This November I ran Quid Games II: Storm the Castle in Kendal, an event in partnership between British Orienteering and SportsShoes (British Orienteering members get 15% off). It was part race, part festival showpiece in the format of a 60‑minute night score event with tactical controls, big‑brand prizes, and a buzzing crowd atmosphere. I was racing for the GBR team and had been sponsored to attend. The concept was to open the sport to a new audience, get big brands involved and spotlight the sport in an exciting way.
I arrived as dusk settled over Kendal, and the start area already hummed with energy. The event was billed as Storm the Castle, a follow‑up to the original Quid Games last winter, and the green lights striking across the castle hinted we were in for a treat.
Organisers leaned into partnerships to give the event scale and polish. The collaboration between SportsShoes and British Orienteering, supported by brands like ASICS, Silva, Garmin, Maurten and Red Bull, meant there were real prizes and brand activations at play, which added an extra layer of competitiveness and fun. Prizes ranged from new watches, headtorches, sunglasses, and sport nutrition.
With big prizes on the line every decision felt amplified – do I sprint to a high‑value control across town and go all-in, or go for consistency across the whole course and aim for the bigger overall prizes?
On the ground, the course was an urban event with ~25% on grass. It explored hidden corners of Kendal, opening locations I’d never seen used for orienteering before (like passages through a brewery and up artificial ski-slopes). The event attracted a large field — around 175 competitors – so the start was lively, and the controls felt contested. What surprised me most was the atmosphere. This wasn’t the quiet, solitary navigation we expect at an event; there was a live DJ at ‘basecamp’ and out on the course. This proved to be a slight give away to control location but, on the whole, navigation was rather easy – maybe light green standard.
I chose a tactical route aiming for specific controls that paid off with a handful of high‑value prizes (50 Maurten energy gels, a pair of Sungod sunglasses). I also benefitted from my many years of final control sprint finishes (and CSC golden boots!) to bag myself a free pair of ASICS trail shoes. Overall, the event was a great success and so much fun! It’s lovely to hear how excited newcomers and first-timers were at the finish line. There are plans for further events in this series and I would recommend them for an evening of orienteering with a real difference!
Well done Rachel! British Orienteering’s write-up is here, with a link to the Results, well worth looking at just for the lightshow of Kendal (see below)! Paul Addison of PeakRaid (and ex of DVO) came in 64th, with Rachel 38th. Interesting that the top athlete (Euan Tryner of EUOC, ex-SYO) got all 16 controls in 34 minutes!
