Great NotleyWed 15 Apr
Essex Summer Midweek Series 2026
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 & Parkland
Results
Report
Thank you for joining the first event in this year’s Essex Midweek Summer Series.
On my drive to the pub the sky darkened and it looked like rain was due, but luckily the clouds cleared and it was a nice dry evening with enough light for the 35 people taking part - 16 people on the short course and 19 people on the long course.
Welcome to the eight people who joined us last night for your first event in our midweek series - I hope you enjoyed it and we will see you again in future events in the series.
I chose to plan my event in Great Notley as I wanted a mixture of urban street running and off road running in parkland now that we have lighter evenings. To aid navigation and route choice in the park I opted to use a standard orienteering map, opposed to the Open Orienteering Map we usually use in the series. I hope this change of map with slightly more detail provided enough of a challenge while not being too confusing.
With sunset being just before 8pm, I wanted to take the courses into the park as soon as I could to maximise the amount of time in the park before dusk. I took the routes slightly north before entering the park, firstly to give everyone a chance to get used to the slightly larger scale of 1:7,500 in the easier streets, and secondly because I wanted everyone to approach the road crossing from the north side to avoid the potentially busy roads around the supermarket.
I found setting the course in the park enjoyable, but also a slight challenge as there wasn’t always a suitable control site where I wanted to take the route. I was also torn between making the routes thought-provoking while also not making them too challenging with this being the first event after a short break and with new members taking part.
Heading back into the urban area, I tried to include some shorter legs with multiple route options mixed in with some longer legs where attention is still required.
You may have noticed that I re-used a few control sites between both courses, with some legs being the same on both courses and then diverting to different controls, or some controls being approached from different directions on both courses. I thought this would be nice to have people running/walking in multiple directions crossing past each other and I like seeing other people while out orienteering.
I tried to ensure the control lines on the printed map didn’t obscure paths and other junctions by bending the lines where required, however I didn’t realise that control 22 on the long course wouldn’t be clear when printed. Sorry to the three people who missed that control. We discussed in the pub how it would be best to handle this as 5 minutes is a large penalty in this case. From looking at the tracks, it looks like some people ran straight to the control and some almost missed it then ran back on themselves to find it. To be fair, we have instead given a 1 minute penalty for those that missed that control.
Lulu and Rodger completed the short course in the fastest time and took the 100 points. Dale finished with the second fastest time followed by Colin Jackson and then Sarah. After handicaps are taken into account, Sarah takes second place followed by Dale and then Colin.
On the long course, Luke was the fastest back followed by Stephen and then Allen. The handicaps don’t change the order so Luke also takes 100 points.
The next event in our series is on Thursday 30th April at Writtle.
Details of this event can be found on HAVOC's website.
Overview
Event 1 of the Essex Summer Midweek Series 2026.
Mid week hybrid event encompassing urban street running and off road running in woods, parks and on footpaths and trails. Based on MapRun, there will be no physical control kites, but all controls will be on street or park furniture, or other identifiable features. Line courses, but with a time penalty for incorrect or missed controls.
Points will be awarded based on final score adjusted using an age/gender handicap system. Best 6 results from the 8-event series will count for the league leaderboard. Anytime catch-up for some events available for 2 weeks after the event, subject to an Anytime time penalty, on MapRun. Bonus points for running on the night compared to Anytime. Full results will be emailed via RaceSignUp and published on the SOS and HAVOC websites.
Location Info
/0.5246,51.8574,12/500x400?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGF1bGZyb3N0IiwiYSI6ImNreHB6M2ttMjBlbnkyd28yNXZzZWJwbGQifQ.fnwThkHVCLn8Nf1UM5_AYw)
Near: Great Notley Lat,Lng: 51.8574,0.5246 Postcode: CM77 7US What3Words: ///fingertip.storage.avoiding
Open an interactive map in:
GoogleMap -
OpenStreetMap -
BingMap (OS 50k)
Directions / Parking
The event starts and finishes from The Prince Louis, Notley Green, Great Notley, Braintree, CM77 7US.
Parking is available at the pub for customers.
Map / Terrain
Standard Orienteering Map 1:7500 printed on waterproof paper.
The printed map will contain a lot more detail than the map shown on MapRun.
Controls will be a mixture of fire hydrant signs, benches, play park equipment, statues and bridges - these will be identified on the control descriptions. If MapRun fails, you need to record the lower number on fire hydrants, or another indication.
The course will be on roads, footpaths and parkland.
Course Information
Short course: 3.8 km - 14 controls
Long Course: 6.1 km - 22 controls
Courses are measured as direct distances between controls. You will run further.
Depending on your route choice, you may pass controls en-route to your destination, however, you must still visit all of the controls in the correct order. Each missed or incorrect control will incur a 5 minutes penalty.
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 > Great Notley.
The courses are:
Great Notley 2026 Long
Great Notley 2026 Short
The course map will not be visible on your phone until you receive the PIN at Registration on the night. You do not need the PIN 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 fails to 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.
If you are unable to use MapRun, you are still welcome to take part by completing the control sheet with pen or pencil but be aware that this is a much slower method, and your score will be non-competitive. With this approach, timing will be manually by a traditional clock, and written answers will be checked by the planner.
Entry Details
Enter this event via Racesignup or enter the series via the Golden Ticket.
£4 Seniors, £5 unaffiliated runners, £2 under 21 or students.
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 9pm.
Facilities
Toilets available in the pub for customers.
Newcomers welcome. Help and guidance available.
Why not stay behind at the end for a drink afterwards and discuss your course and route choice.
Food is also available.
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. High visibility clothing is strongly recommended.
As with any street orienteering you are required to cross roads and you are asked to take due care and attention at all times. The courses enter and leave the Country Park via mandatory crossing points on and under the A131. The road crossing will be timed-out and will allow a maximum of 3 minutes.
There may be dog walkers, cyclists or residents on pavements and footpaths – be aware and give them priority.
A comprehensive risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event.
Miscellaneous
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.
On-the-night bonus of 15 points per event for those running on the night, as opposed to MapRun Anytime catchup.
100 points will be allocated to the course organiser/planner for each event planned.
Please note: Participants who are not members of British Orienteering are not covered by British Orienteering’s public liability insurance. By entering this event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered.