The Drop

[anthonykay]

I've just seen on SIentries a series of races called "The Drop", at various venues around Britain. They blindfold you and put you on a coach to a location 10 miles or 15 miles (you choose) from the Race HQ, where they take the blindfold off and leave you to find your way back. No map, phone or any other navigational aid allowed. You have a sealed emergency bag (which includes a GPS tracker, so you can be rescued); if unsealed, you are disqualified. A lot of the venues are large cities, but there's one at Hebden Bridge, which might be fun, especially if the drop-off location means that the fastest route back is across the moors. I have some knowledge of the area, and as a map-nerd I would enjoy spending hours on the 1:25000 South Pennines OS map, trying to memorise every road, path and track in a 10-mile radius of Hebden Bridge. Anyway, it's on my list of possible races.

[noel]

That sounds fun. I'm wondering what strategy you'd take. Knowing prominent landmarks would help, but it'd be tricky if it were claggy.

If you knew several radial routes into the race HQ, you'd be likely to find one eventually. The fastest way would probably be to find large straight roads.

[Travs]

Reminds me of the Mercia Hill Trial a few years ago.

Turned up expecting a pleasant few hours on the slopes above Stretton... found ourselves bundled into a coach and driven out into the mist....

Fortunately we only went as far as Cardington.... although didn't stop me spending some time at least one grid sqaure off the map after I followed a descent down the wrong fence line

[Marco]

No map, phone or any other navigational aid allowed.

A lot of the venues are large cities, but there's one at Hebden Bridge, which might be fun, especially if the drop-off location means that the fastest route back is across the moors. I have some knowledge of the area, and as a map-nerd I would enjoy spending hours on the 1:25000 South Pennines OS map, trying to memorise every road, path and track in a 10-mile radius of Hebden Bridge. Anyway, it's on my list of possible races.

At the risk of being called sensible for once, isn't this asking for trouble? As in people getting lost on the moors?

And what happens if you're memory isn't as good as you thought it was?

[anthonykay]

At the risk of being called sensible for once, isn't this asking for trouble? As in people getting lost on the moors?

And what happens if you're memory isn't as good as you thought it was?

In principle, the tracker in the emergency bag is the safety measure if people get lost on the moors. But I wonder if anyone will actually be monitoring them carefully enough to notice if someone is stationary for half an hour on a remote and boggy area of moorland.

Again in principle, if you have no idea where you are except that it is 10 miles from Hebden Bridge, you just go uphill until you can see Stoodley Pike, and navigate from that. Obviously this won't work if it's claggy. In fact, one of the main reasons that I am hesitant about entering this event is that it seems quite likely that I could end up doing a lot of road running just so that I always know where I am and where I'm going.

[Llani Boy]

You haven't mentioned the entry fee Anthony. Coach hire can be very expensive!

[noel]

Yes, I was wondering about that. £35 doesn't sound unreasonable - there are trail races that are more expensive without organising bus transport. Clearly the organisers are trying to make money, but I'm OK with that.

I see there are 22 of them planned during this and next year. If I were fit, I might give this a go.