SSAGO News

Marathon Challenge is CUSAGCs annual incident hike for Explorers, Rangers, Leaders and all other over 14s in Scouting and Guiding. Teams are challenged to visit as many of the given 26 grid references in 9 hours as possible, the further out they go the more points they get. There are also some manned points with bonus points to give out for completing their challenge and penalties for tardiness.

The 2023 Marathon Challenge was based in Ashdon Village Hall, just outside of Saffron Walden. There were the usual 26 checkpoints distributed within a 5km radius for the hall, and teams were challenged to visit as many of these as possible within a 9-hour time limit.

 

Although most of the checkpoints were unmanned, at four of them the teams were greeted by CUSAGCers who set them additional challenges.  At base D, there was a Linguistics challenge, where teams decoded some Swedish Runes (or attempted to as we might have made it too difficult). Base E was Duck Pioneering where teams had to lift as many ducks off the ground as possible using bamboo sticks and string. Base G was the First Aid Base where teams were faced with 3 casualties of different severity of injury and had to treat them. Base L was Lasers where a “laser” course was set up in the woods using string and sighted team members had to guide their blindfolded counterparts through the course. The rest of CUSAGC were at HQ with their own challenges, Rachel and Will were busy making chilli, Rachel, Oliver and, later, Katelyn were manning the radios and phone and the organisers caught a break and wreaked havoc (with the pinnacle of delusion being around the time they forgot the cutlery for the helpers’ chilli).

 

This year saw eleven teams leave Ashdon Village Hall and to chilly, but not unpleasant, weather. Teams walked the long distances between cones and challenges but no team managed to visit all 26 checkpoints this year, with the most checkpoints a team visited being 17. All eleven teams returned in time for dinner.

 

Finally, we were ready to announce the winners and award trophies. Congratulations to the 28th Cambridge Leaders no 1, our overall winners this year. Also congratulations to Vortex Explorers who won the Explorers Trophy and 1st Ely Rangers who won the Rangers Trophy. Well done to all the teams who took part – Marathon is designed to be hard and you all put in a great performance, and we hope you enjoyed yourselves too! 

 

We would like to thank all the CUSAGCers and ex-CUSAGCers whose hard work before and during the event made it all possible, Derrick (for proving the radio system), 50th Cambridge Milton and Landbeach Scouts (for the last-minute minibus hire), Ashdon Village Hall, all the local landowners (for putting up with the boot-prints and tents), and last but not least, all the participants for your energy and enthusiasm which makes the event worth running. Hope to see you all next year for another successful Marathon!

 

Caitlin and Mara

Marathon Challenge Organisers 2023