Ontario Orienteering Championships - Sprint Course

Map: University of Waterloo
Terrain: urban, park
Weather: chilly
Rules: no entering any buildings!

Route Link

Okay. This course was kind of like running Mirror's Edge, but without the parkour. Much like my own alma mater York U., Waterloo is a closed-in campus of hundreds of buildings clustered together, with myriad passage-ways linking quads, terraces and green spaces. The fun is finding the quickest way through to the other side. Or to the top!

I have to say this was the first time I'd had to consider multiple levels on an O-map (delineated by thick black lines like in architectural drawings). I would have been screwed early on if another runner hadn't taken some stairs up to a terrace that housed control 2 - never would have thought of that! Came in handy to catch control 14 later.

There was some talk of the best choice from 6 to 7, which were at buildings on opposite sides of a creek, with a bridge in either of two directions. Most of us saw the southern bridge and went for it, but some chose the northern bridge because it would afford a route with allegedly fewer changes of direction. Which one was faster? Only the splits will tell!

Overall, I think I did a great job of concentrating on quick route choices and reading tiny features such as the essential passageways. There had been a sneak preview photo posted of course setters/testers ND and ML at a low fence between buildings, with a discussion as to whether or not this was "officially passable" (it was.) As soon as I saw the fence, I decided I gotta hop it!

This was the longest 21 minutes of my life. I sprinted my little heart out, and whatever sprint I still have in me after a season without any training, I managed a 3rd place finish, with a sweet trillium-based Ontario champs medal.

I'm sure I'd shaved off some precious seconds by using my brand new control description holder I bought from the O-Store folks that came down to the event. The only thing I'd improve (other than my speed when I'm able) is my punching technique. I watched elite racer SL punching by stabilizing the control with his other hand, and it looked so much faster. On a sprint course with 16 controls in 4km, every second counts.

--Distance: 3.9km
--Duration: 21:21

After the race, I was treated to an impromptu nostalgia- and ridicule-ridden campus tour from alumni CK and ES, including finding out for example that when a woman enters the math and computers building, it's like she's entering a prison... This was as good as confirmed by our reading of the current issue of MathNews, the math students' newsletter with their highly dubious and sad advice on how to get a girlfriend. Turns out the coffee shop we chatted at after the race is the ideal place to go on a first date and pretend you enjoy discussing vegetarianism and gay rights. 

My alumni friends also bonded over how few of the current buildings existed when they'd attended and how much of a joke RIM is as a presence on campus. Boatloads of fun!