Race news: A new legend is born as an epic orienteering adventure comes to Sherwood Pines Forest, Nottingham - November 1, 2014
Orienteering is set to take an exciting new direction as the official trailer for Red Bull Robin Hood is unveiled – featuring world-class orienteer Scott Fraser.
Red Bull Robin Hood is a brand new orienteering race concept that will take place in Sherwood Pines Forest on 1st November 2014. It will run as a traditional 75 minute orienteering score event with 30 controls, but will be taken to a whole new level with six physical and skill-based challenges included to test both body and mind.
The tough, adventure-style race will require a combination of speed, stamina and navigational skill, and the additional challenges will include a tower rope climb and archery, in a nod to Robin Hood’s trademark ability.
Red Bull Robin Hood is a perfect event for runners, joggers and other endurance athletes, and comes at a time it has been revealed that one in three Brits are unable to read a map.
Orienteering is already popular across parts of Europe among 16-30 year olds, particularly in Scandinavia where it was born, but has yet to make the big breakthrough in the UK. Red Bull Robin Hood hopes to help increase participation in a sport that has existed for over a century.
A number of well-known Great British orienteers have already signed up to compete in this year’s launch event, including reigning Jan Kjellström International Festival of Orienteering champion, Hector Haines.
Hector said: “Combining orienteering with adventure racing and other challenges should be very synergistic. I think that Red Bull Robin Hood is an exciting concept and will definitely appeal to a wider audience than orienteering currently does.”
The event is open to both men and women, with prizes given to the top three competitors in the men and women’s categories.
Competitors will secure one point for visiting each control point. They will also gain one point for visiting each challenge checkpoint, and a further point upon completion of the challenge. There will be a total of 42 points available to athletes.
Paying homage to the values that made Robin Hood and his merry men so famous, all registration fees will be donated straight to the Wings For Life charity. Wings For Life is a charity that was set up by Red Bull to help find a cure for spinal cord injuries.
