Race Format and Scoring

In short: find as many orienteering markers as you can, finish before the 12-hour cutoff to be an official finisher, and the team with the most points wins, with finish time breaking ties.

The Pocket Gopher Chill follows the ARWS (Adventure Racing World Series) format, which uses an expected winning time and a course cutoff time.

How it works

  • The course is designed so the winning team or teams finish in about 8 hours.
  • The course stays open for a total of 12 hours. This is the final cutoff time.
  • Each orienteering marker is worth one point.
  • Teams are ranked by total points. If two or more teams finish with the same number of points, the team with the faster finish time is ranked higher.
  • Teams that finish within the 12-hour cutoff are official finishers.
  • Teams that finish after the 12-hour cutoff are listed as Unranked (UR). They keep the points they earned but are not ranked among the official finishers.
  • There is no per-minute time penalty before the 12-hour cutoff.

Clearing the course
The course is designed so that teams of every skill level, from beginners to experienced racers, can find 100% of the orienteering markers. Skipping markers is not against the rules, but we don’t want teams to do it. Take your time, and use the full 12 hours if you need it.

Example (50 possible points)

Place Team Points Finish Time Result
1st Team B 50 11 hr 59 min Official finisher
2nd Team D 49 9 hr 30 min Official finisher
3rd Team E 49 10 hr 15 min Official finisher
4th Team A 48 7 hr 59 min Official finisher
n/a Team C 49 12 hr 02 min Unranked (UR) (missed the 12-hour cutoff)
  • Team B finishes first because it cleared the course and made the cutoff, even though it took longer than Team A.
  • Teams D and E both earned 49 points. Team D finished faster, so it places ahead.
  • Team A finished the fastest but earned fewer points than the teams above it.
  • Team C earned more points than Team A but crossed the line after the cutoff, so it is listed as an Unranked (UR).

Note for USARA racers: The USARA format is different. In an 8-hour USARA race, teams find as many markers as they can and lose one point for every 3 minutes they are late past the 8-hour mark, so skipping markers is a normal strategy. That does not apply at the Chill.