Share and learn
A problem shared...
After your run, do you stick around and compare your run with others? And afterward, have you ever endulged in some armchair orienteering? If so, you could be giving yourself and advantage...
What do you do after you have finished your course? Once you've caught your breath you could just download, say your goodbyes and disappear. However, there is tremendous value in sticking around and comparing your run with others.
Possible topics to discuss are: different route choices, where you think you gained or lost time, any difficulties understanding the map, and whether you'd do it differently if you did the same course again.
Everyone will have done something slightly different so there will be plenty to talk about, and lots of lessons to learn. It is also a lot more sociable!
The review doesn't have to stop when you go home. Don't throw your map away without looking at it again. Look at it again a day or two later with a fresh mind and the benefit of hindsight and see what you can learn. This is sometimes called "armchair orienteering" and is time well spent.
The screenshot is from Routegadget. For maximum benefit, get on your device and make use of Routegadget there, preferably using the animation.
This superb website allows you to record your actual route travelled and combines this with the split times replay the event. For a bit of fun you can even watch a head-to-head race as if everyone had started at the same time.
As a club we pay an annual fee for Routegadget and it would be really good to see more club members using it. It is very easy to use and the results are very impressive.
Richard Sansbury
- Skilling Up- Hints and Tips for Improvement #7, from QuOnicle 154, March 2014