Discussion: Taking up orienteering as an adult

Just wondering how many here first took up orienteering as an adult and have been able to become competitive against others with more experience?

If that's you: How long did it take? What training did you do? Were you experienced with/already doing another running sport?

Cheers.

How old are you?

I started when I was in my first year at university (I was 18). In 3 and a half years I made the sprint final at WOC. I did have some training when I played water polo and hockey at high school but no specific running training.

I now train with the athletics group at my university.

@MCrone - I am genuinely impressed.

I went to a few meets my senior year of college and really started getting into orienteering at about age 23. I don't have the success story that Mike has (competed at WOC for US at age 30 but I was way out of qualifying for any finals!), but I think it's fair to say that I am somewhat competitive against Americans my age. I didn't really have endurance experience - I was very serious about softball growing up - so I needed to learn how to run. It helped a lot to train several times per week with my local running club.

I started soon after graduating college, aged 22, was not-embarrassing on elite courses within 18 months, won the billygoat at 25 which is of course the high point of any orienteering career. Didn't have a sufficiently comedy nationality to run WOC so downhill ever since...

Perhaps more interesting - Before starting orienteering I was a regular road runner, clocking about 6mins/mile (for 5-10k). Orienteering introduced me to interval training and (initially unnecessarily :) ) long runs. Back on the roads found myself doing 5mins/mile.

Offhand, I can think of three girls from OUOC who made it to WOC within 4 years of starting.

I did occasional orienteering as a kid and in the few years after college (2-3 events/year), but started seriously in my late 20's. I started running as a result of orienteering (when I reached the point that my navigation was getting reasonable and I needed to be able to run faster to do better at orienteering).

These days I do more trail running than orienteering, as there's much more opportunity of that here in Colorado, but for my first few years orienteering (in London) the majority of my running training was when orienteering. It helped to be in an club that had an active orienteering training program.

I didn't even hear the word orienteering until I was 24 and for much of the next 42 years that word has ruled my life.
Coming from a Canadian football background distance running was not a big part of my training. Trips to O'Ringen and the WOC in 1972 showed me that navigation was only a part of orienteering. Running at speed through the woods while navigating - that was the trick. I ran a lot on my own, dropped 25 lbs and generally got a lot fitter which helped me compete in North America but I've never been able to catch the best of the rest of the world in my age class (or PG).

Didn't start orienteering until I was 35. Took about 4 years to start getting respectable results against other US orienteers in my age class. This year, at age 65, made the A-final in the sprint at the World Masters Championships. Lesson: there's a lot to learn - keep at it!

In terms of background: I competed in track starting at age 15, first at 400m, later 800m. In my 30's, took up road racing, 5K-10K, but was never very good at that, despite training pretty hard - and that's still the case. Haven't had many opportunities for orienteering training, so it's taken a lot of years of running in meets to get better.

I think I started at age 38. Decision to do so based upon a change of home town and the realisation that rock climbing was no longer feasible and the town I now lived in was surrounded by forest.
Took two years to commit to sport. It took another four or so years to achieve age group respectability. The first two years were learning to navigate while running. The next two years meant relearning to navigate as I increased physical training. I used to train seriously for my previous sport, but isometric endurance doesn't confer much advantage in orienteering.
I am sure some could do it in less time, but my observations suggest 4 years is about usual. After four years, I think it's the genetic inheritance that sorts out the runners who have the time to maintain fitness.

Started for real at age 22, worked my way up to the shiny side of mediocre after 5 or 6 years, and I've managed to stay there. I've occasionally been competitive on the national level in my age group, but never managed better than 5th in the Billygoat. Prior to taking up orienteering, my background was bicycling (avidly, but not competitively) and model rocketry (left that behind for good around the first time I did an orienteering course on my own).

Great thread - more stories like this please. I myself have only recently started orienteering, at age 42. I'm nowhere near competitive and probably never will be, but I'm enjoying the heck out of it! It seems like a sport that could keep me interested and learning for the rest of my life. And it gives me great inspiration to hear from other attackpointers about their journey here...

I started orienteering at age 42. My best 5K time was 20:20. I probably moved to my age category, Red, too fast - I felt I had a good 'feel' for orienteering but made huge errors. (Once organizers made a 1 hour error in my 2-day total. Corrected, I moved up ONE place!) With lots of local meets, occasional local training, vetting and setting courses, and travels to lots of different terrains, I've gradually improved and hope I'm still improving at 62. I've had better age group results recently on Green. I love being in the woods off trail and the mental challenges.

Graeme what dodgy countries did these girls from OUOC make WOC teams? I've been told that the only way to produce WOC runners are if they start Orienteering as an toddler?

It's never too late to start. This is off the topic. Mary Skelton DaSilva did not start running till she was in her 50s. However this spring she set new American age group record in 12 hour Ultra run by running 51.5 miles.

Here is an interview:
http://www.usatf-niagara.org/Mountain/Ultra/Trail/...

I started at age 33, 80 pounds overweight. In the next 10 years, my best results were 10th place US champs on M21, 15th place in a WRE on M21 (middle distance), and a Mid-Atlantic championship on M21 (that's my fav, but it sounds kinda lame). Also, I think I was 4th in a Hudson Highlander, tho I'm not quite sure about that one.

The best part of it tho, was that I lost all that weight, and it never came back. The trick (at least for me), was to work really hard, and train in terrain. Good luck.

It's hard to believe that someone became competitive among elite after starting orienteering as an adult in northern europe. But it isn't impossible at all. Maybe we can discover some talent with good health, with perfect sense of space ( probably painter, sculptor, designer...) and if he/she wants, if there is strong orienteering club....
But it becomes possible in masters age, when orienteering is way of living, when yesterdays athletes doesn't train, when most of pack is recreational runners. Or in countries where orienteering doesn't have traditions and strong field, where orienteering only begins to develop.
And there is a chance for all others: sprint. Usually sprint doesn't require perfect sense of space :)

It really depends on what you call competitive. I returned to the sport three years ago after over 15 years away (which I regret). For me one of the attractions of the sport is the ability to compete on the same courses as elite athletes and to compare my performance with theirs. I'm unlikely to finish near them, but I'm pleased if I get occasional legs that are comparable. I've also set myself targets in the rankings list, both numbers and individuals, and I'm enjoying trying to reach those. That's my definition of competitive.

I started after the age of 30, with no running background. After 5 years of bush orienteering, I rarely make enormous navigation errors anymore (except for the odd occasion when I do). It is extremely unlikely that I will ever be competitive nationally in my age group, let alone at elite level.

Nevertheless, a clean run is an absolute joy to my pedantic heart and I have a group of people I compete with/against. They're only 30 or so years older, but whatever. They're actually a useful comparison for me, rather than comparing myself to people who would need to be seriously maimed to go as slow as I do.

Randy: yes, you were 4th place in the Highlander in 2004. Five minutes ahead of Ross Smith in 5th.

I started orienteering 3 years ago at age 47. I was dead last in my age group in the Canadian Championships in 2009. Yesterday, I won my first age group medal! A bronze! I'm still inconsistent, so I have a long way to go before I consider myself competitive.

Adamski started age 16 and medalled at JWOC.

@vnelson: See you at NAOC?

After a background on the track/road (10k of 30.34), I lost a year due to illness. Tried to get back to former fitness but struggled, so read article promoting orienteering in local paper. First event was when I was 31. I reckon I became seriously competitive against more experienced peers after 8-9 years (finished 9th overall in the UK Cup series as a 40 year old) which had also coincided with moving to hilly area in the UK with tough forests on my doorstep 3 years prior to that and my training switched from more road based to terrain/off-road based. I was largely self-coached and with hindsight and an earlier move to decent terrain area, I could have been stronger earlier. I also acknowledge that sprint/urban racing was still in its infancy then. Had it been like it is now, I would have gone for that - even now it's my strongest discipline.

I started orienteering when I was 30, which is a hard age to start, competitively speaking. I'd like to be able to report, 34 years later, that things have got easier, but they haven't! We've all just got old together.

http://kangaroosloose.blogspot.com.au/

I was 28 and I was hooked after my first event.

Formal coaching wasn't readily available to late-starters like me, but I was fortunate to receive plenty of advice from club members and fellow competitors who eventually became good friends. As my skills progressed I became more and more focussed on performance. After about 4 years I was too good not to run elites, but not good enough to be competitive in that grade.

After another 4 years not much had changed. I'd taken the odd scalp, but had failed to maintain the trajectory of improvement. Right when I needed to get *more* obsessed with orienteering, I started to slacken off. Slowly, life started to throw competing demands in the way (ie: 2 kids), and now its 3 years since I was a regular starter. I don't know when I'll be back in the forest, or what shape I'll be in, but I take as inspiration a handful of guys here who have returned from parenthood in their 40's and still run elites.

I believe the greatest advantage that experienced orienteers have over the earnest noob is their navigation process almost subconcious. Possibly the best investment I made was to spend countless hours poring over old maps/courses. I didn't get into it much, but Catching Features would be useful for the same reason. Physical training is more accessible, in so far as there is plenty of advice available about run-training. But, there is no substitute for terrain fitness... so: get as much technical guidance/coaching as you can, spend as much time running in terrain as you can, and when you're not running, train in your armchair. And when you reach a plateau, its up to you find a way to keep climbing.

I miss orienteering. Its been cathartic to write this... thanks for the thread!

Maybe he will weigh in here himself, but I think PG started orienteering at 28.

@GuyO: Probably not going to make it to NA's this year.

Well the day after I win my first medal, I crash and burn on the last control. Reviewing the data I see I got one fastest split. This was on an open leg with virtually no navigation. This surprised me because I've been assuming that the leaders all run faster than I do. I do a half marathon in about 1:50. Not terrible, but there are many runners in my age group who can easily knock 15-20 minutes off that. So here's my question: How fast are the 45-55 guys running in orienteering?

Are they beating me in running speed? Navigation? Or both?

After a background on the track/road (10k of 30.34)...

Wow. Has anyone in the history of US orienteering ever had anywhere near this level of raw footspeed? That is perhaps our major obstacle to becoming consistently competitive at the international level--we are not able to attract more than a very small handful of athletes with this sort of running talent to our sport.

Anyway, I took up orienteering at age 36, from a running and cycling background. My 10K time at that point was around 37:45, and, suffice it to say that now, at age 55, it is significantly slower that that. Once I learned how to navigate (and that took several years), I've been reasonably competitive at the national level in my age group, but that's only because the depth of talent in US orienteering is quite shallow. I harbor no illusions that I would be any better than an average runner in a "real" orienteering country.

we are not able to attract more than a very small handful of athletes with this sort of running talent.
The top runner in Britishorienteering is National cross country champion and runs on the mountain running team. He doesn't run roads on track. With that kind of speed, off-road ability he should be great. In fact, Steve Vernon is our paid participation manager and AFAIK has not yet persuaded himself to participate.
I have no idea why?

Not that this is a competition, but I started when my sons didn't need me to walk them to the remote starts - so that was when I was 48. I was getting bored waiting for them anyway and you can only read the results board so many times. Family/husband + sons been involved for about 10 years by then. Placed in National B class competition the second year and at International (again B class) in same year. Progressed to A class courses in my third year and intermittently placed at State and nationals since with some dud results interspersing. Biggest achievement - winning age class short course at nationals on first run after coming back from foot stress fracture in 2009. Finding now I'm getting better at making smaller mistakes and even better at not making big mistakes - still learning and still loving. Relatively fast for age group, but still lack the experience of those who have 20+ years more experience (especially on older maps).

attract - develop? Ah, I see a problem...

from the top of my head-
Mitch Bently definitely in the 29's
Chuck Crabb probably somewhare around 30
Both many years ago.
Bobby Curtis (DVOA TNT participant) mid 27:? this year

Technically, I haven't gotten Mr. Curtis to do orienteering yet, but that time is coming.

27:33 really is quite brisk - faster even then Carsten Jorgensen. and that old bloke running the training tonight .

Are they beating me in running speed? Navigation? Or both?

Both. The time you're losing to navigational errors, compared to someone who is really clean, is probably substantial. But in addition, even if you can be faster in flat-out running (and bearing in mind that it's possible that you were pushing hard on a leg that you knew you could do cleanly while your competition may have been using the easy running to read ahead on the course), the real speed difference shows up in the places where you're at your slowest. Those with extensive forest running experience can maintain speed on steep uphills, steep downhills, and when the going gets thick or technical. The potential for time savings is greater when the going is slower.

I started O' at age 28 (in 1973). Had a knack for the navigation from day 1, but never the motor to be competitive in M21 internationally. Ran in WOC in 1976, 1978, 1979, happy with my runs but way behind. Won M21 in the USA in 76, 77, 78, 79, and 83. Could find the controls but never had any speed, bests were about 37 for 10K, 82 for half-marathon.

O' actually got much more fun for me competitively as I got a little older, more experience, plus I ran just as fast at age 50 as I ever did, while the competition was slowing down. So lots of good results internationally, won races in a dozen different countries, highlight a gold medal at WMOC in 1997 (yes, there sure is a home-field advantage in O').

Nowadays (age 68) it is going the other direction, legs and mind going to hell, but I still manage to do well enough against my contemporaries, because at this point in life everyone has things wrong with them. The solution is still the same -- suck it up and do the best you can. :-)

Are they beating me in running speed? Navigation? Or both?

All of the best orienteers of any age are both fast and accurate. And probably a lot faster than most people would think, and a lot more accurate than they would think too.

I am a field biologist by training and former athlete. I discovered orienteering around age 40 when New Mexico Orienteers got started in my town. I am not fast (I don't even try); efficiency and accuracy are my thing. I design, set, and vet courses and I really enjoy that. Maybe I am good at designing too; I hear people say nice things about my courses.