On Sunday, 22 September at 10:00 AM, we will hold our annual 90-minute “Fox Chase Score-O” at Carolina North Forest in Chapel Hill. The event is open only to advanced orienteers (i.e. those who have completed an orange, brown, green, or red course). We will meet at 9:45 in the parking lot of Seawell Elementary School (GPS location = 35.940097, -79.078804) and then walk en masse to the start. After reading the description of this event, click below before Friday, Sept 20 at 5:00 PM to register.

A “Score-O” involves a course with no predetermined route, in which competitors decide which controls they want to visit, and in which order. Controls that require more effort to punch will earn you more points. The “Fox Chase” version of a Score-O has two additional features that make it especially fun and interesting. First, a punched control will score points only if it is followed by another punch (within the time limit) of a common control, #30. For example, a successful series of punches might look like: 56, 30, 72, 30, 63, 30, 58, 30, etc. The sequence: 56, 30, 72, 30, 63, 58, 30 would not score the points associated with control #63 because it was not followed by #30. It would score points for 56, 72, and 58, though.

Second, at the start of the race, the event director will walk at an even, brisk pace around a loop on the west side of the park. He will be carrying control #30 as well as the finish punch. Thus, you must plan your returns to control #30 to a constantly moving position. The route walked by the director will be marked on the map. The loop will take approximately 45 minutes for the director to walk, so the event will be over when the second loop is completed. (You can of course stop sooner and your accumulated score will still count.)

This year, we are trying out a new optional version of this course – one that may be better suited to slower runners. In this version, called ‘pairs’, you will be allowed to punch two controls before coming back to punch #30. For example, a sequence of punches like 56, 72, 30, 41, 48, 30, etc. would be valid. Runners on the pairs course will still have 90 minutes on their course; however, to make their scores more comparable to those of the other runners, their total point accumulation will be divided by two.

It is important that you are at the park and ready to run for the pre-race briefing and walk to the start at 9:45 AM. If you arrive late, the event director will be out on the course and you will not be able to participate. Note that bathroom facilities will not be available at the start.

Filed under: Latest News, Next Events by David Waller