Hu og Hei

This weekend was time for the legendary Hu & Hei orienteering "marathon" in Bymarka. It's tradition in 50 years that this race is organized by NTNUI - Saturday is the prolog called "snuskeløpet" - where everyone can to run to 5 controls out of about 20. 15" start intervall makes it even more challanging, because you have to draw the controls yourself...

Anyway, I managed to choose 5 good ones and came back faster than the others - nice. So I could open Hu & Hei on sunday with a lead of two minutes. But 2 minutes at this 29,7k race through the marches are not that much ;-)

I started quite conservative - tryed to use mostly the small pathes. That was maybe smart but due to that I collected more meters climb - you can't get everything ;-)

Espen, who started 3' behind me chaught up just before the 2nd control - not only that, but also Erik Jonsson showed up there. He was just on the way out from the control when we crossed the marsh.

So came an interesting leg. In Hu & Hei you always just get to know where the next control is, never the whole course. Which makes it extra exciting because the course planner might save some surprises for the later legs...

I lost my compass somewhere between the changing room and the start. Which is 15min. Due to that I just came there about 7min before my start and finished with changing about 1min before my start I fugured out: No compass today. (Not that important in a race which lasts for 4,5h just orienteering..) So Espen chaught up, but he destroyed his compass already in the race... Together we have chosen the same route to control 3 - climb up to "Herbandammen" and straight on from there.

Well, usually I'd use the compass to check now and then, but in this case - no chance. Finally I ended up in the open area. Great view. But not down at the lake but on top of the hill. 30k are obviously not enough ;-) Espen did the same - even a bit further to the right - but I havn't seen him anymore since then.

Due to this and one more stupid routechoice to the 4th one I just passed on about 6th position. I filled up my camelbag once more, ate more bananas and a honeybread and headed out again. Wet, cold tights didn't feel that nice on tired legs - it felt like cramps were just around the corner (but they never showed up - seemed I learned something in the adventure races about drinking and eating the right stuff, hehe). The decathlon the two days before made me feel really stiff but after 20k my legs got better and better. I overtook Knut Sveinung Rekaa and Simen Olafsen but in the same time Martin Hoset became my satillite up the climb to Bosbergheia - the highest point in Bymarka.

From there it was just 6k left to the finish. I decided to speed up on the path but Martin wasn't impressed by that. So I thought about something else - different route choice towards the 8th control. I ran around the hill before the control - which was a bit longer but I got a nice path straight to the control. On the way I found lots of mushrooms but no trail. mmmmh. after i little while it showed up.. So I was alone at the control and remembered the last one next to the lake at the cliff. I felt really good, my legs could move much faster than in the beginning and so I could pass Erik in the climb . nice feeling. at least for me.

Just before I came to the lake I saw Martin again. He was just 30m ahead of me... ok. I prepared myself for the long lasting sprint. (Martin recently ran the 1500m in 4:03 or something like that) when I climbed up next to the cliff I could see a control and decided to get lower again - wrong choice. The control hang on the upper end of the cliff and this saved the second place for Martin and me from a crucial sprint at the end.

Anyway. I'm happy with my run. It was a really nice sunday trip. Espen won, congratulation - I think he did an impressive race. I'll try again next year - then I'll keep the lead...