According to this afternoon's Five Live a couple of adventure racers in Scandinavia met a dog during their race and it followed for them for hours through the forests and even swimming rivers until they reached the finish, when they decided to keep the dog and call it Arthur.
Has anyone else been luck/unlucky with followers/following?
Following Sometimes Pays Off?
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
at my 2nd event I got misplaced, so decided to follow a lady who was on the same course at our first event. Unfortunately she was running a different course, with some similar controls. I got to the finish in the end!
- NFKleanne
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
It is obvious but should be pointed out that following another competitor with the intention of gaining an advantage is strictly against the rules and fair play of orienteering.... Hence the unfair nature of Mass start and Chasing start events.
- nooomember
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
Hence the unfair nature of Mass start and Chasing start events.
Not unfair, just different.
In these types of event everyone is playing by the same rules.
- SJC
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
You could argue that mass-start is more fair.
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mharky - team nopesport
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
Think every mass start race I've done has had a fair amount of gaffling, so I'm pretty sure that following alone wouldn't work. Mass start races are also great fun (as are chasing sprints).
- Jayne
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
At a BSSF many years ago on Methyr Mawr I successfully followed the smell of frying bacon to locate the manned control where the official was having a late breakfast.
- easternmost?
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
I know someone who on his way to the start at a selection race in the Peak District (Curbar Edge I think) followed someone out for a fell run. Result was quite a few minutes late for a timed start. It doesn't always help.
- DM
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
An old story, but going to an event in the West Midlands many years ago I wasn't sure of the directions and hadn't seen any o signs but getting near where I thought the area was I saw a car with an O sticker in the back window. I followed this car for a couple of miles until the driver turned into his drive way!! Seems he wasn't going to the event as he had an injury. How we both laughed.
- canol
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
I remember once at an event a motorist seeing all the orienteers' cars heading into a parking field and following them, assuming they were going to a car boot sale. When he realised his mistake it caused quite a problem as the event was operating a one-way system, with no-one expected to leave for quite a while!
- roadrunner
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
At the Lakes Five Days Simpson Ground event a lovely couple arrived and asked if we could get them back out to the main road. When asked why they had come to the back end of nowhere they replied "We just followed all the other cars". It only took about 30 minutes to get them out past a stream of incoming vehicles!
- mykind
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
Not quite the same, but on the way to the start ( a November Classic I think) I overheard a couple of dog-walkers talking.
One said "I asked one of them what was happening and he said its a sort of navigation race, but most of them are walking and just following these coloured ribbons".
One said "I asked one of them what was happening and he said its a sort of navigation race, but most of them are walking and just following these coloured ribbons".
- Nimby
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
and at a National Event on Home Fell many years ago there were signs on the A593 directing cars to turn left. However the signs didn't say they were for orienteers only! Ooops!!
- The Loofa
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
As I was visiting Yorkshire this weekend, I dropped in on the CLARO night event at Hookstone. Good on them for trying a different format, but topically it was one that encouraged following. They never said it was against the rules though.
It was a mass start night event with everyone doing the same course. First 6 controls were a score format in a tricky wood, but you had to do them all. I stopped to read the map at the start, but this was a mistake, the technique was, point yourself in the rough direction of the next control, run as fast as you can so you didn't loose the back of the line of runners. After the score, there were 19 controls over parkland/ small patches of wood. In the parkland you couldn't not follow unless you closed your eyes to the line of torches darting into the control. It felt wrong just following, but maybe this is just years of conditioning that this is bad behaviour?
But when there was some route choice the format worked really well, on one control I overtook about half a dozen people by going for a westerly route around an impassable wall. Unlike in a standard event, there was instant feedback about which was the best route. Of course 2 controls later I chose the wrong route and they all overtook me.
On one long parkland bit I could see myself gaining on the head torches ahead of me. Excellent, a real race, and I'm not that slow I thought. I was just about to jump 3 places when I realised they were a family doing the short course. Now what direction was that control I thought to myself (and so did the person following me)
It was a mass start night event with everyone doing the same course. First 6 controls were a score format in a tricky wood, but you had to do them all. I stopped to read the map at the start, but this was a mistake, the technique was, point yourself in the rough direction of the next control, run as fast as you can so you didn't loose the back of the line of runners. After the score, there were 19 controls over parkland/ small patches of wood. In the parkland you couldn't not follow unless you closed your eyes to the line of torches darting into the control. It felt wrong just following, but maybe this is just years of conditioning that this is bad behaviour?
But when there was some route choice the format worked really well, on one control I overtook about half a dozen people by going for a westerly route around an impassable wall. Unlike in a standard event, there was instant feedback about which was the best route. Of course 2 controls later I chose the wrong route and they all overtook me.
On one long parkland bit I could see myself gaining on the head torches ahead of me. Excellent, a real race, and I'm not that slow I thought. I was just about to jump 3 places when I realised they were a family doing the short course. Now what direction was that control I thought to myself (and so did the person following me)
- SeanC
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Re: Following Sometimes Pays Off?
Shameless plug.
On Sat 3 Jan 2015, MDOC are yet again putting on their John Of Goats charity event in Lyme Park.
This is an adaptation of the American Billygoat race, where you have a mass start, and everyone does the same thing - except you individually choose which control(s) to miss out. Following is certainly helpful, but getting the strategy right is even more so.
By changing planners every year, we've kept it fresh and different for about 15 years now.
On Sat 3 Jan 2015, MDOC are yet again putting on their John Of Goats charity event in Lyme Park.
This is an adaptation of the American Billygoat race, where you have a mass start, and everyone does the same thing - except you individually choose which control(s) to miss out. Following is certainly helpful, but getting the strategy right is even more so.
By changing planners every year, we've kept it fresh and different for about 15 years now.
- Sloop
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