NORTHERN NAVIGATORS
Invite you to a Virtual Orienteering Course at
Aykley Heads, Durham
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, near County Hall and the University Hospital of North Durham. As this is a virtual event, you can do it at any time. There will be no 'O' signs. |
| Parking : | Arriving on foot, use the entrance to the old DLI museum. There is a small lay-by off the northbound A691 adjacent to St Cuthbert’s Church, grid ref NZ268431, nearest postcode DH1 4NH. Alternatively you can park at the top of North Road on the other side of the church - both are pay and display (approx. 30p/half hour). |
| 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.
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 : | Start at the start triangle marked on the map, which is the north-east corner of the wooded island in the small DLI car park. Then proceed to collect as many controls as you can in the hour, and return to the finish which is north-west of the DLI building on a small seating area. As you approach the start your phone should 'ping', which indicates that you have started. |
| Terrain : | Mostly on quiet residential streets, footpaths and small wooded areas. Owing to recent weather and increased usage the area is very muddy, so appropriate footwear is required. The area is mostly unlit, so you would need a torch if it is dark. Please note that the OOB area in the County Hall main parking area is a Covid Testing station and should be avoided. |
| Map : | Aykley Heads - Scale 1:4,000, 5m contours, produced from OCAD. The map with course can be downloaded and printed from here or viewed within the app. |
| Control desc : | Control descriptions will be in symbol format and will be on the front of the map and also as text descriptions attached to the printed map file. |
| Facilities : | There are no toilets so you are advised to 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 - Julian Warren (NN), email |