Here is the US Sprint Champs 07, M40 map, and here are my routes.

Here is the US Champs 07, M40 Day 1 map, and here are my routes.

Did far better than I expected to on the sprint, and even ended up with some hardware. This was in spite of some wobbly first controls, and, despite calling the correct route on #10, mis-executing it to the tune of 40 seconds to the winner. A perfect run may have won me this championship again (in M40). We'll take it tho, being out of shape. I think what helped was that it was woodsy with more traditional orienteering. I would not have medaled in a street sprint.

Day 1 of the classic champs featured a touch of verdant woods; a triple play of laurel, greenbriar, and mistletoe. Its a shame they didn't complete the set with some MF rose, tho there was plenty of deadfall to make up for it.

I totally botched #1, I was not into the map, and really could not figure out how to find the control. This happens to me alot in the case of thick, vague veg that I must go around rather than thru -- I have difficulty staying on track and relocating. After that botch, however, I orienteered fairly well, making sure that problem didn't happen again, and correcting the couple of mistakes I did make fairly quickly. I did get into a zone by about the third or fourth control. But the green was incessant, and that throws off my timing, leads to frustration, etc., and it was a crappy run all in all, despite hitting most of the controls cleanly. I'm not in shape to enjoy running M21, yet a requirement of an early start time forced me to.

QOC is putting on a great event, but to be honest, I just don't enjoy so much green. Perhaps I'm getting old, but it seems in the past two years, there has been a trend towards greener venues and/or course setting. Perhaps it is global warming. One thing to note about this course/map is trail/road run options seemed few and far between. For those of us who do this as a hobby, it would be nice to show up and see that 6min/k white woods kinda stuff once in a while.