WOC 2013 - Vuokatti

Welcome back for another year of action with the Australian Boomerangs. The World Orienteering Championships 2013 in the northern Finnish town of Vuokatti will be a tough and exciting championships with Scandinavian terrain and thousands of spectators expected to attend.
The Australian team is currently in Vuokatti and familiarizing themselves with the terrain in the final week leading up to the competitions.
So who are the Boomerangs team of 2013? It is a great mix of old and new with many runners making their WOC debut. But the big news is the return of World Champion Hanny Allston to the international orienteering scene. It is great to see Hanny return to international orienteering.

In the coming days and throughout the championships this blog will provide the inside news from within the Boomerangs team here at Vuokatti, so stay tuned for updates throughout the next ten days and leave comments to support the athletes.

Firstly, let's get to know all the team a little more...


Name: Hanny Allston 
Age: 27
Attackpoint: Nup
Born: Hobart, Tasmania
Lives: Canberra, Australia
Occupation: Running and Life Coach
Disciplines at WOC: Middle/Long/Relay
Favourites...
Orienteering Location:  Bay of Fires and; St Helen district of Tasmania - Did you know there is a World Cup coming there in January 2015!!
Shoes - The North Face Hiace
Food - Homemade fresh bread with Jalsberg cheese. mmmm
Training...
Long Run or Intervals: A long run that isn't 'training' but rather a 'mission'. Heading off and exploring new regions and mountains - there is nothing more exhilarating.
Cross training: Mountain biking. I love speed and single track.
Group or alone: I'm a bit of a loner but I love hitting the trails with my partner Graham. Somehow we never feel like we are training when we are playing on the trails together. However, I have really loved training with the Aussie group here in the lead up to WOC. Their energy and enthusiasm for the forest is infectious.


Name:Vanessa Round 

Age: 25
Attackpoint: 007
Born: 10 Dec 1987
Lives: In Switzerland near Zurich
Occupation: Working in a Costume hire shop and an Octoberfest-Style (Dirndl & Lederhosen) shop..although trained as an Environmental Scientist
Disciplines at WOC: Sprint, Middle and Relay
Favourites...
Orienteering Location: In the bush in Australia, especially granite. Some scandinavian forests are just heavenly for orienteering though, and high in the swiss alps can be great if the steepness is cancelled out by technicall difficulty.
Shoes: my super speedy new inov8 shoes for sprint Orienteering
Food: oh...too hard to have a favourite...mangos, berrys, artichokes, nuts, marinated things, (all categorised under 'compost' according to the boys)
Training...
Long Run or Intervals: Long runs in the hills
Favourite cross training: Would love to do alot more cross country skiing next winter..loved the few hours I did at the beginning of this winter, until a Toboggoning accident kept me away from the snow..
Group or alone: Enjoy running alone, though with a group for better training benefit.


Name: Aislinn Prendergast

Age: 23
Attackpoint: kido (unused recently)
Born: Ballarat
Lives: Melbourne
Disciplines at WOC: Long
Favourites
Orienteering Location: Petticoat Gully (Creswick)
Shoes: Asics / inov8
Food: Cereal
Training...
Long run or intervals: Long run
Favourite cross training: Triathlon!
Group or alone: Love groups, but don't get the chance very often.

Name: Felicity Brown

Age: 29
Attackpoint: Fel
Born: Sydney, Australia
Lives: Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation: Facilities Manager, Skype Sweden.
Disciplines at WOC: Sprint
Favourites...
Orienteering Location: Venice
Shoes: Inov8
Food: Berries
Training...
Long run or intervals: Intervals
Cross training: Cycling
Group or alone: Group

Name: Susanne Casanova 

Age: 36
Attackpoint: SusC
Lives: Darwin, Australia
Disciplines at WOC: Long
Favourites...
Orienteering Location: Flinders Rangers, Australia
Shoes: VJ Bold
Food: Dried Fruit
Training...
Long run or intervals: Intervals
Cross training: Deep water running
Group or alone:  Both

Name: Jasmine Neve

Age: 27
Attackpoint: none
Born: Melbourne
Lives: Melbourne
Occupation: Public servant
Disciplines at WOC: Sprint and Middle
Favourites...
Orienteering Location: Kangaroo Crossing, Australia.
Shoes: Flimsy cross country flats..
Food: Finnish summer berries, and my housemates lentil pie.
Training...
Long Run or Intervals: Intervals
Cross training: Bike

Group or alone: Mix





Name: Simon Uphill

Age: 25
Attackpoint: Simon87
Lives: Adelaide
Occupation: Engineer
Disciplines at WOC: Sprint, Middle, Relay
Favourites...
Orienteering Location: Flinders Rangers, Australia.
Shoes: Oroc Inov8
Food: Schnitzel
Training...
Long Run or Intervals: Intervals
Cross training: None
Group or alone: Group






Name: Byran Keely

Photo: Graham Hammond

Age: 25
Attackpoint: Keely
Lives: Woodend, Victoria
Occupation: Student
Disciplines at WOC: Sprint, Middle, Relay
Favourites...
Orienteering Location: Kooyoora, Australia
Shoes: Inov8
Food: Lasagna
Training...
Long Run or Intervals: Long Run
Favourite cross training: Gym
Group or alone: Group



Name: Lachlan Dow 

Age: 21
Attackpoint: Big D
Lives: Canberra
Occupation: Studying Science at ANU
Disciplines at WOC: Long, Middle, Relay
Favourites...
Orienteering Location: Venice or Namadgi National Park in the ACT (they're both equally glamorous)
Shoes inov-8's for orienteering, Vans for chillin!
Food: Pancakes
Training...
Long Run or Intervals: Intervals
Cross Training: Commuting to uni as fast as possible
Group or alone: Group