World of O News
– I have set 273 training courses from November 1st 2013 until October 31st 2014, Thierry Gueorgiou says when asked if he has set any courses in 2014. – Mostly for my own use and training mates, the French star explains.
Read on to see one of Gueorgiou’s favourites among these 273 courses – and also which courses he found most interesting overall in 2014.
Q: What was the best course you run in 2014 – and why?
For me, the best course was the World ranking event of Portugal O’meeting (3rd stage, see map sample above and complete course here), held in Arcozelo da Serra. This middle distance was challenging from the very first control to the last one, and luckily the map was really good too. Right from the first meters, you got oppressed by the uncommon terrain and always lacked time, that’s how a challenging middle distance should be.
Q: What was the most interesting orienteering terrain you run in in 2014 – and why?
Well, it is again in Portugal, a week earlier, with the long distance of MCO in Quinta da Estrada. It is the type of terrain where you would like to build a house to enjoy it daily: mostly good runnability, but still demanding orienteering. See the course by clicking the map below – or find the race in 2DRerun here.
Q: Usually the courses in interesting terrains are the ones you remember – so a challenge for you: Can you remember a very good course you ran in “boring” terrain this year?
This year I have been lucky and not been running on too boring terrains, or maybe, it is the other way round, I am not anymore taking part in the competitions on boring terrains in order to feel happier?!
In Uppland where I live nowadays, we find mostly very exciting terrains, but I can remember one small local event this spring, Enenracet, in Enköping, which wasn’t held in the wildest terrain in the World. But the course was probably close to the best you could get from this terrain (see here in 2DRerun) and it was a good running training anyway just before EOC in Portugal.
Q: What is the worst course you run in 2014?
I don’t like to point out bad courses in a wide audience, because behind every course there are persons and hours of work. But if I have to keep only one (among only those I have been running), I will say the relay of European Championships in Portugal.Unfortunately, the terrains around Palmela were not among the most challenging you can find in this country (read above), but that’s not the reason of my frustration.
The real problem here was forking and even a beginner could see that something wasn’t alright. If a beginner could see it, what about an IOF controller? When we talk about relay courses (see courses here), the number one issue of a course-setter should be to provide fair courses with time-wise equal forkings.
Q: Did you set any courses in 2014? If so, is it possible to share the best (in your opinion) with World of O’s readers?
I have set 273 training courses from 1st Nov 2013 to 31st October 2014, mostly for my own use and training mates. One of the very last one was a multitechnique training in Lunsen:
Q: In how many countries did you run orienteering in 2014 (difficult question, I know – maybe you can even tell how many countries you have orienteered in in total)?
Not that many in 2014: Sweden, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Scotland and USA. In total, I have orienteered in 38 different countries.
Q: What is the race you look most forward to in 2015?
As always, WOC middle distance, this time, the 4th August 2015 in Dingwall…
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 2015?
My main focus will be in World Championships, Jukola, Tiomila and if I still feel strong after that I want to defend my title at Uppland Nude Orienteering Champs.
At my age, there is a constant need for some small changes in trainings to keep the motivation high and my body working, which basically means more training at higher speed.
Q: Thanks a lot for your answers, Thierry!
Rules for “Course of the Year 2014″
The following rules are given for “The course of the Year 2014″ (see the intro-article for all details).
- The course must have been run in competition or training in 2014.
- 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 2014″ (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 2014″. 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 2014″, 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 2015. 27th-28th February & 1st March 2015
- Prize offered: AOM Competition Package for 4 persons – including entry to 4 events in 3 days, 4 nights accommodation in apartment and a 4-map training package before or after the event. Value about 600 Euro. Transferable to other persons.
- Sweet terrains and maps, nearby accommodations and high level competitions (2 WREs) in a very mild climate! More info at aom2015.com
Event sponsor: Liburnija Orienteering Meeting 2015. 14th-15th March 2015
- Prize offered: Big club package with entry for Liburnija Orienteering Meeting 2015 for 10 persons! Value about 200 Euro. Transferable to other person(s).
- The second edition of Liburnija Orienteering Meeting will be organized on the snow-free terrains of the island of Krk from 14th-15th of March 2015. Our vision is that this event becomes one of highlights of winter orienteering events in Europe for elite runners so therefore expect demanding courses and extreme terrain. Read more here
Event sponsor: Bergen Sprint Camp – January 30th – February 1st 2015
- 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 presentations and dinner. Value about 375 Euro. Transferable to other persons.
- For the 6th 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: Orievents / NAOM 2015. 31st January – 1st February 2015
- Prize offered: Competition + training package for 2 persons, consisting of: Entry for NAOM 2015 (January 31st – Middle + WRE Sprint (Marvão), February 1st – Middle distance) + training camp (6 trainings) + 3 days of accommodation in half board. Value about 270 Euro. Transferable to other persons.
- Orievents 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 2015. 13th – 17th February 2015
- Prize offered: 2 packages – each one for 2 persons – consisting of: Entry fees for the 4 stages of POM 2015, model events, night sprint and sprint relay. Value about 200 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 and World Cup events. More at pom.pt.
Event sponsor: Lipica Open 2015. 7th – 11th March 2015
- Prize offered: 3 packages – each for 2 people – consisting of: Entry to complete 5 day Lipica Open competition + Slovenia training package consisting of up to 3 trainings. Value about 300 euro. Transferable to other persons.
- In 2015 Lipica open will again be organized as a 5 day event. Again we will add some new terrain and combine diverse areas. Training conditions in this part of Europe are now better than ever – both on forest maps and on sprint maps of nice little towns on the Adriatic coast! More at www.lipicaopen.com – for trainings see www.orienteering.si
Event sponsor: Kopaonik Open 2015
- Prize offered: 2 competition packages, each consisting of 2 entries to Kopaonik open 2015 (5 competition stages + 1 training)
and the Cup of Raska 2015 entry fee (1 competition stage). Value about 200 Euro. Transferable to other persons. - We are offering to you 6 days of orienteering challenges for you, combination of two classical long, two middle and one sprint distance challenges plus one night orienteering challenge with separate ranking, 1 training plus 6 competition stages in total. For more info see www.kopaonikopen.org
