Me and my partner Tim Ashelford, at the start!
Oh the joys of a winter adventure race series! The first Open 5 of the winter was last sunday in Hawkshead, Cumbria.
True to form it rained for 4 and a half of the 5 hours that we were racing. The rain meant we couldn’t write on the map at the start and the map was all but useless by the end. But it is meant to be an adventure and it was the same for everyone.
The format is 5 hours of score orienteering. There is a bike course and a run course with a minimum of one control needed from each to score. It’s up to you how much of each you do and which you do first. The orienteering is not that technical by true orienteering standards but it’s hard enough to make it at least as much about brains as brawn. The Open 5’s are a great way of getting a work out and practising important skills.
The Open 5s are on the first sunday of the month Nov to April but excluding January. the next one is 6th December in Hope, Derbyshire. Hopefully see you there.