Races

It gets a good start in Tartu – a „City of Good Thoughts “-, the competition centre of the whole event. Tartu is a youthful university city, where there are many things to do also after competitions. In Tartu, EFOL has a city sprint with very good runability. The competition courses run through city parks, streets, and pedestrian paths. The streets remain open to traffic, but road crossings are kept to a minimum. The sprint course offers excellent visibility but also includes some elevation gain. Additionally, the street network and Tartu's Old Town provide a perfect setting for organizing a sprint race. Courses will mostly run over Toomemägi (also known as Toome) which is a natural elevated plateau in the city of Tartu, bordered by ravines and located on the right bank of the Emajõgi River valley. Toomemägi is the birthplace of the city of Tartu, having once been home to the ancient Tartu stronghold and later the bishop’s castle. Today, it houses the ruins of Tartu Cathedral and the Tartu Observatory.

Vooremägi is a hill with a dense network of trails and roads, featuring a relative height of 60 meters. The forest is mostly highly and moderately passable. The terrain includes some small marshes in the flatter southeastern and southern areas. In recent years, selective logging has been carried out in several places. The area has numerous small running and mountain biking trails, marked on the map as small footpaths. Although the numerous trails can be very helpful for beginner orienteers, they might become confusing for fast-moving competitors at some point. The terrain is highly diverse and requires precise map reading.

Vooremägi is a mountainous landscape near Tartu that offers exciting discoveries for every sports enthusiast!

The relay race is planned to take place in Elva, at the Tartumaa Health Sports Center. The terrain is relatively flat, featuring numerous trails and small depressions. Additionally, a river runs through the area. The forest is beautiful, with excellent runnability and visibility. Orienteering is rather easy but requires precise direction-keeping.