Last week, members of the GB squad flew out to Hungary for a pre-WOC 2027 camp. The main goal of the trip was to learn how to orienteer in relevant terrain for next summer’s World Orienteering Championships.
Written by Frank Townley.
For those who aren't aiming for WOC 2027, it was a chance for high quality training in good terrain to sharpen their skills for other upcoming races.
Europe is very hot at the moment, and Hungary is no different. Temperatures never seemed to get below 25 degrees and often surpassed 30 degrees. This meant the forest was very dry and the running was tough in the heat.
One of the things we got the most learning from was how to run hard in super hot conditions! Hungarian terrain is generally characterised by relatively simple orienteering but with a lot of interesting route choices that involve a lot of climb - we spent a lot of time testing routes in the forest and analysing afterwards on livelox. This work now will help inform athletes during crucial decisions mid race in WOC 2027.
Image below: Map extract 1.
The training didn’t stop once we left the forest, with us doing group analysis sessions reviewing the day’s trainings most evenings after fueling up on dinner. We also managed to fit in some down time, visiting nearby lake Balaton for swims.
Overall, it was a useful and enjoyable camp for all athletes. Many thanks have to go to the coach (Josh Beech) and support staff (Donald McCarthy) who gave up their time to help us train.
Image below: Map extract 2.
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