Get lost! or How to be a 
 headless chicken 

At some time or another we all make mistakes in navigation. Whatever the cause the end result is the same, time is lost. This article aims to provoke thinking about what causes each of us to make navigational errors. Some solutions will be outlined which may help you to avoid making the same errors over and over again.

After an orienteering event it is useful to sit down and review how the run went. How does this one compare with other recent runs? Do your errors tend to occur in similar circumstances? Does a pattern emerge? Think about the last few times you needed to relocate and answer the following questions:-

1. How quickly did you identify that something was wrong? Did you lose seconds, one or two minutes or tens of minutes? The more quickly you are aware something isn't right the quicker you will be able to rectify the problem: ideas on how to minimise this time loss follow:-

   1. Keep in contact with where you are by using the technique of "thumbing the map".

   2. Plan how you will tackle each leg. Never leave the start or a control site without knowing which direction you should head in, how far you will have to go and with a reasonable idea of what you should pass en route.

   3. Practise visualizing the landscape and features which you will see on the way. This way if the terrain doesn't match with what you expect to see you can double check your map to ensure that you are still heading in the right direction.
      
      
      

2. When you realized something was wrong what did you do?
   
   There are many responses to discovering that you are not where you want to be. They include:-
   
   

   1. Retracing your steps to the last known point.
      This is a reasonable course to follow providing you do not have to retrace your steps a long way across country. Not only will this be time consuming but you risk becoming even more lost.

   2. Running around in ever decreasing circles without any idea of how to resolve the problem.
      You might get lucky and find a distinctive feature or even the control, but beware as it is very easy to make the map "fit" where you are. This can be an expensive mistake to make in terms of time wasted.

   3. Asking a fellow competitor where you are.
      The purists would be horrified at this one! In any case this is a risky strategy as you are relying on getting accurate information from another person when there is no guarantee that they know where they are.

   4. Stop and study the map.
      This can be an effective strategy providing you don't forget to get moving again. You also need to be clear what you are looking for when studying the map. Quickly review what your planned route was. How does what is shown on the map compare with what you saw on the ground? Are there any similar features close by which you could have mistaken for the right ones?
      
      If you are confident that you know which block of the map you are in check to see if there are any features which you could use as a collecting feature.
      
      
      

3. Did your actions help you relocate quickly?
   If the answer is "no" then you need to review your strategy.
   
   

4. Think about other times when you couldn't find the control: were the circumstances similar?

   1. Do the problems occur at the same stage in the course?
      
      Navigational errors that occur on the first control frequently are caused by the competitor running faster than their ability to navigate. There can be a tremendous pressure to run away from the start quickly. Perhaps the following scenario sounds familiar. You are in the start box at an event. The whistle goes. You sort your map out. Everyone else seems to know exactly where they are going and you can feel the eyes of all the other orienteers who are waiting to start scrutinising what you do. To cap it all, your arch rival is waiting to start two minutes behind you. Somehow you find yourself zipping away from the start with no clear idea of where you are going or what to expect on the way.
      
      If you find yourself reacting in this way at the start read on.

You need to concentrate on the task in hand. Forget about everyone else and think about what you have to do. Some orienteers find having a pre-race routine helpful as it aids focussing the mind on the task ahead. Your routine could include simple things like what you eat for breakfast, or whether you dress in your running gear to go to the event or change there. Stretches and a warm up routine not only prepare the body for physical activity they can help prepare you mentally. Some competitors make a choice to keep chit chat to a minimum in the few minutes before starting an orienteering run.

Make sure that you leave for the event in good time. There is nothing worse than having to rushing from the car park to the start - this is guaranteed to set you up for a poor run.

If it is a big event don't check out which of your rivals are starting just before you or just after you. This knowledge will only distract you and you will expend too much energy worrying about your rivals' progress rather than your own. You should aim to focus all your attention on what you are doing.

It is better to start more slowly and give yourself time to adjust to the map. A few minutes of time taken at the beginning of an event will pay of very quickly when compared with the loss of confidence which can be caused by an inability to find the first control.

If your errors occur in the middle to late stages of an orienteering course you have to consider whether tiredness played a part. Are you as fit as your course demands?

b. Perhaps it is one particular navigational situation which causes you problems. For instance many Orienteers find controls that have an approach which requires traversing across a slope to be potentially problematic. Or maybe it is the control in a pit or similar "negative" feature. If it is your navigational skills which let you down practice is the answer.

c. Loss of concentration is also a common occurrence. It may take the shape of a bit of "rough" or "fluff" depending on your preferences, a long lost club mate or an orienteer in distress. Perhaps you find the control site that you pass along the way which is close to where your control should be just irresistible - we have all got sucked into this one at some time or another when we just have to check its number so as to be sure it's not ours!

d. Do you habitually make that most destructive of mistakes, the 180 degree error, where everything seems fine as you run on a bearing and every step you take is in exactly the wrong direction? If you do when does it occur - for some it is always at the start (not yet concentrating) while for others it is towards the end (too tired). Also how long does it take you to realise this mistake? Do you need to build into your traffic light orienteering an opportunity to check early in the leg, that you are going in the correct general direction. Also, if the sun is shining there is then a simple general indication of which way is south.