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An Organisational Everest

Rob Howard / 29.11.2008

The course briefing was given to the expectant teams on a projected Google Earth presentation and what stood out was the complexity and strategic nature of the route - and the large number of transitions and drop/collect zones. (This is a supported race.) Teams had a chance to look over the route book details before the presentation, but were not given maps until after the briefing. (The idea was that if they were given maps they would not pay attention to the briefing!)

Race Director Alexandre de Silva gave the briefing entirely in English. There are many nationalities here and it was assumed all could speak some English. The race is divided into 4 sections (each with several stages), totalling 725 km (much longer than previous races) and with a total ascent of 8941m! That is well above the height of Everest and a remarkable total given the race does not pass above 500m at any point. The course is also never more than 110km from Lisbon, yet it passes through 3 National Parks and 10 nature reserves. It also uses land not covered in previous races and gives teams looking to enter the World Championships next year an indication of the scope of the course they can expect.

Another unique feature in this race, which comes from the connection to orienteering, is the quality and scale of the maps … and the quantity of them. The teams are given the maps only one section at a time – probably as it would freak them out too much to give them 28 maps at once!!

They are at different scales too. The stage one maps they received comprised a roll of 7 laminated and pre-marked maps. (Of these the scales were; 1:20,000, 1:25,000 & 1:33,000 – and in stage two they will have 1:10,000, 1:15,000 and 1:50,000 as well. The mapping and checkpoint placement and controlling is all done to strict orienteering standards and uses orienteering notation. The smaller scale maps are full O maps.

This orienteering element has always been a key feature of XPD and last year only 20% of the course checkpoints were mandatory, making each section effectively a score orienteering competition and offering teams maximum flexibility. This year the nature of the course has changed and 65% of the checkpoints are mandatory, the remainder being optional for teams and effectively for those teams who want to compete for the top honours. This gives teams less flexibility and will probably result in more taking short courses, but it still leaves teams with a difficult strategic choice.

If they want to win they will need to go for some optional CP’s, but by doing so they could miss a mandatory CP and ruin their chances altogether. There are also opening and closing times on all sections which they must meet. If they miss a closing time, the next section is closed to them.

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