O-Ringen Magazine, number 1 - 2021

The terrain is fairly open
and flat, and you can
runt straight towards
your objective if you
keep your bearings
STAGE 1 & 2
NÅSTEN
O-Ringen Uppsala 2022
starts where
it ended in 1980
Last time O-Ringen was held in
Uppsala was in 1980. Back then the
competition was concluded with
the last stage in the nature reserve
Nåsten. Now, a little over 40 years
later, we are starting O-Ringen
Uppsala 2022 where we last ended it.
The arena is beautifully situated in Pattons
hage just 15 minutes bicycle ride from the
camping site at O-Ringen City. The name
”Pattons hage” arose after the famous
general George S. Patton visited in Sweden
in 1945 and watched a Swedish military
exercise at the site.
Nåsten offers varied
wilderness terrain close to the city
The Nåsten nature reserve has large areas of
old pine forest, ideal for runners, growing
on small hills and marshy areas. But it also
offers several other types of terrain. Close
to our arena in Hågadalen there are hiking
areas with many trails, short and steep,
slopes and further out you get a sense of
wilderness.
There are intricate areas with short lines
of sight and areas with many, sometimes
very large, boulders.
Sample leg from Nåsten, orange difficulty. The red
route choice is the shortest while the green one is
safer but quite a bit longer. The blue route is safe
at first, but it will be somewhat harder to take the
control points. Which route will you choose?
The longer routes will test the skills of all
orienteers.
This can be seen in a larger number
of trails, especially close to our arena in
Hågadalen. Both nearby and farther out you
can get a feeling of real wilderness.
PHOTO NIC KRUYS / PETER HOLGERSSON
» Stage area NÅSTEN
OL STAGE 1 EXTENDED MIDDLE
Monday July 25 2022
ELITTOUR STAGE 1 EXTENDED MIDDLE
Monday July 25 2022
OL STAGE 2 LONG DISTANCE
Tuesday July 26 2022
ELITTOUR STAGE 2 LONG DISTANCE
Tuesday July 26 2022
Unlike Lunsen, Nåsten is characterized by a larger variation
in the terrain. A few larger bogs are interspersed
with intricate wilderness terrain in the eastern parts
that is a reserve and therefore has been spared from
forest exploitation for several decades. In all this there
are denser areas, meadows, and flat rocks, and in
the western parts also some aspects of forestry and
agriculture. Runability is generally good to very good,
largely because of the flat terrain, but it can be affected
by vegetation, where especially wild rosemary in
the larger bogs can impede the running speed. During a
beautiful summer, the bogs can be entirely dry, and the
opposite if the summer is wet. Some larger and smaller
trails cross the reserve and there are some forest
roads outside of it. Roads allow high running speeds,
but you will need very supple ankles if you want to run
fast on the smaller trails.
20 O-RINGEN MAGAZINE NR 1 • 2021
O-RINGEN MAGAZINE NR 1 • 2021 21