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The Push: How to Overcome Barriers to Adventure

by Alison Ingleby on November 15, 2016 in Musings • 5 Comments

What is your dream, and what are you willing to do to achieve it?

Over the last week I’ve been reading a new book titled The Push: Overcoming Obstacles to Adventure. It was also my birthday, which was a nice opportunity to reflect on what I’ve been doing with my thirty-plus years on this planet. The combination was almost serendipitous.

So what is The Push? It’s a book about adventure, or rather barriers to adventure. The excuses we all make for not doing the awesome things we really want to do with our lives. It’s about recognising these barriers, overcoming them and getting on with ticking off items on your bucket list.

The Push is a short, easy read. It’s also pretty raw – if you’re looking for perfect grammar and sentence structure, this may not be the book for you. But there is more to life than grammar and spelling (whatever your English teacher said). Think of The Push not so much as a book, but as a chat with a friend in the pub. A friend who shares your hopes and dreams. A friend who sweeps away all your ‘buts’ with the biggest ‘but’ of them all: but what if you don’t do it?

I met Andy Madeley, the author of The Push, last weekend when he came to stay with his fiancée (a friend of mine). We went for a bitterly cold walk in the Yorkshire Dales, drank wine and talked of adventure, opportunities and of what we really wanted out of life.

And that is really the crux message of this book: what do you really want out of life?

If what you want is to have a house, a 40-hour a week job and a comfortable family life then that is totally fine. (But maybe don’t put this book on your reading list.) If there’s something inside of you saying that there must be more than this; if you have a hidden dream of exploration and adventure, of quitting the day job to try something completely new, then this book is for you.

As I read the Push, I reflected on where life has taken me and spotted a line in the metaphorical sands of time. Between the ages of 17 and 22 I traveled to India, camped on a glacier in Iceland, climbed previously unclimbed mountains in Greenland and summited Kilimanjaro. These may not be world firsts (well apart from the new routes in Greenland), but they were adventures.

And then something changed. I left university and got a series of ‘proper’ jobs. I still traveled, still climbed and occasionally took part in crazy mountain marathons. But these had to be squeezed into weekends and one or two-week holidays. And somewhere along the way the tents were replaced with holiday cottages, the weekend mountain marathons with long runs and cooking over a stove with restaurant meals.

Life got cosy.

But there is a part of me, deep inside, that still yearns for adventure. She’s the child in me, who loves to play and never wants to grow up. She is excited (and yet secretly scared) about new experiences.

I feel her in the wind on my cheeks and the rain that soaks my hair. I feel her in the harsh pain of my lungs screaming for air as I struggle to run up the hill. And most of all I feel her on the top of the mountain, reminding me that there are more adventures to be had.

The Push is a book about big, life-changing adventures. But the principles can be applied to an adventure or life-change of any scale.

Everyone has something they dream of doing.

Something that will push them a little bit out of their comfort zone. Something they are secretly scared of, or perhaps worry that others will judge them for. The Push addresses all of these fears; all the barriers you will need to face and overcome. And the rewards of doing so.

Perhaps the most common barrier relates to the immediacy – the ‘now’. There is always some reason why ‘now’ is not the perfect time. This applies to many things in life and quite frankly if people waited for the ‘perfect’ time for everything there would be far fewer children, homeowners, and happy workers in the world. So if you can throw away the concept of perfect timing to have a child or move into your dream home, why not consider adventure in the same way?

As I cross another birthday boundary, this is my main takeaway from The Push: the time to face these barriers and realise these dreams – to consider them as real possibilities – is now. It is time to draw another line in the sand.

Of everything in The Push, there is one quote that I keep coming back to, made more poignant through losing two friends earlier this year:

“Take a shot at living your dream, because you’re going to die whether you do or not.”

We only have one life. What are you going to do with it?

The Push is available on Amazon – 50 percent of profits are donated to War Child. You can find out more about Andy and what he’s up to on his blog: andymadeley.com. And no, he didn’t ask me to write this.

How to Love Camping in the Rain

by Alison Ingleby on November 8, 2016 in Survival skills • 4 Comments

Knowing how to stay dry in the rain makes for happy camping

Camping means different things to different people. To some, it’s packing the car up to the ceiling with monstrous dome-shaped mansions, air beds, duvets and carpet. (Yes carpet. Really.) If you’re one of these people you may just want to switch straight over to the ‘How to Pretend You’re at Home When Camping’ blog. Now.

Still reading? Great – you’re the other type of camper. The type who go camping to have an adventure. Who deliberately chooses the pitch furthest away from the communal toilet and shower block, so they can pretend they’re not even on a campsite. Who abandons the campsite altogether for the joys of wild camping. Your tent is small enough to carry on your back and your favourite possession is your trusty sleeping bag.

There is only one problem with this type of camping: rain. Not that rain itself is an issue, but rain also equals mud. And quite often comes alongside its companion, wind. Together these three elements can turn a nice clean, cosy camping trip into a Glastonbury-like mud bath experience from which nothing and no one emerges unscathed. I have been there. I know how miserable it feels.

But never fear, there are ways you can avoid this fate. You can be that smug person, tucked up in a nice dry sleeping bag listening to the curses of your soggy companions outside. Whether you’re leaving the tent up for the weekend, or arrive at your campsite for the night soaked through from walking all day, here’s how you can not only stay dry when camping in the rain but learn to love it.

Select your equipment

First up, tent. A tent with a decent porch space or two entrances / porches is pretty helpful when it’s wet. If you’re a car-camper then you may just give in and go for the big tent with a nice large porch area you can stand up in. (Though let me remind you that a) these tents are generally the first to get whisked over your head when the high winds hit, and b) they can take a lot longer to put up which means more time getting wet.)

However, the really important thing about pitching your tent in the rain is that you know how to put it up, and can do so damn quickly. In lashing wind and rain. Possibly in the dark. And definitely without referring to the instruction manual. Because the quicker you get the tent up, the more likely it is to stay dry inside.

I currently have two tents I use: a summer, super lightweight 1-2 person tent, and a slightly larger, hardier 2-person job. I can pitch either of them on my own, in the dark, in about three minutes (four if its windy and I have to find something to weigh the bag down with). With two people, working together it’s a two-minute job. Practice pitching your tent when it’s dry, folks. You won’t regret it come rain-day.

If you’re camping and think it may rain, I also suggest you pack the following items: bin bags (multiple), two smaller plastic bags (large sandwich bags or carrier bags WITHOUT HOLES IN) and a tarpaulin (with string and / or spare tent pegs). The reasons for this will shortly become abundantly clear.

Keep sleeping kit dry

Sounds obvious, right? And if you’re setting up your tent beside your car it’s pretty hard to get this wrong. But if you’ve been hiking all day in the rain, likelihood is that some rain will make it into your pack.

Bearing that in mind, here’s how to pack your bag to guarantee you will have dry clothes and a bag to snuggle in, whatever the weather:

Keep a pair of dry, warm clothes to change into in your sleeping bag. I tend to go for a pair of thermal or fleece leggings, a long-sleeved thermal top and socks. Roll ‘em up in the bottom of your sleeping along with a liner (if you use one).
Stuff your sleeping bag into a fully waterproof stuff sack such as this Exped one.
Place this in either another waterproof stuff-sack, or just a plastic bag.
Place double-wrapped bag inside the waterproof liner of your rucksack. (Again, this doesn’t have to be a fancy expensive job. A strong black bin bag works just fine.)
If you use a blow-up Thermarest-style sleeping mat, pop this in a waterpoof bag and then inside your ruckside liner. If you’re old-skool and use a closed cell sleeping mat that you carry on the outside of your rucksack, then double wrap it in bin bags. If your mat gets wet, you get wet. Simple.
Ideally have a waterproof rucksack cover for your pack.

Pick your spot

Don’t pitch your tent in a bog. Or in a nice hollow in the ground that may (after a night of rain) turn into a bog. Or a stream. Simple.

Oh, and if it’s windy make sure you pitch with your tail end to the wind. So you don’t get a nice lashing of rain in every time you open the tent door.

Have a process

This is perhaps the most important part of staying dry. It’s all too easy once you have the tent up to want to rush inside out of the rain. Particularly if there are two of you and you’re both desperate to get in and dry. But if you rush in like a herd of elephants, you will end up getting the inside of the tent wet. And then you’re be in for a grumpy, damp evening.

Having done various expeditions and overnight adventures sharing a very small tent with someone else, this is my process for getting everyone, and everything, in whilst keeping the water out.

Unzip the inner door of the tent, but keep the outer flap closed. Person 1 unpacks their sleeping kit and any other dry items they want inside the tent. Person 2 helpfully opens and closes the outer tent flap to allow Person 1 to chuck in their prized possessions.
Repeat step 1 for Person 2’s kit.
Stack your wet rucksacks in one side of the porch. If you have two porches, shout “hurrah!” and pile up all the wet stuff in one of them (use the other for access). If you don’t have space in the porches for the rucksacks, and particularly if they are still vaguely dry, dig out those trusty black bin bags you packed, place a rucksack in each, wrap tightly and leave in an accessible place outside the tent.
Fight about who gets to go in the tent first. For the purposes of continuity, let’s assume Person 1 wins.
Person 1 strips off their wet outer clothing OUTSIDE the tent. This is very important folks. The inner sanctum of the tent is for dry people only. There is a bit of a knack to this. If you just have wet waterproofs, then take jacket off and fold on top of your rucksack in the porch. Get Person 2 to open the tent flap and pull down wet waterproof trousers whilst turning and placing dry bum inside the tent. Person 2 zips you in out of the rain and stands there grumpily whilst you peel off wet trousers and boots and place them to one side.
Person 2 stands in the rain moaning whilst Person 1 gets both mats out (and blown up), gets their sleeping bag out and gets changed into dry clothes as quickly as possible.
Person 1 makes themselves as small as possible, giving Person 2 the maximum amount of room to wiggle in. Person 2 then repeats step 5 (except they zip themselves into the tent).
Inner tent gets zipped up and Person 2 dries themselves off, gets changed and into their sleeping bag, all the while moaning about how much wetter they are than Person 1.

Ta-da! Both people inside, cosy and warm. If you are completely soaked to the skin, then chuck your towel into the tent first, strip everything off outside (ok maybe keep your underwear on if anyone’s watching), then dive into the tent to dry off. If you haven’t brought a towel, more fool you.

Cooking, eating and toileting in the rain

Perhaps even worse than getting soaked to the skin, is the realisation that, having got nice and warm and dry, you have to go back out into the rain. However, unless you are equipped and expert in the use of a pee-bottle (or shewee for ladies), you’re likely to have to venture out at least once or twice in the night.

Even in the UK (home of rainy weather gods) it is rare for it to rain solidly all the time. So if possible, wait for a break in the rain and be prepared to make a run for it. If you’re unlucky, then remember the golden rule. Wet clothing stays outside the inner sanctum. Basically just reverse step 5 above to get out, and repeat it to get back in. Oh, and those smaller plastic bags you brought along? Put your feet inside them before you put them in your wet boots. That way you’ll keep dry feet. (And look a bit silly, but hey, who’s going to be watching you in the rain?)

You have four options for cooking in the rain:

Be very grateful that you’ve chosen a campsite with a sheltered cooking area.
Cook in the porch of your tent VERY CAREFULLY (and not at all if it’s full of your damp clothing/boots and other potentially flammable objects). Really only do this if you are very well practiced, have an emergency escape route (a second porch) and you must open the tent outer to vent it. Safety first, boys and girls.
Set up your trusty tarpaulin between the tent and a nearby tree/wall/fence to make a makeshift shelter. Again, take care if you’re cooking near the tent.
Abandon cooking and go to the pub. (Remember to take along your wet clothes to drape over the chairs to dry.)

Generally, if I’m resorting to options 2 or 3, I go back inside the dry tent to eat and save the washing up until the morning. Minimising the number of times you have to get in and out of the tent in the rain will increase the likelihood of it staying dry inside.

Packing up in the rain

Sadly packing up in the rain is somewhat harder than pitching in the rain. For one thing, there’s no real way to avoid your tent getting wet, which is a bugger if you’re camping in the rain again that night.

You can keep it as dry as possible though. First, pack up everything dry in the tent. So your ‘night-time’ clothing goes back in your sleeping bag, which goes into its multiple layers of dry bags. Roll and pack up your mat. Then take it in turns to pull on your wet over trousers (urgh) and boots, ninja maneuver out of the tent and zip it up whilst you struggle into your waterpoof jacket. Get the other person to pass out the dry bags and get them packed up into the rucksacks.

Then you’re just left with a wet tent. Get it down quick and packed up quick. Whatever you do, don’t take off the fly sheet and spend ten minutes neatly rolling it up whilst leaving the inner sanctum of the tent soaking up the rain.

Take the fly sheet off, stuff it under a rucksack so it doesn’t blow away, then get that inner tent down toot sweet m’dears. Fold it to keep the inside as dry as possible then roll it all up into one wet, heavy, miserable bundle.

So, there you have it. Camping in the rain doesn’t have to be a pain. And there’s nothing like being curled up warm and dry, listening to the patter of raindrops above your head.

6 Quick and Easy Campervan Meals (When the Shops Are Shut)

by Alison Ingleby on November 1, 2016 in Food • 2 Comments

Who needs kitchens anyway? The best meals are eaten outdoors.

You race out of work at five on the dot. Quickly throwing a random assortment of weekend clothes into the van, you check you’re fueled up and head off for the weekend. Three hours later (after queuing with other weekend escapees on your chosen motorway) you pull up at your destination, hungry and tired. And it’s only then that you remember you forgot to shop for dinner.

You now have two options. Option 1 is the pub. Which to be fair, is a good choice. Warm room, nice food and beer. What could be better? Except if you’re on a budget, or if your chosen sleeping spot for the night is more than a mile from the nearest eatery.

If that’s the case, then option 2 is your best (and let’s face it, only) bet. Make do with what you have in the van. And because you forgot to stop at the shops, your choices may be limited. Which is why you should always have some store cupboard essentials packed away.

We’ve pulled together the best Friday-night recipes that can be made using just one hob (or stove if you’re camping or cooking outside) and ingredients you can keep in your store cupboard. Here they are, for your dining pleasure. Happy camping!

Chorizo and chickpea stew

Chorizo is an awesome store cupboard ingredient as it adds bags of flavour to anything you cook it with. Which is why you only really need four ingredients for this tasty recipe: red onion, dry chorizo, tinned tomatoes and tinned chickpeas. The recipe below adds in a few more optional ingredients (because really, who would believe a four-ingredient recipe could taste so good?).
Get the recipe: BBC Good Food’s chorizo & chickpea stew
Make it go further: Throw in some couscous to bulk out the stew into a hearty meal. Fresh (or frozen) spinach adds a nice bit of green, and some extra minerals.
Note of caution: different types of chorizo require different storage – some are ok out of the fridge, others need to be kept chilled. Check which type you’re buying and how long it will keep for before squirreling it away in the van!

Pasta, pesto and peas

The ultimate simple meal. Four store cupboard ingredients, ready in fifteen minutes. Substitute tinned peas for the frozen peas in the recipe and keep a tub of long-life parmesan in the cupboard.
Get the recipe: Celebrating Sweets’ One-Pot Pasta with Pesto and Peas
Jazz it up: This recipe is endlessly adaptable. If you’ve got some fresh greens, chuck ‘em in. Add a grating of lemon zest to lift the pesto and a scattering of chilli flakes for a bit of spice.

Three bean chilli

Ok, so this recipe involves a lot of tins and jars. (It also uses dried beans, but just sub tinned ones. Ditto for the mushrooms and peppers.) But it’s totally flexible depending on what you’ve got in. Baked beans? Yup, chuck them in. No mushrooms but you do have tinned peas? Yeah, they’ll do. Just whack everything in a pan and bubble until you can’t wait any longer.
Get the recipe: Simply Being Mum’s Simple Slow Cooked Three Bean & Vegetable Chilli Recipe
Make it go further: If you happen to have some flour and baking powder (or self-raising flour at a push), then make some quick dumplings to add to the pan. Or add some extra stock and have it as a soup!

Spaghetti alla puttanesca (kind of)

One of my favourite recipes from the awesome Jack Monroe, spaghetti is the ultimate comfort food. You can either heat the sauce first, then cook the pasta, or just add all the sauce ingredients when the pasta’s partly cooked to heat through. Substitute dried chilli flakes for the fresh chilli and keep a bulb of garlic in the cupboard for moments like this. Nom, nom.
Get the recipe: Jack Monroe’s Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca
Make it even better: Parmesan. Mmmmm.

Spicy peanut butter noodles

Peanut butter is one of the most versatile store cupboard ingredients. You can spread it on bread, bake with it or toss with noodles as in this recipe. (Or eat straight out of the jar. Not that I’d ever do that. Ever.) If you don’t have rice wine vinegar in this recipe, just use red or white wine vinegar or even lime juice. (Or actual wine at a push. I mean you need an excuse to open that bottle right?). You can substitute the fresh chilli and chilli oil for chili flakes.
Get the recipe: Donal Skehan’s Hot and Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles
Jazz it up: Any quick-cooking veg works well with this. Cook the noodles first then set aside whilst you stir-fry the veg. Then mix everything together and serve.

Beetroot risotto

Now I have to admit, this is better with goats cheese. Or feta cheese. Or halloumi. But beggers can’t be choosers right? And really, this recipe is just fine on its own. If you don’t have / can’t be bother cooking pearl barley, just use risotto rice. Or normal rice. Really, it all works just fine.
Get the recipe: Veggie Runners’ Beetroot Barlotto for Pre-Race Carb-Loading
Jazz it up: Add cheese! You can mash the beetroot up if you prefer to have a smoother risotto.

what’s your favourite campervan dinner? Let me know in the comments below!

How To Make Yourself Train (Even When You Don’t Want To)

by Alison Ingleby on October 25, 2016 in Training • 8 Comments

Training feeling tough? It’s all mind over matter…

Training. Some people love it, some people hate it. Some people love it retrospectively. (I definitely fall into this camp – generally when relaxing with a post-session cup of tea.) But we all have times when we struggle to work up the motivation to go out, or to try as hard as we should during a session.

I was at the climbing wall the other day and noticed a young girl training on the overhanging circuit board. Her Dad was timing her: six minutes on, six minutes off. In the time I was there I saw her do five sets. She was obviously finding it tough. By the last circuit she was crying in pain. But she still stuck on for her six minutes.

This taught me two things. Firstly, many of us (myself included) don’t often put everything we have into our training. Secondly, the reason for this is because it’s hard. You make the biggest gains in training when you really push yourself – push beyond what you think your body you can do – but it IS painful. And psyching up for that sort of training, when you know it’s going to hurt, is pretty mentally demanding.

We may not all be training to the same level as that girl. But we all have times when we don’t feel like training. If you’re anything like me, it’s pretty easy to come up with at least a dozen ‘valid’ reasons why not to head out for a five mile run on a cold, rainy, dark winter night.

But what really separates me (and perhaps you) and the girl at the wall is discipline. It’s all very well beating yourself up about not training but that’s not making up for the fact that you haven’t done it. So if you’re struggling for motivation this winter, try out these tips to encourage you to get out and train.

Remove other alternatives

Commuting is a great one for this. One of the reasons I get up to run in the morning, even when I want to stay curled up in bed, is because I leave my clothes, hairbrush and makeup in work. Which means I can’t get ready at home, even if I wanted to. If you don’t have a suitable commute, an alternative option is to get a partner or friend to drop you off a set distance from home and literally leave you stranded. There’s only one way back.

Another tried and tested technique is to arrange to meet a friend and do your workout together. That way both of you’d feel so hideously guilty about letting the other one down if you cancel, that you’ll put the excuses to bed and turn up to train. Or if it’s sessions in the gym you avoid, then ask someone nicely to take you in their car. If they’ve given up their time to help you out, the least you can do is train hard right?

Bribery

A technique perfected by athletes, bankers and the mafia for years. Why does bribery work? Because it gives you a reward. And who doesn’t like a reward! Just to be clear, this is about self-bribery – no brown paper envelopes here. Just figure out what works for you.

Here are some examples:

I can have that piece of chocolate cake if I go for that five mile run.
A fifty mile bike ride earns me the right to watch an entire season of The Wire (back to back).
If I – gasp – get to the top of this hill – gasp – I can rest – gasp – for five minutes.

This works best if you get someone else to bribe you, otherwise you may just be soft and give in and give yourself the treat even if you skip training. (Not that I’d ever do this of course. Ahem.) But having to watch your partner tucking into their single portion of chocolate pudding is a pretty good reminder of what you should have been doing earlier that day.

Another good one is the charity challenge. Here people really are bribing you REAL money to achieve your goal. And if you don’t train you’re not just letting yourself down, but all those cute little endangered pandas! Bribery AND guilt: a winning combination.

Remind yourself of the goal

The key with this is visualisation. Don’t just tell yourself, “I’m doing this because I’ve booked on a half-marathon in three weeks”. That’s just words. You need to imagine you’re approaching the finishing line. The crowds are roaring you on and you can taste the saltiness of sweat on your lips. You have to experience the elation of knowing you will complete the race. Then try and hold on to that feeling long enough to get out the door and into the first few miles of your run.

Distract yourself

I normally have an attention span as long as Dory the fish, but when it comes to long runs the reverse happens. By the second hour all I can think about is my aching legs, my aching hips, the twinge in my calf, the rubbing on my back… You get the idea. This is where distraction techniques come in. Even the best multi-tasker can only focus on a few things at a time. So if you can persuade your mind to focus on something else, you’ll find you forget about the aches and pains of training.

This is a very personal thing: what works for one person won’t for another. Some people find focusing on the movement and pace of their training helps, for other people listening to an up-beat sound track keeps them going. For longer sessions, why not try listening to audiobooks or podcasts – especially inspirational ones such as the Tough Girl podcast. If you’re struggling for ideas, here are a few more suggestions.

Have a schedule

Schedules are a personal thing. For the majority of people a structured training plan both optimises your training time and can be a helpful anti-avoidance tool. Your schedule says you swim Tuesday, you swim Tuesday. Schedule says hop like a frog Thursday? You get the picture. It removes the decision-making process around what to do. Fewer decisions equals more action. Honest – Tim Ferriss says so.

But there are some people schedules don’t work so well for, me included. Life is pretty hectic at the moment, so rather than sticking to a strict schedule, I have target sessions for the week and fit them in around my other commitments. This is more flexible, but it’s also easier to deviate from, so you need extra willpower.

When is it OK not to train?

Taking into account all of the above, there are times when not training is the best option. But before you breathe a sigh of relief, remember – these times are few and far between. SO LACE YOUR TRAINERS BACK UP AND GET OUT THERE NOW.

Seriously, please don’t train if any of the following apply:

You’re injured. This may stop you from doing your chosen activity, but don’t forget about the benefits of cross training!
You’re ill. By this I mean properly ill, not just hungover. It’s sometimes a fine line to judge, but generally if you feel that training will make your illness worse and your recovery shorter, it’s probably best to skip it and focus on getting better.
Your house is going to burn down if you do. Not literally, obviously. (Or at least, I hope not. You did check the iron was off before leaving this morning, right?) But realistically there are always times when something important and urgent has to take priority. Your kid being sent home sick from school or your boss telling you you’re fired unless you get that paper on his desk tomorrow morning. Just make sure they are genuinely urgent and are the exception and not the rule. The latest episode of the Great British Bake Off does not count (in this context) as either important or urgent.

The key to deciding when not to train is being honest with yourself around your decisions. Really honest. Is that sniffle really the start of a cold, or is it just a GBBO-withdrawal symptom? Only you can decide, but remember this. Your mind will quit a thousand times before your body will. Happy training!

10 Reasons Why Orienteering is the Best Sport Ever

by Alison Ingleby on October 18, 2016 in Running • 34 Comments

Who would have thought getting lost could be this much fun? (photo (c) Federazione Italiana Sport Orientamento)

When you see the word orienteering, what springs to mind? Funny red and white flags? Getting lost in damp forests? Strange people dressed like they’ve just emerged from a 1980s psychedelic pajama party? (If the latter, then you must have been to a ‘proper’ orienteering event.)

I would be the first to admit it can appear a crazy sport. The basic principle is this: you have a compass, an electronic dibber thing and a ‘map’, which to the uninitiated looks rather like an artist’s impression of the London tube map overlain with hieroglyphics. And it probably makes about as much sense.

But stick with it. Because with a little patience (and a good sense of humour), what is at first confusing, transforms into a delightful puzzle. There is no other sport that tests both the mind and the body in quite the same way. It’s like trying to solve a level four sudoku puzzle whilst simultaneously running an obstacle course and playing a virtual reality car racing game.

Are you convinced yet? If not, then read on for ten very good reasons why you should get out orienteering today.

1. Orienteering is a sport for life

Literally. As soon as you’re able to toddle on your own two feet, eager parents will be fighting to take you round the string course (especially if there are sweets at the end). At the large events there are age classes that cater for runners from age ten (younger competitors can ‘run up’) to ninety, and everyone shares the same finish lane. There aren’t many sports when you can carry on winning well into your eighth decade.

2. It’s not all about running

‘But you have to be a super-fit runner to orienteer…’ is probably one of the most common excuses I hear for not trying out the sport. And the answer to this is a big, fat resounding no. Sure, if you want to be winning events then it helps to be a decent runner, and elite orienteers are some of the fittest bods around, but fitness is no barrier to orienteering. Many people walk round their courses, and if you’re just starting out this can be a good idea whilst your navigation improves.

Plus, there are actually four disciplines of orienteering: foot, mountain bike, ski and trail orienteering (designed for people of all physcial abilities to compete on equal terms). So there’s something for everyone.

3. Every event is different

Bored of running the same old training routes? Plodding the same streets, week after week. Yup me too. This is why running is BORING and orienteering is FUN. I can pretty much guarantee that in your orienteering lifetime, you will never run the same route twice. Which means there is always an element of the unknown when you set off. Variety is the spice of orienteering life.

4. Orienteering is the friendly sport

Orienteers love introducing new people to the sport. Turn up to any event and you’ll be sure to find some eager face to help you work out which bit of the compass points north, the difference between a re-entrant and a depression and what the blue squiggly lines on the map mean. Most orienteering clubs have specific events aimed at beginners or young families, plus training sessions when you can get to grips with basic navigational techniques.

Many clubs hold post-training socials, and at the larger events, members congregate in club tents. Wander in after you’ve finished and within two minutes someone will be peering at your map excitedly jabbering about ‘optimum route choices’ and whether you took the direct or long route to number five. Just humour them, ok? It’ll be you one day.

5. There’s always room to improve

There is rarely such a thing as a perfect run in orienteering. Even on your best day, you’ll lament the two seconds you ‘wasted’ climbing over a stile, or debate whether you could have stolen a minute if you’d have taken a slightly different route. Don’t get me wrong, it can be incredibly frustrating when you mess up. (And even more frustrating if you’re stuck in the car with a sulking companion for two hours on the drive home.) But it means there’s always something you can work on and some way to get better.

6. Orienteering takes you to places you’d never otherwise go

Quite literally. Many orienteering events are held on private land where the organiser has to get special permission from the landowners to hold the event. So you get to explore woodlands, moors and valleys you’d never normally go to.

7. It’s a full body workout

Orienteering is not just off-road, it’s off-trail. Once you get beyond the easier beginner routes, the courses are designed to avoid paths as much as possible. Depending on the area, the terrain can vary from beautifully runnable pine forests, to heather strewn moors, and intricate boulder fields. You may end up jumping across streams, leaping fallen trees or fighting through thickets of trees (usually only if you’ve got lost).

This is why orienteering courses are quite short. But try running a 7km road race and compare that to a 7km orienteering race in the Lake District and tell me which one you wake up aching from the next day. Yup, and that’s your core aching as well as your legs.

8. But it’s not all about getting muddy

Whilst orienteering is traditionally associated with hills, forests and parks, a whole new niche of orienteering has sprung up in towns and cities across the country. Urban orienteering combines lightning-speed navigation with fast running. Many clubs run monthly, or even weekly urban evening events, particularly during the winter months. As the navigation and the maps tend to be much simpler, these can be a great introduction to orienteering for newbies. Plus they usually start and finish in a pub. It’s important to rehydrate y’know.

If you live in London, I would highly recommend the Street-O series of events – even if you don’t fancy being competitive, they’re a great way to explore parts of the city you never knew existed.

9. You can compete all over the world (without being an elite athlete)

There aren’t many sports where you can compete in 70 countries, whatever your level of expertise. Once you’ve learnt the basic orienteering map symbols, the language is the same wherever you go. Many countries host orienteering festivals: multiple days of events with social activities in the evenings. And city races are a great way to add a bit of interest (and exercise) to your next city break.

If you’re looking for international events, the World of Orienteering Calendar is a good place to start, but it’s by no means exclusive.

10. It gives you skills for life

I’d like to see anyone try and deny that navigation skills aren’t important. EVEN in this modern day world of iPhones, Google maps and GPS watches. I sometimes wonder why other people struggle to remember directions, seem to have absolutely no sense of direction and can’t hold a map the right way round. Then I remember that these people probably weren’t sent out into a deep dark forest to get lost (literally) from the tender age of ten. (Thanks Dad.)

So the moral of the story is: parents take your children orienteering! Let them go out and get lost! It will teach them to be independent, adventurous and non-directionally challenged. And one day they will thank you for it. Even if it’s just because they managed to find their way home from the club rather than spending the night behind the wheely bins.

If you’re raring to go, check out the British Orienteering Federation website for details of all UK events and your local club. Still hesitant? Watch this video and then dare to tell me it doesn’t look just a teensy bit fun.

Thanks to Federazione Italiana Sport Orientamento for the great photo (used here under Creative Commons licence). You can view the original image here.