World of O News
Learn what the route setter thinks about the different legs in “One of the most tricky sprints I have ever run” – as several runners put it after the race. – What makes Government House a very interesting area for sprint racing is a combination of the hilliness and the variety of terrain, explains course setter Bill Edwards.
– You can really loose a lot of time when making a wrong choice due to the “3D nature” of the choices
– This means that it’s possible to plan some very complex route choice legs with multiple possible routes and even quite different types of terrain on different routes, the course setter continues his narrative about the second World Cup race of the 2013-season.
According to Edwards, one of the interesting aspects of the Government House is that compared to many other sprint races, you can really loose a lot of time when making a wrong choice due to the “3D nature” of the choices you need to make – and all the stairs.
– In many sprint races a lot of route choices are basically in 2D and are quite easy to get right (or at least, not very wrong). Around Government House, these route choices are in 3D and are made a lot more difficult by the contours. In the areas of buildings there are large numbers of steps which slow progress significantly downhill. In other areas the steepness of slopes needs to be taken into account as there are plenty of slopes that cannot be run down fast.
Opposite directions give different results
– The best routes in an uphill direction are often different from the best routes in a downhill direction
One important observation from Edwards’ route choice testing which not everybody takes into account when planning their sprint route choice, is the difference between uphill and downhill.
– It’s noticeable from having legs run in opposite directions that the best routes in an uphill direction are often different from the best routes in a downhill direction, Edwards explains.
6-7: The trap
– In most cases, the differences in times are only fairly small
– In planning these races, the aim was for the majority of legs to have a fastest route choice, the route setter explains.
While there was not much time to loose on the majority of the legs, the route setter had made a deliberate “trap” at one leg.
– In most cases, the differences in times are only fairly small, but there was one leg (men 6-7) that was deliberately planned to have a significantly slower, but easier to spot and execute, route.
Planning the course
– I have test run most of the legs using multiple routes, and I’m reasonably confident of which route is best, Edwards finishes his descriptions of the course setting.
– But bear in mind though that my 45-year old legs are not the equal of those of the competitors (and I had a long term knee injury most of the time I was planning this), so what’s optimum for me is not necessarily optimum for elite runners.
About the analysis
Continue to read the route setters analysis leg by leg – with some comments added by World of O / Jan Kocbach. All figures are made in 2DRerun using the “tagging mode” (click 7 three times to draw routes). For each leg, you have the possibility to consider the leg and draw your choice in a Webroute before reading the analysis. As there was no GPS-tracking available (and as this was a WRE race for which runners were not allowed to use a GPS-watch), only hand-drawn routes of some selected runners were available in order to find out which choices the runners made in the actual race.
Men: S-1
The leg without route alternatives (click for larger):
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. And please: If you know where any of the competitors run on this leg, draw their route here – it makes it a lot easier to understand the leg!
The leg with route alternatives and corresponding lengths (click for larger):
Edwards: This leg is not intended to be decisive as runners will have had little chance to study their maps. The 3 routes are nearly equal – I was fastest on the blue route, but the other 2 routes were so close that I couldn’t say that one particular route is the best.
WoO: No clear conclusion can be drawn from routes which are available
Men: S-1 (Legtimes)
| Red | 6. | Gernot Kerschbaumer | 0:48 | +0:04 |
| Blue | 9. | Matthew Crane | 0:49 | +0:05 |
| 12. | Matthias Kyburz | 0:50 | +0:06 | |
| Red | 15. | Øystein Kvaal Østerbø | 0:51 | +0:07 |
| Blue | 17. | Jan Procházka | 0:52 | +0:08 |
| Green | 22. | Daniel Hubmann | 0:53 | +0:09 |
| Red | 26. | Alessio Tenani | 0:55 | +0:11 |
| Blue | 27. | Gustav Bergman | 0:55 | +0:11 |
| Red | 29. | Yannick Michiels | 0:55 | +0:11 |
Men: S-1 (Legtimes)
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Men: S-1 (Total times)
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Men: 1-2
Edwards: Right and ‘straight’ almost equal. If wet, right would have been quicker as the bank is very steep. Left is slower. I suspect most elite runners would be marginally quicker going straight but in a race they may be better to go right as it gives a much better chance to look ahead.
WoO: No map provided here.
Men: 1-2 (Legtimes)
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Men: 1-2 (Total times)
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Men: 2-3
The leg without route alternatives (click for larger):
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. And please: If you know where any of the competitors run on this leg, draw their route here – it makes it a lot easier to understand the leg!
The leg with route alternatives and corresponding lengths (click for larger):
The blue route is fastest. The running is fast except for the steep bank. The purple route has too many steps and changes of direction. If taking a route to the right it is quicker to go via the start triangle than down all the steps in the first half of the leg.
WoO: The routes of the runners available clearly support the course setters analysis. The length of both alternatives is equal, it is the steps which loose you the time… The very right route described is not shown (even outside the map sample shown for this leg – sorry, but routes were drawn before getting route setters analysis!).
Men: 2-3 (Legtimes)
| 4. | Matthias Kyburz | 1:25 | +0:03 | |
| Blue | 5. | Yannick Michiels | 1:25 | +0:03 |
| Blue | 6. | Daniel Hubmann | 1:25 | +0:03 |
| Blue | 7. | Gernot Kerschbaumer | 1:26 | +0:04 |
| Blue | 10. | Matthew Crane | 1:29 | +0:07 |
| Purple | 28. | Gustav Bergman | 1:43 | +0:21 |
| Purple | 32. | Alessio Tenani | 1:44 | +0:22 |
| Purple | 35. | Jan Procházka | 1:52 | +0:30 |
| Purple | 36. | Øystein Kvaal Østerbø | 1:55 | +0:33 |
Men: 2-3 (Legtimes)
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Men: 2-3 (Total times)
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Men: 3-4
The leg without route alternatives (click for larger):
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. And please: If you know where any of the competitors run on this leg, draw their route here – it makes it a lot easier to understand the leg!
The leg with route alternatives and corresponding lengths (click for larger):
– We did not expect that runners would try to get through the very steep thick vegetation on the green route
Edwards: We made a mistake here. This leg was introduced very late (originally men had the same as women 2-3) and we did not expect that runners would try to get through the very steep thick vegetation on the green route. Often in Wellington, dark green is nearly impossible to get through, but this was just about passable, although slow.
I suspect that the green route is probably the fastest for very aggressive runners, but there would not be much time loss on the purple route, and much less risk. The green route is faster than the blue route. Note that had I foreseen the green route being used, I would not have changed the leg at all.
Note that at the start of the leg, whichever route is taken, it is fastest to exit the courtyard via the purple route.
WoO: The split times again support the route setters analysis. Note the the green route is more than 100 meters shorter than the alternatives. Note also how Kerschbaumer looses time even if choosing the green alternative (going through dark green in sprint can be risky, but this time it was a good choice even with the risk as it was that much shorter).
Men: 3-4 (Legtimes)
| Green | 3. | Daniel Hubmann | 1:31 | +0:06 |
| Green | 7. | Øystein Kvaal Østerbø | 1:37 | +0:12 |
| 8. | Matthias Kyburz | 1:38 | +0:13 | |
| Green | 9. | Gustav Bergman | 1:38 | +0:13 |
| Purple | 13. | Alessio Tenani | 1:39 | +0:14 |
| Purple | 17. | Yannick Michiels | 1:44 | +0:19 |
| Purple | 22. | Jan Procházka | 1:46 | +0:21 |
| Blue | 30. | Matthew Crane | 1:51 | +0:26 |
| Green | 33. | Gernot Kerschbaumer | 1:54 | +0:29 |
Men: 3-4 (Legtimes)
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Men: 3-4 (Total times)
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Men: 4-5
Edwards: For me, the route round the left of the fence is slightly quicker, but for elite runners who can get over fences quickly, the straight route is fastest.
(Straight – DHubmann, Østerbø, Crane, Bergman, Kerschbaumer, Prochazka Left – Tenani, Michiels)
Men: 4-5 (Legtimes)
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Men: 4-5 (Total times)
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Men: 5-6
Men: 5-6 (Legtimes)
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Men: 5-6 (Total times)
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Men: 6-7
The leg without route alternatives (click for larger):
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. And please: If you know where any of the competitors run on this leg, draw their route here – it makes it a lot easier to understand the leg!
The leg with route alternatives and corresponding lengths (click for larger):
Edwards: The most important leg to get correct. The legs 4-5-6 were deliberately easier to ensure that well organised runners had had a chance to look at this route choice in advance. From observing runners at control 6, it was clear that some had already worked out what to do (not always correctly) and went through control 6 without pausing. Others paused for considerable time (a couple over 15 seconds) before leaving control 6.
– The main route choice is between the blue route over the top of the hill or the longer flatter routes through the buildings
The main route choice is between the blue route over the top of the hill or the longer flatter routes through the buildings. The flatter routes are all better, probably by around 30 seconds. Of the variations in the flatter routes, the red route is best. In my timings, the red route was 9 seconds quicker that the green route and 7 seconds quicker than the straighter route through the buildings. This is because most of it can be run very quickly, whereas the other routes are more fiddly. Many competitors who took these routes made mistakes in the buildings – in the women’s race, Annika Billstam lost her chance of winning by going down the dead end to her penultimate control (along with Judith Wyder), while Lizzie Ingham secured her result by being one of very few to take the red route.
Note that at the start of the blue route, most competitors would have (probably correctly) chosen to run along the back of the building rather than go up the steps.
WoO: It is interesting to see that the mistakes are equally decisive as which alternative is chosen on this leg. This is probably a mental thing due to the complex leg and runners not focusing on the task at hand (instead still thinking about the choice they have made / the options still available). If the leg would have been divided into two, the amount of mistakes would probably have been a lot less….
Men: 6-7 (Legtimes)
| Right | 2. | Matthias Kyburz | 2:32 | +0:06 |
| Blue | 17. | Daniel Hubmann | 3:09 | +0:43 |
| Blue | 20. | Gernot Kerschbaumer | 3:12 | +0:46 |
| Blue | 22. | Jan Procházka | 3:12 | +0:46 |
| Green (miss) | 24. | Alessio Tenani | 3:14 | +0:48 |
| Right (miss) | 26. | Øystein Kvaal Østerbø | 3:18 | +0:52 |
| Right (miss) | 27. | Gustav Bergman | 3:21 | +0:55 |
| Blue (miss) | 32. | Yannick Michiels | 3:49 | +1:23 |
| Blue | 35. | Matthew Crane | 4:00 | +1:34 |
Men: 6-7 (Legtimes)
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Men: 6-7 (Total times)
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Men: 7-8
The leg without route alternatives (click for larger):
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. And please: If you know where any of the competitors run on this leg, draw their route here – it makes it a lot easier to understand the leg!
The leg with route alternatives and corresponding lengths (click for larger):
Edwards: I don’t know whether anyone picked the best route for this leg. The best route is to follow the dark blue route then turn sharp right when reaching the car park to follow the reverse of the red route from 8-9. This may seem surprising, but it is because full speed can be maintained all the way. The hill descent is a perfect gradient for fast running (unlike the purple / light blue routes) and the sharp bends can be taken at near maximum speed because the roads are wide. The purple and light blue routes are roughly equal in time for the descent (the bush, while runnable, requires care), and the light blue route is faster for the second half of the leg.
When run in reverse from the second start triangle on the Women’s course, the purple route is fastest. In this case, going through the bush has much less effect on time taken as it’s traversed uphill rather than downhill.
WoO: First, note that based on the splits, no best route can identified. Time differences are also very small. Also, comparing the length of Edward’s suggested best route with the dark blue route, the difference is 2-3 meters (i.e. less than the inaccuracy in measuring). The part which is different is on the flat, and the dark blue has less sharp curves, and thus I think the dark blue would be equally fast. Also, the purple route is 60 meters shorter than these two routes, with not that much green. Hubmann looses only 2 seconds by going purple.
Men: 7-8 (Legtimes)
| 4. | Matthias Kyburz | 1:05 | +0:02 | |
| Purple | 5. | Daniel Hubmann | 1:05 | +0:02 |
| L-Blue | 9. | Gernot Kerschbaumer | 1:07 | +0:04 |
| Blue | 12. | Yannick Michiels | 1:08 | +0:05 |
| L-Blue | 16. | Gustav Bergman | 1:09 | +0:06 |
| Blue | 23. | Alessio Tenani | 1:11 | +0:08 |
| L-Blue | 30. | Jan Procházka | 1:13 | +0:10 |
| L-Blue | 36. | Matthew Crane | 1:17 | +0:14 |
| Purple | 38. | Øystein Kvaal Østerbø | 1:19 | +0:16 |
Men: 7-8 (Legtimes)
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Men: 7-8 (Total times)
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Men: 8-9
The leg without route alternatives (click for larger):
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. And please: If you know where any of the competitors run on this leg, draw their route here – it makes it a lot easier to understand the leg!
The leg with route alternatives and corresponding lengths (click for larger):
Edwards: The red and green routes are very similar in time, as is a route further to the right following the green route to start with and then going up across the grass. Since this was just after the map change, I didn’t want any significant differences in times here.
Men: 8-9 (Legtimes)
| 11. | Matthias Kyburz | 1:12 | +0:07 | |
| Red | 15. | Daniel Hubmann | 1:13 | +0:08 |
| Green | 17. | Gernot Kerschbaumer | 1:13 | +0:08 |
| Red | 19. | Yannick Michiels | 1:13 | +0:08 |
| Red | 20. | Jan Procházka | 1:13 | +0:08 |
| Red | 21. | Matthew Crane | 1:13 | +0:08 |
| Green | 34. | Øystein Kvaal Østerbø | 1:17 | +0:12 |
| Green | 37. | Alessio Tenani | 1:20 | +0:15 |
| Green | 39. | Gustav Bergman | 1:26 | +0:21 |
Men: 8-9 (Legtimes)
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Men: 8-9 (Total times)
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Men: 9-10
The leg without route alternatives (click for larger):
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. And please: If you know where any of the competitors run on this leg, draw their route here – it makes it a lot easier to understand the leg!
The leg with route alternatives and corresponding lengths (click for larger):
Edwards: Only minor time differences here. The purple route is probably slightly quicker than dark blue. The light blue route is definitely slower due to extra climb. However, quickest is to follow the first half of the purple route and then go straight – it’s possible to pick a good line through the slower vegetation, and because its fairly steeply uphill, the vegetation hardly slows the runner down more than the climb does. In reverse, as run by the women, the dark blue route is quickest as it can mostly be run at maximum speed.
Men: 9-10 (Legtimes)
| 7. | Matthias Kyburz | 0:55 | +0:02 | |
| Blue | 17. | Jan Procházka | 0:57 | +0:04 |
| Purple | 19. | Daniel Hubmann | 0:58 | +0:05 |
| Blue | 26. | Gustav Bergman | 1:00 | +0:07 |
| Purple | 27. | Matthew Crane | 1:00 | +0:07 |
| Straight (miss) | 29. | Gernot Kerschbaumer | 1:02 | +0:09 |
| Straight | 34. | Øystein Kvaal Østerbø | 1:04 | +0:11 |
| Purple | 38. | Alessio Tenani | 1:09 | +0:16 |
| Purple | 39. | Yannick Michiels | 1:19 | +0:26 |
Men: 9-10 (Legtimes)
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Men: 9-10 (Total times)
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Men: 10-11
Left route marginally quicker.
(Left – DHubmann, Michiels Right – Østerbø, Tenani, Crane, Bergman, Kerschbaumer, Prochazka)
Men: 10-11 (Legtimes)
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Men: 10-11 (Total times)
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Men: 11-12
The leg without route alternatives (click for larger):
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. And please: If you know where any of the competitors run on this leg, draw their route here – it makes it a lot easier to understand the leg!
The leg with route alternatives and corresponding lengths (click for larger):
This leg was not tested fully so I can’t give a definitive best route. The green route is too fiddly and is almost certainly the slowest. The red route is probably quickest, though the route to the right (after the first half of the green route) and the route further left to the road are likely to be almost as quick.
Men: 10-11 (Legtimes)
| Red | 3. | Daniel Hubmann | 0:26 | +0:01 |
| Red | 4. | Jan Procházka | 0:26 | +0:01 |
| 6. | Matthias Kyburz | 0:27 | +0:02 | |
| Red | 23. | Alessio Tenani | 0:30 | +0:05 |
| Red | 29. | Yannick Michiels | 0:31 | +0:06 |
| Green | 30. | Matthew Crane | 0:31 | +0:06 |
| Red | 32. | Gernot Kerschbaumer | 0:32 | +0:07 |
| Red | 34. | Øystein Kvaal Østerbø | 0:32 | +0:07 |
| Red | 38. | Gustav Bergman | 0:35 | +0:10 |
Men: 11-12 (Legtimes)
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Men: 11-12 (Total times)
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Men: 12-13
The best route is to the left down the road because full speed can be maintained, but few seem to have spotted this. Straight is risky with thick bush on a steep slope just below the road.
(Straight – DHubmann, Kerschbaumer Right – Østerbø, Tenani, Michiels, Crane, Bergman, Prochazka)
Men: 12-13 (Legtimes)
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Men: 12-13 (Total times)
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Men: 13-14
The leg without route alternatives (click for larger):
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. And please: If you know where any of the competitors run on this leg, draw their route here – it makes it a lot easier to understand the leg!
The leg with route alternatives and corresponding lengths (click for larger):
This is almost the reverse of the first half of 6-7. In this case there is much less variation (my test run had the blue route quickest by 1 second, with the other 2 routes equal). Further variations are possible.
Men: 13-14 (Legtimes)
| 5. | Matthias Kyburz | 1:42 | +0:05 | |
| Variations | 15. | Gernot Kerschbaumer | 1:46 | +0:09 |
| Purple | 17. | Daniel Hubmann | 1:47 | +0:10 |
| Purple | 18. | Øystein Kvaal Østerbø | 1:47 | +0:10 |
| L-Blue | 28. | Alessio Tenani | 1:50 | +0:13 |
| Variations | 30. | Gustav Bergman | 1:51 | +0:14 |
| L-Blue | 31. | Jan Procházka | 1:51 | +0:14 |
| L-Blue | 37. | Matthew Crane | 2:02 | +0:25 |
| L-Blue (miss) | 40. | Yannick Michiels | 2:26 | +0:49 |
Men: 13-14 (Legtimes)
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Men: 13-14 (Total times)
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Men: 14-15
The leg without route alternatives (click for larger):
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. And please: If you know where any of the competitors run on this leg, draw their route here – it makes it a lot easier to understand the leg!
The leg with route alternatives and corresponding lengths (click for larger):
A subtle route choice. The green route is quicker (2 – 3 seconds) as there is no climb and only one set of steps (downhill). The blue route although shorter has more climb, 3 sets of downhill steps (one partly avoidable) and uphill steps. I thought that most runners would miss the best route and it seems that they did. The red route was probably a viable option, but I think would be a little slower.
Note that the start of the blue route should be on the other side of the building. Also the green route should follow the path rather than the first set of steps.
Men: 14-15 (Legtimes)
| 6. | Matthias Kyburz | 0:42 | +0:02 | |
| Blue | 12. | Daniel Hubmann | 0:43 | +0:03 |
| Blue | 13. | Gustav Bergman | 0:43 | +0:03 |
| Blue | 18. | Øystein Kvaal Østerbø | 0:44 | +0:04 |
| Blue | 23. | Jan Procházka | 0:45 | +0:05 |
| Blue | 26. | Gernot Kerschbaumer | 0:46 | +0:06 |
| Blue | 30. | Alessio Tenani | 0:47 | +0:07 |
| Blue | 37. | Yannick Michiels | 0:50 | +0:10 |
| Blue | 38. | Matthew Crane | 0:53 | +0:13 |
Men: 14-15 (Legtimes)
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Men: 14-15 (Total times)
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Men: 15-16
The leg without route alternatives (click for larger):
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. And please: If you know where any of the competitors run on this leg, draw their route here – it makes it a lot easier to understand the leg!
The leg with route alternatives and corresponding lengths (click for larger):
The purple route is best by a small margin. The blue route gets tricky with fences towards the end.
(Purple(left) – DHubmann, Østerbø, Tenani, Michiels(mistake), Crane, Bergman, Prochazka Right – Kerschbaumer)
Men: 15-16 (Legtimes)
| 6. | Matthias Kyburz | 0:36 | +0:02 | |
| Purple | 8. | Daniel Hubmann | 0:37 | +0:03 |
| Purple | 15. | Matthew Crane | 0:37 | +0:03 |
| Right | 19. | Gernot Kerschbaumer | 0:38 | +0:04 |
| Purple | 22. | Jan Procházka | 0:38 | +0:04 |
| Purple | 27. | Gustav Bergman | 0:39 | +0:05 |
| Purple | 29. | Øystein Kvaal Østerbø | 0:39 | +0:05 |
| Purple | 30. | Alessio Tenani | 0:39 | +0:05 |
| Purple (miss) | 37. | Yannick Michiels | 0:54 | +0:20 |
Men: 15-16 (Legtimes)
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Men: 15-16 (Total times)
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Men: 16-17
Men: 16-17 (Legtimes)
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Men: 16-17 (Total times)
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Men: 17-18
The leg without route alternatives (click for larger):
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. And please: If you know where any of the competitors run on this leg, draw their route here – it makes it a lot easier to understand the leg!
The leg with route alternatives and corresponding lengths (click for larger):
Edwards: The red route is better (1-2 sec) because it is flat, even though rather longer. Most of the men seem to have picked this, but from my observation more women chose the green route, and some made mistakes on it.
WoO: From the runners we have studied, the single one choosing green is fastest..
Men: 17-18 (Legtimes)
| 2. | Matthias Kyburz | 0:33 | +0:01 | |
| Green | 8. | Jan Procházka | 0:34 | +0:02 |
| Red | 13. | Gernot Kerschbaumer | 0:35 | +0:03 |
| Red | 16. | Daniel Hubmann | 0:36 | +0:04 |
| Red | 20. | Alessio Tenani | 0:36 | +0:04 |
| Red | 28. | Gustav Bergman | 0:37 | +0:05 |
| Red | 29. | Matthew Crane | 0:37 | +0:05 |
| Red | 34. | Øystein Kvaal Østerbø | 0:39 | +0:07 |
| Red | 36. | Yannick Michiels | 0:39 | +0:07 |
Men: 17-18 (Legtimes)
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Men: 17-18 (Total times)
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Men: 18-19
The leg without route alternatives (click for larger):
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. And please: If you know where any of the competitors run on this leg, draw their route here – it makes it a lot easier to understand the leg!
The leg with route alternatives and corresponding lengths (click for larger):
The blue route is very slightly faster (1 second), but, as I expected, nearly all runners took the purple route. Matt Crane’s purple then blue route was not a good option!
Note that the purple route should go to the field before turning right at the end – it would have been slower to cross the fence as shown. The blue route should go further right with the runners crossing the fence at the edge of the seating area. Both of these are obvious when running the course.
(Purple – DHubmann, Østerbø, Tenani, Michiels, Bergman, Kerschbaumer, Prochazka Combination – Crane)
Men: 18-19 (Legtimes)
| 2. | Matthias Kyburz | 0:43 | +0:02 | |
| Purple | 9. | Daniel Hubmann | 0:44 | +0:03 |
| Purple | 10. | Gernot Kerschbaumer | 0:44 | +0:03 |
| Purple | 11. | Jan Procházka | 0:44 | +0:03 |
| Purple | 22. | Gustav Bergman | 0:46 | +0:05 |
| Purple | 26. | Yannick Michiels | 0:46 | +0:05 |
| Purple | 31. | Alessio Tenani | 0:47 | +0:06 |
| Purple | 36. | Øystein Kvaal Østerbø | 0:49 | +0:08 |
| Combination | 39. | Matthew Crane | 0:55 | +0:14 |
Men: 18-19 (Legtimes)
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Men: 18-19 (Total times)
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Women’s course
The Women’s course is largely the same as the Men’s course, but with the following different legs:
- 2-3: The route to the left is faster, though the route to the right is not far behind if executed well.
- 4-5: As with the men, the right route is much better. The best route out of the control is back down the hill to the North of all the buildings. I didn’t see all of the runners, but of those I saw only Lizzie Ingham took that option. I also saw Annika Billstam and Judith Wyder run down the dead end to Women’s control 15 while running 4-5, which explains why Lizzie had the fastest split on this leg by such a margin (Billstam and Wyder were 2nd and 3rd fastest).
- 5-6: Left along paths is best. This is the opposite leg to men’s 9-10 but the slope through the green forest has significantly less effect when run uphill (and it’s easier to pick a good line from below).
- 7-8: Opposite of Men 7-8. Uphill, the other route (left) is a little faster. I think this is because the slope on the Southern route is less severe – when going downhill it can be run at maximum whereas on the Northern route the steepness (and forest) slows you down. Going uphill it doesn’t make much difference – it’s the contours that are the limiting factor.
Thnak you Jan for this analysis. Did you discuss the long winning time with the course setter?
@sim: I did not ask about the winning time, no. I guess he had the usual struggle with getting all the interesting stuff in the allowed package…