Link back to Results

Last Minute Notes: Definitely read these first few inches!

1. The sledding area (near the parking lot) is very slippery. All the courses have potential routes up or down the sled hill, so be careful or avoid it, if possible. With the weather we’re having today, Sledders should be there, and I can tell you they move faster and farther than you’d expect.

2. As of Friday afternoon, there is still a fair amount of snow on the ground, and the wooded trails especially are somewhat slick.

3. The GO Control, the control immediately before the finish, has the clue "Northern Single Tree, Deciduous." In the few days since I checked the clue and printed the maps, it has been changed to "Stump", for which there is no description. You’ll have to figure this one out, because I’m not remarking the maps and clue sheets. (It’s easy to figure out—you won’t have any trouble.)

4. All the courses cross active roads in the park, so please be very careful when you’re crossing or are near a road. Be especially careful between the GO control and the Finish.

5. Make sure you get a flash of light or a beep from the e-punch boxes when you punch. If you don’t, punch the map. One stand doesn’t have a punch. Tell us which one doesn’t have a punch and we’ll give it to you (in the event of e-punch failure).

6. Make sure you Clear and Check before you start.

7. Please download promptly after you finish.

8. Always check in before you leave, no matter what. We don’t want to organize unnecessary search parties.

So---What exactly is an orienteering “Sprint”?

Sprints are a relatively new form of orienteering competition that involves short courses.  The short course means you are going a lot faster than you’re used to, and that increases the navigational difficulty.

Mikell Platt says: "If it's too easy, you're not running fast enough."

What is an added bonus to me, the coursesetter, is the converse of Mikell’s quote:  If you’re a beginner or otherwise moving slowly, the courses tend to be easy, and that means a course appropriate for beginners can also challenging for advanced orienteers.

The Courses:  There are three courses.  Because I can’t think of imaginative names, I’ve called them Easy, Medium, and Hard.  It didn’t seem right to use the standard colors because I think even the Easy course is challenging for a fit runner running fast.
 

Easy	1.8km	35m climb
Medium	2.5km	50m climb
Hard	2.7km	65m climb

The Start Window: The start window is 10am to 2pm. You can run one, two, or three courses for one entry fee.

Earn Sprint Ranking Points!: The Medium and Hard sprints will earn ranking points for Peter Gagarin’s 2005 Sprint Series.  First place gets 30 points, second gets 29, and 30th gets 1, for each rankable course.

Please think about what courses you want to run and the order you want to run them before you arrive.  Because of the Sprint Series rankings, I suspect most advanced runners will want to run the Hard course, and then run Medium, although some might want to do the opposite.

Beginners should run the Easy Course and then the Medium.

If you’ve orienteered before, but you’re not sure if you’re ready for the Hard Course, I recommend first trying the Medium Course, and then deciding whether to move up to the Hard Course, or down to the Easy Course.

Again, you can run all three courses for one entry fee, if you have the time and energy.  The start window is 10am to 2pm.  Time limit for each course is 75minutes.  The e-punch units will shut down at 3:15pm, and the courses will be taken down.

The Number One Rule of Orienteering: Make sure you report to the finish before you leave.  We don’t like organizing unnecessary search parties.

All courses will use SportIdent.  There is a $35 replacement charge if you lose the SportIdent e-card, so be very careful not to lose it, both on the course and between your events.

As of Thursday afternoon, there is still some snow on the ground.  The fields are mostly melted already, but the ground is pretty hard.

Special Start Procedures: Since Sprints are intended to test your ability to quickly read the map, maps will be face down at the start.  You should write your name on the back of the map in the minute or two before you start. Competitors will punch the start control (starting the clock) and will then be able to look at the map.

Finish Procedure: At the finish, punching the SportIdent finish control records your finish time on the SportIdent e-card.  At that point, you are off-the-clock, but you still need to walk to the download station (look for signs).  When you download, the download operator will need to know which course you just ran.  After your last course, make sure you turn in your SportIdent e-card.

Map Collection: We may be collecting maps from finishers.  If you are leaving early, please come and get your map(s)---but keep the courses secret from people who have not started.

Maps: Maps are 1:5000 scale (which means 1cm=50m), and the contour interval is 5m.  Clue Sheets are printed on the maps.  Courses are pre-printed.  The map is a 1:10000 map, printed at 1:5000, so certain point features (X’s, O’s especially) are very large.  The map should be very easy to read.  A sample map will be somewhere in the start area.  Course maps will not have a map legend, so make sure you understand the legend if you’re a beginner.

Overprinting and Clue Sheets:  To encourage high speeds, I have overprinted the courses with both the control number (which goes 1, 2, 3, etc.) and the control code (which in this case are letters).  You will need to refer to the clue sheet for the description, but the code is overprinted like this: 5-K, which is control number 5 on that course.  When you get there the code on the stand will be K.  (For beginners, you must complete the course in order, that is, 1, 2, 3, etc.)

Out-of-Bound Area: There is one area on the map with vertical magenta hatching.  This area is out-of-bounds.  It includes the Pioneer village area and an area on the east side of the Sharon Center Building.  This is a bird-watching area, so please pay attention to your map.  Competitors who intrude on this area will be disqualified for that course.  There is no tape around the area, but it is not at all tricky.  It may affect your route choice on some courses.

Idiosyncracies of Sprints (a partial list):

1. Course Leg Lines (the lines between the controls) are not drawn around out-of-bounds or impassable features.  The competitor must identify and avoid these features.
2. Features mapped as Impassable may not be crossed.  (This is probably not an issue for these courses.)
3. Doglegs: On most orienteering courses, controls are placed so competitors tend to move into and out of the control along different paths.  On Sprint courses, dogleg exits may be faster.

Tips for Beginners:

1. Keep your map aligned to north.  Fold your map so you can keep track of where you are with your thumb (or thumb compass).
2. You’re probably used to courses where each leg has one or two “steps”:  “Go down this trail to the stream, then look off to the left.”  The courses today have a few legs with more steps than that.  Just take it one step at a time.
3. The green mapping on the map shows the “runnability” of the vegetation.  It will often be much faster to avoid medium and dark green areas by taking a trail or going around the medium and dark green areas.  If you’re used to taking a bearing (azimuth) and running straight on everything, you now need to consider other routes.  Ask yourself, “How can I get to the next control in the least time?”  If the route you’ve picked involves several hundred meters of medium or dark green, I can guarantee that you’ve picked a bad route.
4. The courses tend to be very easy at first and then increase in difficulty somewhat.

Tips for Advanced Courses:

1. The idea is to decide on the best route, then execute that route quickly.
2. If you can’t decide which route is best, pick one and go.
3. Adjust your speed for the leg: If the leg is easy, go fast.  If the leg requires intricate navigation, adjust accordingly.
4. Pay attention to the actual vegetation and for things you missed on the map.
5. Look out for impassable features and out-of-bounds areas.
6. Consider the dogleg exit from a control as a possible route choice.
7. Learn to read your map as you run.  But be careful!  It’s harder than it looks.

Thanks for Coming.  I hope you have as much fun running these courses as I had designing and putting them out.  If you like the format, let us know.

Matthew Robbins

Link back to Results of Sharon Woods Sprints 2005

Link to OCIN schedule page