Info: Durham City race focussing on the Mountjoy University Campus with most senior courses also exploring the historical centre of Durham. Standard urban courses available, as well as shorter options for those newer to orienteering. Take a look at the ‘Courses’ tab to see your options.

Perfect to combine with our North East Night Champs on the Saturday evening!

Location: Enquiries/Download will be at the Atrium of Durham University Department of Chemistry, Lower Mount Joy, South Rd, Durham DH1 3LE. Grid ref NZ 2777 4152, ‘what3words’ – ///orbit.little.gravel, Google Maps. Please avoid walking through the Campus itself on your route to the event.

Please consider travelling using active travel, public transport or car sharing where possible.

Travel by train: Durham Train Station (services from Newcastle, Edinburgh, Darlington, York, Leeds, London etc.) is approx. 30 minutes walk (1.9km/1.2 miles) from Enquiries/Download, there are also various bus options from Durham Bus Station (5 minutes (0.35km/0.2miles) walk from train station).

Travel by bus: Durham University Palatine Centre bus stop (services from Durham City Centre, Ferryhill, Stockton, Middlesbrough) is approx. 3 minutes walk (0.1km/450ft) from Enquiries/Download. Buses from Bishop Auckland and additional buses from Durham City can be found at the New Inn – Church Street stop (6 min/0.4km/0.2 miles walk). Other buses including from Crook, Chester-le-Street and Sunderland stop at Durham Bus Station (change bus or 25min/1.8km/1.1miles walk) or Leazes Rd – Underpass (change bus or 19min/1.3km/0.8 miles walk).

Single tickets are £2 and there is also a £4 all day County Durham ticket (or £6.80 NE Combined Authority/£3 ticket available for aged 21 and under) which covers most operators within the County including Arriva and Go North East.

Travel by bike: Bike stands are available opposite Enquiries/Download at the owners risk.

Travel by car: Parking is available for the duration of the event in the University Engineering Carpark (Google Maps). Please access from Stockton Road.

For those wishing to stay longer there is on street car parking is available in the vicinity (pay-to-park until 6pm). Charges can be found on the council website. There are also several City Centre carparks within walking/running distance – see the County Council website for further details. Belmont and Sniperley Park and Ride car parks are also available until 19:00 (~18:40 pick up from City Centre) on a Sunday.

Entries: Online entry has closed. Some maps are still available for late entry – please email [email protected] to enquire. Entry on the day is available at enquiries whilst map stock lasts, currently at least ~5 on each course.

Fees:
Seniors (Courses 1-5) – £9 (BOF member)/£10 (non member);
Seniors (Course 6 or 7) – £6;
Juniors/Students – £4.50.

Seniors are those who will be 21 or over on 31st December 2024. 50% discount for Club Helpers.

Enquiries/Download: Enquiries/download will be open from 10:30am. Hired SI must be collected from enquiries. It is also the location for Entry on the Day. Otherwise there is no requirement to visit enquiries before your race.

Facilities: Indoor space with toilets available at Enquiries/Download. This will be manned throughout the event so bags etc. may be left here at the owner’s risk. Please ensure footwear is not muddy.

Start: Starts will be from 11:00am to 12:30pm.
The start is adjacent to the parking, signed from the north east corner of the car park and taped from Enquiries (orange tape). Punching start with a -4 minute call up.

Finish: Common finish for all courses, ~50m from Enquiries/Download. Follow taped route (white tape) – all competitors must report to download even if you retire. Courses close 14:30.

Punching: This event will use the SportIdent electronic system. Control stations will be enabled for touch free punching (SIAC) but competitors will need to punch the start and finish control.

All control sites will have a backup system in the event of control failure. This involves a tag with a unique 3 letter word instead of the traditional punch. Remember the word and report it to the download team to prove you have visited the control.

Hired Dibbers: Dibber hire is available for £1 – choose this option on racesignup. You’ll need to pick up your hired dibber from Enquiries before you go to the Start. Lost/damaged dibbers will be charged at £30.

Map & Area: Durham City and Durham University Estates.

Course 1 (Black) – A3 double sided map (course has a map flip). This course covers the whole area and includes crossing trafficked roads.

Courses 2 to 5 – A3 single sided map which covers the whole area and includes crossing trafficked roads. Note Course 5 (Short Green) has a timed crossing (90 seconds) at a pedestrian crossing – please remember to punch at both sides of the road .

Courses 6 (Light Green) and 7 (Yellow) – A4 single sided map. These courses will solely use the Durham University Mountjoy Campuses (pedestrianised/lightly trafficked with traffic slowing measures).

Map Symbols: Please remember that the following denote out of bounds/uncrossable features for an Urban event:

The map follows ISSprOM 2019-2. The following Special Symbols are used:

Terrain: A combination of Durham City with cobbled streets, alleyways and bridges and the 20th/21st Century University Mountjoy Campuses – a mixture of long and short legs and including some small areas of woodland.

Control descriptions: Descriptions will be on the map and loose descriptions will be available in the start box. Straight line distance is stated on the descriptions – refer to the courses tab above for optimal lengths.

Safety: First Aid will be available at Enquiries/Download. Courses close 14:30.

Short leg cover is permitted. It may be necessary to carry hat/gloves/waterproofs depending upon the weather. Suitable for trainers but competitors may want to consider level of grip as the planner has reported wet leaves on many of the paths and in the woods. The centre of Durham is popular with tourists – please be considerate of other users, take wide berths around corners and be mindful of steps some of which are irregular. Courses 1 – 5 will inevitably cross some potentially busy roads although traffic is lighter on a Sunday – please consider using traffic islands and pedestrian crossings where available. Competitors are welcome to carry a phone when they compete.

All Under 11s must be shadowed by a responsible adult, other juniors may be shadowed if desired. M/W16s will only be permitted to “run up” if they are 16 or over on the day of the race.

Note that orienteering is an adventure sport. A comprehensive risk assessment for the event has been prepared and identified risks have been mitigated, however please be aware that participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event.

Dogs: Dogs will be allowed on courses on a short lead, however dogs are not permitted inside Enquiries/Download. Please clean up after your dog.

Thank you to Durham University for allowing us the use of the Assembly area and Mountjoy Campus.

Officials:

• Organiser – Matthew Foskett (NN, contact via [email protected]),
• Planner – Debby Warren (NN)
• Controller – Julian Warren (NN)