Monday 31 August 2026
Our adventure race from Mytholmroyd in West Yorkshire on Saturday 22 August was a particularly special event for me as it was the first one I was able to take part in with my daughter! I had taken part in a number of Questars races around a decade ago when my participation took a little hiatus when I was pregnant with Olivia so it was rather fitting that my next Questars event would be whilst taking part with her!
Olivia has always wanted to take part in our events and I was inspired by the likes of Simon, Helen and Alistair and Maria all racing with their children at our two-day event in June this year. We had always said she could try one when she was 8-years-old, and when she turned 8 in July, she hadn’t forgotten!
Although we have done a few local orienteering events (1-2 hours at most), this was the longest event we have done together and it was a learning experience for both of us! I have put together some of my tips below for anyone else considering taking part in one of our events with their young children:
1. Make FUN the objective
We didn’t worry about points, rankings or what everyone else was doing. My goal was to finish with Olivia wanting to do another one (which she does!).
2. Talk to the course planner beforehand
We sat down before the event to go through route options to plan a route suitable for Olivia’s abilities. I hadn’t been involved in any of the course planning for this one so it was really useful to talk through and get a better feel for the area, what was possible and where to aim for.
3. Slow the pace down
We walked the hills and took regular breaks – including a nice, long lunch break at bike transition. This worked really well and kept Olivia going for the duration of the event. One of the hardest things early on was probably slowing Olivia down as she wanted to sprint everywhere!
4. Don’t worry about getting lots of checkpoints
A handful of checkpoints can be a fantastic day’s racing – we aimed to get a couple on the bike, a couple on the kayak and then whatever we could on the run/trek, with an emphasis on getting more checkpoints in a concentrated area.
5. Make sure they are fuelled for the day
Olivia can go from “I’m fine!” to “I can’t do this anymore!” remarkably quickly – especially when hungry! So we made sure to carry plenty of snacks and made eating/drinking part of the routine rather than waiting for her to ask. We even had a nice spot of blackberry picking on our way up to Midgely Moor – all part of the adventure.
6. Give them a job
Olivia carried the checkpoint descriptions on all the disciplines and loved calling out what we were looking for and the points for the next checkpoints. This helped to keep her engaged for the duration of the event. She also learnt how to carry it while kayaking and trekking – especially difficult when she also wanted to start carrying a stick with her for a good part of the climb up to Midgely Moor.
7. Have a Plan B (and C, D, E and F!)
Before starting, decide roughly what you want to do but have several escape routes. We had a few different options for the run (our last discipline) depending on how we were feeling at the time (and how much time we had left). Remember, the day is yours and it’s about getting out there and finding your adventure, whatever that might look like!
8. Celebrate the finish
Finishing an event is a brilliant achievement and Olivia has been proudly showing off her finishers’ magnet to anyone showing the remotest bit of interest!
In terms of how our race went, it wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination – except maybe our timing at 4:59.07, which was by complete chance! The excitement of starting meant we got lost going to the first checkpoint but we ended the day having picked up a couple of bike checkpoints, a couple of kayak checkpoints and we even made it up onto Midgley Moor to visit the trig point on the run. We finished with Olivia having had a brilliant day and, most importantly, wanting to do it all over again. What she said out on course summed it up quite nicely “Adventure racing is hard work…but definitely worth it!”.
Sadly for her, I think she will be back on dibber allocation next time and will have to wait until one of our winter events to add to her magnet collection – and much, much longer until we can join the likes of Graeme and Aiden and Robert and Charlotte as parent-children Hall of Famers!
If you are thinking about doing one of our events with your children, I would recommend reaching out to discuss with us first – as our events move around, some are more child-friendly than others. We can talk you through the day and ensure that it will be something that works for you.
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