16/07/2022 – League 7 – Ninewells

Mainly flat mixed forest, with a good network of paths, but dropping away to the North West , where there are also areas of thicker woodland. The main Cinderford - Monmouth road borders the Northern part of the map, and bisects the Southern part, necessitating a single timed out road crossing near the settlement of Edge End. The road and its edges are strictly out of bounds, except for a short stretch of pavement in Edge End, which may be used.

The going underfoot is not too bad, except along the footpath margins, and in open areas, where there is a dense undergrowth of bracken and/or bramble. The light green is generally clear of undergrowth, but has restricted visibility in Summer leaf. The mid green is slow runnable once you penetrate the bracken along the open edges.

Geo-referenced and completely remapped on a LIDAR base in 2021 and 2022. A4, 1:10,000 for all courses, with control descriptions on the front of the map. Many features are indistinct, unless they have a prominent flag in or by them!

There is one special feature used on the map: X identifies play equipment.

The main roads and their verges through the area are out of bounds to runners, and are marked by hatching extending either side of the road in the village of Edge End. There is however a short section of pavement in the village which may be used; this is marked by a solid purple line along the road itself.

The start is about 700m from the Rugby Club, mainly along roads with good pavements. Please cross the main road at Five Acres garage either at the crossroads traffic lights, or preferably at the pedestrian crossing, with lights, about 150m up the road to your left as you approach the Five Acres crossroads. Children should be accompanied.

The Finish is on the same side of the main road as the Rugby club, so requiring no further road crossings, with a taped route of about 500m back to Download, which is located in the clubhouse.

There will be three or five start lanes – depending on entry numbers - with Yellow runners picking up their maps and starting when ready, independently of the start procedure. You can move into the first start box, where Clear and Check are located, if there is no one waiting for your lane before you. In that event, please queue appropriately for your start lane.

Please note that the start is on the Parkun course. The Parkrun should be finished by our first starts, but be aware of any very slow parkrunners, and do not interfere with their progress.

Touch Free punching is enabled, but all runners must punch both Start and Finish.

This is a Middle Distance race, broadly speaking, although the Brown course is somewhat longer than would normally be planned for this discipline. The other courses are nearer the guidelines for such events.

All courses are subject to final controlling.

Regrettably there is no string course, due to a lack of a suitable area close to assembly.

We will use SI Timing, in contact and touch free modes. All runners must however punch the Start and Finish controls.

There is a single timed out(2 minute) road crossing used by all courses. The controls either side are not immediately adjacent to the road, but are about 30m from the road on each side. Please obey the instructions of the crossing marshal.

Brown, Blue and Green courses pass through Edge End. It is a small and quiet residential area, with minimal traffic. Under 16s may run these courses but must take particular care when running short distances on the paved roads in the hamlet.

Please ensure you close all gates around the recreation area, through which all these courses pass. The main road is marked OOB with purple hatching, rather than the normal crosses, and this extends either side of the road itself, signifying the the road edges are also out of bounds. You may, however run along the pavement where the OOB marking switches to a solid purple line in the road itself.

Starts: 11:00 - 12:30
Courses close: 14:00, meaning that you must report to download before 14:15, or risk disqualification.

SI dibber hire: Standard dibber £1 Adults, Juniors free

Touch Free dibber: £2 Adults, £1 Juniors

Entries close at midnight on Thursday 14 July. Pre-entry is strongly preferred.

Entry on the day only while maps last, but note the premium price to discourage this. We should by then be able to accept credit/debit card payments, but this is not guaranteed so bring cash just in case.

A helper discount is available for those offering to help on the day. These events don't happen without volunteers willing to help out on the day, so if you are able to do so, before signing up to enter, email NGOC_Volunteers@outlook.com to let him know you can help, and ask for the helper discount code that you can apply when entering. You don't have to be an NGOC member to help, but you do need to be a BO member to be covered insurance wise.

As the Government has removed all restrictions on events and activities, COVID related refunds are no longer available. The standard Fabian4 terms and conditions offer an automatic refund up to 2 months before the event date, and we do not normally vary this specification. That means that in most cases no refunds are possible, as we do not publish details until less than 2 months before the date of the event.

However, for all except large events we hold entries open until only a day or so before the event, so you can delay entry if unsure whether you can run, until very close to event day.

Dogs are permitted on the courses, but not in the Rugby Club grounds. If you bring a dog it must be kept in the car until you leave the club grounds, and returned to the car when you get back from the finish.

The bar in the clubhouse may be open during the event, but the cafe will definitely be open for the sale of hot and cold drinks, snacks, sandwiches, and meals such as pizzas, lasagne etc. It will remain open until 3 pm, so please make sure you patronise it. The NGOC cafe will not be present.

There are toilets in the clubhouse.

A risk assessment has been completed, and a copy will be held at Assembly.

The walk to the start is along pavements beside a moderately busy suburban road. Children must be accompanied. It also entails crossing the main Cinderford - Monmouth road, which can be very busy. Only cross at the traffic lights at the crossroads by Five Acres garage, or at the pedestrian lights about 150m up the road to your left as you approach the crossroads.

There is a single timed out road crossing, used only once by each course, on the outskirts of Edge End village. Take care crossing the road, and obey the instructions of the crossing marshal.

Living with COVID

As from 24 February:

• You are not be legally required to self-isolate if you test positive for COVID-19. You should, however, stay at home if you can and avoid contact with other people.
• You do not have to take daily tests, nor are you legally required to self-isolate following contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Nevertheless, although all legal restrictions have ceased, you should NOT attend if you are Covid positive, or suspect you are, and everyone attending should continue taking sensible precautions, such as avoiding close contact, particularly around Registration and the cafe.