Some were mere children while others were in their mid-80s.
But what bound the 2,000 or so people from across the world competing at Storthes Hall on Day 4 of the Jan Kjellström International Festival of Orienteering was an intense love of the sport.
All you needed to take part was a reasonable degree of athleticism combined with excellent map-reading skills and the ability to use a compass.
Among those taking part were elite athletes with dreams of making their mark in the Olympics.
The huge festival ran for four days over the Easter break across venues in Yorkshire, including the final day in Huddersfield.
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It takes its name from the Swedish orienteer Jan Kjellström who played an important role in the development of the sport in Great Britain.
Tragically he died in a road accident in 1967.
The aim of orienteering is to navigate in sequence between a set of control points and decide the best route to complete the course in the quickest time.
Amanda Crawshaw, who has represented England on three occasions and who was the organiser of Monday’s event, said: “It has gone amazingly well – it’s been fast and furious.
“But it’s no good if you are running in the wrong direction so you have to make sure you are running in the right direction.
“It’s a relay race with three people in a team with 1.3km for the little ones and four miles for the older ones.
“They have to navigate their way around a series of electronic checkpoints and carry an electronic checker on their fingers.”
Mike Cope, the weekend co-ordinator, added: “How lucky we were with the weather! The sun came out and the event was thoroughly enjoyed by everybody.
“It’s very much a mental as well as a physical challenge with runners having to navigate their way through 15 control points. Our thanks are due to controller Paul Taylor and Richard Payne who planned the courses.”
Further details can be found at http://www.thejk.org.uk/
