Come and Try Orienteering

Lorna Fewtrell

You’ve tried road running and perhaps fell and track running – but what about ‘cunning running’. Orienteering is the delightful pastime of running about woods or open moors, map and compass in hand wondering where the heck you are and where you are supposed to be going. At least that tends to be my approach as I get carried away by the delightful locations and the sheer joy of running out of town and forget to look at the map. My orienteering tends to be characterised more by random motion than by cunning running – but it needn’t be that way.

The aim of orienteering is to navigate between a series of fixed points as quickly as possible – and this is, of course, where the cunning aspect comes in, as it is rarely the case that the shortest route will be the quickest. The only help at hand is a very detailed map (often at a scale of 1 in 10,000 or 1 in 15,000) a compass and a description of the locations to be visited.

Orienteering events tend to come in two ‘sizes’. Colour coded events – which are open to everyone and ‘badge’ events where you have to be a member of the British Orienteering Federation. Colour coded events (such as those listed below – all fairly local) have a variety of different courses to choose from – each of which is colour coded to indicate difficulty.

White easy peesy – suitable for young kids

Yellow still easy – with control generally on path features – a bit longer than white and suitable for older kids.

Orange starting to get slightly more technical – some controls will be off the paths – longer than yellow. A good starting point if you are not at home with a map and compass.

Light green a bit harder and a bit longer – all the features will be off paths (although generally not too far away) – features can be quite technical such as a small pit or an ‘insignificant’ knoll. A good option for newcomers with some map/compass experience.

Green technically hard

Blue technically hard – and longer than the Green

Brown technically hard and far too long!

A typical evening event

• Turn up at registration (generally someone sat in a car) and choose a light green course.

• Pay your money and you will be given a map (generally about A4 size), a control card, a list of controls and a start time (make sure you know how far it is to the start and allow yourself time to get ready).

• Write control descriptions in appropriate boxes on control card – making sure you transfer ALL the information ACCURATELY! Attach control card to your shirt (in such a manner that you will be able to clip each of the boxes AND you can read the descriptions).

• Take map, compass, attached control card and red pen to the start – en route there may be map alterations – if so note these down on your map – exactly as shown. Arrive a bit early.

• You will be called up to start a minute or so before your actual start time and will progress through a series of boxes – getting ever closer to the start.

• When you start the first job is to mark up your map. Course maps will be on the floor and it is important to make sure you are copying from YOUR course (i.e. light green in this case) AND that you are accurate – copy everything (I once forgot to mark the finish on my map!).

• The start point is shown as a triangle, controls are shown as circles (with the feature to visit in the centre) and the finish is shown as a double circle. All controls are numbered and must be visited in the correct order.

• Work out – from the start point where you are and how to get to control 1. Run there (or walk). When you see the control (it will be marked by a small orange/red and white box flag) check its number against the number it should be (according to your control card) and if they tally – use the punch to mark your card to prove that you have been there. Work out how to get to control 2 and so on.

• After visiting all the controls make your way to the finish (which you will have marked on your map) and hand in your control card. Amble back to the car park feeling pleased with yourself and fill in an envelope to ensure that you receive a set of results.

• Go home and tell everyone how great orienteering is.

Want to try?

Ideally you need the following:

• Compass (not vital on orange or light green – but can make things a bit easier)
• Sturdy running shoes (ideally trail or fell shoes) that you don’t mind getting mucky
• Tracksuit trousers – full leg covering is highly recommended – helps to fend off brambles etc.
• Brain – in gear
• A sense of humour (especially if previous requirement is missing!)

Beware

Orienteering maps are not scaled up versions of OS maps – they are completely different. White areas are runnable woodland and not open space (I still get this wrong from time to time). Boulders and insignificant knolls will be marked on them and are considered to be fair game as control points. If you have never seen one of these maps before – give yourself extra time at the start to work out what it all means – or ask me and I’ll bring some examples down on club nights.

Beware – part two

Come and give it a go – but be prepared to be addicted.

More info

I have got loads of maps and also some books on orienteering – if any one would like more info – give me a ring. If you fancy giving one of the above events a try – let me know and we could perhaps get a car-load together.

Lorna