As the summer tours are coming up so people are training all over the place, this forum has been quiet for a while and I'm looking for inspiration, what are peoples favourite O training exercises (technical or physical, fun or serious), and why?
To get the ball rolling, here's 2 of mine:
1) http://www.nopesport.com/td/mapdisplay.php?map=ebb3e71906977ab49f1ecaf4cec9638e.jpg
You have a master map, blank piece of paper and pen, and transcribe as much info as you need to get you around the course. Makes you realise what info you need off a map, what to ignore and what is there just to confuse you.
2) Head to head racing - no piccy of this one, but it's one I got off Bill Hanley on my coaching course. You have lots of course of 3-4 controls (2-3 minutes a course), and have 2 people starting at the same time. One goes around the course clockwise, and one anti-clockwise. First back score 2 points, second back score 1. Then all 2 pointers pair up and do another course, as do the 1 pointers. Then all the 4 pointers pair up, as do the 3 pointers and 2 pointers etc, etc. Eventually you get a nice little league table. We did it on the Chase on Tuesday before the thunder and lightening kicked in and it went down well with everybody - good bit of banter and bruised egos! The sort of exercise you can do in a town park and excellent for sprint race training and relay training, but it takes a fair bit of preparation in advance.
favourite exercises
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favourite exercises
Make the most of life - you're a long time dead.
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Stodgetta - brown
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Works like this:
2 maps of a short course, but going in opposite directions, like this:
http://www.nopesport.com/td/mapdisplay.php?map=e1f0cea379509d743b244ac6aed541a5.jpg
Starting at the same time, first back is the winner (2 points, loser 1 point).
If you do a little mini-league of several head to head races around different courses (the night we did it, we had 5 different courses over 45 minutes with 20ish Chasers), you can have an overall winner, in our case, Iain Stamp.
2 maps of a short course, but going in opposite directions, like this:
http://www.nopesport.com/td/mapdisplay.php?map=e1f0cea379509d743b244ac6aed541a5.jpg
Starting at the same time, first back is the winner (2 points, loser 1 point).
If you do a little mini-league of several head to head races around different courses (the night we did it, we had 5 different courses over 45 minutes with 20ish Chasers), you can have an overall winner, in our case, Iain Stamp.
Last edited by Stodgetta on Thu Aug 18, 2005 12:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Make the most of life - you're a long time dead.
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Stodgetta - brown
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One of my favourites, both as a coach and as a participant, is pursuit-O.
In pairs. Each pair has a map with same course marked, number of controls a multiple of 3, and 2 controls. Partner A heads off, and puts out controls 1 and 2 and then goes to 3. Partner B follows a set time after and collects 1 and 2 and tries to catch partner A before 3. Then swap around so A is chasing B. At the next swap B is chasing A again. If previously s/he he caught A, then the time gap is lengthened; if hadn't caught A then time gap shortened. Etc. etc.
Another is terrain structuring (NOT map memory, although often called such). Pairs again with one map. A sorts out route to 1 and then hands map over to B whose job is to plan route to 2 whilst following A to 1. Swap at next control, which should be slick - no hanging around! Called terrain structuring because you are not remembering the map, but the picture that the map created.
Personally, I also love control picking exercises as a participant, but they are a pain as a coach because they involve so many controls!
In pairs. Each pair has a map with same course marked, number of controls a multiple of 3, and 2 controls. Partner A heads off, and puts out controls 1 and 2 and then goes to 3. Partner B follows a set time after and collects 1 and 2 and tries to catch partner A before 3. Then swap around so A is chasing B. At the next swap B is chasing A again. If previously s/he he caught A, then the time gap is lengthened; if hadn't caught A then time gap shortened. Etc. etc.
Another is terrain structuring (NOT map memory, although often called such). Pairs again with one map. A sorts out route to 1 and then hands map over to B whose job is to plan route to 2 whilst following A to 1. Swap at next control, which should be slick - no hanging around! Called terrain structuring because you are not remembering the map, but the picture that the map created.
Personally, I also love control picking exercises as a participant, but they are a pain as a coach because they involve so many controls!
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awk - god
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awk wrote:Another is terrain structuring (NOT map memory, although often called such). Pairs again with one map. A sorts out route to 1 and then hands map over to B whose job is to plan route to 2 whilst following A to 1. Swap at next control, which should be slick - no hanging around! Called terrain structuring because you are not remembering the map, but the picture that the map created.
i did that at halden, it was well good. surely map memory and terrain structuring are the same? i do the same thing for both either way.
My favourites include line exercises - following a pre-marked line exactly, noting/remembering kites you've seen and whether they are on the line or not. also doing a course with two/three of you. at each control you each choose a different route and then set off together. you then see which was best and choose the next legs routes- though most discussion can of course be done after. this is good for highlighting other peoples potential route choices (often you won't run the route you would have chosen in a race). it also acts as good terrain-interval training to an extent.
Pictures are better than words because sometimes words are big and hard to understand.
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Mr. Furness - light green
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Mr. Furness wrote:surely map memory and terrain structuring are the same? i do the same thing for both either way.
Same exercise, but different approach. The idea behind calling it terrain structuring (an idea acquired from a British Squad newsletter of many years ago) was to emphasise that the idea is not to memorise the map but to develop the picture/model straightaway and to orienteer from that. This may seem obvious: you may do that already, but a lot of people don't (indeed, can't), and this was another way of underlining the process.
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awk - god
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I've done that one on the Chase, too, but used it to encourage people to plan ahead and practice reading the map on the run at speed, using increasingly difficult control sites as the course went on.
Never done the pursuit one - sounds interesting.
Never done the pursuit one - sounds interesting.
Make the most of life - you're a long time dead.
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Stodgetta - brown
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It may be because I've been orienteering since about when I could first walk but to me memorising the map and memorising a picture of the terrain are one and the same because map and terrain are one and the same (with a good map!).
My fave exercise was always the swinging relay. For those who don't know you get teams of two. Plan a circular course around the start (so the start is in the middle) and have the same number of controls as teams. Mass start - first runner from team 1 goes to control 1, team 2 to control 2 etc. They take a kite with them and hang it where they think the control should be (great for coaches - no control hanging required!). They come back and handover to their team mate. The team mate goes to the same site, finds their team mates flag (or doesn't so goes in search on neighbouring features), then moves the flag to the next control then comes back. When the control has been hung on the last control site then the last leg is just to retrieve it. First team back wins!
Unfortunately you can't do it with inexperienced orienteers otherwise it becomes more like a treasure hunt but great with a bunch of fit experienced orienteers.
I also enjoyed this relocation excercise: Pairs but with one map. The first runner takes the map and gets near the first control then hands to their partner. Partner relocates then navigates to the control, then on to near the second control, swaps and so on. Sometimes done with a larger circle round the control circle where the relocation should be done but I preferred this to be open to whatever levels of deviousness your partner could come up with to get you lost - like running entirely the wrong way or running around in circles. All good practice!
My fave exercise was always the swinging relay. For those who don't know you get teams of two. Plan a circular course around the start (so the start is in the middle) and have the same number of controls as teams. Mass start - first runner from team 1 goes to control 1, team 2 to control 2 etc. They take a kite with them and hang it where they think the control should be (great for coaches - no control hanging required!). They come back and handover to their team mate. The team mate goes to the same site, finds their team mates flag (or doesn't so goes in search on neighbouring features), then moves the flag to the next control then comes back. When the control has been hung on the last control site then the last leg is just to retrieve it. First team back wins!
Unfortunately you can't do it with inexperienced orienteers otherwise it becomes more like a treasure hunt but great with a bunch of fit experienced orienteers.
I also enjoyed this relocation excercise: Pairs but with one map. The first runner takes the map and gets near the first control then hands to their partner. Partner relocates then navigates to the control, then on to near the second control, swaps and so on. Sometimes done with a larger circle round the control circle where the relocation should be done but I preferred this to be open to whatever levels of deviousness your partner could come up with to get you lost - like running entirely the wrong way or running around in circles. All good practice!
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FatBoy - addict
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Fatboy has already mentioned my favourite exercise – the double circle relocation exercise – much fun was had with this one on a club training weekend when my brother and I paired up with mum and dad and did our best to thoroughly confuse them!
Running on brown only maps during squad weekends probably taught me the most though. Coming from the flatlands of Lincolnshire contours were somewhat of an alien concept and I did struggle to visualise what I was running over until we were forced to just concentrate on landforms – it all became much clearer when all the other distractions (handrails) were taken away.
Miffy
Running on brown only maps during squad weekends probably taught me the most though. Coming from the flatlands of Lincolnshire contours were somewhat of an alien concept and I did struggle to visualise what I was running over until we were forced to just concentrate on landforms – it all became much clearer when all the other distractions (handrails) were taken away.
Miffy
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Intresting... a friend of mine is studying in Sweden and when he came back to BG(now he is here) I run with him intervals in forest with map..It is like many short courses.. you run 600-1000 m. fast with 3 controls, then you run slowly 100-200m. to the next start and again .. fast maybe you know this training but i didn't
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OLs3m - string
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