I have recently found the perfect way to get children outside for a spot of exercise. Orienteering seems to have the magic formula to keep my young boys sufficiently entertained while getting a long walk in. We usually go on the yellow course, which is a two to three kilometre loop. Along the way, there … Continue reading Orienteering, the Champion Sport for Families
Ireland’s Annual Rogaine is one of this country’s best kept secrets. Every year, Setanta Orienteers hosts this race deep in the Wicklow Mountains on the weekend closest to the summer solstice. I’ve entered this race twice before, in 2007 and 2008. On my last outing, my partner Andrew and I were subjected to the worst weather … Continue reading Learning the ‘trick’ to the 6 Hour Rogaine
Who would have thought there were orienteering maps of in and around Derry? But on Saturday, I was treated to a fast sprint series around Gransha Estate. And then on Sunday, a technically difficult stint around Magilligan's sand dune system. The sprint was staged to select the Irish junior team for the European Sprint Orienteering … Continue reading The Coastal Warrior Weekend – 2 Days of Orienteering in Derry
It was billed as “The Big Weekend”, a veritable feast of Orienteering to be held in Northern Ireland’s County Fermanagh on 23-24 February. To begin, the organisers promised a midday kick-off on Saturday with the Northern Ireland Score Championships. Then six hours later, the Northern Ireland Night Championships, once it got dark enough to run. … Continue reading Orienteered out – 3 Races in 24 Hours
When I was growing up in Derry, there was a limited selection of sporting things to do. Sure, I was part of the school netball and athletics teams, but that was all that was really available. Since moving back to the North of Ireland this year however I’ve noticed an explosion of sports and associated … Continue reading Northern Ireland’s Derry lays on LegenDerry Selection of Sports
North West Orienteering Club (NWOC) celebrated its 40th birthday in December. To celebrate, it laid on a score orienteering event in Limavady’s Roe Valley Country Park. Little did I know that it was going to be a “Back to the Future” experience. We had 45 minutes to visit as many controls as possible, with scores … Continue reading Orienteering goes back in time
I’ve always liked rogaining. And I’ve always wanted to visit New Zealand. So when the World 24 hour Rogaine Championships turned out to be New Zealand this year, it seemed like a no brainer. I arrived early in Christchurch on the Tuesday before the weekend race. Knowing that I was travelling from Cambodia, I wanted … Continue reading 9th World Rogaine Championships, 20-21 November, Cheviot, New Zealand
Training for races can become a very serious thing. So I decided last weekend to sod the training and instead have a bit of fun on my runs. I was down in Waterford for the weekend and there they were: the Comeragh Mountains. At 16km in length, they are a tidy range of mountains, with the … Continue reading Fun Runs
It’s always a pleasure to meet Aonghus O'Cleirigh at mountain races. A former Irish orienteering champion and a consistent top-finisher at orienteering events, he’s a highly talented runner and navigator. For someone so talented, it must be hard when injury strikes. Gus has unfortunately had his fair share of enforced rest of late. I met … Continue reading Happy to be Running