Following the fun orienteering in University Parks, and being as Oxford parkrun was cancelled to prevent us messing up their grass, I though I’d have a go at a ‘proper’ orienteering event that was on at Nettlebed the TVOC Chiltern Challenge. Jane decided to join me and attempt one of the easy courses so about 10:30am we parked up in the grounds of the Sue Ryder Nettlebed Hospice and entered our events. Jane went for the ‘white’ course, easiest apart from the ‘string’ course. I went for the ‘green’ being as that was what I’d done at University Parks. There were loads of people and we were allocated start times, I was lucky to get 11:17 as apparently the next after that was an hour away.

Equipped with our EMIT cards we headed off to the start 10 minutes away and found a bunch of experienced looking orienteers; a clock and some officials and a grid of big squares apparently one for each course with boxes for the next runner, a map and presumably the start box. Most people were pre-entered and called up by name but we sussed that the officials also called a start time. Jane already had her map and was off first. When my turn came I couldn’t see any control points on the map in front of me and was told jokingly off for trying to grab the marked map before we were officially started, I pleaded not having a clue what I was doing.

So we were off, only one for each course starting together so no chance of just tagging along, I got to the start flag and looked at my map realising that I had no plan and all I knew was we were heading south. I followed the others along the path a bit then got my act together and looked at the map – my first point wasn’t on this path, it was somewhere over to my right so with the aid of my compass I set off across a pathless bed of fallen leaves and stuff and somehow found it behind some bushes. For the next point I did the proper compass thing setting it so the arrow pointed my way when north was aligned and off I went – unfortunately the woodland in front wasn’t going to let me follow my line direct though. I got there after some messing about mostly due to it’s proximity to a road I could hear. Point 3 wasn’t far away and, once I’d worked out that the ‘v’ on the map meant it was in a hole, I found it. About this time I realised I’d not started my Garmin and also that I was taking an age to get anywhere.

And so on with various frustrations and repeated running towards and being passed by increasingly familiar faces who were probably not looking for the same checkpoint as me, often there were several points near to each other and you had to double check the number (which isn’t the same as the one on your map) to make sure the point found was actually yours.

Should take me 50 minutes – maybe an hour – I’d said to Jane. Ha ha! I’d spent nearly an hour when I set off from 9 on what looked to be a simple follow parallel to the road route through 10 to 11. Loads of people searching everywhere round here – I checked a dip to find the wrong number – thought I was cleverly following a path that would lead me to 10 but it wasn’t there. Here there and everywhere to eventually find 11 so followed back parallel to the road to find that elusive 10. Found the same wrong number again and was asked by one person where we were on the map and then by another if I knew where the wrong number I’d just found was. I was knackered and, having not eaten since breakfast nor brought supplies, was feeling the confusion of oncoming bonk.

I found 10, walking quite often now as the pathless terrain had taken it’s toll on my ankles, I rediscovered 11. 12 wasn’t far away and I sensibly followed the paths to get to it then 80 metres and the finish. Phew!

1:25:49 for a nominal 5k that I reckon I’d turned into a bit over 5 miles sounded pretty slow but I assured myself others must have found it hard too. The results for ‘green’ actually show me 58th of 58 – 7 minutes behind the 2nd last who was listed as M75 category. Perhaps I just aimed a little high and need to recognise the difference between ‘quite difficult’ green (University Parks) and ‘very difficult’ green (Chiltern Challenge). Also learning to read a map properly might help! Still great fun and pleased not to join the 3 who were DNF or disqualified 🙂

Jane faired better placing 7th out of 9 despite being 40 years older than all the other competitors.