end I think that I got the fastest routes just lacking a bit of execution so I still lost a faur chunk of time.
At the finish I knew that I had performed okay but not great and was hopeful that I would be rewarded with a good result. 14th wad good but without a few of my mistakes it could have been a whole lot better... maybe next time!
So that was the long, next I was bundled straight onto a bus in soaking wet clothes (yes I forgot to mention that I finished in a thunder storm!) And back to the accomodation. Quick change, a bit of food and then back out to the EYOC party.
A few hours later, lots of food eaten, a bit of dancinh completed and we headed back to the hotel, hot and bothered, sweaty and tired but very content and happy. Nice.
7am and time for the final day of competition. No bus to catch today since we were allowed to take our own transport to the race, so it wasn't as rushed as previous days. Once there, we checked out the arena, I got my kit on and then the team did the classic Paul square warm up. Good times. I was on first leg, and I felt confident. Not too many nerves on the start line but I was just a tad anxious to get started and just to get stuck into a bit of racing. The countdown began, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO! We were off, a pack of 18 year old boys from all round the world, charging into a forest, weird huh but I wasn't thinking about that, instead I was very focused.
The first control gaffle in a relay I think is perhaps the most important, you sit in the middle of the pack, wait for the split at the front and then choose your pack correctly. Job done. Now I can race. The next section of the course went really well, I ran to my gaffles, chose good routes and at about two thirds of the way round was leading/ very near the front of the course. Here I made a little miss which lost me about 1 minute and I dropped back, I was joined in this little mistake by Aston Key, the Australian runner and from here on in we raced the rest of the course cleanly and clawed back some time to the leaders. Well when I say the rest of the course, I got gased a little bit on the run in...
I finished quite happy but again a little frustrated at what could have been! However seeing Sweden and Finland finish behind me was a nice touch. Dan got a branch in his eye and couldn't see for half the course, not ideal and then David ran very well on last leg. Overall an okay team performance.
So that was it. Three years of racing EYOC and it's now over. I am so grateful for having the opportunity to compete at these competitions over the years and I feel like they will provide invaluable experience for the coming years. I certainly felt a lot more comfortable putting on that GB top and racing this year than I ever have before. Anyways, thanks to everyone that had helped me!
Now to rest, but only for a week!
Friday, June 29, 2018
EYOC Sprint
(Written by Niamh)
Today was Sprint day!!!! The sprint was held in Tsarevets Fortress and the old town surrounding it, about 10 minutes drive from the hotel.
Myself and Alastair both had late starts with Daniel in the slightly earlier block of starts. Quarantine was in an astroturf with just enough shelter to keep the sun off! After packing waterproofs and umbrellas what we really needed was suncream!
After standing in the toilet queue for what seemed like an age it was time to chill. Ali and I had GPS tracking so had to collect our vests - fresh out the packet.
Pre start with a -10 minute call up was about 300m away from the quarantine. So after a good hour of lying around and multiple toilet trips I got my shoes on and organised my stuff. I had a jog down and back from quarantine, got my o stuff and then dropped my bag at the bag drop.
After a bit more jogging around and a few drills i was called up to pre start. The -3 call up was 500m up a hill to a gatehouse of the castle.
And....then we were off. Straight up the hill to the very top of the fortress for me and then a loop round the more complex walled bit of the fortress. Down through the spectator control and a loop in the old town with a couple of controls round the church then down the run in.
Ali had a clean run coming in in 16th. My run was pretty average no big mistakes just a bit slow (I came 35th). Dan simply said his run was 'not good'.
After celebrating Megan Keith's win at the flower ceremony we walked back to the hotel, had lunch and a quick team meeting about tomorrows long and then...more time to just chill and get an ice cream (of course!).
Later we have the opening ceremony for the event followed by the official prize giving for the sprint. Another team meeting and a chance to give Paul his birthday presents!! and then off to bed.
Today was Sprint day!!!! The sprint was held in Tsarevets Fortress and the old town surrounding it, about 10 minutes drive from the hotel.
Myself and Alastair both had late starts with Daniel in the slightly earlier block of starts. Quarantine was in an astroturf with just enough shelter to keep the sun off! After packing waterproofs and umbrellas what we really needed was suncream!
After standing in the toilet queue for what seemed like an age it was time to chill. Ali and I had GPS tracking so had to collect our vests - fresh out the packet.
Pre start with a -10 minute call up was about 300m away from the quarantine. So after a good hour of lying around and multiple toilet trips I got my shoes on and organised my stuff. I had a jog down and back from quarantine, got my o stuff and then dropped my bag at the bag drop.
After a bit more jogging around and a few drills i was called up to pre start. The -3 call up was 500m up a hill to a gatehouse of the castle.
And....then we were off. Straight up the hill to the very top of the fortress for me and then a loop round the more complex walled bit of the fortress. Down through the spectator control and a loop in the old town with a couple of controls round the church then down the run in.
Ali had a clean run coming in in 16th. My run was pretty average no big mistakes just a bit slow (I came 35th). Dan simply said his run was 'not good'.
After celebrating Megan Keith's win at the flower ceremony we walked back to the hotel, had lunch and a quick team meeting about tomorrows long and then...more time to just chill and get an ice cream (of course!).
Later we have the opening ceremony for the event followed by the official prize giving for the sprint. Another team meeting and a chance to give Paul his birthday presents!! and then off to bed.
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Model Day
This was the first proper day at EYOC. We had a nice long sleep after all of yesterday's traveling then breakfast in the hotel, a fun game of "guess what that fried thing is" as well as some familiar food.
After breakfast we headed out into the town to get a feel for the sprint area. We had a small model map which was mainly tiny alleys which were hard to tell apart from people's gardens. There was also a not very relevant to the sprint final monastery as well as a huge (20m) sword monument mapped as a statue. The model was ok but showed us the sprint was going to be tricky, also the fortress section of the final map was basically impossible to recreate so we knew we just had to look on street-view for that bit.
In the afternoon we headed to the long/relay model area which was green and hilly as expected. It was also insanely muddy. The long is gonna be tough and is quite similar to Wass in places. Looking forward to the sprint tomorrow even if it looks tricky!
After breakfast we headed out into the town to get a feel for the sprint area. We had a small model map which was mainly tiny alleys which were hard to tell apart from people's gardens. There was also a not very relevant to the sprint final monastery as well as a huge (20m) sword monument mapped as a statue. The model was ok but showed us the sprint was going to be tricky, also the fortress section of the final map was basically impossible to recreate so we knew we just had to look on street-view for that bit.
In the afternoon we headed to the long/relay model area which was green and hilly as expected. It was also insanely muddy. The long is gonna be tough and is quite similar to Wass in places. Looking forward to the sprint tomorrow even if it looks tricky!
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
An Unexpected Journey
Sooooo the journey begins! Myself and Niamh began our adventure yesterday, and despite the best efforts of Virgin trains coupled with the labyrinth of the London underground we made it to Oxford in one piece.
Here our good friend/ teammate/ legend David Bunn was waiting for us with his dad to execute the "Nigel does the pick up, makes quick get away". This was perhaps the slickest transport change of the day. Soon at Davids house, tea (which was awesome!) eaten, teeth brushed, it was time to head to bed. Stage one of the journey: ✓
7am came all too soon, a couple more hours in bed would have been welcomed, but I had things to do, places to be, last minute shopping trips to do...
A short jog with Niamh to the local Tesco provided a quick leg stretch as well as the opportunity to buy the remaining items needed; namely 8 white tops, but more about that later in the week.
Back with ample time to breakfast, pack up and hit the road to the airport.
On the way we found a roaming DJ Spencer who had been wandering the flat lands of Oxfordshire for a couple of days (jokes he was staying with his family! 😁)
We are now on the way to Luton to start the adventure for real and leave this barmy island behind for a few weeks! Here goes!!
Also I'd like to say a BIG thank you to the Bunn's for accomodating and feeding us; it was very much appreciated!
Here our good friend/ teammate/ legend David Bunn was waiting for us with his dad to execute the "Nigel does the pick up, makes quick get away". This was perhaps the slickest transport change of the day. Soon at Davids house, tea (which was awesome!) eaten, teeth brushed, it was time to head to bed. Stage one of the journey: ✓
7am came all too soon, a couple more hours in bed would have been welcomed, but I had things to do, places to be, last minute shopping trips to do...
A short jog with Niamh to the local Tesco provided a quick leg stretch as well as the opportunity to buy the remaining items needed; namely 8 white tops, but more about that later in the week.
Back with ample time to breakfast, pack up and hit the road to the airport.
On the way we found a roaming DJ Spencer who had been wandering the flat lands of Oxfordshire for a couple of days (jokes he was staying with his family! 😁)
We are now on the way to Luton to start the adventure for real and leave this barmy island behind for a few weeks! Here goes!!
Also I'd like to say a BIG thank you to the Bunn's for accomodating and feeding us; it was very much appreciated!
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