Competitors views of the Rodings Rally...
A Thurrocks Nomad's view of the Rodings Rally
On Monday at work, someone asked "What did you do Saturday evening?". They were expecting an answer like, "I went to the Theatre" or "I went out for a nice meal". What they were not expecting was "From 9:30pm until 5:30am I was in Epping Forest in the damp and dark, trudging along the rides, squelching through mud and pushing my way through holly and brambles looking for people hiding in tiny tents concealed in the undergrowth..."
It was of course the Annual Rodings Rally. I have been taking part in this for over 20 years and I will try to explain why I keep coming back every year.
The challenging nature of the Rodings is a big attraction It would be relatively easy to find a mapped location on the ground if one had a firm starting point from which to measure and set a compass bearing, and then, clear open ground to cross. Nothing in the Rodings is like that. The possible start points for bearing off into the forest usually have no distinguishing features and have to be determined by distance from some remote landmark. These landmarks are often indistinct, crossing tracks are hidden by fallen leaves, streams may be dry and other unmapped paths and streams can confuse. There is little open ground and the way forward is usually blocked by fallen trees and thick undergrowth, often prickly holly or bramble. Trying to keep to a bearing and to estimate distance covered while forcing through this is difficult. Advantage should be taken of any additional clues such as gradient or other features. After finishing, when we look back, we can usually identify our mistakes and so there is always the tantalising feeling that next year, with a bit more concentration, our navigation will be more accurate and we will stumble straight onto every checkpoint at the first attempt.
We are a running/jogging club. The Rodings is the only orienteering event we attempt therefore we do not have the skills of 'real' orienteers. To judge distance travelled we have to count our steps, which requires such concentration that much ground is covered in serious silence. We live only one hours drive away from the Forest but somehow never return during the year to learn the 'lie of the land' so we can genuinely say we are not helped by local knowledge. So how did we get on in 2012?...
We solved all the clues pretty quickly and off we went. No.1 was common between both sets of competitors. With our late start but fast walking and others searching there for a long time, it was as crowded as a cocktail party, I said to Derek as we queued up to get our card signed, " I hope it's not all going to be like this". It wasn't. It rapidly thinned out from there. We knew the clue to No.2 referred to Lodge Road. However, one grid reference was 180m to the East of Lodge Road, but another was only 100m from the very end of Lodge Road. So being a pedant I chose the latter, but after getting there and a quick scout around it was obviously not there. We were in good time so we went to the other location and fairly easily found it so didn't lose too much time.
There were few people around for No.3 in Epping Thicks, but good luck meant we found it quickly, as we did Nos.4 and 5. So we were on a roll and we could see a 10/10 approaching.
No.6 was just before the Tea stand but we had tea first then tracked back to find it. Somehow I got my North and South mixed up and we turned left off the path instead of right... I realised straight away and corrected it but No.6 proved very elusive. We went out and in again, still no luck, then tried a completely different strategy which resulted in success but we had wasted one precious hour. Nos.7 and 8 were a long way away with no direct route. Nevertheless we criss-crossed our way there successfully, even correctly negotiating my personal Nemesis, the junctions with triangles upon triangles. Nos.7 and 8 were bagged but time was speeding up and slipping away. Off we went for 9 which, although generally on the way back, again lacked an easy route. We had decided on a strategy, up this open wide avenue for a paced distance, then off into the thick forest on a bearing. It all fell apart when we found the entire boundary an impenetrable 7 foot high bramble hedge. We revised our strategy, up to the end, then in on a long bearing. We would have just enough time for a single attempt. Thick forest, uneven ground and tiredness caused poor judgement and we failed to find it. We also got split up while trying to search a wide area. We made our separate ways back out, regrouped and to our horror noticed we had less than 20 minutes left and more than a mile to get back. A cardiac arresting route-march got us back with a few minutes to spare. Nothing could have been more welcome than the cup of tea at the end. So 9 out of 10 again. Not bad, but if we had used all the available information at No.9 we could have nabbed it for a clean sheet. So better luck next year, we will be back.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the organisers and all the helpers especially those who spend a long cold night in the tents- you are all very much appreciated by us competitors.
Peter Woodard, Thurrock Nomads
A selection of comments from other competitors in the 2012 Rodings Rally...
Many thanks Susan for a FANTASTIC experience!!! We all had a ball!!! Kids & adults – found 3 out of the 5 stations so not bad for 1st time out!!! No sense of humour failures either!
Determined to have MORE teams next year & get all 5!
Huge thanks as well for enabling us to go early and for organising it! What a feat!
All best wishes
Shenagh x
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Hello Sue
Hope you are well. I am hoping to say thank you very much and many congratulation for a most successful and enjoyable event. We had such a great time and will definitely come back next year. Thank you for the great organisation!
Another thing.... We are just very eager to find out how we did in the night - would you be able to kindly let us know our ranking, if already known? We are team No.65, "Brave Lions"...
Thanks a lot!
Cheers
Ning
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Could you please pass on my thanks and praise to the organisers of the Roding Rally last weekend. This was our first time attending this event, and was pleasantly surprised at the scale/organisation of the event. My team of Explorer Scouts enjoyed the event as well.
My offer of help was not required.
Could you please tell me when the final results will be available, as I’m sure to be asked my Explorers.
I will be promoting next year’s event to the rest of my scout district.
Kevin Bruton
ESL Red Squirrels ESU
DESC Royal Forest
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Hi Susan,
The rally was really great and I really enjoyed it!
I was wondering if I could still hit some more of the Epping forests maps? Of I could have 3 spare ones I could send a heir for them. Of course I would also pay for the postage.
Thank you,
Kat
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Hi Susan,
Thanks so much for helping to organise such a fantastic event last - it was my first time attending the event and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I will definitely be returning next year! When we completed the event last night, one of your fellow organisers asked if any of us would write a review of the event. I have done one for you, if that's OK, and my team mate Mike Fleming passed on your email address so that I could send it to you.
I hope it's OK for you and thanks again for a great night!
Best wishes,
Katie Garner
(Note from Sue: Katie’s review is pasted, below...)
A fantastically unique, mud-splattered way to spend a Saturday night
First off, I must say what a brilliant, well organised event the Roding Rally is. I’ve always loved the great outdoors, and although I have done some small forest hiking in the past, I have never had the opportunity to take part in such a large scale competition such as this. Working out the grid references from the cryptic clues gave the initial orienteering aspect a new twist, which was great fun. The checkpoints were at varied locations across the forest, making it perfectly challenging without being over complicated and frustrating! Finding interesting routes from each checkpoint was entertaining and there was a good mix of trekking across muddy, holly-strewn undergrowth, gravelly footpaths, grassy clearings and country roads.
The checkpoints themselves were near impossible to find, the small dark green tents well and truly hidden among branches. Most of the checkpoints were unlit and the exhilaration of racing against the other teams to be among the first to locate the tent really encouraged a friendly rivalry, with competitors shouting out of breath greetings to each other. Amidst a sea of bobbing torch lights you never really felt alone; although the forest was completely pitch black.
The whole event was well planned from start to finish, with the organisers being extremely kind and welcoming, even to us newcomers! I would definitely take part again next year as I thoroughly enjoyed the variety. The distances between the checkpoints were ideal, providing a decent interval for you to work out your routes yet it didn’t take too long to navigate. Perfectly planned, fantastic fun and a real team event. Also, I think it is a brilliant idea to do the event overnight as it adds a whole new dimension to orienteering making it twice as fun – and definitely twice as entertaining!
Katie Garner, The Badminton Brigade
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Comments from Roding’s Rally Facebook page...
Just finished, had a brilliant time, did way better than last year. Thanks very much for putting on a fantastic event. Epping Forest Field Centre will hopefully be back for more next year.
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Lovely evening. Spent an hour visiting all three sites on the last clue. If it wasn't for that we might have been in front of Suffoc. Oh well. There's always next year!
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Terrific event, as usual when has it ever not been!) Still haven't worked out the letters clue to No 5, got it more by luck and guesswork and taking a chance. Many thanks to ALL involved in putting it on every year.
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