Confident Orienteering

  From Theory to Practice #2 The First Warning Signs: Why You Shouldn't Ignore Them I'm continuing to share insights from Book 3 of Confident Orienteering , which I hope to release in January or February 2027, shortly after the New Year. That should give you enough time before the new orienteering season to pick up plenty of useful ideas and apply them to your own navigation. Book 3 "MASTERING ROUTE EXECUTION" is dedicated to the challenges we face after we have planned our route and started executing it . You probably know the feeling: when you look at the map, everything seems straightforward. The route is clear, the features are easy to identify, and you know exactly what to do. But once you start running, unexpected difficulties somehow appear. Where do these difficulties come from? Why do they happen? And, most importantly, what can we do about them? These are the questions I explore in detail in Book 3. Today, I'd like to share one particularly important ide...

From Theory to Practice #1:  What to Do When You Can't Make Sense of Contours Ideally, when navigating through complex terrain, we want to understand the overall terrain structure. This allows us to combine running on a bearing with navigating between terrain features, while taking advantage of better runnability and avoiding unnecessary climbs and descents. But what if we simply cannot make sense of the contours? We look at the map and see dozens of small circles, ovals, and complicated contour lines. Yet we struggle to put them together into a clear picture of the terrain. How are these hills and depressions connected? Where does the ground rise or fall? What should we expect along the leg? What should we do when the map doesn't give us a clear picture? My first step is always to try to understand the overall terrain structure. But if, even after carefully studying the map, I still cannot make sense of it, there is little benefit in standing still and staring at the same cont...

Eight Languages Already… Will Swedish Be Next? The first book in my Confident Orienteering series has already been published in eight languages! And two more translations are on the way: Spanish is almost ready, and work on Hungarian has begun. I could probably add a Chinese flag 🇨🇳 as well — although not officially. I've personally seen an unauthorised Chinese translation of my book, with entire chapters published word for word. Unfortunately, not every translation comes with the author's permission! But there is one flag I would especially love to see among the translations: SWEDEN!  Sweden has always had a special place in my heart. I've spent wonderful times there, competing and training in different parts of the country. I even studied Swedish and can still manage a little basic conversation! For some years, I competed for Sävedalens AIK in Gothenburg, already as an M35 runner. Through my involvement, quite a few athletes from my home club also joined Sävedalen, an...

  Mastering Route Execution Work on the third book in the Confident Orienteering series is well underway. The book will not be released this autumn. There is still a great deal of work to do, especially on the maps, illustrations, and the many practical examples included throughout the book. All of these require careful preparation, accuracy, and attention to detail. The good news is that the text itself is now almost complete. It is currently going through the final editorial review and last checks. There is also one important update: the working title Techniques and Tactics in Races has been changed. The new title is Mastering Route Execution . The provisional publication date is January–February 2027 . Although this will be the third book in the series, it is designed to stand completely on its own. You do not need to read the first two books before starting this one — in fact, you can begin the Confident Orienteering series with Mastering Route Execution . This will be a ver...

  S-shaped route If you are planning an S-shaped route, take a closer look at the point of maximum deviation on the first curve — the point from which you intend to return toward the leg line. (point A on the figure) From this point, mentally move the next curve to the opposite side (red line). The S-shaped route can then be viewed as one larger curve. This may reveal another option: from the same point, you might be able to run in the opposite direction along a better arc. There is a more general principle behind this. Once you have deviated from the leg line and start reconsidering your route, the leg line should no longer determine how you compare the alternatives. It may even interfere with the evaluation. At that moment, your route choice should be reconsidered from your current position . A good example comes from the recent Estonian Long Distance Championships, from the women’s elite course. The winner, Marianne Hauge, chose an S-shaped route , while the silver medalist, Sig...

Looking for Reviewers for the complete Confident Orienteering series The Confident Orienteering project is now approaching its final stage, with Book 3 completing the current three-book series . The first two books have received very encouraging feedback, but I feel the series is still not widely known enough among top-level athletes and national-team coaches. Before the project is completed, I would especially like to hear how the three books work together as a series from the perspective of experienced coaches and elite orienteers. I am therefore looking for a small number of reviewers — active elite athletes and experienced coaches — who would be willing to read all three books and give an honest professional assessment of the series as a whole . I will provide all three books free of charge to the reviewers. Of course, I do not expect the review to be entirely positive. I am looking for an honest professional assessment, so critical comments, disagreements, and suggestions are a...

How a Book Example Is Born A few days ago, I shared this sketch in my Orienteering Technical Training group and asked for your ideas about what it showed. One of the suggestions was that the sketch showed two different athletes : one who had  stopped before the control, and turned uphill; and another who had stopped, noticed the edge of the slope (indicated with orange line), and also headed uphill in search of the control. I was really pleased to see that interpretation because it meant the main idea had already come across, even in such a rough sketch. In fact, though, it's the same athlete . The red line shows what actually happened, while the blue line represents the route the athlete imagined after making a wrong assumption. Believing that he had already passed the control, he turned around and started searching uphill. This example is about why that decision was illogical. I'd like to give you a small glimpse into how the book is being created. Every example begins...

  Struggling with the Same Orienteering Mistakes Again and Again? If you keep making the same navigation mistakes despite trying different approaches, the good news is that these problems are usually solvable. In many cases, systematic errors are not caused by a lack of talent or concentration. More often, they come from an ineffective navigation strategy. Over the last few years, I have spent a lot of time analysing navigation mistakes — both my own and those of other orienteers. One of the main conclusions is that many errors can be prevented through better planning and better route execution. This is exactly what I am writing about in my books. Book 1 explains the fundamentals of confident navigation and how to build a reliable navigation strategy. Book 2 focuses on route planning, route execution, and reducing the risk of mistakes before they happen. Book 3 is currently in progress and will focus on racing situations: what to do when conditions become difficult, when something ...

   The Long Route to Print A strange feeling. Today I received the French edition of my second book  "Planning Reliable Routes" . The translation and printed edition were prepared by  Fabrice Lapergue  — huge thanks to him for that. I already had the first book in French — the only printed copy I own so far. And now I’ve received the second one. It’s also in B5 format but about one and a half times heavier — larger in volume, with more pages. It’s a weighty book. Together, the two weigh almost a kilogram. And it feels… strange. Of course, I still need to make the English print edition — the original version. Only then, I think, will the project feel truly complete. The book deserves to exist in print, to stand on a reader’s shelf at home. But those first seconds were very emotional, and even now, more than an hour after unpacking the parcel, I’m still under the impression. I didn’t expect to feel such strong emotions — a mixture of deep fatigue and enormous grat...

CONFIDENT ORIENTEERING A Systematic Approach to Minimising Errors This is a clear and simple navigational approach. And that is exactly why it works. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Let’s look at how much work we actually do during the course. Here are the main tasks: — We plan the route. — We execute technical actions — taking bearings, reading the map. — We check control descriptions. — We constantly monitor where we are. — We choose our running line — around trees, bushes, rocks. — We think about the whole course as a whole and manage our energy. — We get distracted by competitors — both in our class and in others. — Sometimes it becomes direct head-to-head racing to the finish. — We get physically tired. — We get mentally tired. — And all of this happens under pressure to perform . THIS IS A LOT. THIS IS WHY SIMPLICITY MATTERS. In heavy load, complex systems fail. It is like in aviation. Complex electronic systems may work well in normal conditions. But in bad we...

  Route Choice Challenge #3 In   Route Choice Challenge  series I pick a leg, predict the most optimal route, and only then check it against the real athletes's tracks. Today I chose Leg 3 from Stage 7 of the Swedish League 2025. It was a long-distance race in the Women’s 20 Elite class. Right away, I would say that the fastest route is likely to stay as close as possible to the leg line, because the terrain is mostly runnable open forest, and there is no significant climb to justify a major detour. At first glance, this area in the middle of the leg, might look like something you want to avoid, but in reality, there is no substantial climb. Let’s take a closer look at the relief formation along this leg. I will mark the index contours in red. It is easy to see the relief formation. In general, it is a large downhill. But what about this formation in the middle of the leg? It consists of only two index contour lines, which represent the upper part of th...

    A new website for the  Confident Orienteering – Practical Guides  series I’m happy to share that we have launched a  new website dedicated to the Confident Orienteering book series . There is now quite a lot of information about the project, so I decided to create a place where everything can be gathered in one location — information about the books, translations, the overall project, and the people involved. The series consists of  three books . Two books have already been published, and  Book 3 is currently in progress . The books have also been  translated into several languages , and the number continues to grow. Another important reason for creating the website was feedback from readers. Until now there hasn’t really been a convenient place where readers could leave reviews. The platforms where the books are sold are not always ideal for this. I did receive some feedback by email, but it is difficult to make those comments publicly visib...