With recent developments relating to the mitigation of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and guidance from the UK Government and British Orienteering we are suspending all our orienteering activities.
The events planned for Tuesday March 24th (Richmond Park) and Tuesday 14th April (Kings Cross) are cancelled.
Other events remain in the calendar for now but will only take place if the guidance changes.
As you will probably know in the last two days next weekend’s British Long and Relay Championships, the JK festival scheduled for Easter and the summer multi-day event Croeso have all been cancelled.
The Wimbledon Common Night-O (actually on Putney Heath) attracted 57 entries, in total about 65 people given those participating in pairs or threes.
Although the weather was not as rainy as forecast, the going underfoot was decidedly “heavy”, with depressions being ponds and many paths being ditches. I intended that the courses be somewhat easier than for the usual night-O but many competitors seemed to disagree.
Despite recovering from his marathon at the weekend, Ed Catmur (SLOW) narrowly won the Long course from Matthew Vokes (DRONGO), with Aimee Darley (SN) the leading female.
On the Short course, Callum Gilhooley & Ben Toogood (SLOW) together lead the field with Sarah Darley (GO) beating the other ladies.
Thanks are due to the usual suspects for their assistance, without which these events simply would not happen.
Many thanks to Dave Wright for organising and planning last night’s event. Do add your route to Routegadget, and see which way others went. And check split times on Winsplits, to see where you were quick, and where you weren’t so much. Well run Ian Ditchfield.
The British Night Championships were held on Saturday evening in the woods at Hambleden near Henley-on-Thames. Hambleden is a private shooting estate, and was an excellent venue for the championships – technical and hilly but very runnable. The organising club Thames Valley did a terrific job putting on the championships and a big race the following day. The area was previously used to host two days of the biggest UK orienteering festival, the JK, at Easter 2013.
Congratulations to club stalwart Paul Couldridge who won the M45 trophy through fast and accurate orienteering and a well-paced race. He built a lead of four minutes in the last third of the course of 8.3km with 300m climb, to finish in a time of 55:23.
Paul is pictured above with the trophy, bracketed by second-placed Nicholas Cooper of South Yorkshire and third-placed Will Heap of Southdowns. In the fluorescent jacket is the organiser, John Dalton of Thames Valley O.C.
Paul has previously won both the M35 and M40 (twice) night trophies.
The W35 trophy was won by SLOWprint editor Sarah-Jane Barrable. This was her first win.
Third on M35 was fixtures secretary Duncan Grassie. (Sarah-Jane’s husband Nick Barrable who runs with South Yorkshire was second in this class.)
Other runners from SLOW were: Juste Raimbault and Yordan Kolev on M21L, Fiona Tam on W21L, Matthias Mahr – fourth on M40, Sue Carter – fourth on W50, Dorte Torpe Hansen – fifth on W50, Richard Stanhope on M60, Paul Street on M65 and Jim Mallinson on M70.
The M21L trophy was retained by Graham Gristwood of Forth Valley Orienteers who covered the 11.9km and 380m course in just 60:21. His speed was not very different from that of his run at the JK Middle race back in 2013. He has represented GB at World Orienteering Championships a record number of times. And he also presents our video Introduction to Orienteering.
The W21L trophy was won by Megan Carter-Davies of Mid-Wales O.C. Megan now holds all four British trophies, having won the long, middle and sprint titles last year.
Megan Carter-Davies and Graham Gristwood (photo: On The Red Line)
Given the current situation in England with Covid-19, and the impact of ongoing restrictions when applied to an urban environment, we have reluctantly concluded we are sorry we must cancel the London City Race weekend for this year.
We are making provisional arrangements for a ‘forest’ event to be held on Holmwood Common, near Dorking on Sunday 13th September as a substitute, should regulations allow. Some of the courses are planned!
2021
Preparations are already underway for a relaunch of the London City Weekend in 2021.
Provisional details:
Friday 3rd September – a prologue race, as yet undecided.
Saturday 4th September
Classic distance urban event in Westminster and the City of London, with Start and Finish close to the Aldwych.
This will make the most of the complex alleys and courts of the Temple.
Sunday 5th September
A middle distance race in the new development at King’s Cross. This is also fairly described as “complex”. Organised by our friends at London Orienteering Klubb.
UPDATE 17th March
With the situation regarding the coronavirus pandemic it is not now clear if this race will go ahead. It will take some time for the situation to become clear.
Here are preliminary details for the London City Race 2020 which we are delighted is one of nine races in the 2020 Euro City Tour.
The race is on Saturday 12th September 2020, in a complex residential area with scattered parks. As usual for the City Race the map is at 1:5000 and we have extended it from previous years. Longer courses will visit the newly mapped area.
The station nearest to the event centre is Canada Water, south of the river in the old Surrey Docklands.
Note on Heading Photo: Sorry the SLOW photographer didn’t make the prizegiving. This photo has Box Hill in the background and runners in the foreground (two of whom are also orienteers). It was taken at the Surrey Cross-Country Championships earlier this month.
Ally @photogirlruns (who is a professional photographer) ran and tweeted some shots (click on each image.)
Many thanks for having entered this year’s Box Hill Fell Race. I am delighted that you have signed up for the 39th edition of this race and I do hope you are looking forward to it. I am also very pleased to announce that we will be using electronic chip timing for the first time; please read on for details of where to collect your timing chip.
This contains a number of important instructions and details for race day so please read these carefully. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Where do I have to be when? All competitors will need to collect their race numbers and timing chips from the STEPPING STONES PUB (Westhumble St, Dorking RH5 6BS) between 09:20 and 10:45. The race will start at 11:00 on Burford Meadows (the route will be clearly marked and sign-posted / taped from the Stepping Stones pub.) This is around a kilometre from the pub so please ensure you allow sufficient time to get to the start.
What if I have been the lucky recipient of an entry transfer? Like other entrants, you will need to collect a number from the Stepping Stones pub, between 09:20 and 10:45 You will also need to sign a disclaimer form (those who entered online will have agreed to our disclaimer terms upon signing up and we will need anyone who has received a transfer to also agree to these terms); we will have copies of said forms and pens, but it would be helpful if you can identify yourself as a transferee.
How do I get there (and where do I park if I’ve driven)?
By public transport: Take a train to Boxhill & Westhumble station, which is c. 300m walk from the Stepping Stones pub (please note that there are planned engineering works on South Western so if you’re coming from London you’ll need to take the Southern service from Victoria); or… Take the 465 bus, which runs every 30 minutes from Kingston and stops on the A24
By car: Please DO NOT park at the Stepping Stones pub. Head to designated competitor parking at Ryka’s Cafe, a very short walk from both the Stepping Stones pub and the start. This will be available from 08:45. We only have a limited number of spaces available here so please aim to pack as many competitors into your vehicle. Once these spaces are full you can…. Drive to parking elsewhere. If you arrive after our parking at Ryka’s is full you should be able to park either a) on the B2209 near Ryka’s Cafe; b) in the Box Hill and Westhumble station car park; c) on Westhumble Street; or d) in Dorking
What should I wear (on my feet)? Not spikes!! As noted on the race details flyer, spikes are likely to cause erosion on the steep downhill grass sections of the course and your use of them could jeopardise the future of the race (there are also a few road sections in the course so you wouldn’t be that comfortable in spikes) Ideally some form of studded shoes, e.g., Walshes, Inov8s (other off-road shoe brands are available)
When and where will prize-giving be held? Prize-giving, for individual and team categories, will be back at the Stepping Stones pub after the race (most likely between 13:00 and 14:00, closer to the latter time). We will also be displaying results on a screen at the pub
I think / know I won’t be able to run but I know someone who does; how, and up until when, can I transfer my entry? You can transfer your entry to another runner via the online entry system, following what should be a fairly straightforward process The deadline for online entry transfers is 12:00 (noon) on Thursday 16 January. We will, however, still allow on-the-day amendments. As mentioned above, anyone receiving a transferred entry will need to sign a disclaimer form as part of the race day registration process.
Hopefully this answers most if not all of your questions but, to reiterate, please feel free to get in touch, if you have any further queries. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you on Saturday morning!
Many thanks, Harold
Orienteering in London and Surrey. British Orienteering's Club of the Year 2013. Community Amateur Sports Club accredited.
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