Matt Barrett's Meet Report on the US Champs, WI

Thanks to a generous grant from PTOC, I was able to travel to the 2009 U.S. Individual Classic Orienteering Championships in Greenbush, Wisconsin. Five other Possums also went to the Championships—Mike Shifman, Paul Clatterbuck, Dick Luckerman, Reta Roe, and John Barrett. After 9 hours of driving over 2 days, we arrived in time to do a local event on Friday. There were four different courses which you could choose from, so you could practice for the A-meets that weekend on similar terrain. The weather was cool and misty, with periods of heavy rain. The practice course was very easy, so I hoped that the orange courses would be equally simple.

The Northern Kettle Moraine Park map had two parts, one with nothing but contour lines and woods and another with many trails. On the first day, which was the US Championship, the advanced courses were on the side that had no trails, while the orange, yellow, and white courses were on the side with trails. The orange course was mostly running along paths with the controls a short distance away, which made for easy navigating. I came in 4th place out of four with a time of 43:12, missing 3rd place by just 7 seconds. Looking back, I should have run faster; but I was worried about how long I could keep up the pace for the 4.7 km race. There were only 3 minutes, 19 seconds between first and fourth place in the M-16 category. Among the other members of Possum Trot, John Barrett got 1st place in M-10 (the other two boys were not eligible for medals), and Mike Shifman got 2nd in M70+. The lack of catching and collecting features on the advanced courses gave those competitors some trouble that first day.

Awards were also given out for winners of the combined two day results. I knew that I had to run fast the second day, because I had a good chance of making up enough time to get a medal! All of the courses on Sunday were on the section of the map with trails and open areas. This time the orange course was more difficult in both navigation and climb, but shorter in distance (4.2 km). You had to run on compass bearings for several of the controls and use contour lines and vegetation boundaries, rather than just paths. I made one bearing mistake and ended up in the wrong depression with three other people, losing around 3 minutes. Overall I had a good run with some fast splits, and finished 2nd for the day with a time of 40:21, making up enough time to also get a 2nd place medal for the weekend.

I had a lot of fun at the Championships and discovered some things I need to work on. I need to train more physically, because I felt that I could have had faster times if I was in better shape. Another improvement I could make is getting better at reading the map while running. The courses in Wisconsin were relatively easy, so I could have run the whole way, but I had to walk several times to read the map. I am going to practice a lot this fall and winter, so I will be ready for the meet in St. Louis next March.

US Champs in Wisconsin Meet Report by John Barrett

I went on a trip to Wisconsin to go orienteering. I have done orienteering before, but I had never been to an A-meet. I was both nervous and excited. For the practice course, I did half of it with Mom and Jessica (my sister), and half of it by myself. It was kind of easy.

On Saturday, I ran a white course with Jessica as my shadow. She didn’t help me at all—this was the first time I ever did a whole course all by myself. I messed up one time when I got to # 8 but forgot to check the numbers on the clue sheet, so I thought it was the wrong control. I ran back and forth three times between #7 and #8, before I realized that the control numbers didn’t go in order. After that I ran so fast, but I still ended up in 3rd place, with a time of 32:33. The other two boys in M-10 were not part of USOF and couldn’t get a medal, so I got 1st place.

On Sunday, I was excited about going orienteering again. The course was the same length (1.9 km), but it had more hills than the day before. I just made one little mistake that day when I ran past #9, because it was in a depression. I got to the intersection at the bottom of the hill and realized I ran too far. I had to run back up the hill to look for it. I ran a lot faster the second day with a time of 25:31, only 5 seconds slower than the first place winner.

I learned that you have to always check the control numbers on your clue sheet. I am really looking forward to going to the next A-meet, which is going to be in St. Louis. I am also going to start orienteering by myself on the white courses.

Possums at US Champs in Wisconsin

Congratulations to John Barrett and Mike Shifman, medal winners at the US Orienteering Championships near Plymouth, Wisconsin on October 24, 2009. John was 1st in M-10, and Mike was 2nd in M70.

Pictures

Weston Bend State Park Course Notes

Weston Bend State Park
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Registration and Starts 10:00 a.m.
Last Start 12:00 noon

Course setter: Mike Shifman

• 4 courses: WHITE/YELLOW (about 2.0 km), ORANGE (3.2 km), GREEN (3.8 km), RED (5.5 km)
• Vegetation is denser than indicated on map. Expect longer times on the courses.
• Some poison ivy and stinging nettles. Wear long shirts and pants.
• Terrain is steep.
• Restrooms at start/finish may be closed. Pit toilet available down the hill to the west near the railroad tracks. Plan accordingly.

PTOC Season Rankings

Season rankings for the Orange, Green, and Red courses are now posted to the PTOC website (Results page). Mary Jones is the Rankings Coordinator. Your place = your points at each event. Low score wins. There will be prizes at the end of the 2009 - 2010 season. The rankings are on Google Spreadsheet; you must have a Google account to view them.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Aor_VBg_qODCdFl3OTlDRXAtT2RHcWNFcFhJeS1YU2c&hl=en