Partly caused by permissions problems, this year’s Walton Chasers September event was a middle distance race on Oldacre , a small semi open area to the west of the cross chase road forming a small valley.
Numbers attending the event were lowish – 160, partly due to other events and partly due to the fact it was branded as a middle race.
Many orienteer’s still seem to be avoiding these shorter distance events (saying they are not value to money or too far to travel for a short run) or ‘run up’ to longer courses not getting the idea of what a middle race is all about.
Middle distance racing is not just about the length of the course and the winning time, it is also to do with the characteristics of the course planning. A middle race is defined as having lots of short legs with less route choice but more intense navigation, particularly in the circle and lots of changes of direction. The whole experience is more intense and to my mind more exhilarating if you get it right and more frustrating if you get it wrong.
I’m sure Usain Bolt does not think, “Ooooh, I think I’ll do the 1500 metres for value for money” as he is travelling half way round the world to race, as it’s not worth the travel for just 10 seconds, and the different variations of orienteering should not, in my opinion, be treated any differently.
Sundays event was well planned, though on a map that still needs some updating, particularly with the vegetation screens and new detail exposed by the recent clearing, and I enjoyed it immensely. I deliberately did not run flat out, wanting to keep my legs in some semblance of order for the coming weeks bike training but had a good run with only a couple of small errors, managing to keep the control flow nice and quick, the secret to middle and short distance orienteering.
Those who have not tried the ‘newer’ forms of orienteering : urban, sprint, middle etc really should try them with an open mind and do them as they are intended to be run, those who do normally come away with a smile on their faces, surprised at how much they enjoyed them and ask when the next one is !