Lena Eliasson: – Cruising around the bushes

– I never even thought of running fast, just reading myself towards the next flag, cruising around the bushes, Lena Eliasson explains about her favourite course in 2013. Eliasson won the bronze medal at WOC long distance in Finland this year – but the Swedish top runner doesn’t even mention that race in the below interview.

Lena Eliasson is interviewed for “Course of the Year 2013″. Read on for the complete interview with Eliasson – including links to several interesting races. You can also see all courses suggested so far here in slideshow mode.

Q: What was the best course you run in 2013 – and why?
A course that was really intense and demanding was WRE sprint Turkey. I never even thought of running fast, just reading myself towards the next flag, cruising around the bushes.

[Editors comments: See the map at the top of the page. More information, pictures and analysis in Norwegian from the race here – truly a special sprint!]

Q: Did you set any courses in 2013? If so, is it possible to share the best (in your opinion) with World of O’s readers?
I was a course controller at Tuna Ting this autumn. Well, it’s not my courses but I could influence the course setting with my opinions after test running. Too bad it was small areas though, that effects the course setting a lot. We choose to have finish-punch in forest and walk back to the arena, due to keep the runners in the nicest areas. There was a map change in M21 – below is the second part of the course from Jan Olm.

Q: In which race or training did you have most fun in 2013 – and why?
Hard not to say 10-mila, I had a great flow and it was demanding except for the very runnable start of the course.

[Editors comments: See more about Lena Eliasson’s fantastic race on the last leg for Domnarvet here.]

Q: What is the race you look most forward to in 2014?
Sprint in Venice, (without meaning it’s my main focus =)), it would be even more fun if it could be a longer course, as the “ordinary race” in Venice each year. I only tried this once but that would really be demanding! Maybe Swedish Champs can also be really nice.

[Editors comment: Illustration from Google Maps from part of the area in Venice to be used for WOC sprint 2014]

Q: What is the worst course you run in 2013?
I’m not proud to say this but parts of the world cup middle race in Switzerland was not fun at all. Slippery, steep downhills and not able to run at all in some parts. Just trying not to end up far below where you are supposed to… I did not enjoy that! But other parts of the course was really nice.

Another thing is those competitions where they manipulate symbols during map-making and my opinion is that a sprint race in Kumla that we had as Silva League this year, did not follow the rules of map-making. Fences were smaller/thinner than allowed (both passable and unpassable) and it’s not easy as a runner to understand why or what they mean while you run full speed. It’s not a preferable way to put more details into the map…

[Editors comment: I only found the men’s course here]

Q: Which elements in an orienteering course are most important for you in order for it to be a good course?
I like technical challenges but I do not see why it is almost always the middle distances that are to be put as more technical. I would prefer a long distance in a flat area with a technical challenging course containing both longer and shorter legs.

I’m actually not a fan of really steep up-/or downhills, it is hard to make a map tell you where the best passages are and if you can’t use your map, then it’s kind of “bingo” sometimes.

Q: What are your goals for next year – and do you plan to change your training and/or focus in order to reach your goals in 2014?
My main goal is to make less mistakes and keep my top level. Of course it would be nice to finally run a WOC relay, but we’ll see about that. Maybe I choose to focus individually and it is not my decision with selecting the team, so the future will bring us the answer.

I just booked a ticket to Kenya (Eldoret) and that will be a new strategy for me, experience one month with training in high altitude. Exciting!

Q: Will you focus on the World Cup even if all races count in the overall next year?
I wish….but new rules made it very complicated for me to head for the overall world cup. In our team it’s not easy to be the best runner every day, if you run a lot of races. I do not think that I will be able to run a lot of disciplines at both EOC and WOC, so maybe I’ll have problems collecting enough points. I do not like the concept, I must admit.

Rules

The following rules are given for “The course of the Year 2013″.

• The course must have been run in competition or training in 2013.
• Suggestions are submitted as a comment to this post – including link to the map with course in a quality which is good enough for the readers to understand the course and the challenges involved. Please add information about location/date if that is not clear from the link provided. Also include which sponsor prize you are interested in if you win.
• You must give a reason for why you think this course deserves to be named “The course of the Year 2013″ (or why it is the best course you run/set this year). All reasons are valid. Examples can for example be “varied orienteering challenges”, “extremely technical orienteering”, “high fun-factor”, “fantastic map”, “spectacular orienteering”, “fantastic nature” – a combination of these – or a totally different reason. To get all the way to the top you should probably have a combination of reasons…
• The course may be any discipline – e.g. a long distance, a middle distance, a sprint distance. It may also be a technical training course – like e.g. a corridor orienteering exercise.
• There will be a voting process among the readers of “World of O” in order to name “The course of the year 2013″. This is your second chance to win sponsor prizes!

Prizes from our Sponsors

Prizes from our Sponsors always makes it more fun! There will be a prize for the first one suggesting the course which ends up becoming “The course of the Year 2013″, and prizes drawn among the ones suggesting and voting. All prizes are transferable to other persons (you don’t have to travel yourself).

Event sponsor: Andalucia-O-Meeting – February 14th -16th 2014

• Prize offered: Competition Package for 2 persons – including entry to 4 AOM events in 3 days, 5 nights in 4**** Barcelo Punta Umbria Beach Resort and a 4-map training package before or after the event. Value about 640 Euro. Transferable to other persons.
• After 4 very nice years in Canos De Meca (Barbate), AOM moves to Punta Umbria, Huelva province, West of Andalucia! New terrains, maps, accommodations and, as usual, high level competitions in a very mild climate! More info at aom2014.com

Event sponsor: MOC 2014 – March 13th-15th

• Prize offered: Competition, training and hotel package for one person: Entry for one person at the 10th anniversary of MOC Mediterranean Orienteering Championship in Tuscany + MOC sprint training camp in Venice district + accommodation half boards for 7 nights. Value about 500 euro. Transferable to other persons.
• You are welcome in MOC- Tuscany 2014! The Mediterranean Open Championship Orienteering 2014 is organized March 13th – March 15th. Final stage in Florence, UNESCO city. Orienteering with a lot of fun. Great events with world class runners! Read more at www.orienteering.it and www.facebook.com/pwtorienteering.

Event sponsor: Bergen Sprint Camp – January 31st-February 2nd 2014

• Prize offered: 2 packages – each consisting of 2 complete Bergen Sprint Camp packages: Entry for all 4 races + training Friday morning + Saturday evening program consisting of presentation held by World Champion Mårten Boström and dinner. Value about 400 Euro. Transferable to other persons.
• For the 5th time in a row, BSC is held in the city center of Bergen, Norway. We provide all participants with challenging courses, good maps and interesting analysis of the sessions – hoping to improve the sprint orienteering technique for everyone. See more at Sprint-Camp.blogspot.no – including all courses and analysis from previous editions of BSC.

Event sponsor: 3+3 Sälen – June 27th-29th 2014

• Prize offered: 2 BIG training+competition packages – each for 2 persons consisting of: Entry for the complete 3+3 2014 competition week + maps for 8 different trainings during the training camp + TUBE from Bagheera from Fjällmaraton Sälen. Value about 380 Euro. Transferable to other persons.
• 3+3 is a 3 Day orienteering event organized by Malungs OK in Sälen. The event is famous for its open landscape above the “tree-level” and good drawn maps and excellent combination of orienteering and holidays. The 2014 edition returns to the Hundfjället terrain made famous during O-Ringen 2008. More at 3plus3.se

Event sponsor: Ilves-3 – May 2nd – 4th 2014

• Prize offered: 2 packages – each for 2 persons – consisting of: Accommodation for 2 nights in a nice guesthouse (including breakfast) and start fee for the 3 Day competition Ilves-3 in Estonia. Value about 350 Euro. Transferable to other persons.
• Ilves-3 is an awesome 3-day competition weekend on relevant terrain for WOC 2017 in Estonia. Welcome to everybody – from kids to veterans. Get to know Estonian orienteering! More to come at OKIlves.ee

Event sponsor: OOCup / Bubo Cup 2014 – July/August 2014

• Prize offered: 2 packages – each for 2 people – consisting of: Your choice of full entry to either complete 5 day Bubo cup competition or complete 5 days OOCup competition + small Slovenia training package consisting of up to 3 training maps. Value up to 300 euro. Transferable to other persons.
• OOCup is a 5 Day orienteering event organized annually in Slovenia. The event is famous for its Karst orienteering and excellent combination of orienteering and holidays. Bubo cup is the younger brother of OOCup – offering the same excellent orienteering experiences and quality you are used to from OOCup – but with a more relaxed attitude at the events. You can even manage both races with some rest in between. Bubo Cup is organized from July 24th – 28th 2014 – OOCup from August 1st – 5th 2014. More at www.bubocup.com/ and oocup.com

Event sponsor: Orievents /Training Camps, Alto Alentejo, Portugal

• Prize offered: Competition + training package for 2 persons, consisting of: Entry for NAOM 2014 – January 25th/26th 2014 + training camp (6 trainings) + 3 days of accommodation in half board at Castelo de Vide Hotel. Value about 270 euro. Transferable to other persons.
• Orievents / GD4C’s Training Camps “Alto Alentejo” are an excellent training opportunity for Orienteering of good quality during the winter. Start the new season in training camps in Alto Alentejo, Portugal! More at www.naom.pt and about the training camp at Orievents.

Event sponsor: Portugal O-Meeting – March 1st-4th 2014

• Prize offered: 2 packages – each one for 2 persons – consisting of: Entry fees for the 4 stages of POM 2014, model events, night sprint, trail-O and regional dinner. Value about 260 euro. Transferable to other persons.
• Portugal O’ Meeting is already a well-known established international event, normally reaching the highest average points in World Ranking Events, excluding the World Championships. 2014’s Edition will be held nearby Serra da Estrela, on low grounds but with high density of rocky elements in all stages. More info at pom.pt/en/

Event sponsor: North American Orienteering Championships 2014 – October 10th-13th 2014

• Prize offered: A full NAOC2014 Package for 1 person – transferable to other person. Including all three races (sprint, middle, long), accomodation (hardfloor or camping), all model maps, all training maps, food (3 hot breakfast, 3 hot dinners including banquet),transport to and from airport. Value approximately 200 Euro.
• This biennial event is the largest and the premiere orienteering event in North America. With national team spots on the line, the best in North America will be there. The host town Arnprior, just outside Canada’s National Capital – Ottawa, is situated on the stunning Ottawa river and we are working together to bring you the best in orienteering and more. Expect the best that North America has to offer and get ready to take control as Orienteering Ottawa welcomes the world from October 10th to 13th, 2014! More at www.naoc2014.ca

Event sponsor: 3 days of Trenches 2014 – May 31st-June 2nd 2014

• Prize offered: 3 packages – each for 2 people – consisting of: Entry for 3 competitions, sprint, middle WRE and long WRE. A full package of training maps on WOC 2014 training terrains + a shirt for the event. Value about 200 euro. Transferable to other persons.
• The “3 days of Trenches” competitions will be held on 31st May, 1st June and 2nd June 2014 between Trentino and Veneto. Many national teams will use these competitions as final selection races for WOC 2014 so there should be very strong fields. 2014 is a special year for the Asiago plateau because it is the Centenary since the beginning of the First World War. On the Middle and Long terrain all runners will cross a lot of trenches, military buildings and caves used 100 years ago. It will be possible to visit many historical sites. More at the event’s Facebook page: facebook.com/3days2014