Venice City Orienteering Race.
It was, for me, the greatest orienteering experience ever. 3600 people entered the event, and a handful of Brits took part. Venice is like a maze; the orienteering is reasonably technical, but the most remarkable aspect of it, is the speed of navigation and decision making that is required. Faster than in any other event I have taken part in. Very intense. You can't for 1 second lose your concentration, otherwise you will have lost yourself on the map, which may then take ages for you to find yourself again. Familiarity with the map and doing it a second time will probably make it easier.
I had a really good race; made a couple of route choice errors, but didn't get lost. I came 15th in the M35 category out of 60 odd which I was very pleased with. Liz, unfortunately was really unwell, having brought a cold over from the UK and wasn't able to take part.
We made the most of Venice though. Neither of us had been there before, and we were amazed by the city. Very classy, stylish, and genuinely astonishing. Not many things really impress me in life, but Venice really has.
I can report that it was much less expensive than I was expecting. Good value flights on Easyjet; hotel accommodation in the city cheaper than a cheap B&B in the UK!!; snacks and drinks similar price to the UK, and restaurant dining only slightly dearer than the UK. Maybe it was out of the tourist season though.
Definitely going back to the event next year.
