Orienteering, O-ringen 5-day event Jönköping July 21-26, 2025
Orienteering is going back to my Swedish roots; it was my first serious sport. I still love it; it is a hard physical challenge with a serious mental component. Orienteering is a big sport in Scandinavia; my American friends fell off their chairs when the world championship was headlined and shown on the national news television. Oringen 5-day competition is one of the most important events for age group racers. This year, over 15,000 participants from 10 years old to over 90 competed every day! I signed up for the female 65-69 long course, there is also a short course and an easy course in each age group. There were about 120 people overall in my age group. Each day, my course lasted about 45 to 70 minutes for me to complete. Five different finish lanes to accommodate incoming runners. I definitely have lost my edge in pure orienteering skills which is not surprising as I have only practice about twice a year for the last 35 years. Fortunately, I did not make any serious orientee...