Make sure that the map and the compass flat and you turn the map around until the blue lines point north – the same direction as the red arrow on your compass will be pointing. This is called orientating the map.

Thumbing the map is another technique where you use a finger or thumb set against your route to measure your progress. For instance, on a fairly standard 1:10,000 scale map, 1cm on the map means 100 metres on the course, or about the width of a finger.

Folding the map is a common technique too where you fold up the map to just see the part of the course you’re on, making checking the map rapidly and often much easier as you run between controls.