This year I have joined a Swedish Orienteering Club, Sodertaljte-Nykvarn Orienteering. They very nicely offered me a chance to spend the summer in Sweden, it did not take me very long to accept.

Competitions

I went out to just before Jukola to do a little bit of training. I felt I prepared well and did a decent performance on leg 6 for the 2nd team. I was running well for most of the course but as usual this season I made 1 large mistake that cost me a really good time.

As well as running Jukola I ran for GB in the Nordic Orienteering Tour. This was a massive reality check on just how good the top guys in the world are, I'm not too far off when a leg goes really well but then that doesn't happen much at the moment. Still I left the competition feeling motivated for the future.

The next competition I ran was O-Ringen. I knew it would be tough for me to get a good results in the forest stages so I hoped instead for good performances. I felt I ran ok but was let down slightly by both my physical fitness and my speed across the rocky terrain. The sprint race however was a different story and I finished 5th – winning my first bit of prize money.

My final competition was the SM championships in middle and relay. I was really excited about it and knew that if I could hold myself together that I had a chance of qualifying. Unfortunately my mind got the best of me and I began to think about other things and not the next control. Still it was a good experience to get into this pressure situation. Now I recognise this as a weakness I can work on it over the winter.

The only negative on the orienteering in Sweden was that I didn't do enough. And yes, I put 4 stitches in my knee (but that was at the end and I needed a break from training anyway)
Picture
Job

Whilst I was in Sweden I worked for Scania helping to organise the Griffin Trophy. This is a multi-sport and multi-day team building event for the employees of Scania. I helped to plan and organise the stages of the competition and then to assist in the organising of the marshals when the competition was in progress.

I really enjoyed working for Scania and it was a wonderful experience of the world of work. My current plan is to go back out to Sweden on a permanent basis once I graduate so it was good to get a taste of what life would be like and check I enjoyed it. I most definitely did.



Picture