Bavarian Forest 5 Days


5 days of orienteering in the forests around Philippsreut in Bavaria and Kubova Hut in the Czech Republik

23 - 27 July 2025

The NEWS 11 June 2025

A lot has happened since my last update, in brief: The BF5Days 2025 is ready and waiting for you.

All the courses have been planned, checked and maps corrected with 240 controls pre-marked. As always, there is a lot of forestry work going on, and this will continue into August, which means: not all of the new clearings will be fully mapped. In some parts, the forest is really beautiful and as runnable as the Theresienwiese in Munich. You can see a short video of the open forest here.

All starts and finishes have been confirmed: the distances to the starts are comparatively short, and we have managed to ensure that the finish is directly at the Event Centre on all five days. On the first and second days in the Czechia, the parking lot is not beside the Event Centre, so you'll have to walk 1400m from the parking to the Event Centre. I've updated Bulletin 2 accordingly with all the current distances.

Don’t forget to register for the Knödel Relay, if you're interested in a mass-start relay experience. Detailed information about the Knödel Relay can be found here. The relay will take place on the second day (Thursday), directly after the middle distance. Registration is via Orienteering Online. We only need one runner to register and a relay team name so we can estimate how many maps we need to print. Detailed registration of all three runners and payment will then be on-site, until 11:00 a.m. on the day of the relay.

Not to forget that this year again there will be a TrailO event alongside the 5 days event! On Saturday afternoon, after the middle distance, two races (PreO Sprint and TempO) will be offered. Take the chance to join! All details can be found here.

Our host community in Philippsreut, has once again been of great support with organizing the BF5Days 2025: each runner will receive a small thank you gift on day 4; the ski resort will once again be offering classic Bavarian beer steins as prizes for all our winners who stay until the Prize Giving. Of course, our iconic prizes will also be available again; we've come up with something new this year. Claudia from the local tourism office will be on hand at the Start Number pick up point on Tuesday, to help with any questions about the local area . She's had several tourist information flyers printed especially for this event, listing restaurants in the region that are open and her very personal "must-see" list of local attractions.

Of course, the top three teams in the Knödel Relay will also be presented with prizes, directly after the relay. In Grafenau, the city sprint is next to the Erlebnisbad Bärenwelle, a water park. The town has kindly offered all runners discounted admission on the Sunday of the city sprint. You just need to show your start number if you want to cool off after the race and before heading home. If your accommodation provides an activCARD with your overnight stay, admission to the pool is free.

The Event Brochure and start lists will be published in July, so keep checking the website from time to time. We've also just received approval for the BF5Days 2026, this time at a completely new location in northern Bavaria! Maybe I will see you again in 2026, from the 1 to the 5 August, in the Fichtelgebirge?

And lastly, a request from our IT: Please check the category you are registered under, we have found a few mistakes. Maybe your age class has changed since last year?

Feel free to ask me any questions, otherwise I'll see you all soon in the Bavarian Forest. I'm looking forward to it!