The event information and entry form for the 2015 Foot & MTB Rogaining events are out. This annual event is organised by Rand Orienteering Club and will be held from Lakenvlei Forest Lodge, Belfast (Mpumalanga).
For me, rogaines are the best AR-parallel events. Longer duration, longer distance, good navigation training.
On Saturday, 5 September is the foot event. You can choose from the 3hr or 6hr course categories.
On Sunday, 6 September is the MTB event. You can choose from the 3hr or 5hr course categories. (if you don’t have a bike and would prefer to walk/jog/run, you can)
Navigation for Foot rogaining is a little more challenging than MTB rogaining, where the CPs are all on tracks (and not in the middle of the forests).
For rogaining events, at the start you get a map on which checkpoint locations are marked. They’re scattered all over the event area. Added to this, the checkpoint have a points assignment. Courses should be designed such that you won’t be able to get all of the CPs in the time available; thus you need to choose which CPs to get and which to leave.
Your objective is not necessarily to visit as many checkpoints as you can in the time available, it is to get the most points. The pair with the highest points wins. Strategy, speed and navigation are key.
Something I always get asked… “What is the event distance?”
Well, how fast can you run/bike? Rogaines give you a time period i.e. 3hrs or 6hrs. You can do what you want in the hours available – run, walk, crawl, have a snack under a tree… just don’t be late! For every minute that you are out past the time limit, you begin to lose points – at like 10 points a minute and this escalates too.
Event info – http://www.orienteering.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2015_Rogaines_56Sept15.pdf
Entry form – http://www.orienteering.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2015_Rogaines_EntryForm.doc
Apparently accommodation at Lakenvlei is already fully booked. Remember that Middelburg is also an option. It takes no longer than 45mins from Middelburg to Belfast and another 30mins from Belfast to the Lodge (about 15mins to the Lakenvlei turn-off and 15mins on the paved road – 40km/hr limit -leading to the Lodge).
Find a friend and get your entry in. I hope to see you there.
Lisa
Read Lisa’s blog posts about her races at last year’s event (in Lydenburg)
- A look at the map and the route-choice options
- Photographs from the event showing the area and checkpoint locations and terrain vs map