1. CAN I/WE DO THIS?

While compass and map reading skills are useful, they are not required. If you like to explore, have enough strength and endurance to hike off-trail, then you are ready to participate.

2. HOW DOES IT WORK?

Checkpoints are circled on the topographic map you are given. Your goal is to find as many as you can within the time limit.  You can only use your map, compass, and a watch. When planning your route, remember that checkpoints have varying point values.

3. WHAT TO WEAR?

Something to cover your legs, particularly your shins.  Comfortable footwear with good traction.  A hat.  

4. WHAT TO CARRY:   

WHAT IS REQUIRED?   

  • Bottle or water bladder able to carry at least 0.5 liters of water per person.  
  • A whistle for signaling in case of emergency.
  • A compass
  • A watch (or other time-telling device)
  • A writing utensil (pencil works best) to mark the checkpoint intention sheets
  • A light (headlamp or flashlight, for night events only)

WHAT IS RECOMMENDED?  

  • Food
  • Additional water 
  • Cell Phone (for emergency use only, no GPS use allowed)
  • Clothing appropriate to the weather, accounting for the possibility of injury or exhaustion
  • First aid kit, including blister treatment
  • Extra batteries

5. HOW DO I PLAN MY ROUTE?

Checkpoints have varying point values (typically between 20 and 100 points). The Checkpoints also vary in navigational difficulty (near a road or remote, distinct or indistinct features) and physical difficulty (flat or steep, near or far). There is a time limit! (10 points lost for every minute, or fraction of a minute, that you’re late). It's good to know your own personal strengths and weaknesses (runner vs. navigator), and your running or hiking pace. Navigating and travelling off-trail is considerably slower than walking on city streets or even hiking on a groomed trail. If you plan to hike, 2 mph is a good place to start. Runners and experienced navigators might estimate 4 mph. It’s good to estimate the distance you’ll travel.  Once you know your pace, multiply that by the number of hours you are competing. For example, in a 4-hour race, a 2-mph hiker might travel about 8 miles.

6. How does the Series Scoring Work?

Scoring for the NAV-X Series Championship is intended to provide the following:

  • Simple enough to understand and manage effectively
  • Sophisticated enough to be as “fair as possible”
  • Require no more than 3 events to qualify

We do this by allocating points for each event based on percentage of the winner's score achieved. This will largely account for differences in the challenge of the course, terrain, weather, etc. of the different events. It will also allow course setters to vary the number of points on the course according to what they think is appropriate.  Here’s how it works:

People receive scores for the series according to the percentage of the winner's total that they achieve, multiplied by the number of hours in the race. For example, if I achieve 86% of the winner's score at the Briones 2 hour race, I receive 2*86=172 points for the series.   

To qualify for the series championship, people will have to race for a total of 7 hours (short division) or 14 hours (long division). Their top 7/14 hours of score will be their season total score. If people go over 7 hours of racing, the lower scoring hours are replaced with higher scoring hours (partial replacement is allowed). 700 and 1400 are the best possible scores.

The longer course at each venue cannot count towards the short division, and vice versa. So, for example, people can't qualify for the short season series by doing two long courses. Also, if someone does the 24h Sierra rogaine, they only get 8 hours credit for that in the long division. (4 and 8 hours divisions still count for 4 and 8 though.) In this way, people have to do no more than 3 races to qualify for the season series.

Team members receive their score individually, in case someone wants to team up for certain races (or has to, in the case of the Sierra rogaine) and not others.

Example - short division
Gina and George are on a team, and they had the following results together:
Briones 2 hr - 1,050 points (winner had 1,500)
Big Basin 2 hr - 1,200 points (winner had 1,400)
Pacheco 3 hr - 1,450 points (winner had 2,050)
Deer Creek Hills 2 hr - 1,100 points (winner had 1,450)

Their event scores for the series are:
Briones 2 hr: 70 points per hr = 140 points (1,050 / 1,500 * 100 *2)
Big Basin 2 hr: 86 points per hr = 172 points
Pacheco 3 hr: 71 points per hr = 213 points
Deer Creek Hills 2 hr - 76 points per hr = 152 points

Their series scores (counting their top 7 best scoring hours):
Big Basin (2 x 86) + Deer Creek Hills (2 x 76) + Pacheco (3 x 71) = 537 (out of 700 max)

Now let’s say Gina goes to the High Sierra event and does the 4 hr solo, and grabs 78 points per hr for that one.  That will allow her to replace her 3 Pacheco hours and one of the Deer Creek Hills hours to get an even higher score:
Big Basin (2 x 86) + High Sierra (4 x 78) + Deer Creek Hills (1 x 76) = 560 (out of 700 max)

If the course is cleared under the alotted time:

If the highest score was achieved by someone clearing the course, they will get bonus points for the extra time they "left" on the course.  So, if Jen clears all 1900pts on the course in 3:45, we calculate her average ppm as 1900/225 = 8.44, then add in how many more points she 'could have gotten' in her remaining time multiplied by 80%, 8.44*15*0.8 = 101.33.  So, the top score on the course would then be 2001.   Anyone else who clears the course under time will get these bonus points calculate by the time they finished the course in.