You’ve probably heard of orienteering but how much do you really know about it? Kay…
If you already know the basics of orienteering, there are plenty of steps you can take to raise your game. Kay Hawke from British Orienteering shares her top tips to take you from competent to confident and to make your navigation sharper, faster and more consistent.
Make more of your map
When you use an orienteering map, paths and woods will probably be the features you look for first to help with navigation. Don’t forget to read other features too. Contours (how the ground rises and falls), rock features, other landmarks and an area’s ‘runability’ (how easy it is to run through underfoot) can all help you understand the land around you. Study the terrain, such as slopes, ravines and crags, as you move along. You can use these features to fix your position – often referred to as ‘ticking off the features’ – particularly if visibility is low.
Look at the ‘texture’, colours and micro features of the landscape
Pay attention to the ‘texture’ of the landscape – vegetation density, marshy ground, small knolls, cliffs, re-entrants (a small valley or dip in a hillside, often in the shape of a ‘u’). Make sure you can recognise shades of green (slow running vs dense forest), and subtle brown or black symbols on your map. Learn to trust micro features like earth banks and knolls, for example, to help dead reckoning – working out your location by distance travelled and locations around you, without the use of GPS.
Choose your route carefully
It’s not just about going directly; it’s about going smartly. Sometimes a slightly longer route with better terrain, e.g., with short grass, a path or open ground, is faster than a straight slog through undergrowth or on steep ground. Decide which terrain you will pass through the quickest. The same applies to contouring – a longer, flatter route may be faster than taking a shorter, steeper climb. Play to your strengths and choose the route that suits your abilities best.
Use attack points and handrails
An attack point is a large, obvious feature on the map close to your control, that’s easy to find at running speed. Instead of trying to navigate directly to the control which might be small and hard to spot, you aim first for the attack point (e.g., a large boulder nearby), then make a short, accurate approach to your control.
A handrail is a line feature in the terrain that guides you in the right direction, like following a railing with your hand. Common handrails include paths, fences or streams. For example, if your control is 400m away through rough forest, but a stream runs most of the way in the right direction, you can follow the stream as a handrail instead of running blind through the trees.
Review your races
At the end of the event, if you’ve ran a sub-optimum leg, ask yourself where you lost time. Was it route choice, hesitation, poor map reading? If you can, review your splits and work on weaker areas in training. If your watch has GPS tracking, use it. Review your route choices, see where you hesitated or backtracked. Most events will be loaded onto a site called Routegadget, where you can see other orienteers track, and observe the difference in times and route choices that were made.
Move on from mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes when orienteering, whether it’s losing your position on the map or taking a wrong turn. We’ve all been there. What sets better orienteers apart is how they recover. When you detect a mistake, stop, reorient and find a fix using known features, such as contours, path junctions or knolls. Stay calm. Don’t be afraid to go back to where you were last confident about your position. If needed, ask! Orienteers will point out where you are or give a description as they go past, e.g., ‘you’re southwest of the pond/Control 118’.
Seek support
Talk with more experienced orienteers. Ask about their route choices, map reading style and how they plan their race. Sometimes following someone slightly more advanced on a course, or reviewing their route, gives you insights you wouldn’t get otherwise.
Attend events
Practice makes perfect. The more events you take part in, the more reading landscapes and making quicker decisions becomes natural. Entering more demanding events – such as ones with longer courses or more technical terrain – is one of the fastest ways to improve. You’ll face tougher navigation, variable terrain and more mental pressure. However, in orienteering there’s a course for everybody, so if you prefer a certain level and enjoy it – stick to it!
Image credits
Image two – C- Ward – image copyright Rob Lines
Image three – Michael Philip – image copyright Michael Philip
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