The Irish team arrives in Finland

The Nordic championships is an open event held every second year where Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark have to crown their champions in the long, relay, middle and sprint distance. Lucky for Ireland we're allowed to enter a small team. This year the first two rounds of the World Cup piggy back onto the middle and sprint distances held on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tomorrow morning is the Nordics long race and the Irish team has being busy preparing for the races the past two days in the local forests of Salo south of Finland.


Salos forests are fast and complex terrain with alot of bare rock, small hills and marshes. The ground is a little wet from the past week of rain. There is a stronger field of athletes in these race than there are in WOC. For example, in a WOC long distance final you might have 12 runners of the four Nordic teams to face off with. In the Nordic championships, each of the four Nordic countries can enter 10 athletes. So racing 40 Nordic orienteers in their home terrain will pose a tough field to rank in.

Ruairi Short heads out late with all the best runners and will actually have the last start on the M20 course. Heres hoping he earns a good run from the past nine months he has spent living and training in Tullinge, Sweden. It's also good practise races for his final JWOC to be held in Italy next month. However he won't run the junior Nordic races for long as he's on the senior team for the world cup races next week.


For results (after the long distance tomorrow) click here.
Some athletes are being given gps tracks to follow live on a big tv screen. I don't think it's being shown online but if it is be sure to check www.noc2009.fi out for all the jazz. Finland is two hours ahead of Ireland remember.

From left to right: David Healy, Niamh O'Boyle, Ruairi Short, Neil Dobbs, Rosalind Hussey, Colm Hill.

Be sure to check in on the senior blog for more news and pictures of the races. This is David Healy signing out from the Irish team NOC/WC 2009.