Nav challenge 2 - Glendalough ("Leg 5")

Description:

Second race of annual nav challenge league

County:

Wicklow

Date:

Sunday 8th September, 2013

Time:

11:00

Climb (m):

1000

Distance (km):

16.00

Event Difficulty:

9 (3,3,3) - Difficult Terrain, >500M ascent, >10Km

Race Marking:

- Route not marked

GPS Allowed:

Yes

Leagues:

Navigational Challenge 

Getting There:

Registration and Start/Finish from the Upper Lake car park in Glendalough, about 3.5km beyond Laragh. From Laragh, follow signs for Glendalough/Hollywood. Keep straight/left at junction for Hollywood/Wicklow Gap. Continue past first Glendalough car park and Glendalough Hotel (both on your left) and continue for another ca 1.5km until the road ends. The Upper Lake car park is on your left. There is a €4 entrance fee, payable only by coins at entrance barrier
Google link:
http://goo.gl/maps/h06rv
Google map:

View Glendalough - Upper Lake Car Park in a larger map

Organisers Instructions:

The second Nav Challenge of 2013 will be held starting from Derrybawn Woods (Glendalough). This is in the same area that the recent Derrybawn Woods trail race took place, although using a different car park. The Short Course also covers the same trails that many runners of the Wicklow Way (Leg 5) have gone astray on (in some cases handing over the lead of the whole Wicklowy Way Relay!). The Nav Challenge is an open mountain navigation race, where competitors use a map to find checkpoints. As previously advised:

• there will be an introductory Short Course aimed at anyone interested in learning navigation basics, distance about 8-10km (340m climb)
• there's no kit requirement for the Short Course
• maps will be provided for both Long and Short courses, no need to bring your own

Kit Requirements:
Short course:

• no mandatory kit required other than what you'd bring for a Leinster League mountain race
• that said, if you have a compass bring it along

Long Course:

• Compass
• rainproof jacket

Recommended (but optional) for both Short and Long course:

• sufficient food & water
• hat
• mobile phone

Registration, Fee & IMRA membership:
You can register on the morning from 10am. Registration will close at 10:45am sharp with no exceptions. The cost is the standard €7 (€4 for 65+/unwaged). The €10 annual membership fee is being waived as there are very few races left this year. You don't have to have run an IMRA race before (but see below for 'Level of experience required').

Distance & Climb:
Short Course: 8 - 10km, with approximately 340m climb. Expected winning time about 60 minutes.
Long Course: 14 - 16km (as measured in straight lines on the map), with approximately 1000m climb. Expected winning time about 100 minutes.

Terrain & navigation:
Short Course: This will stay mostly on forest roads within Derrybawn Woods, with possibly a small amount of open mountain on tracks. The navigation will be straightforward, mostly track junctions (similar to Nav Challenge 1).
Long Course: This will be mostly across open, untracked mountain. checkpoints will not be hidden, but poor route choice or poor visibility may make navigation challenging.

Level of experience required:
Short Course: no specific experience required, ideally you've managed some of the Wednesday night Leinster League races or similar.
Long Course: some experience of navigation required, and physical ability to run the distance within the cut-off times (see below).

Map:
A specially-commissioned map has been produced by EastWest Mapping. Scale is 1:30,000 and as with all EastWest maps it shows an excellent level of terrain detail, with useful additional detail such as access points, parking etc. A full series of maps covering Wicklow and beyond is available from their website or outdoor shops, bookshops etc.

Early Starts and Cut-off times:
Early starts are available on a self-timed basis for those that are typically 160% + of winning times in other IMRA races. If you would like to start before 10am please contact me (086 262 1445 or email gavan [dot] doherty [at] 247meeting [dot] com), otherwise let me know on the morning. A strict cut-off time of 3:30pm is being imposed. Competitors returning after that time will not be listed in the results. The cut-off is not to punish people, but to ensure that those who might take longer will start earlier, allowing the RD & Volunteers to finish at a reasonable time. The RD would strongly encourage you to start early if possible

GPS units, groups and following:
GPS units of any description are allowed, but competitors with GPS units are not eligible to win (nor are they likely to). If people wish to take part as a group that's also no problem, but again will rule out eligibility of winning. Following another competitor blindly is not recommended, but impossible to monitor - do so at your own peril.

Prizegiving Location:

Lynham's of Laragh, as close to 2:30pm as possible. Food is available in Lynham's (carvery & soup/sandwiches)

Volunteers (Non-Running)

You need to have done 2 non-running volunteer roles in a calendar year to qualify for end of year prize

Current Volunteers

Role	Volunteers	Accepted	Run
Race Director		Gavan Doherty	No
Deputy Race Director		Brendan Doherty RIP	No
Race Marker		James H Cahill	No
Helper		Rachel Cinnsealach	No
Helper		David Kelly70	No

Volunteers (Running)

Check with race director if they have a need for people volunteering and running. Race directors need a minimum number of people available throughout the race to make the race work so non-running volunteers are preferable. While it can be helpful, volunteering in a volunteer and race capacity does not count towards qualifying for end of year prize

Current Volunteers

Role	Volunteers	Accepted	Run
Race Marker		Andreas Kusch	Yes
Helper		Gerard Cunningham	Yes
Helper		David Kelly70	Yes
Helper		Ger Lawlor	Yes

Carpool