We last ran in Lydney back in 2018, when we started at the bottom of town, and 3 runners made it into the elite 600 club. We’re looking forward to seeing if anyone can replicate this feat with a start at the top of town, and, potentially, a long uphill grind to the Finish!
This the second of our Autumn evening/night races. Dusk is at 18:36 on the 22nd, so early starters will have some twilight running, but everyone will be finishing in the dark, so make sure you bring a head torch, and wear some form of reflective clothing.
Map and Area Notes
We are starting and finishing on the edge of massive house building projects on the outskirts of the established town, so you can expect mud on the roads, and plenty of heras fencing, but housing on the mapped roads is now mainly occupied, and these roads are safe to run on. You may find, however, that they have not had final surfaces laid down, so could be uneven, and trip-worthy! Please do not attempt to enter areas which are clearly still building sites, or which are surrounded by said heras fencing (the tall modular stuff invariably erected around building sites and no-go areas). The street lighting may or may not be working in some of these areas!
There are a few grassy paths through pasture, and there is one woodland section, otherwise all going is tarmac; road shoes should be fine.
Adjacent to the start, on the main road North out of Lydney, there is significant work going on, with 4-way traffic signals. Please take great care when crossing the road, and pay particular attention to one section of road marked out of bounds. Do not cross the road at this point, or climb over the fence into the adjacent residential area.
Entry Details
As for the summer series, the event logistics are a little different from how they were in pre-COVID days: please see the details below.
The event will be pre-registration only, with allocated start times.
Register on Fabian4 before midnight on 21 October (the day before the event).
Event details
Parking and map pickup will be in the car wash and adjacent parking next to RMA car sales, at the top of Highfield Hill on the way out of town towards Gloucester, GL15 4LJ. Approaching from Gloucester, turn into the car wash just after the first of the new estates, and just before RMA car sales. From Lydney, the entrance is just after the entrance to RMA car sales.
We will be checking with and reminding the car wash people the day before the event, but if, for any reason, they forget to leave the gate open, there should be sufficient parking in the immediate area, in front of RMA Car Sales, or on the new housing estates.
To spread people out, there will be a one hour start window, running from 1800 to 1900.
As with our usual MapRuns, it’ll be £5 seniors, £2 juniors. Juniors must be accompanied.
It’s a one hour score event using the MapRun app: please make sure you’ve installed MapRunF before the event. If you haven’t used MapRun before, don’t worry – it’s easy to use, and we have full details on getting started. Please check that you have downloaded the latest version of maprun – maprunF. If you have the older version on your phone you may have trouble downloading the event map, so you should check; if the main maprun screen is green, you have the older version. If it’s white, you have maprunF, and it’s also headed marunF!
MaprunG users.There is a phone signal in the car park, so you will be able to download the course to your phone at the event, on being given the PIN.
Event procedure
Start
When you register on Fabian4 you can select a start time. To avoid congregation at the start we’d ask you to follow the following start procedure:
- Wait in your car (or warm up away from the start) until your designated start time. If you are early and spot an opportunity to start early, with no other runners waiting to get a map and start, grab it if you are ready to go. Make sure you’ve downloaded the MapRun event onto your phone. The course will be found in the UK/Gloucestershire/Current Series folder. The course is PIN protected, so you wont be able to see the map, but you can check that you have downloaded the correct course.
- Just before your start time, press ‘Go To Start’ on the MapRunF app. The phone will ask for the PIN number. The PIN is written on the map, so….
- When your (perhaps revised) start time arrives: sanitise your hands, pick up a map from the table near the organiser’s car, enter the PIN and run to the start. Note that maps will have been printed several days before the event, and not handled since, so should be safe to handle. There is a phone signal of sorts in the car park, so MaprunG runners see the note above regarding access to the PIN code.
- Start and finish are on the exit road from the car wash onto Highfield road. The start is by the main road, and the Finish is further in towards the car wash.
We recommend you familiarise yourself with the MapRunF app before you arrive. If you are new to maprun, it’s worth checking out your phone set up before coming to the event. You can find some hints and tips on how to do this on the Getting Started page on the Maprun Gloucestershire website
Out on the course
Early starters may benefit from some daylight, but you will need a head torch to finish the course, and must wear reflective clothing.
Finish
The Finish is nearly co-located with the start, but will be positioned away from the main road, into the car wash area, so you should be able to run along the main road mid-course without getting a premature finish.
Once you’ve finished, be aware of the social distancing guidelines and don’t congregate in large groups to compare results. You can always compare afterwards online.
Safety
The course is partly located in an urban environment necessitating many road crossings, so under 16s must be accompanied.
Any queries?
Contact the organiser, Pat Macleod