NORTHERN NAVIGATORS
Invite you to a Virtual Orienteering Course at
North Durham (Pity Me, Newton Hall and Framwellgate)
2021
This is to be a 'virtual' MapRunF event - see details below, available till further notice
| Travel : | The area is located on the north side of the City of Durham, around Pity Me, Newton Hall and Framwellgate. As this is a virtual event you can do at any time there will be no 'O' signs. |
| Parking : | As described below under 'Start / finish', the course is set up in the MapRun app so you can start and finish at any control. This is designed for maximum convenience, for example if you are running straight from home you might start and finish at the closest control. However, if you are driving then the easiest approach is to use the marked start and finish which are on the corner of the Sainsbury building at the Arnison Centre retail park, grid ref NZ270459, nearest post code DH1 5GD. There is ample parking on the retail park - 4 hours parking at Sainsbury for free, although the terms and conditions suggest you should be buying something in Sainsbury. Or use neighbouring car parks. |
| Format : | There are no physical controls and the event uses the MapRun mobile phone application. You can either use the recently released MapRun6 version of the app (free download from iTunes app store for iOS devices or Google Play Store for Android devices), or the older MapRunF version of the app. You can also optionally pair with the MapRunG app on compatible Garmin watches (available from Garmin Connect IQ) to avoid needing to carry a smartphone. If you want to "start anywhere" as described below you need the MapRun6 app, or version V4.8.8+ of the MapRunF app. The advantage of this activity is that it follows the rules with regard to social distancing and you can do it at your convenience at any time. You simply need to download the MapRunF app onto your smart phone, find the event, print the map (you can use the map on your phone but may find this limiting) and go to the start. As you run around the area, your phone will ping when you arrive at a control. Follow this link for a more comprehensive explanation of the procedure from British Orienteering. |
| Course : | It is a 60 minute score event with 20 controls. It will be available until further notice. The course can be found in the UK/County Durham/Durham folder of the MapRun app on your mobile device. Visit as many controls as you can, in any order, in the given time limit. All controls are worth 20 points with a 10 point penalty per minute or part of overtime. The winner will be the person to get the most controls in the shortest time. The shortest route to get all the controls is just over 10km, but you can do as much or as little as you like! |
| Fees : | There are no fees for this event. |
| Start / finish : | You have a choice. The first option is to start at the start triangle marked on the map, which is a postbox on the north-west corner of the large Sainsbury building in the Arnison Centre retail park. Then proceed to collect as many controls as you can in the hour, and return to finish at the same point. The second option is to pick any control marked on the map as your start point. In that case the start triangle marked on the map should be treated as an extra regular control point to be visited (and if using the app on your phone it will be displayed as such - control 21 - once you have started). Start at your chosen start control, collect as many controls as you can in the hour, including the start triangle control if you wish, and return to finish at the same control you started at. As you approach the start (whether that be the marked start triangle, or another start control of your choosing) your phone should 'ping', which indicates that you have started. The finish is back wherever you started. |
| Terrain : | Mostly on quiet residential streets and footpaths. There are some very short sections of grass to get to some controls. There are some roads to be crossed that carry heavier traffic – so please take care. Some paths are unlit, so you would need a torch if it is dark. |
| Map : | North Durham - Scale 1:10,000, 10m contours, produced from Open Orienteering Map in StreetO style (urban background is white, roads appear as black lines, paths as dashed lines). The map with course can be downloaded and printed from here or viewed within the app. |
| Control desc : | Control descriptions will be in text format and will be on the front of the map. |
| Facilities : | Toilets are available in Sainsbury, or go before you arrive. |
| Dogs : | Dogs will be allowed but under close control - please clean up after your dog especially in the parking area. |
| Results : | After you've finished the course your phone uploads your time and trail, so you can see how you've done relative to other people, either within the app or at the MapRun console. You can also see which routes other people have taken between checkpoints, so you can learn which sorts of routes work best and improve your performance on your next attempt. |
| Officials : | Organiser/Planner - Duncan Archer (CLOK), email |