Nopesport

Day 3 of the 2005 O Ringen saw some great results from the Brits as the area took a turn away from your average Swedish style terrain to a cross between Japan style WOC terrain and a bit of a scrappy day on Cannock Chase. Again route choice decisions were paramount, with legs involving large amounts of climb and a tricky network of paths. The Men�s super elite class was perfect training for Japan, containing only two legs out of thirty two without a significant amount of climb.

Yet again Joy Hodkinson was victorious in D10, with a lead of over a minute on an eleven minute course. I interviewed Joy the evening before the rest day:

Nope: Joy, after winning the first two days of the O Ringen, how confident are you about your prospects for the rest of the week?
Joy: I�m quite confident as I�ve won the first two days by a minute or so. But I�m not really sure, it depends how the rest of the week goes.

N: Have you made any mistakes over the last two days?
J: I haven�t made any actual mistakes but I think there were maybe a few places where I should have taken a different route.

N: How do you find the courses over here in comparison to the ones you run back at home?
J: They�re much harder over here, the yellow standard is much more difficult than at home. There�s less paths but loads of elephant tracks, which makes it a bit confusing if you have a late start.

N: So which kind of courses do you prefer?
J: I like it more over here, it�s more of a challenge.

N: How do you think the O Ringen compares with a British event like the Scottish 6 Day?
J: There�s more people I know at the Scottish but here is really different - sometimes it�s really scary at the start and finish as there�s so many people. There�s lots of runs ins and I�m worried about getting in the wrong lane.

N: What did you win today then after bets were on for a saucepan?!
J: A purse with what I think is a moose on and some tourist information, which is a bit weird.

N: How do you plan to spend the rest day?
J: I think we�re going to a glass factory or maybe swimming. It deopends on my brother really.

N: Finally, are you enjoying the week despite the rain?
J: Yes, it�s a really good challenge, I like it.

There were some top results for some of our young male elite today as Rhys Findlay Robinson flourished in the tricky contours to produce his best result of the week so far, a podium place of 3rd position in H20L. Joe Mercer had his first top run of the week to gain 8th in the the 18 Long class. Joy's brother Peter also visited the top ten today, coming 6th in H14. Rachael Holmes displaced Becky Carlyle as top Brit in D21L, gaining a 30 second advantage over her ex Oxford club mate to come in 7th position. Seventh was a lucky position for the Brits today, as Ivor Noot continued to cruise seamlessly up the results table.

Margo Bolland of Liverpool OK was a new visitor to the top twenty today, with a 12th position in D65, as regular visitors Roy Malley and Hazel Tant gained 16th and 18th respectively.

In the elite classes Helen Gardner ran for the first time this week after a gruelling time at JWOC in Switzerland, and was dismayed to find a course very similar to the ones she was running last week. The weather was much more conducive to running this week though and she took a very respectable 28th position in D20E, just falling outside the magical ten minute per km barrier. Doug Tullie was another Brit who took well to the terrain, halving his previous positions this week with an excellent 36th place in H18E. Matt Speake had a hard time on the hills taking 51st position in H21E, and Claire Ward ran very strongly to 26th in the women�s class.

Follow it all live at Oringen Online and check out the maps & courses available at RunOway