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Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club

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ESOC Sprintelope, Myreside/Royal Edinburgh Hospital

Informal Evening Urban Event in the Sprintelope Series

Wed 09th Aug 2023

Info updated: 10th Aug
Type of event: Local
Type of terrain: Urban

Results

We apologise unreservedly to those affected in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital by our event last night. Being considerate to everyone encountered while running is the basis of all our Urban events, and on this occasion, regrettably, we fell short.

It turned out that the meticulously careful planning, done at walking pace during the day, proved, on some route choices, obtrusive and upsetting to some patients at the Hospital, seeing a succession of people running right past their windows during the evening.

We would also like to offer sincere apologies to all who entered this Sprintelope only to find that due to this problem at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital the courses had to be cut short to exclude this whole area. Most people ran some kind of shortened course in a wide variety of distances, so results are meaningless and will not be published.

Janet Clark, Events Co-ordinator

Lost Property – a pair of glasses left at Registration. Contact

General Information

SPRINTELOPES are small, very informal events in Edinburgh and surrounding area. Although all are welcome these events are aimed at people who are already familiar with orienteering and orienteering events, especially urban events.  No frills at all, including no waterproof maps or control kites.

Location of this event - Meeting point is at the south end of Morningside Park just off Morningside Drive, Edinburgh EH10 5NU.  Note the meeting point is actually at a city park - there is a street fairly close by called Morningside Park which is not the meeting point.

Terrain: City streets and parks plus the grounds of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.

Course Maps and Scale: Map scale likely to be around 1:4000 or whatever is closest that will fit on to an A4 sheet.  Course maps are NOT on waterproof paper. Please bring a poly pocket or plastic map bag to use if it is raining or if your hands are likely to be sweaty enough to rub off the print.  

Timing: SI timing will be used BUT because the events are very informal, there are only SI units at the start and finish.

Controls: No control kites. At ESOC Sprintelopes there will be red/white tapes tied to lampposts or other street/park furniture.  It’s taken on trust that you visit within approximately your arm’s length of each control. 

Facilities: None. No toilets provided specifically for the event. 

Bag Drop: If you decide to leave your bag beside the start/finish/download you do so at your own risk. 

Dogs: Dogs are allowed at the event so long as they are kept under very close control at all times. 

COVID:  Please don’t come to the event if you have Covid or symptoms of Covid or are unwell. Please respect other people’s space. 

First Aid: The Organiser will have a very basic first aid kit available. 

A & E Services: The main hospital for A&E services in Edinburgh is:

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
51 Little France Crescent
Old Dalkeith Road
Edinburgh
EH16 4SA
Telephone: 0131 536 1000

Location

map location

Nearest town: City of Edinburgh

Directions

This meeting point is near the south entrance to Morningside Park just off Morningside Drive, Edinburgh EH10 5NU.  This is on the south side of Edinburgh and easily accessible by bus or bike.  Please try to walk, bike or use public transport if you possibly can. If you need to bring your car you can park on nearby streets. 

This is a residential area, please respect local residents who may not understand orienteering or why people could be changing in their neighbourhood.

Note the meeting point is actually at a city park - there is a street fairly close by called Morningside Park which is not the meeting point.

Registration & Start Times

Registration and Start location are close to the south entrance to Morningside Park just off Morningside Drive, Edinburgh EH10 5NU.  Note it is at the entrance to a city park (Morningside Park) not a street of the same name which is fairly close by.  

Registration will open shortly before the first start time at 6.30pm.  Pre-entered competitors can head straight to the start.

START PERIOD: 6.30pm - 7.30pm.

COURSE CLOSURE: Courses will close at 8.30pm. If you are unsure about how long you will take to go around your course please come and start early. 

Course Information

There will be long (approx 5km) and a short (approx 3km) course options although these are most likely to be straight line distances so expect to run further than that.

Because of the road crossings ALL under 16s must be accompanied at all times by an adult when running. Due to the informality of the event the adult can also be competitive (see Entries section).

Explanation of colour courses

  • White are very easy with all controls on paths. They are mainly used by 6-10 year olds and family groups.
  • Yellow use simple linear features like paths, walls and streams. They are mainly used by under 12’s and family groups.
  • Orange progress to basic use of the compass and route choice. They are ideal for novice adults or experienced youngsters.
  • Light Green are ideal for improvers as the navigational difficulty begins to increase and uses simple contours and point features.
  • Green are used mostly by experienced under 18’s and adults wanting a short but challenging course with a very hard navigational difficulty.
  • Blue are a longer, more physically demanding course in comparison to the green. The distances are more varied between controls and the course attracts experienced orienteers.
  • Brown & Black are very physically demanding and have a very hard navigational difficulty. They are for experienced orienteers only.
  • Score means visiting as many controls as possible in any order in a specific time, like 45mins.

Entry Details

Pre-Entry strongly advised: Entries open on RaceSignUp at 10am on Wednesday 2nd August and close at 8pm on Tuesday 8th August.  

We'll print some extra maps so if you miss this deadline send us an email  to ask about a late entry.  Entry on the evening of the event may still be possible but this is subject to spare maps being available, payment by cash or bank transfer.

Remember all under 16s must be accompanied by an adult. Either enter separately but run together or order an extra shadowers map for £1 if only the Junior is entered.

Fees: Senior £4, Junior (under 21)/Student £2.  Shadowers map £1

Contacts / Officials

EMAIL

Safety and Risk

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.

Privacy: when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports.
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