Welcome to the sixth event in the Thames Valley Street Series!
Entries: Pre-entry via RaceSignUp only, HERE. Entry is online only and must be done before 14.00 on the day of the event.
Entry is £3 for all members and under 21s, and £4.50 for non-members.
Under 16s may run, but must be accompanied by somebody over 16 at all times on their run. If you are accompanying an under 16 runner, enter yourself and then select an extra map for the junior (additional £0.50). The junior does not need to be entered separately.
The Event: Start between 18.30 and 19.30. We recommend that entrants wear hi-vis.
A MapRun 1 hour score event starting from The Kings Arms, Kidlington OX5 2AJ.
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/Summer26 and the event name starts (Wallingford26).
The event will be hosted from The King’s Arms, The Moors, Kidlington. Please stay for a drink/food after your run; this authentic traditional pub has an interesting menu featuring various Welsh dishes. For food, we suggest ordering before your run.
Area: The area has two distinct parts. The southern part is technical street orienteering in Kidlington. The northern half of the map uses the permissive paths of the Cherwell Meadows and Thrupp Community Woodland, extending as far as Thrupp in the north west and the village of Hampton Poyle in the north east. This is a delightful area for running, especially on a summer evening.
Map: 1:10,000 paper street-O map, produced specially for this event to include permissive paths mapped using Strava Heatmap. For a guide to the mapping, see here. Of particular note for this event is that (as in all our events) orange denotes a field or park that may be run on, even off the paths, whereas beige denotes fields which you may NOT cross other than on marked paths. Light green denotes woods or hedges which you may NOT cross (and in most cases would not want to at this time of year).
Travel: There is some street parking nearby. The event is very accessible by bus from Oxford or Oxford Parkway station, with the number 2 bus passing very close to the pub. One may also cycle from Oxford to Kidlington via bridleways through Water Eaton – this is approximately 6 miles.
What to bring: Yourself, in suitable clothing (high-vis highly recommended) and footwear. (The planner ran most of the paths in shorts a week before the event and they had been freshly mown and were clear. However they cannot be guaranteed free of nettles on the day of the event. Some grass could be a little long but is generally not.) A phone with plenty of charge. A Garmin / Apple watch if you own one. A compass (not essential). Sunset is at 21:17 so you shouldn’t need a light.
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 or 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.