ESOC Ultrasprint 2012, Bush Estate

Sun 02nd Sep 2012

Info updated: 18th Feb
Type of event: Local, Other
Type of terrain: Parkland

Results

General Information

Thank you to everyone for turning up today, a great little event which always has a fantastic atmosphere. If you spot any errors in the results, please let me know.

Comments

Planners

We hope that you enjoyed the Ultrasprint event, it seems to have become a popular event, and is cementing itself as a regular ESOC event. It always seems to attract a wide calibre of orienteer, from beginners all the way through to international standard which is very encouraging.

As planners we endeavoured to make the maze quite tricky, providing route choice when possible, although invariably the best option was to run rather than think about it too much! Also we consciously tried to give you a few headaches when it came to choosing the best entry point into the maze, partly by not providing an easy route from one side of the maze to the other, so tempting competitors to go around. In hindsight we could perhaps have made the courses a touch longer to give the quickest orienteers better value for money.

We owe a number of thanks to people, without which the event would not have been possible. The controller Norma Coutts was a pleasure to work with and was often out checking controls remarkably quickly after changes had been sent through, which really helped us keep to the timescales as the event day got closer. The Fawthrop family who gave invaluable help and advice on setting up the maze, and loaned their own equipment too. To Andrew Rowe for helping to mark out the maze the day before on the ground, and then help setting it up on the day. Thanks to those who assisted in collecting controls in at the end of the day and taking down the maze – it was all very much appreciated. Finally thanks to all the competitors for coming along, it makes all the efforts worthwhile.

Mark & Jeni Rowe

Location

Nearest town: Penicuik

Grid Ref: NT245635
Postcode:
Latitude: 55.8620
Longitude: -3.20384
Google Map (aerial) - Bing Map (OS)

Directions

The Ultrasprint will be held at Bush Estate. Postcode is EH26 0BB for those who use this for directions.

Parking is on hard standing within the estate, signed from the entrance gates to the Bush Estate/Edinburgh Technopole on the minor road linking the A702 at Easter Howgate to Gowkley Moss. Coming from the A702 these gates (with stone pillars) are the second turning on the right off the minor road. Coming from Gowkley Moss, they are second on the left after the small roundabout.
Parking, Registration, Start, Finish and (elsan) toilets are all very close together.

Registration & Start Times

Registration for EOD: 13.00 – 14.15
Start times: First race: 13.30 – 14.30. Second race: up to 15.00. Third race: up to 15.30.
(Courses 1, 2 and 3 can be done in any order)
Courses will close at 16.30 after which controls will be brought in.

Course Information

There will be FOUR separate courses
o Courses 1 - 3 range in distance from 1km – 1.5km (subject to final controlling), and contain controls up to Light Green standard
o The overall winner’s time will be the combined time for courses 1, 2 and 3
o Course 4 will be contained entirely within the maze and will be suitable for children
o Specifically at this event, and as per previous years, controls will NOT have a unique numeric/alphabetical code to denote you are at the correct control. It is down to the competitor to ensure they are at the correct point given on the map. There will be a penalty of 2 mins per control that is incorrectly visited.

Format: Controls in the Maze combined with some park orienteering. The challenge is to navigate around the controls in the Maze and those in the surrounding park, quickly and cleanly. The fastest runner may not be the most accurate. It is entertaining for the spectators and makes a very welcoming, sociable, fun event which everyone can enjoy.

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

Senior (BOF member) - £5.00
Senior (Non-BOF member) - £6.00
Junior/student - £2.50
Small Family Groups - £5.00

Entry enquiries (only):

SI hire is free but there will be a £30 charge if lost.

On-line entries: Fabian 4 from 10th August 2012
Closing date: 26th August 2012
Limited EOD if maps available.

Contacts / Officials

Organiser: Janet Clark (ESOC) Phone: 0131 225 7771 or email:
Planner: Mark & Jeni Rowe (ESOC)
Controller: Norma Coutts (ESOC)
Entry enquiries: Simon Firth (ESOC),

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.

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