What do people think about the relay performance this year? What can be improved for next year?

I can only speak of the 8 point team. I think my team mates did a great job. I think we chose the correct order.

However, I need some improving. My one big boom cost the team a top-20 placing. I couldn't have moved much faster in the wet woods, but without mistakes, I would have been 10 minutes and 8 or 9 places higher. I dropped the team quite a bit. I'm disappointed in my performance.

Just remember: IDAHO! IDAHO! IDAHO!

-- Mary (maprunner@juno.com), September 24, 2002

Answers

While I am a bit disappointed, I don't think we did terrible (we just can do a lot better). The problems we had -- illness and having the race at a time when we don't have good pre-race technique training opportunities -- are not things we'll face next year.

Speaking mostly about the 4-point team...

We suffered a lot from illness. I was sick and Dan was sick. I probably lost a good 4-5 minutes on running ability. It wasn't just the runnning that suffered though. I think we lost more than just the slow speed. If Dan is healthy, he comes in with the lead or very close to it. (Dan was in the lead around the 5th control, then just really slowed). Peggy has a better run if she goes out with the lead. Instead of chasing and feeling like she's behind, she's racing and really fighting. Peggy and Suzanne come in close to each other. If I'm healthy, I probably can't keep up with Kenny. But, I'm fighting hard and I send out Mook in a position to take a medal. If Mook runs as well as he did (Mook wasn't sick), we probably take a medal. But, CSU still wins.

A bit of disappointment will help us for next year. I want to win one of these relays. A medal is nice. Participating is nice (and fun). But, I want to win also.

I plan to be better prepared next year. I'll be stronger, thinner and sharper. I'll also try to do a better job of keeping OKers focused on the relays (more emails and stuff like that).

CSU was very impressive this year. They've got good, strong orienteers. They also pay attention to the relays. They want to do well, they try to do well...they did well. This was the first year in my memory when I felt like another club was better prepared than us. I expect that OK will have the best prepared teams next year in Idaho.

-- Michael (meglin@juno.com), September 26, 2002.

I think the physical demands of the relays next year will be high. Here is what Sergey wrote after he was at the relay location, "Jogging and walking at Ponderosa park - checking map and scouting controls for next year relays - it should be tough and interesting courses. Lots of green, deadfall, and fallen trees climbing. My legs are dead at the end :)"

-- Michael (meglin@juno.com), September 30, 2002.

While chatting with Grover Everett at Dillons today by the bananas stand, I took a quick glance to the left and lo and behold - a bottle of Bove garlic sauce. Then around the corner was the whole array of Bove sauces (from Burlington Vermont) including the signature vodka sauce.

Then chatting a little more, looked up and sauce a bottle of something (can't remember) from Kowalski Farms.

Is New England making plans to reinstate Lawrence as a true NE outpost?

No matter what our times were on the course, a good time was had at Bove's.

-- mean gene (gmw@ku.edu), September 29, 2002.

Of course it was disappointing to finish out (and so far out) of the medals. I did not have a good run, with one 2+ minute error I'm kicking myself for and a couple other smaller booms that I can forgive myself for. But I was also tired and that not only is due to not enough training but also to having run the Red course fairly hard on Saturday. No one else on the 4-point team ran even their age group course (Spike starting but not completing on M35), while I ran UP 2 age groups. I won't let that happen again! It's always easy to say I'll be in better shape next year -- I say it every year -- but of course no one knows what life may throw us and we'll just have to do the best we can... CSU did a great job, with 2 teams in the top 10. The two factors on our side regarding CSU next year is that 1) Suzanne turns 21 in '03 so they'll need to adjust for points and 2) being so far from home, and being young and poor, it is less likely that they'll have such a full complement of good runners to choose from for the relay. We'll see... As we saw last year at LA, many of the good eastern clubs we faced this year didn't even field a team so far from the motherland -- UNO, DVOA, CSU, HVO were all absent. We can't count on that again, and we'll likely face some good BAOC and RMOC teams that didn't show this year, and possibly a resurgent SVO team. But only OK and COC (and perhaps CSU) focus as much on getting a strong team to the relay so that helps us. I see from Mook's training log that he is going to quit focusing on the relay as the payoff isn't there. I can't blame him! If we all do our part, then it will all come together. It would be great to finally win one of these things. But I still love chocolate...

-- Peggy (Pdickison@aol.com), September 30, 2002.

After a week orienteering with the Neuburgers in Laramie this summer, I felt the 8 pt team would be sharp. Mary had been training a lot the past 2 years and so expected good results from our bunch. I think this team had a great run. My run was steady throughout with a bobble until #9 (green). Couldn't keep up with the pack of 4 after 3-4 legs. Didn't cope with the ferns nor the finer map details on Day 1. Day 2 was much better focused. It was great to be back in New England. Boise beckons...

-- mean gene (gmw@ku.edu), September 30, 2002.