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Thursday 10/10/2024 – Evening MapRun – Gloucester Centre 2024

Thursday 10/10/2024 – Evening MapRun – Gloucester Centre 2024
Updated:
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Thursday 10/10/2024 - Gloucester Centre 2024

This race takes place in part in the heart of Gloucester, and in part in the Alney Island Nature Reserve, which is just across the river from the town centre, and will provide nice variety in the course. Bear in mind that the evenings are starting to draw in, and on the island there is no street lighting. Most of it is open ground where visibility should be OK, but there is some woodland, so a headtorch might be advisable, particularly if starting late.

NOTE to all MAPRUNNERS. You must be using MapRun v7 to run this course. It is just called MapRun. If you have MapRun6 or MapRunF please remove them and install just plain Maprun.

Entries are open now and will close at midnight on Wednesday 9th October. Enter Online

 

Officials

Pat Macleod Queries? email Pat

Directions and Parking

Parking is in Westgate car park, which is at the bottom of Westgate, on the edge of the city centre itself. The car park is free after 6pm, but be aware that there is a 2m height barrier which is closed at 7pm, so if you have a campervan or other high vehicle you'll need to park outside the main carpark. There should be nearby street parking free at that time of the day.

What Three Words: ///lowest.loaf.sadly

Grid Ref: SO827188

The Start and Finish are towards the end of the car park furthest from the entrance.

Click on the running man on the map below, and then the Direction icon icon to get directions to the course.

The Area

A combination of typical city centre streets, some more residential areas, the Gloucester Docks, and Alney island Reserve, which is mainly rough grassland, with a few bits of wood, and a good path network.

Timing and Fees

Starts from 18:00 to 18:30. If you think you'll struggle to make that start window, email the organiser to let him know, and we can extend starts a bit.

To guarantee a map, you will need to pre-enter via Fabian4: entries are now open, and will stay open until midnight on Wednesday 25th September. A few extra maps will be available for entry on the day, but don't rely on this, and ideally bring cash, although we do now have an available card reader.


Enter Online

Entry fees: £5 seniors, £2 juniors. Competitors aged under-16 must be accompanied. The fee covers third party liability insurance, a map printed on waterproof paper, and post-run cake!

The course

It’s a one hour score event using the MapRun app:

The Start and Finish are located in the same place at the car park entrance

  • Checkpoints 1-10 are worth 10 points.

  • Checkpoints 11-20 are worth 20 points.

  • Checkpoints 21-30 are worth 30 points.

Score as many points as you can within an hour. If you’re late getting back, there’s a 10 point penalty per minute over.

You'll be issued with a waterproof map, A4, scale 1:10,000, before you start.

Please make sure you’ve installed MapRun before the event. If installing MapRun for the first time, select the MapRun app from your app store, and not MapRunF or MapRun6. MapRun, which is in practise Maprun v7, is now the standard app. If you haven’t used MapRun before, don’t worry – it’s easy to use, and we have full details on getting started.

You should download the course to your phone ideally before coming to the event, as sometimes there is little or no phone signal once there.

Links to enable download will appear here when the course is published, a week or two before the day.

MapRunG (Garmin watch) users: if you have MapRun6 or later, you do not need the event PIN number to download the course to your watch. This means you can download the course before your arrive at the event, in case there is no phone signal there.

Safety

Under 16s must be accompanied at all times.

Traffic around the city will be very busy, so great care is needed when crossing roads. This is particularly so when crossing to and from Alney Island. Depending on your route choices, there are routes which take you over or under the main routes around the western edge of the city. There is a footbridge into the centre of the large roundabout/circulatory system next to the car park, but crossing out of it at the far end does entail crossing two carriageways, so take great care there.

Likewise you will encounter plenty of pedestrians in the city. Take particular care when turning corners or emerging from paths and alleys, and be courteous to people you meet.

A head torch is advised if you are starting late, at least for Alney Island.

Some of the footpaths on the island, although dry and free from undergrowth, have in the past been trampled by cattle and are very hard, and uneven underfoot.

There are some controls in the docks, so car is needed alongside the deep water basins.

A first aid kit will be available at registration.

Orienteering is an adventure sport, and you are responsible for your own safety.