Now that you have your direction down, you need to know how far to walk.  

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Unfortunately, you cannot take a measuring tape or laser measure in the field.  But you can go into the field able to make a good estimate of how far to walk by knowing your pace.

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Your pace is simply knowing how far you move with each step.  Some people count one pace with each time either foot makes contact with the ground.  Some people use two steps for one pace (for instance, each time your right foot hits the ground is one pace).  Either way, you need to know your pace and walk a consistent pace for each leg of the course. 

 

Remember, this is not an exact measure, it's an approximation so there will likely be some degree of "error" in your pace.  By practicing, you will learn what your particular "error" is so that you know how far around to look after you've reached your end point.  Practice also allows you to work towards decreasing that error.

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In order to find your pace, mark-off a straight-line distance (like 100 yards) in terrain similar to what you’ll be walking (grassy area, gravel, etc).   This baseline pace should be on level ground to eliminate differences in slope.  You can expect uphill and downhill pacing to naturally be different. Start at the beginning point and walk in a straight line directly towards the end point. Keep your eye and attention on the end point.  Count the steps you take (one count for each step or one count each time a specific foot hits the ground- be consistent). Walk the course you just laid out several times and average your number of steps.

 

Ideally every time you walk this length, the number of steps should be very similar if not exactly identical.  If you are more than a couple of steps differently each attempt, try to pay attention to how you are walking and make it more natural and relaxed.  Maintaining a specific cadence helps.  The more natural and relaxed you are when you walk the course, the more consistent you will be.

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• Walk in your normal pace and cadence  that you’ll use on the course.  Think about the competition, will it be real hot?  If so, determine your pace so that you don't exhaust yourself during the competition.  That means, if you don't have to run, don't run!  Just be consistent between your pace course and your competition course.  

• When walking, focus on your end point (not on your compass!  After you find an object on your desired azimuth to walk to, you don't need to keep looking at the compass while walking). Walk as straight a line as possible.  Imagine a straight line pained on the ground between points on your course and try to walk it.  

• It’s ideal to use the same footwear on the course as you used in determining your pace.

  • Water proof, rubber boots are strongly recommended for most of our courses.

• Note that your pace will change as you grow!   Check it often while doing other activities also.

• Your pace will be affected by the terrain.  Are you going uphill, downhill, through mud, on a concrete pad?  Loose ground like gravel tends to shorten your pace.  Typically uphill requires more steps to cover a specific distance and downhill you need fewer.  Footwear matters as well.  When determining your pace, try to anticipate the footwear you'll use during the course.  All of these things can affect your pace.  There are some general rules of thumb, but you need to know how you are affected by these.

 

Pace = Number of steps / Distance

REMEMBER THE PACE IS DEPENDENT ON DISTANCE UNITS (yards, meters, feet).

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Example: If you marked off 300 yards and you walked 343 steps, your pace is 343 steps/300 yards = 1.143 steps per yard. Then at your competition, if you are instructed to walk 265 yards, you’ll multiply 265 yard x 1.143 steps/yard = 303 steps.

 

For a review on units, look here: 

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We will give you a “pace card” after your pace is determined. It will list out multiple distances and will calculate your required number of steps for you. All you have to do is refer to your pace card.

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Lastly, PRACTICE YOUR PACE even when your not competing or practicing compass.  Count how many paces it is to the targets you shoot.  Then refer to your pace card and see how close you are to the real life distance.

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On longer hikes, it may be preferred to time your walk.  If you walk a consistent pace, you should be able to walk the same distance in the same amount of time.  Different distances will be proportional to different times ideally.   This is how Visual Flight Rules (VFR) pilots keep track of the distance they've flown.  This is not always practical with land navigation as terrain changes will affect your pace.  Counting paces is the preferred way in the kinds of courses you'll be doing.

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