WOC Selection Race Switzerland – Race Reports
Several members of the Irish Senior Orienteering Squad were in Switzerland from June 1st to 6th in order to train in WOC 2023 relevant terrain and compete in the WOC test races.
These were also the final selection races for Ireland for the World Orienteering Championships 2023.
There were three races, two middles and one long.
The squad present was made up of:
Women:
- Clodagh Moran
- Zoë Tyner
Men:
- Colm Moran
- Cillin Corbett
- Laurence Quinn
- Paul Pruzina
- Ruairi Short
- Seamus O’Boyle
Long Test Race Report
Middle Distance Test Race 1 Report
Middle Distance Test Race 2 Report
Long Test Race Report
The long test race was held in the Engadin of Switzerland. We had a model event on Monday 5th June to get familiar with 1:15,000 scale again and since the long areas have a different characteristic to the middle, have a look at some relevant maps. The long is in general less detailed than the middle areas, with more slope orienteering, though some sections of high complexity are still there. We had a drive through the Swiss mountains to get there and got rained on for the model.
On the day of the race the sun came back out for some courses that looked to be tough on paper (12.1km 840m for the Men and 9.7km 660m for the Women) and this started right from the route to the start kite which was very steep and took over a minute to go 60 metres! We had ~300m of climb in the first 4 controls but then the course opened up a bit more with some traditional long legs that were very interesting to analyze later. In general finding a way to climb on roads or paths was faster and this also allowed for some planning ahead for later in the course. Mixed in with this tough running was some beautiful orienteering though, with the butterfly loop in a great piece of forest that everyone enjoyed.
In the end most of the Irish were reasonably satisfied with their runs. Nobody had a perfect race, but it was a great opportunity to learn a bit more about the Swiss terrain before WOC in July.
In the men’s race it was very tight for who would be selected to run WOC. Ireland only has one spot for the long distance and Colm Moran won out on the day. For the women, Clodagh Moran claimed the WOC spot as the only runner.
Livelox:
1 IRL Matthias Kyburz 1:23:05
51 IRL Colm Moran 1:54:31
52 IRL Paul Pruzina 1:57:13
54 IRL Ruairi Short 1:58:05
DNF IRL Cillin Corbett
DNS IRL Seamus O’Boyle
1 NOR Marie Olaussen 1:25:10
50 IRL Clodagh Moran 2:06:34
Middle Distance Race Report
Middle Distance Test Race 1 Report
The first middle race was held on an area north of Flims, the next village over from where we were staying. Arriving in the arena, there was quite a low-key feel, with no traders, official parking or even toilets, just some of the world’s best orienteers sitting around at the side of the road. The way to the start was a steep uphill 2.5k in the hot sun, and we were thankful from a cooler area beside a waterfall just before the start.
The courses started off uphill for the first third of the course, before turning back towards the finish. The terrain was incredibly detailed, with a huge number of depressions and small hills, making for tricky navigation, so it was hard to run fast. Because of the size of the field, both the men and the women were split into two classes, with each course following the same general shape, but with different control sites. The M2 and W2 courses that we ran were almost identical, except for some extra distance on the men’s, which meant everyone could take part in splits comparison together afterwards.
Between the altitude and the heat, everyone agreed that they were struggling during the race, but most enjoyed racing in the fantastic Swiss forest. No one was clean, so a couple of mistakes really determined our order in the results list. In the end Clodagh Moran and Paul Pruzina were fastest Irish, gaining automatic selection for WOC, with other spaces to be filled based on Sunday’s race as well.
Livelox
Results – MEN 2
1 Kasper Fosser NOR 34:59
56 Paul Pruzina IRL 47:00
71 Ruairi Short IRL 49:06
80 Colm Moran IRL 53:31
82 Laurence Quinn IRL 54:12
87 Cillin Corbett IRL 61:57
dnf Seamus O’Boyle IRL
Results – WOMEN 2
1 Sara Hagström SWE 33:40
60 Clodagh Moran IRL 55:49
66 Zoe Tyner IRL 89:05
Middle Distance Test Race 2 Report
On Sunday we had another middle race, this time based at the accommodation in Laax. The old map showed a very different terrain type to yesterday, with steep, fairly smooth slopes dominating the area, with a more detailed hilly area in the east of the map. To get to the area from the assembly was a 4.5k run along roads and tracks, eventually dropping us at the very far end of the area. The men’s and women’s courses were once again similar, starting with some interesting controls in the detailed eastern section, before a few tricky cross-slope legs to bring us to the western end of the area for the finish. The weather was a little cooler today, so caused less of an issue, but with yesterday’s race already in the legs, the steep hills still felt hard. Zoe didn’t run today due to an injury, leaving Clodagh the only woman in the race, with Colm Moran being the fastest of the men.
Livelox
Results – MEN 2
1 Daniel Hubmann SUI 37:18
55 Colm Moran IRL 48:17
64 Paul Pruzina IRL 49:54
70 Ruairi Short IRL 52:56
73 Laurence Quinn IRL 55:27
75 Cillin Corbett IRL 58:25
Results – WOMEN 2
1 Tove Alexandersson SWE 38:30
46 Clodagh Moran IRL 63:13
