Nav challenge 3 - Glenmalure

Description:

Third race of annual nav challenge league

County:

Wicklow

Date:

Sunday 14th September, 2014

Time:

11:00

Climb (m):

250

Distance (km):

10.00

Event Difficulty:

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

Race Marking:

- Route not marked

GPS Allowed:

Yes

Leagues:

Navigational Challenge 

Getting There:

There won't be any IMRA roadsigns for this event. The following details should suffice.
Directions:
Turn off the N11 at Kilmacanogue heading South following signs for Roundwood, Laragh & Glendalough along the R755. After 23.5 km passing through Roundwood and Annamoe you reach Laragh.
Entering Laragh keep downill and left at the first green, then left 150m later at the junction signposted Rathdrum/Glenmalure.
Continue for 1km, veering right with the main road over the bridge at the junction signposted for Glenmalure. After another 600m, turn right and uphill following signs for Glenmalure/L2083/Aghavannagh.
Follow a series of bends uphill for nearly 4km. You reach the top of a col and start to descend. You reach Glenmalure crossroads at the bottom of a valley. Turn left and the Glenmalure Lodge is immediately on your left. Park in the car park on the right.

Coordinates:
normal Grid Ref = T 106 909
10 digit Grid Ref = T 10631 90918
Latitude = 52.95766 (north)
Longitude = -6.35356 (west)
Latitude = 52°57'28" (north)
Longitude = 6°21'13" (west)

Google Maps:
Google maps "Glenmalure Lodge" gets you there.

Organisers Instructions:

The third race of 2014 in the annual Navigation Challenge will be around Glenmalure, Co Wicklow, starting and finishing in the comfortable settings of the Glenmalure Lodge, Co Wicklow.
The Nav Challenge is an open mountain navigation race, where competitors use a map to find checkpoints.

• there will be an introductory Short Course aimed at anyone interested in learning navigation basics, distance about ca 10km (ca 400m climb), similar profile to a Leinster League race
• there's no kit requirement for the Short Course
• pre-marked waterproof 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').
Please know your 2014 IMRA number or look it up on the list which will be available at registration. If you have never run an IMRA race or haven't run in 2014 there will be forms available to complete. You will be given a special timing chip ("SI") - please return this afterwards. If you have an "SI" chip of your own you can bring that and use it.

Start Times:
Main start is at 11am. Early starts are encouraged for any competitors unsure of their physical or navigation ability. You can start any time from 10am (or possibly a few minutes earlier). You will be accredited in the results as if you had started with the group. If in doubt please take an early start. It's easier for the organisers to deal with early starters than with late finishers.

Level of (navigational) experience required:
Short Course: no specific experience required (running or navigation), ideally you've managed some of the Wednesday night Leinster League races, a hill walk or two, or similar.
Long Course: some experience of navigation required, and physical ability to run the distance within the cut-off times (see below). The long course is comparable to the some of the longer IMRA Irish Championship Races

Course Lengths:
Long Course: 20 km, with approx. 1000m of climb. The aim is to have the winning time in approximately 2 hours, although this can vary with the conditions (weather, terrain).
Short Course: ca 10km, with approx. 400m of climb (similar to one of the longer Wednesday night League races). Winning time of approximately 90 minutes.
The short course checkpoints are all on the long course as well.
You can start on one course and change while out there, eg start on the long but decide it's not for you and just complete the short.

Course Description (from planner, Brían O'Meara):
Nav Challenge 3 will start and finish at the Glenmalure Lodge Inn. The race will start at 11 am, and there will be both Long and Short Course options available. There will be free route choice for both Short and Long Course. The Long Course is approx. 20 km, with approx. 1000m of height gain. The Short Course will be 8-10 km, with approx.400m of climbing.
Long Course
The course will cover a mixture of terrain including bog, dense woodland and open mountain, and is unsuitable for those that have little experience in navigation and unmarked open mountain runs. There will be seven controls which the runner must hit – the order is up to them.
Short Course
The Short course will be easier, covering much of the same terrain, and runners taking a direct route will cover approximately 8-10km, with around 400m of altitude gain through forest and open mountain–depending on route choice. This course will have four controls – the order in which to hit the controls is up to the runner. The winner should come in around the one-and-a-half hour mark.

Safety & cut-off time:
The routes are primarily on tracks and within Coillte forestry land (although the long course ventures out onto open mountain). If in doubt, get out to the nearest main road and go downhill/call the IMRA emergency phone (number printed on the map). Please bring a mobile phone with you on the course if you are unsure of your physical or navigational skills. While signal is not guaranteed everywhere, it should be possible to reach a point of elevation to make/receive a call.
A cut-off point & time is in operation for this final Nav Challenge of 2014, ONLY FOR THE LONG COURSE. It is not designed to punish competitors, but to facilitate a safe race for all. The southernmost checkpoint (and most distant taking climb into account, and to reiterate only on the long course) will have a marshall on it. It will be removed at 2pm, so if you have not checked in at it by then you will be disqualified. The marshall should also be in a position to give you a lift back if required. For the majority of the field this should have no effect (in terms of likelihood of effect on route choice). Please respect the marshall's decision - they are standing out unpaid, voluntarily in uncertain conditions for your benefit & safety.

Map:
There is no need to bring your own map, a map is provided as part of the entry. The map is a segment of the popular and excellent EastWest Mapping Wicklow series, kindly provided by Barry Dalby for IMRA. Scale is 1:30,000 and contour intervals are 10m. It is printed on waterproof paper. A full legend is printed on the map. If terms like 'scale' or 'contour interval' don't mean anything to you, that's fine. Come along and do the short course and find out how they work in a safe & easy environment.
The areas marked as forest may vary in actual tree cover. It's impossible for a map of this scale to keep up with Coillte tree-felling and planting, so some areas are marked as forest which can be passed through, some areas are marked as forest but cut down, some are marked as forest but are newly-planted conifers which are impassable. While there are some firebreaks marked ('forest rides' marked as white lines in the forest), you must use your own judgement and if in doubt stick to the marked tracks. Past experience has shown that sticking to the tracks is often quicker!

Post-race/Prizegiving:
The Glenmalure Lodge (http://www.glenmalurelodge.ie/) does full bar food and is one of the most pleasant places to be on a sunny day after a race. On a cloudy/rainy day it's not too bad either, particularly if you've conquered some previously unknown corners of Wicklow!
We hope to give out the Nav Challenge League winners' prizes on the day (barring any close ties), but there will also be spot prizes. Spot prizes are often awarded to anyone new and enthusiastic who stays for prizegiving!
An additional bonus would be a visit to Crannmor Pottery, a 2 minute walk down the road. If you can extract Hilary from the Glenmalure Lodge, the range of pottery for the house or for gifts is beautiful!

GPS units, groups and following:
GPS units of any description ARE allowed. If people wish to take part in pairs or as a group that's also no problem. Following another competitor blindly is not recommended, but impossible to monitor - do so at your own peril.

Prizegiving Location:

Glenmalure Lodge. Hopefully outside if sunny!

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		John Fitzgerald	No
Helper		Brendan Doherty RIP	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
Laptop Operator		Don Short	Yes
Helper		Vivian O'Gorman	Yes