"but you don't run in orienteering" .......!!

[Red Adder]

We have had club runners come to our Summer Series (personal invites from Orienteers who run as well) but as yet no follow on appearances. Shame really as one young lady beat all but three very experienced men on the longer course.

Our next try will be to directly invite the local running clubs to our event in a private woodland we have gained access to for the first time - they will have already experienced it as it is regularly used for X-country and 5km races.

[DavidJ]

Also, I particularly liked the Wiktionary definition: "racing across unfamiliar countryside using a map and compass". I don't think I've come across a snappier definition of the sport before.

Its good - but I would prefer 'terrain' for 'countryside'. For me, the recent events at HMS Sultan and Winchester city centre could not be counted as 'countryside' but they were great orienteering.
David

[Sunlit Forres]

Again, I could be wrong, but I personally think you're more likely to get a fit 'non-runner' navigator wanting to go faster and get more into running, than getting an established road runner interested navigation around a forest.

I'm inclined to agree Kitch. Most of the new members I can think of in our club have been inspired to improve their running fitness in order to get faster at orienteering. We've a couple of people, who would never have dreamed of going running, doing just that after discovering orienteering. But road runners need to be learn that God gave us two legs so we could go orienteering. I refuse to give up on them.

I was however a little concerned that a group of runners had little or no knowledge of our sport. Perhaps we need to engage with the running community more aggressively and open their eyes to what we have to offer.

I agree with you as well RCB, and I think that orienteers should take note. After reading your post I decided to ask the Forres Harriers coach to hold one of his Tuesday night sessions at Culbin, and by the way, can the orienteers join in too? He was delighted at the idea of getting a few new runners, and he sees no reason why our two clubs can't continue to work together like this. As well as doing the Harriers running drills, we're finishing off with a 3 Km race round an orange course at the end of the session using some old junior maps (and e-timing of course). Any runner can tag on to an orienteer if they feel under-confident. Hopefully we can repeat the exercise with one of the other Moray running clubs soon.

Even if we don't convert any runners, it's good training for our own members (orienteering is a running sport after all!). We also get some proper running coaching and a bit of social time too. If we continue to train with local running clubs like this and slip in the odd O exercise from time to time, I'll be very surprised if we don't get the occasional convert once the penny drops.

The Culbin 'experiment' is at 6.30 pm on Tuesday 10th August for anyone who happens to be passing.

[roadrunner]

We used to have a competition between the local orienteering and running clubs, called the Headless Chicken. It was a 3k or so cross-country run (mass start), then at the end of this you picked up a map and ran an orange course of a similar length in the same area. This seemed quite popular with both runners and orienteers, but unfortunately it hasn't happened in the last couple of years, I think because the main organisers have moved out of the area.

[Tatty]

Was that BKO and Berkhamstead Joggers. We did aRace up there like that a few years ago. THe runners, and some of the orienteers found nthe orienteering quite hard!

[roadrunner]

Was that BKO and Berkhamstead Joggers. We did aRace up there like that a few years ago. THe runners, and some of the orienteers found nthe orienteering quite hard!

Nearly right - BKO and Finch Coasters were the prime movers, we also had SN and Sandhurst Joggers for sure, and a few more I forget.