25/06/2023 – League 6 – Cirencester Urban

Typical part pedestrianised and partly traffic free city centre, plus busier through routes. Residential areas to the south and east of the A419 with parks such as the Roman Amphitheatre. Vegetation is at its peak end of June with high grass, nettle and brambles. Courses have been planned to avoid most of it, but some route choices through high grass might get a little bit prickly for exposed calves/knees. Those areas have been mapped as rough open. Normal running shoes are enough unless very wet weather. Cirencester’s centre will be very busy with tourists and shoppers, please be courteous and adjust your pace, specially when crossing through commercial galleries.

A3, 1:5,000 scale, 2.5m contours, ISSProm. The map has been extended by Greg Best to include the large part of the town centre that was missing from the map, as well as other selected updates.

Start and Finish are respectively adjacent and 100 meters to Assembly.

Usual League distances in straight lines. Add roughly 30% to get actual running distances. We will use a standard turn up, queue and go start procedure; you will queue in the start lane, one of six, labelled for your course. There is almost no noticeable climb throughout the event area, other than steps and a few bolder route choices through the Roman Amphitheatre!

Please read the instructions in the welcome section at the top of the page on junior courses.

Course details subject to final controlling.

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

In order to minimise demands on scarce volunteer resources we operate a 2 hour start window for this event, and we recognise that this can be a challenge for parents seeking split starts. We are happy to accommodate split starts provided:

• You let us know in advance that you need a split start. Do this by emailing the organiser, address in the introduction above
• You come early; the start team will normally be ready to allow very early starts sometime between 10:30 and the published 11:00 start time, so aim to be there soon after 10:30. We do not offer starts later than the published end of the start window.
• The shorter course runner goes first. We will not turn you away if you can't manage this, but it gives you both a better chance of beating the course closure time.

Entry Details

You should enter the class/course appropriate to your involvement in the NGOC league, if relevant, or whichever course you choose otherwise.

Starts: 11:00 - 13:00
Courses close: 14:30, meaning that you must report to download before 14:45, or risk disqualification.

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

Touch Free dibber: £2 Adults, £1 Juniors

Enter via Fabian4.co.uk by midnight on Thursday 22nd June.

Entry on the day is possible 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 Ian Prowse, Volunteer Coordinator, to let us know if you can help, and ask for the helper discount code that you can apply when entering. You don't have to be a NGOC member to help, but you do need to be a BOF 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.

Whilst there is no outright ban on dogs at this event, we do not think it sensible or practical to run these courses with a dog, so unless you have a spare handler who can look after it while you run, do not bring a dog to the event. Dogs however are allowed on the Abbey Grounds on lead.

There are many cafes and other retail outlets close to assembly. A toilet block is just south of the assembly by the churchyard’s wall, and temporary toilets can also be found just by the Abbey Grounds car park.

Orienteering is an adventure sport. All runners take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety.

Please read the instructions in the welcome at the top of the page regarding junior participation

All runners must take care when crossing busy roads. The A419 going through the map is out of bound.

A risk assessment has been completed, and a copy will be held at Enquiries and Download in case competitors wish to consult it before their run.

A first aid kit and trained first aiders will be available at Enquiries and Download.

Living with COVID

As from 24 February 2022:

• You are not 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 the Start, Finish, and Assembly.