European Championships, 2 days to go

The British team arrived in Puhajarve last night in time for a quick run/swim before dinner. We flew into Tallinn, and then drove for about 3 hours to our hotel, which is near Tartu in the South Eastern part of Estonia (quite close to Polva where JWOC was a couple of years ago).
We are staying in a very modern looking Spa Hotel, with internet access and everything. I will try and give updates most days about what is going on in the British team.

This morning we went for our first team training, and this afternoon we walked around Tartu, and had a look at the area for the sprint final (which will be on Sunday).

In terms of the terrain, the forest we ran in this morning was rough, green, marshy and hard to run in a straight line. There is thick vegetation and low visibility, but despite all these bad points, it is actually really enjoyable and challenging to orienteer in.

The sprint race is in an urban park area, with very steep banks and high visibility. The race will be very fast, with route choice paramount.

Some old maps of the areas are available here

Some photos from the sprint area

Website for EOC is here

Program for the week

Saturday - Model event for sprint and middle races
Sunday - Opening ceremony, sprint qualifier, sprint final
Monday - Middle qualifier
Tuesday - Middle final
Wednesday - Rest day, model for long distance and relay
Thursday - Long qualifier
Friday - Long final
Saturday - Relay and banquet
Sunday - Travel home