The Amazing Outdoor Isolation Race in action.

We ran the Amazing Outdoor Isolation Race last week in Sweden, with a group of teenagers aged 13 - 18. It seemed like the perfect outdoor activity to get the teenagers busy outdoors after being in isolation for some time.

We chose a location with a range of natural features, such as a group of ruined farm houses, a natural obstacle course and a large lake with prepared fire pits and seating. The location was also quite isolated, as we didn't want to be running into crowds.

We gave our race a survivor style theme, focusing on important survival  skills such as navigation, communication, finding food and lighting a fire.

Here is a brief rundown of how everything went, with pictures.

At the beginning of the race I gave each team of two:

• A trail map of the area, showing the marked trails and how they intersect
• One part of a topographic map, showing the location for the first task.
• The first clue card, which stated that the teams needed to find the remaining 4 topographic map pieces (which were marked with clues and locations) in the ruins.
• A backpack with a built in chair to rest
• A 2 litre water bottle
• A large bag of chips to share
  

The teams compared their topographic and trail maps to the large image on the noticeboard which marked where we were.

There was a small wrestling match as team #2 found the other teams map piece and attempted to sabotage them by keeping it in their pocket.

The teams managed to walk in the right direction to get to the ruins, whilst they got a little confused as the track went up the side of a fence, they managed to find the location and most of their map pieces.

Each piece was hidden in a place where it would be unaffected by wind, such as in between the boulders, or attached to the signposts. Each piece was marked with a location clue and the team name it belonged to.

Eventually team #2 gave up on finding their last card and decided to chance it and follow team #1 to find the location marked on that card so they wouldn't lose time.

Task 2 was 'Let me take a selfie'. The teams needed to take a selfie with an animal. We placed the clue on a noticeboard beside a farm that was part of the trail. The paddock was full of sheep, and the teams just needed to enter, find a sheep and take a picture with it.

It took them longer to navigate the map than to get the selfie - guess it's obvious where teenage talents lie!

The obstacle course included a balance beam, cargo net climb, tyre agility course, beams to duck and climb under and over, monkey bars, paralell bars and a low ropes course.

Task 3 was the obstacle course. We chose this area to run the race, specifically because of this free obstacle/ low ropes course in the forest that we could use.

Each team member had to complete the course in under 3 minutes, making sure they followed the guidelines on where to go under/ over/ touch each obstacle/ not touch the ground.

The teams were allowed to help each other through the course if needed, but the obstacles had to be done correctly. Team #1 had to redo the course, which would have given team #2 a lead, except that they didn't have the next map piece and needed to wait for team #1 to figure out where to go next.

Task 4 was 'Keen eyes'. The teams had to use the binoculars to find a code we had written on a large board and placed out earlier on a small island in the lake that was accessible via stepping stones. We had also tried the task with chalk first, but figured that bigger numbers would be better as our binoculars aren't the best!

Unfortunately one wrong number cost team #2, although they were the first to find the code.

Task 5 was to 'decode' the instructions for the next task. Each team got a set of paper cups and string to create a tin can phone, a decoding sheet and the coded instructions, completed using a different code for each team.

The code instructions were printed and stuck to trees on the opposite side of a small inlet in the lake and the teams had to communicate to decode what to do next.

The decoded instructions gave the teams the location of a locked case, containing task 6, the 'sun block' card. They had a timer set for 1 hour, in which they could catch a sea creature to complete the task earlier. Both teams found the case and made an attempt at fishing.

Team #2 got serious, tying their reels to sticks and placing them strategically along the coast. Team #1 caught some sun, before deciding they'd go for catching a tadpole with their bare hands.

Catch of the day... One tadpole (returned to the water)

The teams improvised on cookware, creating extra sets of tongs using pairs of sticks.

The final task was 'light my fire'  - to light a fire using flint and BBQ themselves some lunch.

The teams found dry grasses nearby to use as tinder and built up their fires, before realising they really needed to remove everything to get the fire lit.

After many sparks and careful nurturing of the resulting flames, both teams had fires suitable for grilling and sat down to enjoy their flame grilled sausages.

Overall, everyone involved had a great time, and they all stated that the range of activities encouraged them to enjoy the outdoors. Only one would have agreed to do a standard hike beforehand, so the positive feedback from the other three was a big win for getting the kids outdoors. It was a great way to spend some time with the teens without them complaining...

We're waiting for summer to try out the next one, which will be based on the water tasks. We've already thought about some potential routes and locations and a few friends have expressed interest in joining.

We definitely recommend that parents give this task a go, the setup would be perfect for a camping trip, short walk or even an outdoor birthday party.