Sheen Common Night-O Finale, Tues 4th March
Entries will open at SIEntries in a couple of weeks.
The fourth and final race of South London Orienteers’ 2024-2025 Night series takes place on Sheen Common on Tuesday 4th March 2025. Sheen Common is a small but perfectly formed area just to the North of Richmond Park that has not been used for orienteering for almost 20 years and is being specially remapped by Don McKerrow for the occasion, so don’t miss it!
We will also have a series prizegiving at the event, likely around 8:30pm once everyone has finished. There will be prizes for series winners as well as some spot prizes!
Race Centre
The race will be based at the delightful Plough East Sheen pub, where we have a dedicated little area. You can leave your kit there while you run and then do stay around for a drink and some food afterwards if you can.
| Location | Sheen Common |
|---|---|
| Address | 42 Christchurch Rd, London SW14 7AF |
| Latitude/longitude | 51.4608, -0.271 |
| OS grid reference | TQ202749 |
| Maps | Google Maps, OpenStreetMap |
/-0.270976,51.460807,14,0,0/455x455@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1Ijoib29icmllbiIsImEiOiJjaWwyb2d6M2MwMGM2d2dtNXI0Y2dobjdkIn0._yVvYZuMnUokZRhdRs0ysQ)
| |
Theoretically you do not need to come the the pub before your run if you have your own SI card – you can go directly to the start. However everyone must come back to the pub to download, so we know that you are back.
Getting There
The pub is about a 15 minute walk from Mortlake station on the London Waterloo to Richmond line, with frequent trains. Alternatively, the Temple Sheen Road (V) bus stop is 5 minutes away and serves a number of routes including the 337, 33 and 493.
If driving, there is on street parking surrounding the pub.
The start and finish will be approximately 5 minutes walk from the pub.
Race Details & Entry
The entry fee is £5 for SLOW members, students and juniors; £7 for others. The races use both SIAC contactless and SI electronic punching; SIAC cards are available to hire for those who do not have their own for £2. A small number of headlamps are also available to borrow for free but you need to e-mail the organiser in advance of each race to reserve one.
Entries will open soon. All entries, including on the day, will be online. Entries will stay open until 19:25 on the day of the event subject to map availability. To guarantee a map, please enter by Sunday 2nd of March.
Start Times: 18:45 – 19:30 (note later than normal first start because it doesn’t get fully dark any earlier!)
Courses close 20:30 – you must return to the pub by this time, even if you have not completed the course.
Two courses are offered:
- Long: ~ 5.km straight line, reasonably challenging
- Short: ~2.5km straight line, a little less challenging
Results will be available on the SLOW website shortly after the event.
Terrain
Sheen Common is a lovely little woodland with a mixture of very runnable and denser areas (though at its best in March). There are a lot of small paths and changes of direction, so while the map isn’t that hard on first view, it’ll be tricky enough to keep up with the navigation.
It’s also a great area for newcomers to try out night orienteering, because you’re never very far away from start & finish (& the pub).
Due to the size of the area the map is at a larger than usual scale of 1: 4000
Additional Information
This event can’t happen without volunteer effort on the night. If you can lend a hand on the start, or with collecting controls, it is greatly appreciated – please get in touch with Matthias. Everyone who helps will be able to run – and get a free entry! The rota and roles can be found on our Helpers Required! page.
Photographs may be taken during the event.
Organiser / Planner – Matthias Mahr 