Updated:

31/08/2024 – Stroud Urban Race

31/08/2024 – Stroud Urban Race
Updated:
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31/08/2024 - Stroud Urban Race

The town of Stroud nestles in the Cotswold valleys and offers an intriguing mix of historic town centre, restored canals, hilly suburbs and leafy Stratford Park.  On 31 August we'll be holding an Urban Orienteering event with 7 courses exploring Stroud  - it's open to all, whether you’re new to orienteering or a seasoned veteran.

Note that this is an afternoon event, with first starts at 14:30 (to take place after the Farmers' Market has cleared away).  Start times will not be assigned: come to the start and queue up when you're ready.

Entries are open on Fabian 4, and will close at midnight on Wednesday 28th August.
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Make a weekend of it...

Our neighbours Harlequins Orienteering Club are hosting an Urban event in Worcester on Sunday 1 September.  Both events are part of the UK Urban League, so you can score double points in one weekend.

Officials

  • Organiser/Planner: Tom Cochrane, NGOC
  • Controller: Paul Gebbett, BOK

Queries? communications@ngoc.org.uk

Directions and Parking

Assembly is at Stratford Park, Stroud, GL5 4AH, in the large field North of the car park.

Start and Finish will be near assembly.  Start times will not be assigned: just come to the start when you're ready.

By car: Stratford Park has a large free car park (///privately.brushing.coconuts)  If this happens to be full (or if you want to visit the farmers’ market before your run!) there are also plenty of car parks in Stroud itself, such as at the railway station - these are mostly pay & display.

By train: Stroud railway station is on the London - Reading - Swindon - Cheltenham line and has hourly services each way on Saturdays.  The walk to assembly is then just under a mile.

By bus: buses that stop near the park include the 63 (Gloucester-Forest Green) and 67 (Cheltenham-Stroud).  Other buses stop at Merrywalks bus station, just over half a mile’s walk away.

 

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

The Area

Stroud is a hilly town, as you'll see in the course statistics!  There's a mixture of paved surfaces, unpaved footpaths and grass.  Shorts and vests are fine; as far as footwear goes, trainers or trail running shoes would be suitable, with a bit of grip useful if it's been wet.

The Map

ISSprOM map with 5m contours, significantly updated/redrawn 2024 by Greg Best.  Scale 1:4,000 or 1:3,000 depending on course.

Control descriptions will be printed on the map and available loose.

Courses

Seven courses are available, varying in distance as shown in the table below: this distance is approximately how far you will run if you take the ‘optimal’ route. You can run any course you like.  If you’re looking to earn points toward the UK Urban League, be sure to run the course associated with your age category (or ‘run up’ to a higher class). And if you're looking to earn points toward the NGOC League, enter the appropriate course as shown below. Course details subject to final controlling.
Course UKUL categories Length Climb # Controls Map scale NGOC League
1 MO (18-35) 10.2km 300m 30 1:4000, double-sided A3
2 WO (18-35) MV (40+) 8.7km 275m 26 1:4000, double-sided A3 Brown
3 WV (40+) MSV (55+) 7.3km 240m 21 1:4000, double-sided A3 Blue
4 WSV (55+) MUV(65+) 5.6km 170m 17 1:4000 A3 Green
5 WHV WUV (65+) MHV (75+) 4.2km 125m 12 1:3000 A3 Short Green
6 MJ WJ (16-) 4.2km 110m 15 1:3000, double-sided A4 Orange
7 MYJ WYJ (12-) 1.9km 55m 13 1:3000 A4 Yellow
We will use SI Timing, in contact and touch free modes. All runners must however punch the Start and Finish controls.

Entries, Timing and Fees

Entry Details

Starts: 14:30 - 16:00
Courses close: 17:30, meaning that you must report to download before 17:45, or risk disqualification.

Fees Pre-entry Entry on the Day Non-member supplement
Adults £7 £10 £2
Juniors £3 £4 £1
Family (2 adults + their children) £16 £20 As above for any non-members

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

Touch Free dibber: £2 Adults, £1 Juniors

Entry on the day is possible only while maps last, but note the premium price to discourage this. We should 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.

Facilities

There are public toilets in the park, a cafe in the park's Leisure Centre, and plenty of eating places in town.  Tesco is also opposite the park.

Safety

  • Courses 1-5 will encounter busy roads such as the A46.  Certain road sections are marked out-of-bounds: do not cross the road in these areas except via the marked bridges, subways and crossings.  Note: runners under the age of 16 on the day of the event cannot run courses 1-5 unaccompanied.
  • Courses 1-3 will have a mandatory timed-out road crossing across one of these roads.
  • Course 6 will encounter housing estates with some 20mph dead-end roads.  Take care and look before crossing these.
  • One footpath crosses the railway via a level crossing.  This is out of bounds and is clearly marked on the map.  Do not use this footpath to cross the railway: take a different route.
  • All courses will encounter members of the public, dog walkers etc.
  • There is water, both in the park and in the canal.
  • Some grassy slopes and footpaths may be slippery if it’s wet.