Silva Hill Races

 

The courses for these races use the hilly countryside to the south west of Dorking, Surrey. There are three races of 18, 10 and 6 miles. The 6 and 10 mile courses are entirely on field edges and tracks while there is about 1 mile of road on the optimum route for the 18m.

 

The courses are defined by a series of points and are not otherwise marked. An example of a point is the tower at the top of Leith Hill. The route between the points is free except that private land must be respected. While it is possible to follow other competitors the points are the same from year to year and reconnaissance is both permitted and encouraged for those planning to run a fast time. If the organiser is sent an SAE with the entry then a map showing the points will be sent back.

 

This is a very informal event though the record of 1hr 55min on the 18m represents a very hard run by a competitor capable of getting into the top 100 in the National Cross Country Championship.

 

Competitors carry a small electronic recording device and use Orienteering timing boxes at the specified points on the route to prove that they have completed the course. About half the points are normally manned and limited amounts of water are available.

 

Because of limitations on parking and the narrowness of some tracks early in the courses we have a limit of 100 competitors per race; in practice we have never got close to this.