#76 – The World Cup We’re Not Running

Episode 76 lands just in time for the first World Cup of the year… which none of us are running. Ralph’s back from Halden, Tim’s survived his first mountain bike race (powered mostly by confusion and caffeine gels), and Magnus has tackled a 44-control monster.We get into messy relays, sprint rule changes, and whether hiding course details is genius or chaos. Plus: pickles at the finish line, disappearing shoes in marshes, and the ongoing debate that really matters — how to eat a scone.

Ralph is back, which means normal service resumes: immediate abuse, strong opinions, and slightly more structure than last time.We get into a packed weekend of racing at JK and Swedish League, with snow, mud, mispunches, blocked toilets, and Tim somehow making a sprint podium while barely running. Magnus continues his fight against fake Strava athletes and adds arm wrestling to his increasingly confusing training plan.Some real orienteering, some public chaos, and a very important debate about scones.

Episode 74 and we immediately lose control… mainly because Ralph isn’t here.Tim and Magnus try to run a serious podcast but instead end up analysing Ralph’s Italian results and debating whether he’s actually just still lost. There’s a full breakdown of Magnus’ Danish Night Champs disaster, Tim’s slow transition into becoming a cyclist, and a completely unnecessary investigation into fake Strava activities that somehow turns into a business idea.On top of that, Tim is still stuck in cross-training purgatory, Magnus is planning a Hyrox domination (apparently), and we answer one of life’s biggest dilemmas: how are you actually supposed to listen to a podcast?

Episode 73 is what happens when the boys spend a weekend in Halland and immediately start comparing split times like it means anything in March. Magnus claims progress because his back now lets him move closer to a normal person again, Ralph claims he was only out for a long run, and Tim returns with a diagnosis that makes him sound about 78 years old.We get into sand dunes, nearby controls, and whether Magnus is finally learning to run in a straight line. On top of that, Tim explains his gout-era comeback plan, Ralph prepares for Italy, and we somehow end up discussing Strava etiquette, headcams, dogs in the forest, and who’s an hyper-unc.There is a bonus at the end of the episode where we talk to Vova from the IOF Young Leaders Academy. Is this something that you would be interested in joining, listen to find out how!

Episode 72 and we’ve finally got the first guest of the year for you!Emil Wingstedt joins us to talk about winning World Championships, dominating European sprints, and why coaching Ralph might be the greatest challenge of his career. From four consecutive European sprint titles to life as a national coach (and occasional IOF outlaw), Emil shares how he went from a decent junior to one of the best orienteers of his era.We dive into training philosophy, brutal interval blocks, relay pressure, sprint evolution, and why committing fully to your own path matters more than copying someone else’s.There’s also talk of embargo breaches, control-moving at championships, near-misses in Århus, and the fine art of packing Ralph’s race bag.

Episode 71 and the boys are finally back together, attempting to recap what we’ve actually been up to lately.Tim is playing it smart with his injury and sticking to shorter races, Magnus is battling winter and Ralph has invested in some very serious-looking ankle braces in the name of “performance”. Matching outfits were involved for reasons still unclear.Somewhere between training updates and life admin we talk actual orienteering, drift into Winter Olympics chat, and compare how badly our nations are doing. There are a few small controversies, the usual apologies, and Ralph getting ready for Portugal O Meeting — hoping everything holds together this time.

Episode 70 marks the return after a suspiciously long break. New year, big promises: structure, regular releases — all said confidently before immediately talking over each other. We apologise for disappearing, announce a bold new plan, and realise mid-episode that it might already be failing.Tim finally reveals the unresolved cliffhanger from last year: 25 days into 2026 and he still hasn’t run. Injuries, creative definitions of “training,” and whether the year really counts yet are all debated. We look back at last season’s predictions, make fresh ones for 2026, and roll straight into resolutions we probably won’t keep. The apology section makes an inevitable return, loose ends get tied up, and Orienteer Pod is officially back.

Episode 69 somehow became exactly what it was always destined to be: long, rambling, and only loosely about orienteering. Magnus is finally back online after disappearing to altitude camp in Uganda, where “easy runs” apparently mean getting dropped by half-marathon world record holders and learning life lessons over chai, chapati and Ludo. Tim is busy limping between the sofa, the treadmill and the X-ray department, while insisting everything is totally fine. Ralph mostly tries to keep the conversation on track and fails.We cover Park World Tour races in China, not the orienteering but whether Yannick Michels could beat 500 schoolchildren in a fight or a relay. We hype up the annual 3x3km Christmas Challenge, will any of the boys even start the session? There’s also European XC chat, questionable footwear choices, altitude bragging, Strava chaos and no guests.

This episode goes fully off-script. Magnus rage baits Ralph by appearing in Uganda with no warning, Ralph insists his rep counting was correct (it wasn’t), and Tim posts a respectable 10K and pretends it’s no big deal. Somewhere between Squadrats, gold-labelled races, wolves, lap-button etiquette and arguing about numbers, we completely lose control of the episode.

Episode 67 arrives with peak winter energy: low motivation, high confusion, and plenty of unnecessary opinions. Rep counts are getting out of hand, Magnus has downloaded yet another pointless app, Ralph is still recovering from the abuse he took last episode while Tim struggles with old man injuries and heavy leaves..We catch up on the chaos, question our own training choices, give interior design tips, and pretend we know what we’re doing as the dark months settle in.