SHR navigation course
Scottish Hill Runners are putting another of their excellent navigation courses on at the beginning of April, following on from the the success of previous courses and “in an effort to help more runners run safely in the hills”…
The course will take place on the Pentlands on the weekend of the 6th/7th April and will be based at the Midlothian Snowsports Centre, Hillend, Edinburgh.
Full course details
Introduction
An outside and classroom based course over a weekend, aimed at developing hill runners’ navigational skills with regard to races and general trips to the hills when the cloud is down and the wind is up, as well as mountain safety. The course is intended both for runners who have limited experience of hill running and for experienced hill runners who wish to brush up their skills.
Elements that will be covered include:
- Map interpretation (particular emphasis on contours and judging distance)
- Compass work
- Tricks to successful navigation
- Relocation (finding your position if lost)
- Pre-race navigation planning
- Safety on the hills
- Nutrition for longer days out
- What should be in everyone’s bumbag
Course instructor
The principal instructor will be Steven Fallon (Carnethy HRC). Steven is a full-time mountain guide with over 25 years experience exploring the Scottish mountains and has ‘compleated’ the Munros 15 times. Qualified as a Mountain Leader (Summer and Winter), he is a familiar face on the hill-running scene. Steven has won various races and recent mountain marathon categories, including the LAMM ‘A’ and ‘Score’ classes with Jon Ascroft.
Provisional programme
The course will start at 0900 on Saturday and finish at approximately 1700 on Sunday.
- Saturday 0900-1300: Classroom – map interpretation, compass work. Pre-race navigation planning, safety on the hills, nutrition. 1300-1700: Applying morning classroom skills outside.
- Sunday 0900-1300: Classroom – tricks to successful navigation, relocation, balancing map and compass use against speed over the ground. Plotting the route for the afternoon session. 1300-1700: Hill based – putting it all together, longer leg navigation, race practice.
Location
We will be based at Midlothian Snowsports Centre, Hillend, just south of Edinburgh. Our practical time will take place on the Pentland Hills directly behind the centre.
Cost
The cost of the course will be £35 for SHR members (£60 non members*) and excludes accommodation. For those not able to travel each day to the course, help in finding accommodation locally can be provided.
For those who book but are not able to attend, a full or partial refund may be available depending on whether someone else is able to take their place.
Items for participants to bring
- Compass which ideally has a 1:40,000 scale on the baseplate and with degrees and not mils on the housing (the Silva Expedition 4 is highly recommended – see http://www.stevenfallon.co.uk/navigation-skills.html for a link to the Amazon page to purchase one)
- Pen/paper for note taking
- Lunch (also available from the Cafe 360 at the ski centre)
- Hill running kit (to be able to run but also to stand about and chat i.e. fleece and tights, waterproofs, hat, gloves, extra food).
We will supply
- Maps of the areas we intend to navigate on
- Marker pens
SHR membership currently costs £8 a year, so non-members who join before the course will clearly make a saving. Information on how to join is here
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