Author Archives: bldanandkaren

Report from Dan and Karen Parker, Planners and Organisers The 6th annual BL Long-O (and not so Long-O) took place last Sunday (16th August). There was a record turnout of 130 competitors which surprised us as we’d thought that a lot of people would be away on holiday. As usual there were 5 courses fromContinue reading “BL Long-O (and not so Long-O)”

Last week (2nd to 7th August) saw the return of the quadrennial Lakes 5 Day event organised by NWOA. As usual, Border Liners were responsible for the Day 1 event, held this year at Askham Common.  It was a great start to the week with warm sunny weather, excellent courses and slick organisation. Paul, theContinue reading “Lakes 5 Day 2026”

Thanks to Isabel for this report For a long time, Jeff and I have been talking about making what feels like every orienteer’s life pilgrimage… a trip to Sweden’s annual O-Ringen orienteering competition.  This year, we finally did it and what an incredible experience it was! O-Ringen is the world’s largest orienteering event – I’dContinue reading “O-Ringen 2026: Gothenburg, Sweden”

Question: What started in southeast Europe nearly 25 years ago and has now spread north and west reaching Ireland for the first time this year?No, not some nasty tick-borne disease, but instead a very nice orienteering event, the OO Cup. It’s a 5 day event held annually. Until 2015 it was always held in SloveniaContinue reading “Outdoor Sanity?”

From organisers and planners Dan and Karen After the cancellation of last two Border Liners events (blame curlews and roadworks) there is more reason than ever to come to the annual Long-O on Sunday 16th August. The first thing to say is don’t be put off by the name “Long-O”. Yes, there are very longContinue reading “BL Long-O (and not so Long-O) – a Preview”

The Saunders Mountain Marathon (SLMM) took place on 4th/5th July based in St John’s in the Vale, with courses covering the fells around Helvellyn and The Dodds. Despite heatwaves the week before and after, the weekend itself was cool and drizzly with the tops clag-covered most of the time. The event is always popular withContinue reading “Saunders Mountain Marathon”

by Paul Watson This informal annual cycle ride starting at Bitts Park and arriving at Cramond Beach, Edinburgh, in time to view the sunrise takes place every year on the closest Saturday / Sunday to the longest day. With a couple of tweaks to the direct route it’s 100 miles exactly on mainly quiet bikeContinue reading “Ride to the Sun  “

The British Sprint Champs took place last weekend in Bristol. The relay was held on Saturday, followed by the Individual Races on Sunday. Both were at university campuses Three BL members attended, just the right number for a relay team. With Christine on first leg, Jane on second and Keith on third, the team finishedContinue reading “British Sprint Champs – 27th/28th June”

BL chairman Dan is also the chairman of the British Orienteering Map Advisory Group (MAG). With not much event news at the moment, it seemed a good opportunity to find out a more about this group, and his role. Can you give us a quick outline of what the MAG does? The official brief ofContinue reading “Stacking Chairs”

Two new maps, two historic seaside towns, two different countries: the ingredients for a great weekend of urban orienteering.On Saturday (6th June) the venue was Berwick on Tweed, the northernmost town in England, famous for its bastioned town walls built to keep out marauding Scots (which clearly don’t work as more than 50 of themContinue reading “Border Hopping Border Liners”