Orienteers don’t often run on “engineered surfaces” (athletic tracks, concrete footpaths, etc), but more commonly on “technical terrain” that features rocks, roots, mud, water features, steep climbs and descents, and other obstacles.

To prepare our young orienteers for this, we have been developing a technical running performance training programme, led by CMOC co-president Anthony McGivern. We train at Cornwall Park, which is both centrally located and possesses many of the features of technical terrains.

The programme is centred upon long-term healthy performance. Well aware of how many and serious injuries our youth are experiencing, there is a strong focus on safety: Warm-up/down (recovery running), conditioning and stretching techniques, and many elements of the programme have been specifically designed for the female athletes that are the majority of current attendees. This programme was initially developed to complement the Baradene students’ orienteering training, and has gradually expanded to include some youth from other schools.

We also include other (non-fitness) dimensions of running performance relevant to orienteers, such as self-awareness, decision fatigue recognition and compensation, multiple running techniques for different terrains for adaptability, and how to incorporate one’s particular physique/fitness profile into orienteering route selection and optimisation.

Over the past two years, a total of 37 training sessions have been delivered as we try to embed the skillsets into the students’ muscle memory and unconscious mind.

Much of the programme also offers universal tools (such as the continual improvement “keep/stop/start” thinking) that can be of benefit to the practitioners beyond the orienteering and sporting worlds – further demonstrating how orienteering is such a great “sport for life”.

With a relatively small group (never more than 15), formal measurement and evaluation of the programme’s impact has not been easy. However, anecdotally, those who attend most frequently have noticed (including their parents and coaches) a lift in their orienteering performance relative to their peers.

But perhaps the most important thing is, we have fun! One of our parents noted that she has trouble getting her daughter up for school, but never on a Saturday morning for running training.

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Saturday morning running training has really helped me, particularly learning about recovery running, which I used in the Long at NZSSOC and also at cross-country at school.

Year 11 student