From O-training.net
Terrain types
List and describe different terrain types here - including map samples and which type of orienteering technique is appropriate in the terrain. Categorizing different terrain types is not an easy task - but let us try ; and also try to link similar types of terrain. Please help by adding new terrain types.
For now, only a list of some terrain types is included.
- Urban terrain
- Continental terrain
- Sandstone terrain
- Bergen terrain (hilly, lots of marshes, soft ground, lots of "brake" making it slow)
- Western Norway terrain, inland (hilly, fast marshes,
It is still not clear how to best name / divide the different terrain types.
Should make a template for terrain types. Suggested fields:
- Characteristics of terrain
- Forest type (if any)
- Where to find this terrain type
- Typical pace for elite runner (min/km)
- Main technical challenges
- Favorable orienteering technique
- Similar terrain
- Annual competitions in this type of terrain
- Major competitions held in this type of terrain
Thoughts from Okansas
Some thought about characterizing orienteering terrain types from Okansas [1]:
You can get a lot of information about the terrain from just looking at a map. If you were to categorize terrain types, most (maybe all) of the information you'd need could be pulled from a map. But, there are a few things that you can't always be sure of.
- Footing. Around here, the ground is hard. Not as hard as running on a road, of course, but hard enough that you don't give up a lot of extra energy to run. In contrast, lots of Swedish terrain is soft. It is like running on a mattress. You have to expend a lot of energy to push off. The firmness of the footing isn't apparent from just looking at a map (though you can make educated guesses). Hudson Valley terrain looks Swedish on the map, but the footing is a lot firmer.
- Height of thickness. Around here we have lots of thick terrain. But there are different kinds. Some of the thick stuff is mostly low brush at about knee height. Some of it is young forest where the thickness is higher, mostly above waist height. You use different running techniques to get through these types of thickness. In the lower stuff you just stay upright and light your knees (actually, a bit like running in soft Swedish terrain). In the higher stuff, you run a bit bent over at the waist, shuffling a bit and often pushing aside branches with your hand.
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