Navigation plays a crucial part in Adventure Racing but doing it consistently well can be very difficult. Over the last 25 years I have navigated in a huge variety of different sorts of races and places and I still make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from each one and never make the same sort of mistake again.

Basics

There are four basic skills you need to practice:

1. Map reading. An understanding of the scale of the map and how the symbols on the map relate to those on the ground is crucial. When I have raced abroad I always try and find out which sort of map is being used and the day before the race go for a run with it and work out what is mapped and how it is shown on the map.
   
   
2. Compass skills. The 2 main techniques are the compass bearing and orientating the map. The compass bearing is the standard technique used in all navigation books. It involves turning the housing on the compass so that the arrows on the housing match up with the magnetic north lines and the direction arrow on the compass then points in the direction of travel.
   
   To orient the map you turn both the map and the compass so that magnetic north on the map is lined up with the north on the compass. This means what is in front of you on the map is now in front of you on the ground. I generally use the compass to orientate the map (which is the technique used with thumb compasses) but I occasionally take compass bearings, it is a matter of personal preference.
   
   The difference between grid north on the map and magnetic north (magnetic declination) is presently only about 3 degrees in Britain and I’m happy to use grid north without any correction. However, if you are racing abroad you will need to consider the magnetic declination (just ask Jim and Nicola Davies about the problems they had on the southern Traverse last year) and also remember different compasses are required in different regions of the world.
   
   
3. Distance estimation. There are two techniques used here. Firstly is pace counting. For a variety of terrain you work out how many paces it takes to cover say 1000m. Then it is simply a matter of working out the distance on the map, working out how many paces it should be and counting out that number of paces.
   
   The second technique is timing, for which a watch that takes splits is very useful. It is similar as for a variety of terrain you work out how many minutes it takes to cover say 1000m. Then it’s simply a matter of working out the distance on the map, and calculating out long it should take. Personally I would say that pace counting is the more accurate of the two but counting all those paces is very off putting and I only use it rarely.putting and I only use it rarely.
   
   
4. Altimeters and GPS. Altimeters are great in hilly terrain, but just make sure that they are calibrated at known spot heights during the race. If a low pressure systems comes in, as on day 2 of last years KIMM, the reading can become very inaccurate in a very short space of time. GPS are a great tool if they are allowed by the race organisers. However, make sure you use the correct datum and co-ordinate system.