Discussion: Challenge of the Century?
in: Orienteering; General
Aug 20, 2004 9:30 PM
#
OK, so tell us how it went. Who is, truly, the 5K master of the universe, Greg Balter or Dan Walker?
Aug 23, 2004 10:37 AM
#
Here how it went: the race was a 2x2.5km x-country ski loops with lots of spectator’s opportunities. Little history. My best friend for many many years and a member of Attackpoint community Oleg Blokhin and myself have being talking about virtual challenge for a while – I proposed a 5K track race on a same day – I would run it in NYC and he would do it in Moscow and we compare times. It is a little motivational trick to keep us training harder.
And than my girlfriend set her eyes on St. Peterburg as a vacation site for us this year, I decided to visit Moscow as well as a part of this trip and everything fell in place. After 4 long days of touring the historical sites in and around Sankt Peterburg and one day in Moscow, on a very hot day, by Moscow standards, +27C, we set upon this challenge.
I knew, we were evenly matched, so I started behind Oleg to see what he was capable of
I realized quickly that Oleg is stronger than I running uphill, and I had advantage downhill and on leveled grounds. About 1.2 km into the first loop I took lead and gained a little ground on Oleg, somewhat of 3 to 5 sec, my first split was 9:43 and Oleg was 9:50. During first long climb on a loop 2 I started to loose strength and Oleg caught up to me, but it took a loot out of him and as we started to decent I pooled away and never looked back. My time was 19:56, Oleg finished in 20:05 – his personal best for that course. He was happy with his time, considering the heat.
I will place some images from that trip and this race on my FTP site when I get to my work.
Greg Balter
And than my girlfriend set her eyes on St. Peterburg as a vacation site for us this year, I decided to visit Moscow as well as a part of this trip and everything fell in place. After 4 long days of touring the historical sites in and around Sankt Peterburg and one day in Moscow, on a very hot day, by Moscow standards, +27C, we set upon this challenge.
I knew, we were evenly matched, so I started behind Oleg to see what he was capable of
I realized quickly that Oleg is stronger than I running uphill, and I had advantage downhill and on leveled grounds. About 1.2 km into the first loop I took lead and gained a little ground on Oleg, somewhat of 3 to 5 sec, my first split was 9:43 and Oleg was 9:50. During first long climb on a loop 2 I started to loose strength and Oleg caught up to me, but it took a loot out of him and as we started to decent I pooled away and never looked back. My time was 19:56, Oleg finished in 20:05 – his personal best for that course. He was happy with his time, considering the heat.
I will place some images from that trip and this race on my FTP site when I get to my work.
Greg Balter
Aug 23, 2004 2:52 PM
#
So, does this victory count as a gold for the US, Russia, Queens, or something else?
Aug 23, 2004 3:45 PM
#
Oh sorry, I confused Oleg with Dan walker's ID: bomfunk. Congrats Greg! Oh, and not to let you off the hook...tell us about this girlfriend in Russia :) I've been hearing rumours about this all summer. I heard she is faster on the 5K than both you and Oleg! Tell her SVO is recruiting - US relay champs aren't too far off!
This discussion thread is closed.