…and Pie Potluck
Back At It
Two years had passed since our last public race, and the Pi Day Scavenger Hunt and Pie Potluck in Black Mountain on March 14, 2026 was a triumphant return.
It was great to see so many newcomers, and despite some key players (repeat o-ffenders) missing, the turnout of approximately 60 people was a welcome sight. I’d missed you guys.
Special thanks as always to the businesses that harbor us DisOrienteers… Lookout Brewing Company and new this time… Mellie Mac’s Garden Shack, who let us put a Bonus Control inside their property. Thanks!
The Course and Map
This time, I wove some new tricks into the equation by leveraging some of MapRun’s more advanced features. For instance, by turning on the setting that keeps all controls hidden in the app until they are punched, I was able to effect Bonus Controls for the first time. This meant the paper map in your hand displayed fewer than the total number of controls available, and your verbally delivered instructions during the pre-race briefing about where to find those Bonus Controls made for a fresh infusion of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity to the experience.
Other new to us MapRun features used this time were the Mass Start with preset planning period, and QR Code / NFC Tags for punching. The pre-programmed start time kept us, er, me, on schedule, and the 5-minute perusal time gave everyone a chance to plan their routes. The physical tags were a big plus, and despite some interoperability issues with iPhones and NFC working (surprised?), the satisfaction of finding an actual object rather than an “invisible GPS location,” which were planted at the edges of the map on purpose just to taunt the competitive runners (they took the bait, btw) was palpable. Finding a physical marker is just so much more satisfying.
I updated the map this time, as well. Instead of the previous map, which had black buildings, I changed them all to a 25% gray, which really helped with the map’s readability. Before, the purple overprint was hard to see, but now it really popped. Very glad with the result.
Routes and Results
You can access the results and routes (with replay!) in MapRun here – https://results.maprun.net/#/event_results?eventName=Pi%20Day%20Scavenger%20Hunt%20PXAS%20ScoreQ90%20PZ1614032026%20MX05
Pictures and People
I was too busy to get many pictures this time, nor my coveted group photo. If you were there any have any pictures to share, please do so and I will add them to this post.
