Stories and photos
RheinMainCityRace 2018
Despite the weather predictions, the premier RheinMainCityRace took place on Saturday with ideal 20 degrees and under predominantly sunny conditions, allowing for a pleasant race around the Weatherpark for the participants. The only disappointment to the organisers was that relatively few runners had signed up for the race. All other factors which the organisers Gymnasion Offenbach could influence were nevertheless (almost) perfectly organised, so that despite a small start delay the race ran without hiccups.
For the runners this meant full concentration right from the word go, not that they might lose the plot in the highly detailed former educational garden with its impassable features and many small paths. This made it difficult to find flow in the map and plan in advance, a ploy from the course setter Jesús Hervás Lucas.
Afterwards the courses moved with long routes over more open areas and for most into the industrial area with its numerous supermarkets and company sites as well as the adjacent high-rises, which were occasionally divided by fences or connected by various shortcuts. Here also was careful planning necessary, not to end up on the wrong side of a fence.
Of course, the courses also led through the map’s namesake Weatherpark with its meteorological exhibition objects and the almost 15m high Weatherpark tower, where a control was also to be found on its viewing platform. Bordering this to the east was the small "American" forest, which due to the nature protection status was only minimally cleared, making the routes along the tracks and paths significantly faster here.
Towards the finish was once again a precinct with numerous high-rises featuring interesting parking buildings, which suddenly led out to the the Puteauxpromenade causing confusion for some of the runners. As in the school grounds of the Buchhuegel elementary school, this terrain asked once again for complete concentration from the tired orienteers to avoid a mispunch in the final metres of the race.
At the end of the day the consensus from the participants was that it was long but nevertheless very interesting, and many look forward to the new revision in 2019 taking place in Darmstadt. The organisers definitely did their utmost to offer the runners and interesting race with technically demanding courses and challenging route-choices.
After the race not only were there certificates for the leading runners to take home but also bountiful ranking points; next to the Rhein Main ranking points the race also counted towards the Deutsche Park Tour 2018. Not unexpectedly the women’s elite race was clearly won by the reigning Park Tour Champion Sabine Rothaug (OSC Kassel), while the men’s race was taken out by a surprise from the clubless Fabio Marsoner, even with the top sprinters absent. As such the Deutsche Park Tour podium position went to the overall second Jakob Schach (SV Wannweil).
Open Offenbach-Dietzenbach Club Championships
On the following Sunday races moved to the Offenbach Rosenhöhe with an extended middle distance in the forest. OLV Steinberg organised here the Open Offenbach-Dietzenbach Club Championships as the second Rhein Main Ranking event of the weekend.
The forest around Rosenhöhe is most notably in the west littered with bomb craters, which serve as excellent control locations; the control flag doesn’t stand out from the surroundings requiring much more accurate orienteering. The course setting was typical of a middle distance mixing short legs in highly detailed terrain with a few longer routes, hindering the feeling of routine and making the courses full of variation for the runners.
Due to the complicated arrangement of classes not only from the Rhein Main Rankings but also the club championships, the course setter Sven Göbel (Gymnasion Offenbach) had to provide the runners with 14 courses such that almost every class had its own course.
Sabine Rothaug from OSC Kassel was once again on Sunday first to pass the post in the women, while the winner from the previous day in the men, Fabio Marsoner, unfortunately did not complete the course, making the Wannweiler Jakob Schach able to secure the overall victory,
The club championships were joined by the "Runter vom Sofa" event (Get off the sofa!), a mass sport event from the Sportkreis Offenbach, at which a variety of come and try events are offered by different clubs in their respective sports. In this manner the Gymnasion Offenbach organised a labrinth style miniature course to showcase the orienteering sport. Unfortunately due to organisational reasons the initially advertised TrailO could not be set up.
More photos are available in the photo gallery.