Sleepy Hollow 12 Hour Rogaine

Tonight at midnight Mike Keller will be participating in the Sleepy Hollow 12 hour Rogaine orienteering event in Chillicothe, Ohio (Scioto Trail State Park). Following this event Mike will be posting a detailed report on his blog.

If you're not familiar with rogaining, it is a sport of long distance cross-country navigation, in which teams of two to five people visit as many checkpoints as they wish in a set time period. The traditional Rogaine is 24 hours in duration, however, there are also shorter events of 6,8 and 12 hours. Most rogainers are on foot and held in attractive bush and farmland locations, however, some events are held in metropolitan areas (Metrogaines), or on bikes (Cyclegaines).

The parts of the course you visit are entirely up to you and your team members. There are no set routes and you don’t have to spend the whole time on the course. You can return to the ‘hash house’ at any time for hot food and rest around the campfire, or sleep, before heading out again. Some competitive teams may cover 50km in a 12 hour event and even more in an event of 24 hours duration. However, the distance you travel is entirely up to you. The satisfaction comes in finding your way around the course according to the route you have chosen and navigating back to the finish within the time limit. For more information, check out the US Orienteering Federation website.