Chelmer ValleyWed 30 Oct

Essex Winter Midweek Series 2024/25

Local level event

Explanation of Event levels

Local events are usually low key and in the 'localised' area, ideal for newcomers to try the sport and Training events are non competitive and used for training and coaching, aimed at members of the club, but they can attract people from neighbouring clubs, and are often ideal for newcomers to try the sport. Regional events attract participants from around the local Region, National events are high quality competitions that will attract people from far away, Major events are Major Events such as a British Championships.

Terrain type: Urban

Results

Report

Missed the event? You can still run the course on Maprun catch up until 12th November to score for the league. Follow the links below for details and PDF maps.

Chelmer Valley Short

Chelmer Valley Long

Event report

Thank you all for coming along to the first event in the Essex Mid Week Winter Series 2024/25. The event was held at the Toby Carvery on the edge of Chelmer Village, which turned out to be a great area for street orienteering. There were lots of alleys & twisty roads, as well as the green area in the middle and the shopping centre, which made for great fun, as the planner, trying to create courses which were tricky & fun.

We had a great turnout, with 20 runners on the Long course & 13 on the Short. The evening was fine & dry and fairly warm for the end of October, and there were travel problems which meant that some people had travelled for quite a while just to get there! Everyone returned from their run safely, and most people had enjoyed their run!

On the short course there were a couple of issues, control 1 was slightly out of place, being a bit early along the street, and the Finish didn’t register for a couple of competitors. But this didn’t seem to trouble anyone too much, and Melanie Sirett returned with the fastest time, closely followed by Joe Harwood. With the handicaps in place, Mel is leading, followed in 2nd by Dave Game. One competitor on the short course misread control 11 as control 1, and then decided to proceed to tackle the course backwards!!

On the Long course the main problem seemed to be controls 6 and 9 – which were quite close together and confused some competitors when the map was upside down! The fastest runner on the Long was Chris Prince, closely followed by Seb Parris. Again, with the handicaps in place, Paul Beckett leads the pack, followed by Roy Read.

It was great to welcome 5 new orienteer’s on the night, we hope you enjoyed it and hope to see you again at a future event.

Quite a few people stayed behind and enjoyed a drink and/or a bite to eat, whilst discussing the pros & cons of the courses taken during the evening.

Obviously the League standings are the same as the result on the evening, but as the organiser I am awarded 100 points – which means that at this point I am equal ‘top of the league’: probably for the only time this season! The best 6 results out of 10 will make up the final positions.

Don’t forget, if you run an Anytime MapRun in the next two weeks you will also be included in the results (with a 7 minute penalty for Anytime).

The next event in the Series is in South Woodham Ferrers in two weeks time.

Last updated: Wed 04 December, 2024

Overview

Midweek street event using MapRun

The event will form part of Essex Winter Mid-Week Series 2024-25. Points will be awarded based on finishing times adjusted using an age/gender handicap system. Best 6 results from the 10 event series will count.

Location Info

Near: Chelmsford
Lat,Lng: 51.74004,0.49875
Postcode: CM2 6AD
What3Words: ///twig.dizzy.sheet

Open an interactive map in:
GoogleMap - OpenStreetMap - BingMap (OS 50k)

Directions / Parking

Toby Carvery, Dukes Lane, Chelmer Village, Chelmsford, CM2 6AD

Free parking is available in the carvery car park

Map / Terrain

Open Orienteering Map printed on plain paper. Bring a map bag if wet.

The course is on roads & footpaths, including some well-lit alleyways. Dependant on your route chosen, you may pass controls en-route to your destination, however, you must still visit all of the controls in the correct order.

Course Information

Short course 3.4km (11 controls) 1:5000

Long Course 5.4km (19 controls) 1:7500

All measured as direct distances between controls. You will run further.

Control sites are fire hydrants and one lamp post.

It is useful to download the course you need before you arrive, download the course onto the MapRun app by clicking on ‘Select Event' in the app, and following the menu path UK > Essex>Chelmer Village Oct24
The courses are:
ChelmerV Oct24 Long
ChelmerV Oct24 Short

The course map will not be visible on your phone until you receive the PIN number at Registration on the night. You do not need the PIN number to run using a Garmin watch.
Your result will be automatically downloaded when you finish. The full procedure will be explained at Registration. If the app failsnto register your visit to a control, you need to note the lower number on the H sign, or lamp post number. If a control is missed then the software will show your result as Mispunch, but in the results we will add the usual penalty for a missed or incorrect control.

Entry Details

Enter this event via Racesignup Entries close at 12:00 noon on Tuesday 29th October.

£4 Seniors, £5 unaffiliated runners, £2 under 21 or students

As this is the first event in the series, save money and buy an Essex Winter Midweek Series Golden Ticket covering the whole series:

Senior (member) £30, Senior (unaffiliated) £40,
Junior/Student £15

For late entries email series coordinator.





Registration and Start times

Start times will be between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.

Please ensure you notify the organiser that you have finished, so that safety checks can be completed. Competitors must report to the finish by 8:45pm.

Facilities

Toilets available at the Toby Carvery.

Newcomers are welcome. Help and guidance will be available.

Post event refreshment and deliberations in the Toby Carvery, meals are served until 9pm

Contacts / Officials

Organiser/Planner:

Jackie Sibthorp, 07311 213539 jackie_sibthorp@hotmail.com

SOS Series Coordinator:

Dean Pepper 07817 558216 deanjpepper@gmail.com

Nearest A&E Hospital

Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford CM1 7ET
NHS Urgent care search

Safety Notes

Participation is at your own risk. Under 16’s must be accompanied by an adult.

Bring clothing and footwear appropriate for the weather conditions.

This is a night event. A head or hand torch are compulsory.

As with any street orienteering participants will be required to cross roads and you are asked to take due care and attention at all times. High visibility clothing is strongly recommended.

There may be dog walkers, cyclists or residents on pavements and footpaths – be aware and give them priority.

Miscellaneous

The event will form part of Essex Mid-Week Winter O League. Points will be awarded based on finishing times adjusted using an age/gender handicap system.

Each missed or incorrect control will incur a 5 minutes penalty.

Best 6 results from the 10 event series will count.

On-the-night bonus of 15 points per event for those running on the night, as opposed to MapRun catchup. 7 min penalty for Anytime. A second run on any particular course will not count for scoring purposes. Anytime catch-up for events hopefully available for 2 weeks after the event, on MapRun.

See series website for maps and instructions.

You are welcome to run together as a group, but in order to be fair we ask that you keep together, as when running as a group the least advantageous handicap is applied.

100 points will be allocated to the course organiser/planner for each event planned.

Full results will be emailed and published on the SOS and HAVOC websites.