Kids find fun in Don’t Get Lost
Adventure running program gains traction in Niagara
Bright headlamps pierce through the brush as dusk begins, a light chatter is heard, and then the first of a group of runners bursts their way into the clearing at Burgoyne Woods.
The runners are part of a group of adventure runners in the Don’t Get Lost program.
The course is a bit slippery this Monday evening, but the kids push themselves to better their time on every lap.
“It’s a way to get kids back outdoors,” says organizer Patrick Saile. “We seem to be stuck in a situation where kids are more and more plugged into things.”
Saile spends an hour or two with other volunteers marking out the courses at locations across Niagara before the kids and parents arrive.
The program has gained a word-of-mouth following for kids aged six and up.
The kids, some in their midteens are put into different groups which have a specific focus.
One group begins by doing strength and agility while another group focuses on speed and a third group is in the woods navigating.
“Orienteering is super important,” says Saile. “People are relying on their phones and GPS they don’t understand the cities they live in.
“I have people getting lost coming out to our events because they haven’t ever learned how to read a map or forgotten to.”
The program was started 2009 in Hamilton by two members of the Golden Horseshoe Orienteering club who had kids and wanted them to share in it. Since then it has spread around the Golden Horseshoe and included races throughout the year.
“They love it (woods), some kids might be afraid, but in a group setting like this it becomes easier, and a lot of the stuff we do is well marked, so it’s almost like a scavenger hunt.
“A big focus of this is that kids of all abilities can run together,” says Saile. “We’ve got kids who are the top cross-country runners in their school and kids whose parents are desperate to get them off the couch.
“It’s designed so they can all run together, on a marked loop with an individual timing chip. They run it, and now you have to try and beat it.”
Saile says the program is based on Sports Canada hierarchy of different programming for different age groups based on the fundamentals, about getting people out and having fun in sport.
“We find it’s kind of self-selecting. Once they hit 10 they either want to be here or they don’t. Every week we’ll have variation in the programs and routes.
“You wouldn’t think 10- to 12-year-olds would have fun playing tag, but they’re happy to keep doing it as long as there is a challenge.”
For eight-year-old Ethan Flikkena mapping and finding the flags is the most fun. And he warns his younger sister Brinley, who is taking part for the first time, that she might get dirty and that doesn’t go over too well.
“They always like to run when we hike,” says mom Janet, “so we decided to sign up for this.”
The program runs through early December. Saile says the final four weeks are the most fun when the sun sets earlier and everyone is in headlamps.
For more information see www.dontgetlost.ca.