Finally, we went back to Sweden to see if we could conquer O-Ringen.

Yes, finally after 12 years we decided to give O-Ringen another try. Both Hanna and Marc are old enough and Hanna was very keen, so we decided, ok - why not. Some friends were also keen, so plans were made, houses were booked, and the trip was on.It has been a long road trip, ending with us arriving in Uppsala on Friday 22 of July to take over our house. We then headed into the event center to get our number bibs and some training maps for Saturday. The training was quite a lot of fun, back on Swedish maps and a little damp, but both Hanna and Marc managed quite well. Hanna and Heather (her friend from SW Switzerland) did spend at least 30 odd minutes looking for control 3 however. And then Darrel "not enough training" High took my map and went off and did that too. We didn´t wait - we headed home for lunch..... mad dogs and English men.....

But we were set, the maps had been tried, we had analysed our runs and we were prepared, or so we thought.

Eabha "first starter" McKenna had the dubious pleasure of being "THE VERY FIRST STARTER" at O-Ringen 2022 - which was decidedly early (8:30 in fact) - and therefore causing the entire GatherKenna clan to stumble out of bed at 5:45. As is the norm for O-Ringen, there were many steps and different stages to master before actually getting to the start, but there is nothing other to do but push through it all.

We found Andrea "getting up even earlier" Wyss waiting for us at the start and we quickly found a really cool spot to watch the run in. As Eabha ran off into the distance (first starter remember), the rest of the OLG troop started to arrive. There was Klaus and Barbara Joller-Graf, followed closely by Raphi, Käthi and Aline with Koni following last - all were there. We were joined by Darrell, Alison and Heather of CA Rosé fame and our troop was looking more like a battalion.

Aidan "I have loads of time" McKenna and Marc "super easy" Gathercole were quite relaxed until Aidan noticed he might just be in a spot of time stress, and suddenly he became Aidan "I need to run to the start" McKenna. At this stage, I (Richard "worried look" Gathercole) left the arena to help Aidan through the first few steps. He made it to his start and Richard "needing a drink" was overtaken by Christine "taking it easy" Gathercole. So they ran to the start together.

The race was then on, and you can read more about individual races elsewhere.

Anne "first finisher" McKenna was bravely standing at the finish run-in, supporting the rest as they trooped in one after the other. For her first time on any map in Sweden, Anne´s run was very controlled, finishing a very respectable 48th out of 60 starters. Andrea "I hope Koni is OK" Wyss followed closely in the W60, finishing 58th out of 70. Richi "I started twice" had a solid run in the M50S to place 116th out of 149 with Christine "I almost gave up" Gathercole following closely behind to place 105th out of 136 in the W40S. Aline "a good run" Mathis kept up her string of good results finishing in 65th position out of 102 starters in the W20. Watch this name for more exciting results later. Alison "ms. steady" High had a great run to place 84th out of 145 in W45. Koni "I started 3 times Richi" Graber, missed out on double digits by 1, to place 100th out of 103 starters in the M60S. Barbara "I sneaked in" Joller-Graf enjoyed herself to finish 143rd out of 146 in the W50  (the long one mind you).

At this stage our battalion was increased by Ciro "I´m an Alt-Dorfer in disguise" Martin, who had a very steady run to finish 97th out of 137 finishers in the M21-1. Käthi "Amazon" Burkart finished 147th in her class W21, where there are over 200 starters. Klaus "looking fresh" Joller-Graf and Darrell "pushing the limit" High were dueling it out in the M50-2, with Darrell finishing 113th and Klaus 130th out of 142. This is not the only duel in our small group of Swiss athletes, with Marc "ran with a lady" Gathercole and Aidan "followed Richard and blew" McKenna fighting for boasting honours in the M14. Marc pipped out Aidan today to finish 133rd with Aidan at 141st out of 159 starters. More to come in this epic battle of grass blade swords later. We also have a hotly contested battle of the fairer sexes in the W16, with Hanna "I searched every control" Gathercole in 106th position and Eabha "First starter but not last finisher" McKenna in 141st place sandwiching Heather "I changed my route" High in 122nd place out of 142 starters. As this week gets longer this match can only get harder.

Lastly but not least, our two final finishers, Raphi "club coach" Schalbetter and Vincent "I re-mapped Sweden" McKenna rounded out our first day at O-Ringen 2022. Raphi had a respectful but cautious run in the M21L (so the 2nd highest men´s course) to finish 91st out of 138 runners. He is confident of more to come. Vincent enjoyed himself but explained to me on pain of death, that if I said anything about his result, I might have difficulty starting tomorrow (so you can look it up if you want....).

The Swedish forest did not conquer us, we all finished and are ready for day two. Bring it on.

Results: https://resultat.oringen.se/2022/