It was predicted that the terrain would be tough, as the distance for the women was ~3.1km and the men had ~3.5km, both with an expected winning time of 25 minutes.
Once again there was a vocal group of Aussie supporters - even Linus Quayle (3 months old) was barracking for the Australian runners (and not the Swedes).
In the end, 4 runners made it through to the final...
Shep - Good enough! Solid race technically but didn't run real quick. Very tough terrain and tricky orienteering, it's hard to be completely clean on maps like this and I ran the safe routes where I could. Feeling pretty sick and not breathing easily so I'm going to skip the long and get healthy for the final and the relay.
Julian - Devastatingly dissapointing, diaboloically disastrous performance. Lost over 4 min on No.1, tried to stay positive but continued to lose time on 4 and 5. Looking forward to bouncing back with the boys in the relay!
Simon - Lost time early, in the green at controls 1 and 3. Got going well, running smooth and clean in the later part of the course in the marshes and rockfaces. Nice terrain, and happy with the qual run. Prioritising eating, sleeping and training leading up to the final.
Grace - Pretty scrappy race, with only 1 perfect control, but managed to avoid major errors and happy to be through to the final.
Vanessa - I was very relieved to make it through and am really looking forward to the final! I had a pretty poor run, losing time on the first leg and also losing contact on our long leg...but it was a pretty tough course for everyone!
Jasmine - I have to admit it was a fun course, trickier than I thought it would be. I had no big disasters but a very scrappy and slow run. I nearly fell off a cliff heading to control 3, and nearly drowned in a marsh on the way to no.6... I plan to go back and torch the forest tomorrow out of spite...
Coaches report - great to see 4 runners getting through to the final, and Jas would have been a shoe-in if it weren't for the marshes.
David Andersson who runs for Malungs OK club in Sweden (same club as Julian and Simon) won his heat today...
Jasmine negotiating her way to the last control
The last control and the start of the finish chute - a steep and tricky descent which brought a few people unstuck!
Can you spot something unusual about Jas?
Check out the official middle qualifier photos here
Good work team, hard luck to Jules and Jas. The map looks unreal and the tracking was great to watch. The blog has been awesome reading, keep it up! Good luck tonight to the team! Good photo of Tom and Anna. Tommy a late bolter for Shep's long spot?
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