Wester Hailes Urban RaceSun 10 Nov
Scottish Urban League event (SOUL 10)
Regional event
Explanation of event types
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. Virtual events are where there are no physical controls being used. Your presence at a control is registered using an App on your mobile phone, normally the free MapRun App.
Terrain type: Urban
Results
Officials' Reports
Planners' comments
Most importantly, a massive thanks to Controller Graeme Ackland, Organiser Fiona Findlay, SI guru Robert Findlay, and the control hangers (sister Sarah Crawford, fiancé Chris Smithard) and collectors (Terry Johnstone, David Robertson, Helena Nolan, Jim Murdoch) who made this job possible.
It seemed like a great idea to sign up for planning this event as I don't run urban events myself due to knee joint issues, so it was a different way to get involved. However, I soon realised this also meant I was somewhat ignorant of what makes a good/fair/safe course, especially as urban orienteering has advanced massively over the last 15 years since I planned EUOC's Edinburgh City Race in 2010 ;) My confidence was kept further in check by periodic blunt feedback from fiancé Chris, of elite sprinting persuasion. I greatly appreciated Graeme's multi-faceted experience and feedback on both controls and map, where he speedily made the necessary mapping updates in the southern area not previously used for orienteering.
I decided early on to avoid using barriers as I didn't want the organising burden of marshalling them or the pain of inevitably needing to disqualify runners. The northern area which had previously been used for the WOC Individual Sprint Qualification race was tricky enough without. The southern area (Clovenstone) which was visited by the longer courses was less interesting, but the map is visually deceptive as many inaccessible areas have been mapped and it takes precious thinking time to spot the viable routes. For the juniors, we looked for routes without traffic, and discarded the cycle path in favour of the canal towpath and quiet estate south of the canal.
I planned sprint-style to exploit the intricacies of the area and (hopefully) avoid dead running, albeit with a few longer route choice legs thrown in. With 65 controls to hang by 11am, there was a "wiping brow" moment as we hung the final Finish kite around 10:50 and soon after received a thumbs up from the controller around 10:55.
In the end, it seemed that everyone enjoyed their courses, and I could see lots of post-mortem map discussions happening. Only 1 kite was stolen, with all other equipment retrieved in good order. There were 0 encounters of untoward nature - in fact by all accounts the locals were exceedingly helpful in pointing out controls! So I'll call this event a success!
Alison O'Neil
Controllers' Comments
I generally steer clear of controlling jobs during term, but Wester Hailes did seem particularly straightforward as its within easy cycling range of my house and I ran there quite a bit during WOC. Plus, Janet is too nice to say no to. And so it proved, Alison’s courses were ideal out of the box, and there were only a few high walls missing on the map. In some ways the area is better for Urban than sprint, because one is unlikely to lose more than a few second crossing the wide, quiet roads. That meant some cunning route choices involving, or not involving, bridge crossings. Although I’d checked the controls, I was surprised how hard the course (2) felt in test running. The Canal View Primary School provided an ideal and helpful, if misnamed, location, and the ESOC machine ran with its traditional smoothness. Well done to all concerned!
Graeme Ackland
Organisers' Comments
There are many people to thank when an event runs as smoothly as this one. Janet and Jayne for all the unseen work that made my life so easy and all who helped on the day. I handed over the necessary equipment and you all just got on with it. When an organiser feels at a loose end on the day it is a good sign.
I must apologise to those of you who offered to help through Racesignup and didn't hear from me. I was working with the helpers' sheet mentioned on ESOC matters and WhatsApp.
All equipment packed up and returned to Janet on the day was an added bonus. I also have to give special mention to Jim the janitor who was a great help.
Fiona Findlay
Overview
Last event in the 2024 SOUL league on a WOC2024 map, sharing the weekend with the Scottish Score Champs at Vogrie Country Park. The prizegiving for the SOUL series will be held in the Event Centre on Sunday (see under Miscellaneous below).
Here is the Final Details document with updated/additional information, please read all the safety information, map and course details Wester Hailes SOUL 10 10 Nov24 Final Details
Pre-event Information
Location Info
/-3.28202,55.91578,11/500x400?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGF1bGZyb3N0IiwiYSI6ImNscGg3eGRlMjA0cm8yaW52aGhtY2lxZjQifQ.Lc483ZPI9QPGNrBpcqqywQ)
Near: Edinburgh Lat,Lng: 55.91578,-3.28202 OS Grid Ref: NT199699 Postcode: EH14 3HS What3Words: ///worked.songs.liver
Open an interactive map in: GoogleMap - OpenStreetMap - AppleMaps - BingMap
Directions / Parking
The event will be based in Wester Hailes, a residential suburb in the west of the City of Edinburgh, close to the Edinburgh City Bypass (A720). The event centre is the Canal View Primary School, 4 Hailesland Place, Edinburgh EH14 2SL. No competitor parking here.
Parking is available at the nearby Westside Plaza shopping centre (no restrictions or fees), and although the indoor centre will be closed on Sunday, a well-known supermarket (LIDL) will be open. The walking route to Registration (5-10 mins) will be signed from the north-east corner of the car park at an overpass over Murrayburn Gate.
If driving through the city, note that there is now an LEZ zone in Central Edinburgh, details here
Public Transport Options
By Bus: Check the Lothian Buses website but options include
- From outwith Edinburgh: Park at Hermiston Park and Ride (check for height restrictions) on tall vehicles) and take the #25 or #35 (8 an hour) to the “Napier University” stop. It is a 20-minute walk to Westside Plaza.
- From central Edinburgh: Take the #3, #30 or #33 bus (10 an hour) from Princes Street to the “Westside Plaza” stop.
It is a 5-minute walk from the “Westside Plaza” stop to the Event Centre at Canal View Primary School - see above.
By Train: From central Edinburgh: There is an hourly train service from Waverley/Haymarket to Wester Hailes station next to the Westside Plaza.
By Bike: A variety of quiet cycle route maps throughout the city are available on the Edinburgh City Council Quiet Routes web pages.
It will be possible to lock your bike close by Registration.
Edinburgh based orienteers are welcome to join the newly expanded ESOC car sharing WhatsApp group. Please contact email hidden; JavaScript is required for the joining link.
Map / Terrain
Wester Hailes is a residential area in the south-west of Edinburgh. It was largely developed in the early 1970s, which is reflected in the dominant housing styles, mainly purpose-built flats and tower blocks. Extensive redevelopment in more recent years has involved replacement of high-rise flats with newer low-rise housing. Westside plaza is the main social and shopping hub of the area; it includes a cinema and is served by buses and trains from the centre of Edinburgh. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal runs through the area.
Running surfaces are a mix of paved roads, paths and communal grass areas between housing. The area is mostly flat with only limited gradients.
New map for WOC 2024 at 1:4000 or 1:3000, with 2.5m contours, mapped to ISSprOM 2019-2 v6 (Peel Land Surveys 2023) with additional survey and cartography by Alasdair Pedley, 2024, and further updates by Graeme Ackland and Alison O'Neil, 2024.
Longer courses will also visit the Clovenstone estate south of the canal which has not been previously used for orienteering and will pass through the Westside plaza complex. There is ongoing building work north of Westside plaza which is visited. This is marked in purple as temporary out-of-bounds areas. These have been mapped as late as possible before map printing but minor changes before your race are still possible
Shorter courses will mostly stay in the housing estate north of the canal as used for the WOC Individual Sprint Qualification race, which includes some intricate alleyways.
The junior courses may visit quiet roads (pale brown on map) in housing estates but are planned to avoid larger roads with heavier traffic (darker brown on map); they will make use of the canal towpath, with optimal route choices via road and canal bridges
Please refresh your understanding of the Sprint mapping symbol set - Sprint (ISSprOM 20-19-2) - here and in particular the symbols indicating out of bounds areas (olive green), impassable features which must not be crossed and possibly artificial barriers.
Maps will be printed on waterproof paper with control descriptions on the front. Loose control descriptions will be available in the start lanes.
Safety Notes
- You are responsible for your own safety.
- Please take extra care when crossing roads, some will be busy.
- There will be other people in the area and there are some narrow paths so please be careful watching out for people running in the opposite direction to you and at blind corners.
- The area may be busy with the general public, including dog walkers, runners and bikers. Please respect their right to be there at the same time as you are orienteering.
- Please give any dog walkers you encounter extra space ie don’t run too close, especially if their dog/dogs are off lead
- Courses Close: You must report to Download even if you do not complete your course. Please return to Download by 14:30/2:30pm.
Course Information
Courses offered as per the current SOUL guidelines (2022) available on the SOA website. To be eligible for SOUL league points you must enter the course associated with your age class, but SOUL points may be awarded to people “running up”.
Course details are given below along with the associated age classes and provisional course lengths (optimal route not straight line).
There will also be Open classes on every course for anyone who does not want to run their age class.
Juniors:
Junior ages are ages on race day. We would be uncomfortable allowing under 12s to run round this housing estate on their own and possibly out of sight of other orienteers so they must be shadowed on whichever course they do and especially on Course 7. Course 7 maps M/W12- (MYJ/WYJ) will be available to collect at registration.
Juniors aged 12-15 on 16 July 2024 may do either Course 6 or 7 unaccompanied and parents must judge whether they want to shadow these children or not. In line with BOF guidance on shadowing, juniors being shadowed on junior courses shall remain competitive for the series.
A copy of the Course 6 map will be available to view on request at registration (TBC)
If the adult is also competing they must have run their own course before shadowing the junior.
| Course | SOUL Classes | Length |
|
| 1 | M Open (MO) | 10.4km
|
|
| 2 | Men Vets 40+ (MV) | W Open (WO) | 7.5km |
| 3 | Men Supervets 55+ (MSV) | Women Vets 40+ (WV) | 6.5km |
| 4 | Men Ultravets 65+ (MUV) | Women Supervets 55+ (WSV) | 4.8km |
| 5 | Men Hypervets 75+ (MHV) | Women Ultravets 65+ (WUV) Women Hypervets 75+ (WHV) | 3.6km |
| 6 | Men Juniors M16- (MJ) | Women Juniors W16- (WJ) | 3.8km |
| 7 | Men Young Juniors M12- (MYJ) | Women Young Juniors W12- (WYJ) | 1.8km |
“String/White Course” - There will be a free activity for younger juniors, this will be an extra easy White course with lots of controls around the school grounds which will be road-tested first by the pupils of the Canal View Primary School who have just taken up orienteering.
Start and Finish are both close to Registration/Download.
Entry Details
Pre-entry via RaceSignUp is required for this event, and please note the key dates below.
- Entries open in RaceSignUp on Monday 21st October – a 15-minute start block can be selected. Turn up at the Start anytime within that block. Courses will close at 14:30/2:30pm so if you think you may take a long time please choose an "earlier" start block
- Closing date is on Monday 4th November at Midnight.
- Late entries by email to email hidden; JavaScript is required and EOD will be allowed, if maps are still available.
NOTE: New to RaceSignUp? You will need to create an account before making any entries. You won’t need to pay for entries until everyone in your group/family has been entered. Profiles for individuals can be saved to your account.
Fees for individuals are in the table below but we will also accept entries from pairs (sharing a map and dibber) BUT only on courses 6 & 7, and they will not be eligible for SOUL league points)
Individual Category |
BOF Members |
SOA Members |
Non- Members |
Seniors (over 25) |
£11.00 |
£12.00 |
£13.00 |
Juniors/Students/Young adults (21-25) |
£6.00 |
£7.00 |
£8.00 |
To enter as a pair, provide the details of one person as normal, then in the appropriate Pairs comment box add the name of the second person and, at the bottom of the entry form, select whether the additional person is an adult or junior. One adult in a pair will be charged the Junior fee, an additional adult will be charged £1 and an additional junior 50p.
If a map and dibber is required for each person, then instead please enter as two individuals and select the same start block
Sportident (SI) electronic timing will be used. SIAC for contactless 'punching' will be enabled except for the Start and Finish which should be punched manually. Requests for dibber hire can be made through the entry form.
- SI cards are free to hire, and there will be a £30 charge if lost.
- SIAC cards cost £2.50 to hire and the charge if lost is £60.
Registration and Start times
Registration and Download will be in the gym hall of Canal View Primary School with access to toilets and space to leave bags
Registration will be open from 10:15 – 12:45 for
- Collection of hired dibbers.
- Collection of Course 7 maps.
- To leave keys – lone runners should leave in a named envelope.
- To leave a confidential medical form – see the Important Event Information panel
Start and Finish are both close to Registration/Download.
Courses will close at 14:30/2:30pm
Facilities
- Toilets and bag drop/changing area at Registration.
- First Aid will be provided by qualified ESOC members – ask at Download for assistance.
Dog restrictions
We are very sorry, but dogs are not allowed in the school, or the grounds and dogs are not allowed on the courses with competitors.
Contacts / Officials
Planner: Alison O'Neil (ESOC)
Organiser: Fiona Findlay (ESOC)
Controller: Graeme Ackland (INT)
Pre-event enquiries:email hidden; JavaScript is required
Entry enquiries: email hidden; JavaScript is required
Nearest A&E Hospital
See under Important Event Information
NHS Urgent care searchMiscellaneous
Trophy Presentation
The prizegiving for the 2024 SOUL series will be held in the Event Centre on Sunday, no later than 14:00.
Unless otherwise notified, can 2023 trophy winners please bring their trophies to registration before their run.