The final race in our delayed Summer 2020 MapRun series takes place around the villages of Sling and Ellwood in the Forest of Dean, on Thursday 24 September. Much of the course utilises the detailed network of footpaths and tracks through the villages, and also the blocks of woodland surrounding them, but in the current dry conditions any footwear should be suitable. It also takes in the historic Dark Hill Iron works, now just a shell of walls, but once a key facility in the Industrial Revolution. Generally speaking there is very little bracken and bramble on the paths, and shorts should be fine, if you are prepared to accept the occasional sting or scratch.
Please note that with sunset at around 19:00 on the 24th, and a significant amount of woodland cover throughout the area, a headtorch will be essential for late starters. Although start times are pre-allocated, we will try to be flexible, and will aim to get people away early provided we can maintain appropriate social distancing, so do try and arrive early if possible.
Note that 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 23 September (the day before the event).
Event details
Parking and map pickup will be in Ellwood Primary School car park, GL16 7ND, by kind permission of the Head Teacher.
To spread people out, there will be a long start window, running from 1700 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.
MaprunG users.There is a phone signal of sorts in the car park, though it was rather weak when checked(EE). Although Maprun does not need a phone signal to operate (it just uses the GPS service), you need a phone signal to download the course to your watch, and you also need the PIN number. If you have had trouble before downloading to your watch, or you want to be sure you can download to your watch, you can email maprun@ngoc.org.uk, and we will email you back the Pin code on the Thursday afternoon of the event. You can then download to watch somewhere where you have wifi or a good signal. You are trusted not to study the map and work out a route before coming to the event!
The course is on minor roads, tracks and footpaths, many of the latter under dense tree cover. The punch tolerance will be increased to 20m to allow for this.
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.
- The Start is in the far left corner of the car park as you drive in, next to the school fence, so stay clear of there until you are fully ready to go.
We recommend you familiarise yourself with the MapRunF app before you arrive.
Out on the course
We’re holding the event in the evening which should be a quieter time, but there are still some narrow streets and footpaths where you may encounter other runners and members of the public. Be sure to wait, give people space and give way.
Finish
The Finish is co-located with the start, so make sure you do not pass through that point out on the course before you intend to 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.
There are lots of woodland paths, some fairly substantial, some less so, and many of them offer lots of trip hazards – roots and rocks. Please take particular care running through the woods, especially if looking at the map, and once again, a headtorch is essential if running later into the evening.
Any queries?
Contact the organiser, Bob Teed