Offensivt och koncentrerat was our slogan for this 10Mila 2010 and an improvement of last year’s 9th place the announced goal. Well, short and crisp: we didn’t make it and finished 27th. Currently, we as a team are trying to analyse the reasons for the failure. Here is my part of the story from the pre-start to the finish:
Before the start: I had a fitful sleep before the race in the youth hostel, 20k away from the competition centre. A mix of nervousness and the unusual time prevented me from a deep sleep. But it felt ok when I got up at 1.30 in the morning to eat some sandwiches and drive to the arena. When we got there, I immediately wanted to know about the race situation. After a decent start and an even better second leg, the prerequisites for the “Long Night” were perfect. But unfortunately, we lost a lot of time on the third leg and were more than 20min down on the lead. Of course, this update was not a motivation stimulator but anyways, there were still 7 legs to go and we were definetely eager to get back to the TOP20 at least. Finally, Vagnis sent me out on the 6th leg together with Halden’s 2nd team, where no less a figure than Tore Sandvik, himself former world champion and multiple 10Mila winner, was sent out. 6km unforked were waiting for us.
Start-1st: I took the route under the power line and approached the control from south-west. Saw the stone 100m before the control but then went to the wrong gaffling (81). Corrected and punshed after Tore Sandvik the first control.
1st -2nd: Decided to stay behind him for a couple of controls because it was still quite dark in the forest and I knew about his technical capacity.
2nd- 5th: Running behind Tore Sandvik. Had full control but did not want to run away although the speed felt way too slow.
5th -6th: We ran down to the crossing of the paths. Suddenly, Tore went left but I decided to go straight through the swamp. Then missed the control a little bit in the control cycle so that we were together again.
6th - 7th: Running behind him again to get the control back. No problem. It was brightening up.
7th - 8th: It’s time to attack. Down in the flat area I speeded up and got away from Tore Sandvik. Punshed the 8th before him.
8th -9th: TV-control on the top of the slope. Knew the control from the screen. Finally, I could push hard for the first time in the uphill.
9th -10th: Crossed the paths and hit the control from north-west. No trouble whatsoever.
10th -11th: Leaving the control I increased the speed again. Saw the cliffs on the line and was about to approach the control at the slope. Then I saw this huge cutting area which was not marked on the map and got totally confused. Was I already close to the forbidden area? I went a little bit down the slope and checked the compass direction. Everything was alright. Plus, I was completely sure that I passed the big cliffs on the line, so I had to be right. Then I follow the slope and saw the stones. Maybe 1min was gone and Tore Sandvik back again. Afterwards, I was told that this cutting area was new but apparently announced in the PM. So, next time I have to read the final instruction a little bit more carefully.
11th-12th: Full control, around the hill, over the path up to the top and behind the cliff to the control.
12th-13th: Left the control and was running over the small hills but suddenly saw a control and turned right. Checked the code and realized it was not mine. After a short look at the map, I relocated in the valley 50m away from my control. Corrected and punshed the right one.
13th-14th: Compass. No problem.
14th-15th: Hit the control over the top and the cliff. Felt pretty good.
15th-16h: Took the route over the path. Was standing on the little knoll in the control cycle for some seconds because I did not take the time to read the control description.
16th-17th: One of the most easiest controls of the course but my biggest mistake of the night. Left the control and was running over the yellow area crossing the path and up the slope. I did not really know exactly where I was on the slope so that I was a little uncertain about the precise location when I reached the top. Continued eastwards but suddenly I found myself almost standing on the crossing of the big roads. I immeadiately realized what had happened and turned back to my control. Maybe another minute mistake.
17th - Finish: Full speed no mistake. Was not satisfied at all when I changed over to David. Saw Tore Sandvik coming into the finish, maybe 30 seconds behind me. Apparentely, all the other runners struggle as well. Thus, my leg time seemed pretty ok. Nevertheless, I am not satisfied with my performance as such although I managed to gain some time on the leading teams.
In a nutshell, it can be said that I am able to run either offensive or with full control. But the key to success is the coordination of the two. And there is still a lot of room for improvement.
Newspaper article before the 10Mila:
The first international highlight of the season is coming closer. On Sunday, the European Orienteering Championship kicks off with both Sprint Qualification and Final. This year’s venue is Primorsko, a small town located at the Black Sea in Bulgaria. Due to my last exam on Friday, I will join the team a little bit later on Saturday. Despite the very tight schedule, I am very confident before the competitions. The feedback of the last weeks of training was very good and I believe I have improved considerably here in Sweden. Unfortunately, I got sick prior to the Swedish Sprint Championships and the Elitserien competitions in Arvika two weeks ago which were supposed to be the last serious test before the EOC. Nevertheless, I managed to get back on track in time and had some very good training sessions last week. Control picking, Orienteering Intervals, Long runs, 6×1000m (3:10-3:15 with 2min break), Fartlek just to mention a few of them. Now it’s time to charge the batteries. The program is tough for me with Sprint, Long and hopefully relay. 
