Discussion: Why do you orienteer?

Hi, all -- I'm looking for some fresh quotes for an article I'm writing on orienteering. Wanna share with the group why you orienteer, or why you love orienteering, or a similar observation?

I'll kick it off: I love orienteering because of the dopamine rush I get when I find the control exactly where I think it's going to be. It makes me feel capable and smart. And it's addictive. Orienteering rocks because you can enjoy it any age, at any skill level and just about any place. (Cristina seems to have found one at least place you can't. ;-)

If you would NOT like to be quoted by name, please say so. And note, I am not getting paid to write this article, so it is not a commercial endeavor on my part. Just trying to promote our sport.

Thanks in advance!

I don't know. At this point, there's nothing I can do about it. It's just a huge part of who I am.

Orienteering combines the need for physical fitness and mental skills (map reading, quick thinking, memorizing, etc). Not many activities can offer both. You won't be good unless you have both. (although I realize you can still enjoy it without both!). I like the challenge of trying to improve both!

You can get better even though you're getting older. Not too many sports allow that. Sooner or later, fitness will limit results, but you can always get better at the act of orienteering.

I like having goals and a sense of purpose, even when I am being recreational. An orienteering course is like a string of problems back to back, with little rewards at the end of each one.

There's also the fact that I love being outside and have always been rather giddy about maps.

I a map and outdoor puzzle geek. I also like the idea that mental ability can overcome physical limitations, at least to some extent (and moreso than in many other sports).

And, as has been said before, it is the same sport as golf. Since I can't hit a wood in a fairway to save my life, I have no choice if I wish to play a golf-like sport and enjoy a modicum of success.

Blood, sweat, confusion... what more would an adventurer want!?

My scratches are almost healed from the US Champs. Must be time to orienteer again.

I love the smell of greenbriar in the morning.

Because rock climbing got too boring.

Well, the driving long distances to cliffs did, but you don't need to explain that part.

I love the feeling of running fast through the woods, unconfined to trails and able to go through any terrain. Finding the controls adds a sense of purpose, adventure, variability and focus.

I love it! Keep it coming!

I orienteer because of the orienteers and because other stamina-based sports are rather boring.

One word: Balter

I Orienteer because I love the challenge of the woods and terrain, of the courses and control points set against you, and the feeling of being totally on your own in the woods. Not to mention the confidence you gain when you spike a point, the selfcontrol you need when you make a mistake, and the feeling of accomplishment when you cross that finish line, knowing you've just run your best race!

Hmm. But a picture is worth a thousand words, although Balter does seem to sum it up with 999 left over to use for something else.

Pick up chicks....seriously that is wot keeps me going (danish chicks ftw), gonna be doing this for a good few more years ;)
Na it is awsome to get out into remote areas with just the map and ur physical and mental strengths. The competition and drive to win are also driving factors

I do it because I like to crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and hear the lamentation of their women and children. Besides that, I like the challenge of complicated terrain, I like running through open forests, and I like the people that I have met through this sport.

I like the way sometimes the organizers will serve up little bits of maps that you can cleanse your palate with before the next serving of map.

..for Barbie's fashion and because road running is too tough on the knees... ;-)

you can O your entire life (practically cradle to grave) -- compete against progressively older folks in great WMOC venues around the world, make global friends who are likely to be environmentally oriented...

...you could be buried under a control as your last wish:)

It is always different. A new challenge everytime. No one to rely on but your legs and brain. Awesome being in the middle of nature with no one around except the person following behind....

Like no other sport it combines the physical with the intellectual.

With kids in the house I had a hard time finding time to get away for long backpacking trips, and orienteering got me in the woods for short periods of time, and I felt like I did something. And I wrote it somewhere else in here, but some people have flying dreams--I've always had dreams of gliding through the woods, up hills and down, never losing my breath or missing a step. I've had these dreams long before I started trail running and orienteering, so when I started the sport it was like coming home.

I love the bush and being able to run in the forests. I also love the challenge of finding the controls and running whilst still concentrating on where you are going. The travelling opportunities are also great and you get to see the real country rather than just the tourist sites when you travel overseas.In Australia it has been described as doing a cryptic crossword on the run!

As I've gotten into the sport, I've found that even the "work" is fun.

I love course setting...going out on a map early in the morning and spending the whole day investigating control locations and interesting features. And then coming home and working 'til midnight, stringing these controls into interesting, challenging courses.

Fortunately, the best orienteers are also very generous with their time; willing to give helpful suggestions at the drop of a hat. And when course design mistakes are made, criticism is muted, constructive.

I love orienteering because it is different! So many things in this world have become so normal at least in sports, and it is getting harder and harder to be different. Orienteering lets me be different.

and like people have said it combines the physical (like XC running) with the intellectual (like figuring out a hard puzzle) and i love that!

It is also a great feeling when your running around in the woods not confined to the trails, you can go anywhere you want (or need!) and the feeling after you have a great run or spiked a control is amazing! you definitely feel a great sense of self reliance.

Then like people said it is a great community! a community with people from all over the world. Without orienteering i would have never meet some of my best friends who live all over the place, and never have gotten to see as many great places as i have. Also like clark said the elite runners in this sport are around, we get to talk to them and they are very willing to give advice and talk about your course, and give encouragement. How many other Teens can say i have met my sport Idles and get to talk to them about how i'm doing at most events?

I could go on forever as to why i love orienteering but i'll only say one last thing. I love it because it is something I get to share with my dad (and slowly my sister and mom) It has given us something in common and to talk about and with having to drive to meets it has given us that time in the car to do some father-daughter bonding and to talk about other things that i would never have gotten time to talk about with him other wise.

Initally, it was because my brother and Sister did it. Then it was just something to do to help stay in shape and I enjoy a competition. Now, because it is fun.
A running race is all about running with no other skill. As a result I have always enjoyed sports that make use of running but other skills are equally/more important (like soccer or orienteering). Orienteering is one of the few sports where you can push yourself to do better in multiple ways (not just run harder).

Another reason that's become clear ever since Tundra/Desert set up a month-long O trip to five Nordic countries for us is...the entré the sport provides into other cultures. I've met so many Europeans since I began orienteering...I even sleep with one each night, thanks to O.

They should put THAT in the "brochure" -- great sell for orienteering, Clark, thanks! :-)

Thanks, everyone, for the great insights. Maybe AP should have a page with these quotes and more, entitled "Why we do this" to refer to once in a while when we have a bad day and forget. :-)

It gets the whole family out to new and unusual parts of the country we would never otherwise visit. There are courses for all ages and abilities so both father (41) and son (12) can go out for a challenging and fun exercise.

I like it cause it is a different sport and i like to see all the different parks i would never even think of.

I used to do it because I was very good at it. These days I chasing that illusion that I could be good at it again if I trie hard enough.

I do it because almost 12 years ago, I learned very quickly that I would never see my husband on the weekends if I didn't start. And I keep doing it because I am now too addicted to be an officer representative for the West Point Glee Club (my cadet activity) now that we're back - so USMAOC it must be! But I should add that working with the cadets is incredibly rewarding. And there's always the days that I beat enough of them to make the point that you don't have to be fast, just smart...

...now if only I could get a bit smarter! They're getting harder to beat!

I like it because it enables me to be at one with nature. Also, if you have to pee in the middle of a race, you can do so without anyone seeing you.

... Also, if you have to pee in the middle of a race, you can do so without anyone seeing you.

I beg the difference.

I orienteer because it is beautiful to be out in the woods and listen to all the neat thing around you and because i like the feeling of being in competiton and wining medals!

... Also, if you have to pee in the middle of a race, you can do so without anyone seeing you.

Yup, the only "running" I did 3rd trimester with both kids was in the woods orienteering. They just don't believe in public restrooms in Boston, much less one every 15 minutes...

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a...

I do it to stay in shape plus I can run off asphalt. I am slow on hills and with all of the orienteering I have improved.

Nice photoshopping, Dasha (triple-double)

I like the woods. I walked a lot in the woods before Gary Gallagher introduced me to orienteering. As at adult onset diabetic, orienteering gave me performance goals so I would train. That lowered my weight and blood sugar level. There is a social side to orienteering, putting on A-meets, which I have either been a meet director or co-meet director 3 times.

I knew I would love from the first time I heard it described as sport where you can jump over branches while ducking under another branch and running full blast downhill in the freezing rain. I love jumping accross creeks. I love the adrenaline rush of finding the orange and white controls. However, I'm not as surprised when I find the controls anymore. I love taking my kids with me to the races. It gives us something to do together and is a lot better than playing video games or sitting on the couch. I feel better at 41 than I have felt in a long time. I especially love training for it. The long 10 mile runs are my favorite.

BECAUSE I CAN!

But seriously? Because all the cool kids do it.

The challenge of finding the controls is great. You do it on you own, out in the fresh air, having great fun. It's been super that all 3 of my sons were able to join in as soon as they could cope with a string course and now all are heavily involved in the sport their twenties. A great family sport, which has got them friends all over the country. Never any problem with somewhere to stay. It's really cool!

Because I've got nothing better to do.

I love the adrenaline rush of finding the orange and white controls.

He he, On the contrary, I feel the adrenaline rush when I don't find the orange and white controls.

Hey, my friends and I (the UNC Orienteering folk) want to make an O' training guide for one of my friends who is trying Orienteering for the first time w/ an outdoors club at Rutgers in March. we want to use it again next year on a slightly larger scale. We want to have a "why do you Orienteer?" part. Would it be okay if we used some of the comments on here?

Thanks!

I can't imagine life without orienteering. I'm addicted to maps -even when I have a street directory in front of me I read it like a book. And then, of course, I love going bush!

The buzz, the adrenaline rush. The pain of suffering up an ungodly steep climb, trying to calm yourself down and focus after a rocky decent. Only you, the map and a headlamp running fluidly..... Pure bliss

As a fairly new orienteer I love the freedom it offers, the places it takes you and the people you meet on the way. The sense of accomplishment when navigation is going smoothly is unmatchable, while the challenge keeps you pushing harder.

I started because my old GPS would lose the signal in canyons, or under dense forest. I never had battery issues with the compass. A map and compass are lighter and "greener". But I will admit the GPS has it value as well.

Needless to say, I then found out how much fun orienteering is!

mnickel, I would think it's probably okay to use some of the quotes here (perhaps without attribution? i.e., AP names) if you distinctly state where they came from (this web page, « http://www.attackpoint.org/discussionthread.jsp/me... »), i.e., the source. Since it's a public forum I can't see where anyone would mind having themselves quoted.

Now, if you were to sell something with the quotes on it you might need to check with each individual, but I could be wrong.

"Why do I orienteer?"

As a crap runner I often ask myself the same question.
It must be the challenge that makes up for the fact I should never be in a running sport to begin with......and the satisfaction of occassionally beating a lot of the runners!

i orienteer for lols. and bc i like the forest :)

I enjoy running in the city. I like to camp and hike. Orienteering is like the best of both worlds. Learning to navigate better and seeing my new skills work out in the woods is a thrill. It took a year and a half, but I finally learned to use attack points and catching features. Between the last two meets I picked up pace counting. And it worked!!

Orienteering is like a meditation. You going in and going out, and everytime you have a new feeling and a brand new story to tell. Orienteering course is like a short life; it is never perfect, but you happy with it!!!