Former World Champion and Christchurch resident Carsten Joergensen was once again in dominant form as he demolished the Long course at the National Orienteering Championships near Alexandra, Central Otago to pick up a third title in two years.
"It was big boulders and fast running" the tall Dane quipped, after his win. "It could have been a couple of kilometers longer though".
Organisers had originally set an 18km course but with 600m of climb had scaled that back to 15km for an expected winning time of 90 to 100 minutes.
Joergensen (current Danish half-marathon record holder and former Kepler Challenge winner) didn't run to this plan however, setting a blistering 5 min/km pace over the rocky hillsides to finish in under 73 minutes, defeating Tom Reynolds by two and a half minutes.
"I was impressed by Tom's pace and his return to form" Joergensen said. "I was worried about the speed of Ross Morrison too, but he picked up a bug and couldn't hit full speed, having to stop frequently I hear".
Joegensen's strategy of flat out speed with occasional complete navigational stops was the same used to win the Sprint title two days earlier.
The most important run of the day was perhaps that of early starter Jamie Stewart, (Oceania Sprint champion) who discovered a control site without a flag and electronic tag.
Searching the surrounding area, Stewart found the missing flag and relocated it to the exact position just in time for the following elites (with 3 minute staggered starts) to find it.
Joergensen, starting six minutes after Stewart was thankful.
"Yeah he saved the day" mused Joergensen. "Though it meant that he and Greg Flynn missed any chance of a high placing".
"You don't get too many chances to be a hero" joked Stewart. "So I took that one!"
The elite womens course was also affected but for most (except perhaps Rita Homes and Lara Prince) the actions of Stewart kept them in the chase for a National title.
It was literally a chase for two-times National Sprint champion Lizzie Ingham as she raced across the open hillsides of Earnscleugh Station with her competitors visible in the distance.
"I could see Lara Prince, Rita Homes and Amber Morrison up ahead" she said.
A sting in the tail of the course, a succession of tricky controls towards the end and after a long hill, was a crucial aspect of the course for Ingham, as she then caught up to the earlier starters.
"I eased up on my speed into the rocks on those - they were the hardest on the course" Ingham commented. "And the oxygen debt was high!"
A tactic that paid off as Ingham won her third title in her second year of elite competition.
"I'm very happy with that one. I was a bit annoyed with myself yesterday so this makes up for it" Ingham noted.
Navigating just as well but with a fraction less speed was Middle distance champion Penny Kane, who was a minute adrift of Ingham in second, and three ahead of Palmerston North based estonian Piret Klade.
"It was a good, fun, run " said Kane "and hard running towards the end. Lizzie had the legspeed needed for the win I reckon"
While the Middle distance area and map was rated by some as perhaps the best in New Zealand, the steep and rocky slopes of the Long distance were also highly acclaimed.
"If it was forested it could easily be a World Championships area" said 3rd placed elite Darren Ashmore.
With three placings in the three distances, 7-time National Champion Ashmore was pleased with his efforts.
"I needed to do some more hard training over that distance to match Carsten. Even mistake-free I couldn't have matched his time today" he reflected.
Alongside Joergensen and Ingham on the winners dais were elite juniors Scott McDonald and Laura Robertson, also picking up their second National titles for the weekend.
Results: 2010 National Orienteering Championships, Long distance.
Elite Men
- Carsten Joergensen (Cch) 1:12:53
- Thomas Reynolds (NorthWest) 1:15:33
- Darren Ashmore (Rotorua) 1:19:23
Junior Elite Men (M20)
- Scott McDonald (Hawkes Bay) 1:00:53
- Jourdan Harvey (Counties-Manakau) 1:01:43
- Gene Beveridge (North West) 1:01:58
Elite Women
- Lizzie Ingham (Wellington) 1:08:29
- Penny Kane (Wellington) 1:09:39
- Piret Klade (Red Kiwis) 1:12:41
Junior Elite Women (W20)
- Laura Robinson (Hutt Valley) 46:27
- Angela Simpson(Rotorua) 47:30
- Erin Paterson (Taranaki) 52:01
