I hope you are as excited for Saturday’s event as I am! It will be a fun day in the woods I am sure. I would like to share the following information with you regarding the event:
- Weather
As beautiful as it is to see the leaves starting to turn, unfortunately the temperatures still feel like summer. Saturday’s forecast is a high of 90, so please be prepared with water and hydration for you and your team(s). We will have water on the course at at least two checkpoints, but most of the creeks are pretty dry so you won’t have much to filter if you do run out. - Required Gear
A good segue into the required gear, as you will be required to start with at least some water).- Water (50 oz per person recommended at a min for 6-12 hour teams, at least 20 oz for 3 hour)
- Headlamp (6 hour and 12 hour) with spare batteries (12 hour only)
- Long pants
- Compass
- Cell phone for at least one teammate for whom I have the number (emergency use only, not allowed to use map functions)
Recommended gear: tick spray, filter treatment
- Maps
You will be provided with one 34” x 24” waterproof USGS 1:24,000 scale map (it will be oversized, sorry, but you can keep it for future adventures!). You will also receive one supplementary trail map that will not be waterproof and will likely be 11” x 17”. You will be transferring your checkpoints from a Master Map to your blank map, so please bring your favorite pen or marker for that purpose. - Start/Finish
The start/finish is likely going to be moved from the Great Hall at Camp Ouachita to the Lake Sylvia Day Use Area – this should be confirmed early this week and I’ll send out another update once confirmed. If this change is made then I will be providing a couple of extra tables for mapping. Restrooms will still be available in the area. There is also a lake at this location and if the water temperature isn’t too hot it might make for a nice post-race activity. There is camping in the nearby Lake Sylvia Campground if you want to make a weekend of it! - Schedule
- 6:30 a.m. – Registration Opens (Maps will be given at registration)
- 7:45 a.m. – Pre-race briefing for 12 Hour/ intention sheets due
- 8:00 a.m. – 12 Hour Start
- 9:45 a.m. – Pre-race briefing for 3 and 6 Hour/ intention sheets due
- 10:00 a.m. – 3 and 6 Hour Start
- 1:00 p.m. – 3 Hour cut-off
- 4:00 p.m. – 6 Hour cut-off
- 8:00 p.m. – 12 Hour cut-off
Note: Cut-offs are hard deadlines – if you finish after the cut-off time you will start to lose points!
- Course Registration
You will be allowed to change your course registration (from 3 to 6 hour, for example) but you must do so before the event starts. Do not do it on the course. I will be expecting you back by the cut-off and don’t want to send out search parties if you just decided you were having a great time. If you’re lost, then that’s another story (and why the cell phone is required gear). - Course Description
Okay, now for the good stuff. First off, let me say that I know some of you are new or fairly new to orienteering, so I will be more than happy to help provide any tutorials or extra help before the event start. I have attempted to balance some easier checkpoints with more difficult ones, but while there are some trails in this area, there aren’t too many so most of the checkpoint locations are off-trail. With the exception of those closer to the headquarters, many of the checkpoints are fairly far apart, so route choice and good navigation will be key. The woods are mostly open and relatively easy travel, with a few exceptions of thicker areas. There are some thorns but much of the vegetation is so beat down by drought it’s pretty easy to work through. There is a lot of climb, however. Straight line distance of the full course will be no more than 20 miles, likely less because I’d rather you finish early and be happy than finish late and be mad.
For those of you new to Rogaines, this is an orienteering event where you get to pick your own route and strategy to get checkpoints (CP’s) with the intent of getting the most overall value of points, or score. Each CP will have a point value based on its CP number. If the CP number starts with a 2, such as 23, the point is worth 20 points; if it is 56, then it is worth 50 points, and so forth. If you find CP’s 23 and 56, then your total score will be 70. The highest score wins; in the case of ties then the fastest time ranks higher. Therefore, you will attempt to get the highest value of points within your given time cut-off of 3, 6, or 12 hours. This means strategy and time management comes into play!
Also for those of you new to this sport, a “checkpoint” is marked with an orange and white three-sided flag. Each flag has a punch that you will use on a punch card that you will get at registration to prove you visited the location. I will have an example at the start so you know what you are looking for.
Please reach out if you have any questions I haven’t answered here or for anything else I can help with.
Thank you!
Rachel
Orienteering Central Arkansas (OCAR)