RouteGadget

compassmap Ever wonder how your orienteering route compares to others? This is a natural question all orienteers will ask themselves after they finished their run. It is not uncommon to see orienteers gathered at the Finish line busily examining, discussing and comparing routes with other orienteers on the same course after their race. This is a great part of the social aspect of orienteering.

For those who really want insights on their performance after they get home from their race, RouteGadget is an awesome online tool. With RouteGadget you will be able to select your recent event, upload the timed results and routes of other orienteers on your course, and 'virtually' run the event again in order to compare your split times and route choices. This makes RouteGadget an awesome performance analysis as well as a training tool.

 

 

How it Works

RouteGadget consists of a large database of past events. Orienteering event organizers are able to load their course maps along with the split time results of the course participants. Once you locate your event on RouteGadget, you will be able to upload your actual track. This can be done in two ways. If you have a GPS watch, you may be able to upload your GPS track direct into RouteGadget. If you don't use a GPS watch, you also have the option to draw your route in RouteGadget using draw tools, a slightly more time consuming process.

Here is an example of what an event can look like:

Once routes have been entered, you can select any competitor on your course and run the race against them! Your race will be shown in animation format, allowing you to gain rich insight on what routes were chosen and who got to the control first. You will also be able to analyze any errors where you lost time. Overall, it can help you improve your orienteering.

 

Finding your Course

Most orienteering clubs and associations will have a designated area of the RouteGadget database where they can find their courses. RouteGadget is used internationally by 19 countries worldwide. That is alot of data about orienteering courses! It is best to follow the links provided by your club or association. Here are a couple of quick links:

Canadian RouteGadget Database

International RouteGadget Database

Once you are in the RouteGadget database, you will need to search further to discover the links to find your club list of courses. For further information , please check out this information provided by Orienteering Canada:

Route Gadget - Viewing Routes and Drawing a Route

 

Route Gadget in Action

It is best to see an example of RouteGadget in action. Here is a short video offers a walk-through explanation on how to compare routes on Route Gadget. This one has been presented by Orienteering Cincinatti:

 

Enjoy experimenting with RouteGadget!