We already know how great the Terroc 330 shoe is for trail running, adventure racing and hiking. The 330 now can hang it's hat on being a great orienteering shoe. Which makes sense as the discipline of Orienteering is not that far removed from these other disciplines.
Samantha Saeger, a coach for the US Junior Team and the Junior World Orienteering Champs in Italy this Summer, also raced at the (WOC) World Orienteering Championships. Samantha became the first US woman to qualify for the long distance final. Below is her e-mail and praises for our Terroc 330. Congratulations Samantha.
Hi!
I've been having an amazing summer orienteering and training in Europe with my inov-8 shoes and I thought I would give you an update. I began my summer in Italy as coach for the US junior team and the junior world orienteering champs. They performed well and I enjoyed watching them all race. I then went to Switzerland for some training with one of my team members who lives over there. Then about 2 weeks ago I came to Hungary to train on relevant terrain for the World Orienteering Championships (WOC). I started the competition by running in the long distance qualification race. There are 3 heats and the top 15 from each heat qualify for the finals. I raced very well and placed 14th in my heat, becoming the first American to ever qualify for a long distance final. Two days later I ran the sprint qualification race and again placed 14! My goal for this WOC was to qualify for one final and I never imagined qualifying for both! I ran the sprint final later that afternoon which ran through parkland, woods and a zoo. You can see the map and my course here: http://news.worldofo.com/2009/08/20/woc-sprint-2009-map-and-results/. It was a good combination of woods running and fast urban running through the zoo. I made a few mistakes and felt slow after the morning, but still placed well. I finished 37th out of 45. The next day I ran first leg for the US team relay which is something I have been looking forward to all week! The adrenaline is amazing as you are standing on the starting line and they are counting down.The relay has three legs and each course is forked. It begins with a mass start of all first leg runners. Then there are some controls which are shared by all the runners and some that are forked. It's difficult to see, but you can see the map with all the forkings here: http://news.worldofo.com/2009/08/22/woc-2009-relay-map-and-results/. Therefore you can use others to help you run fast, but you have to be very careful to run to your own control! I finished my leg in 11th place, which is my best placement ever. Our team ended up finishing 17th, which ties our best placement in the recent past. I have a rest day today and then my last race on Sunday - the long distance final. I'm a bit nervous as it's going to be quite a long race for me. The winning time is expected to be about 75 minutes and I will be happy if I am less than 20% behind the leader.
Then I return home on Monday, after 2 months of racing and training. It will difficult to go back to work ;)
Thank you for handing off the 330s to Ross for me. They have helped me run some of my best races ever!
Samantha
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