Bowater Trail-O

A 4 hour and 8 hour orienteering trail 'O' team event!

*Please note that a teammate is required for this event*

That's right! Come on out and try a different kind of trail running race! This is a bigger course, so we'll require everyone to have at least 1 teammate this time around (must be within earshot of your teammate at all times during the event).

This is a fundraiser for our local food bank with 50% of the entry fee going to them! Let's give them a helping hand!

Please take a look at the carbon calculator on the Tree Canada website and consider trying to offset your emissions to our event by planting a tree!

https://treecanada.ca/carbon-calculator/

A "Trail-O" (Trail Orienteering) can be described as:

an event that requires beginner-level navigation skills, but unlike most other forms of orienteering, it involves little, or no, route choice. It is conducted primarily on trails, logging roads, etc versus the typical on and off trail nature of an orienteering event.

This year, the entire course is a ~35km loop, but it has a few more options for route choices. Can you do the whole loop in 8 hours? Maybe, but maybe not...so plan accordingly. It's 100% fine and dandy to plan for a few controls and call it a day as there is no obligation to complete the course!

If you do bite off the entire loop, you'll have to do 2 bushwhacks that are in the 750m to 1000m range each. The route choice is totally up to you and you'll get your map as soon as you're checked-in on race day (hint hint: be there early to have more time to plan :)

Around the loop, there will be orange/white orienteering flags (AKA: controls) hanging at various intersections, off-trail and out of sight, so you'll have to wander 10-20 metres (or more) into the woods to find them. Each control has a unique 'hole punch' hanging from them, which you use to punch your provided 'punch card' (example: if you're at control/checkpoint #12, you punch box 12 on your card).

The control locations will be circled on your provided map, along with directions for their exact location from the intersections (example directions: 20m at 90 degrees from the intersection circled on the map).

On the map, the loop will be fairly obvious, but the loop is not marked with anything but the hidden orienteering controls.

Map and compass skills are very handy to have in your back pocket as a trail runner, so come on out and see what it's all about. GPS is allowed, but it's not in the spirit of the event to use it for navigation (unless it's an emergency of course).

Time limit: 4 hour and 8 hour events.

Scoring: Point values will applied based on difficulty/distance. For every minute a team is late, points will be deducted.

Mandatory gear: fully charged phone (teams must call if they are going to be late finishing), compass, matches/lighter, knife, small 1st aid kit, jacket, buff/toque, food and drink.

The start/finish location will be emailed out to everyone a few days before the event, but it won't be any more than 20 minutes away from last year's start/finish area (but could be a lot less too ;) It's not the location listed on this page, I can assure you of that :)

Please note: No refunds or deferrals, but you can sell your spot to someone if you can't make it.