NOTE: Unlike all previous events, this one takes place on a Wednesday. This will be the final regular TVSS event of the season, but there will hopefully be an end of season celebratory event (TBC) to follow.
Welcome to the Thames Valley Street Series! An event using the MapRun app, based in The Plough in Upper Wolvercote. Planner: Mark Rogerson.
Entries: Pre-entry via RaceSignUp only, HERE. £3 per entry. Entries close at 14.00 on the day of the event, but please enter as early as possible as this helps with estimating map numbers. Under 16s must be accompanied by somebody 16 or over on their run. If you intend to eat at the pub please enter in good time.
The Event: Start between 18.30 and 19.30. We recommend that entrants wear hi-vis, especially if you are starting towards the end of the window as evenings are drawing in.
For this event we will again operate a MapRun 1 hour score format. There will be 30 controls to try and get within the 60 minutes. Controls may be found in any order. Controls 10-19 score 10, controls 20-29 score 20, and controls 30-39 score 30. 20 point penalty for each minute or part minute you are over the hour. You may complete as many or as few controls as you want.
The event will use the free MapRun app. This is available on phone, as well as Apple and Garmin watches. It’s advised to have this downloaded in advance of the event. The event is available to downloaded, but is protected by a PIN which you will be given at the event. In MapRun, go to Thames Valley/TVSS/ and the event name starts Wolvercote.
Please do stay for a drink and/or food at the pub.
What to bring: Yourself, in suitable clothing (high-vis highly recommended) and footwear. A phone with plenty of charge or a Garmin/Apple watch if you own one. A compass (not essential).
Area: Wolvercote, Port Meadow, Summertown and Cutteslowe. Underfoot you will have a mix of pavements, grass and tracks, but conditions are currently exceptionally dry.
Map: 1:10,000 paper street-o map. Solid and dashed black lines show roads and paths respectively. Purple cross-hatch is out of bounds. A solid purple line is an impassable feature. Orange indicates grassy terrain that can be run across. Green indicates vegetation that is assumed impassable. Blue is water.
What to expect on the course: As this event uses the MapRun app, there is no physical orienteering infrastructure out on the course. Controls are set virtually, and your phone/watch will register when you have got within a certain number of metres of the specified control site. It is important to not run through the finish control until you want to finish your race, as doing so will finish your race. The finish will be located in a place which makes this very unlikely. You may well end up running through the start again on your way to the finish – this will not be a problem.
Notes: The majority of controls will be found at junctions, though a Victorian postbox and memorial commemorating members of the Royal Flying Corps & Royal Air Force are worth visiting for more than just their points score alone.
The only valid crossing for the Cotswold railway line is the main Wolvercote bridge; you must not attempt to use the A40 bridge at the north-western edge of the map. The pedestrian crossings at the Wolvercote road roundabout can take considerable time, but with careful route choice, might be avoided by using those further south.