Jukola 2008

[Roger]

I see that Jon Musgrave (for JOK 2) passed 120 teams in his first 2.7km, i.e. 44 teams per km or one team every 22.5m. Can anybody beat that? (He must have started too fast though, because he passed only a further 178 teams in his remaining 10.4km.)

[ifor]

Kristian Jones for Sugar-Loaf passed over 1000 from the start line he was on the back row to the first intermediate, unfortunaly soon after that he lost a contact lense and things were not so good....

Its a good event, watching the Venla on the big screen with the GPS tracking and cameras in the forest in the afternoon sun was realy nice. Unfortunaly by the time of the main event things had got a bit damp and I for one found the forest very hard going. It was pretty amazing the track left where we went non gaffled for a few legs on leg 2, one leg in particular just seemed to end up with a very well troden path just straight lineing it through everything for over a k between two controlls.

Great run by GG.

Ifor

[harry]

Really enjoyed my first Jukola, of course I've been running in Venla before (even been on the podium once upon a time) but it was my first experience of the main event. Would definitely recommend this to more British clubs. It's a great experience and a real mass participation event compared to Tio Mila which feels more like an elite competition. We were carrying about 2.5 injuries, had two 17 year olds, one M50 ish (?) & one W21 & we were well up within the top 300-420 (out of 1400+) throughout the race. It's usually really great orienteering & weather (although this year it rained and was maybe not quite as full-on technical as usual -but still more challenging than most orienteering areas in England).

It's even great fun waiting in the changeover. I was there 45 minutes (not because of my incoming runner just because I just got up and had a few coffees and didn't really think things through..) and there was always something to keep me amused like the guy who had been waiting 15 minutes to changeover or the man who came in and stood at changeover with his outgoing runner's map talking his teammate through the course for a good 5 minutes!

I've written a leg-by-leg report of NOC's exploits on our forum.
http://www.noc-uk.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=489#489

[graeme]

Fantastic as ever, as harry says, and it seemed just as technical. It is so nice to feel you're not in a tiny minority sport, and a single race with almost 10000 competitors, 100 times bigger than almost any course in the UK. Every orienteer should do this event once.

Well done to EUOC for holding us off as the top UK team - although there was only 20 mins in it by the end (with the Aussies in between), they were too far ahead most of the night to feel like a race. Would have been mighty close if Big Jon hadn't been in the JOK reserves .

[rocky]

maybe not quite as full-on technical as usual

which Jukola were you running? the one I ran was probably the most difficult of the 4 I've done now! maybe not as intricate, but the thick forest and mix of styles made it pretty tough.

first leg is absolutely bizarre though. I have run cross country races where I've toed the line with the fastest guys in the world and been amazed how quickly the go from the gun, but that paled in comparison to the ferocious sprinting by the front couple of rows for the first 100m. i just relaxed and made sure of staying on my feet, and sure enough by the first control (1.4k) I was 7th on my gaffle, so not much lost by relaxing. after that it was a real mix of packs breaking up and coming together, and I found it really hard to know where I was placed - amazed to find out later that at the control before i screwed it up i was in 12th place and ahead of janne salami who came in 3rd.

i realised afterwards that there is almost no other race, in orienteering or out, that could make me feel so gutted for messing it up, and that is why Jukola is, to me, the greatest race in the world.

and to GG, fantastic effort both on thursday and saturday/sunday. i would not be shocked if he was top 10 in the world cup race on friday afternoon. the rigorous training on Lidingo is obviously working for him and his attitude is spot on.

-m

[harry]

which Jukola were you running?

I didn't find it as technical as last year anyway but I ran day legs & wasn't running as fast as you! Or maybe I am just a better orienteer than last year - and also didn't break my compass halfway round.

[Domhnull Mor]

Must say that I found it less technical than in previous years but then again, in the two places where it was more technical I lost about 15 minutes in total. Mind you, my headlamp failing after the first control (I was running first leg - That has got to be the most mental orienteering experience of my life!!!) didn't exactly help but didn't prove to be as big a hinder as I would have thought. Not having run first leg before, I was not quite prepared for the queue building in the forest where it was really hard to overtake. Now I understand why it pays to keep your position at the start.... Overall I thought the terrain was pretty decent although my ankles are still recovering. 203rd was just outside our aim of top 200 but surprisingly consistent after last year. Respect to the two lassies who ran the last two legs for our 2nd team after running in the Venla the previous day. Not many guys who can say they've run twice in a Jukola weekend. Even more amazing is that the one lass took only 10 minutes longer than her husband who ran the same leg for the first team. Like I said, respect!

[harry]

Alastair Brunton ran leg 1 for NOC and later "Allie" Brunton ran leg 6 for WING OK 2. If his relative run-in mpk were anything to go by, he was pretty shafted by the end of leg 6!

I ran ~7.4 mpk in Venla (4.14 on the run in) and ~7.7 mpk in Jukola (4.19 for run in), really surprised I wasn't more knackered especially after so little sleep. Best thing was feeling like you got your money/travel's worth in orienteering!...has taken me several days to feel close to being fully recovered though!

I was well impressed to see some girls heading out on the first leg of Jukola - that looks like a terrifying experience! (Half) hope I get the chance to try it one day. Anyone up for running a British all-girl team in Jukola?

[Patrick]

Not many guys who can say they've run twice in a Jukola weekend.

In 2000, when one of our team members dropped out at the last minute, Stewart Fishwick ran 1st leg (in a rather good time) and then went round leg 5. Strictly against the rules, of course, but they didn't seem to notice how dishevelled he was going out the second time - maybe they thought he always looks like that! The legs must have added up to almost 20k, so I think he was a bit tired by the end...

Cheers,

Patrick

[Slow To Chide]

This was my first Jukola, I'm an M55 who's fitess is well off the boil at the minute, I had a dodgy Achilles tendon and it was cold and damp for much of the time - and I had an absolute blast! What an event! SLOW had a team in both the Venla and Jukola, although very definitely not the club's best runners; we all had a great time and I'm sure we'll be back.

Interesting to note that although it is obviously the biggest race that that the men have been in it is the women that seemed to feel the greatest difference. The standard in the UK is so wide that women rarely get to run in even small competitive packs - so the Venla represents a huge, huge step that everyone in the SLOW team certainly found a buzz.

So, a new entry for the list of 5 orienteering things to do before you die..."drink a beer in the sauna after your run in the Jukola/Venla" *

* Although I'm not sure that I plan to make a habit of drinking beer at 9am on a Sunday morning

[harry]

Good effort Slow to Chide!
What are the other 4 orienteering things to do before you die?

[Slow To Chide]

I'm not sure that I have another 4 "things to do...". The trouble with orienteering is that you cannot guarantee in advance what the great moments will be (but then again maybe that's the attraction?). But maybe...
- Running up one of the finish lanes at the O-Ringen with 20,000 people in the assembly field?
- Eating pasta in your tent at overnight camp on a mountain marathon?
Any other ideas out there?

Of course there's a long list of great moments that have happened but you can't predict in advance:
- Running a pathless 3k leg on Kooyoora in Australia and spiking the control perfectly
- Any event at last year's 6-day at Zermatt

Alan

[LostAgain]

For Orienteering:

Having the perfect run!

I have very rarely ever had a complete run that I have not been able to review the map afterwards and say I could improve......

To have a perfect run must give a great buzz, at speed of course (fitness )