Results and Officials' Comments.
Updated 1st April: The start list for the event will be available on the O-Entries web site: start list by course, or start list by club. Please note, though, that this list is currently subject to (minor) change, and a final confirmed start list will be available on the evening of Thursday 2nd April. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this delay.
Late entries - please phone Dave Prentice on 01738 583345 and we will try and accommodate you. There will be limited entries on the day.
Available for entry on the day only will be the following courses - both ideal for newcomers to the sport:
Parking and assembly is at Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre, Grid Reference NN787195.
From the North and East: Travel from Crieff along the A85 to Comrie and in the town turn south on the B827 for 3kms to the Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre sign on the left.
From the South: Turn off the A9 Perth – Stirling road at Greenloaning onto the A822 through Braco. Turn left after a further 1 km onto the B827 Comrie road.
Please do not approach the event via the narrow Glascorrie Road to the north of the centre.
We have a (rewardingly!) large entry. To allow plenty of time starts are generally from 11.00 but if needed earlier ones should be possible, within reason. Please park neatly and patiently as directed.
If you have entered on-line and have a SI card, you should be able to go straight to the starts, passing to the right of the wildlife centre buildings.
At the entrance to the wildlife centre buildings there will be:
Toilets are just through the main entrance and at the end of the left hand building. Although the toilets do cater for 1,000 visitors in a day, the visitors are normally more spread out. If you can, please use toilets before arrival (eg in Auchterarder, Crieff, Dunblane or at the Tullibardine retail centre at Blackford. The organiser would not appreciate a repeat of the SOC at Tullochroisk :)
The new owner is generously offering discounted entry to Auchingarrich wildlife park. An adult entry is reduced from £7.50 to £5.00 and a family (of up to 4 children) is reduced from £24.50 to £15.00.
When you get back from the forest, there will be lots of extra sandwiches, soup, drinks, coffee and cakes. Please support the centre, and we recommend sitting outside if the weather is good and the restaurant gets crowded!
There will be two starts:
There will be a shared route to both starts for 5 mins; then further 5 mins to the Main start, further 15 mins for the Long start. Please aim to arrive at the start a few minutes before your time to keep queues to a minimum. There will be a Punching start; at the discretion of the start team, you may be allowed to vary your time (within time separation guidelines).The Finish is 5 mins from car park.
Long Orange, Yellow and White competitors should collect their map at the Queries tent. Map key descriptions will be available here.
There will be a string course; adjacent to the car park – on the small hill.
Dogs on leads in the car parking and dog-walking areas only.
The new map incorporates the original Mill of Fortune map, with the total area being more than doubled. For those of you who ran on MofF, you will be aware of its quality and challenge. The area was a first choice for the 2009 Scottish 6-Days (with initial planning for the car park and assembly at the E end already in place), but was stopped in its tracks when confirmation was received that the area required for short courses was to be clear-felled.
The area to the south of the Glascorrie road had been tentatively looked at before but now there was a greater imperative, and after a thorough assessment, it was decided to go ahead with the new map. The new area is extremely varied. At the east end is the wooded hill of Barr Dubh, which has a mix of larch and other conifers. At the west end is the open hill of Beinn Dubh with a mixture of grass, marsh and bracken, also reasonable contour and rock detail.
In the centre of the area is a marshy area with scattered clumps of conifers and a ditch network. To the west of the main vehicle track (there are a couple of others on the fringes of the map), the nature of the terrain changes to plantation forestry (mainly spruce) but with a maze of rides and ‘ways through’, plus a couple of river courses. There are two ponds in the area. Dropping away to the north, is an area of mainly deciduous woodland with scattered crags. There is also a largely open area coming down towards the road with line features for the junior courses. Importantly, there are two possible links with the MofF map with only short distances of 'dead' terrain.
It is probable that the three or four longer courses will go onto the area of the original Mill of Fortune map.
The map is a new 1:10,000 map.
There is a network of both rides and 'ways through' in the plantation forestry. The rides are indicated with the standard ‘long dash’ symbol; the ‘ways through’ with a thin white line. Both are runnable, though some of the latter may be a slowish run, but as they tend to be short in length, it will make little difference time-wise. The rides are grassy or mossy and roughly average 2m wide; some have been improved by the lopping off of overhanging branches. The ‘ways through’ have often utilised a ‘weakness’ in the forest and all intruding branches have been removed.
The first impression of the new part of the map will be that it is very green, but within the green is a lot of detail and a lot of good running. Route choice will be critical in parts. It should prove to be an unusual orienteering challenge and we wait with interest to see what the feedback will be.
Course details are as follows:
| Course | Recommended Age Classes | Length (km) | Climb (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | M21 | 9.6 | 320 |
| Brown | M18, M20, M35, M40 | 8.5 | 300 |
| Short Brown | M45, M50, W21, M21S | 6.8 | 270 |
| Blue | M16, M55, M60, W18, W20, W35, W40, M35S, M40S | 5.2 | 250 |
| Short Blue | M65, W45, W50, M45S, M50S, W21S | 4.4 | 130 |
| Green | M70, W16, W55, W60, M55S, M60S, W35S, W40S | 3.7 | 160 |
| Short Green | M75, M80, W65, W70, W75, W80, M65S, M70S, W45S, W50S, W55S, W60S | 3.2 | 130 |
| Light Green | M14, W14 | 2.9 | 135 |
| Long Orange | n/a | 4.6 | 180 |
| Orange | M12, W12 | 2.3 | 85 |
| Yellow | M10, W10 | 2.1 | 90 |
| White | n/a | 1.6 | 65 |
All competitors will be competitive on all courses so you are not obliged to enter the course recommended for your age class.
Updated 21st March: Competitors may enter any course. SOL points will only be awarded to competitors who run the recommended course for their age, or who run 'up' to a longer/harder course.
Competitors are reminded that they take part in this competition at their own risk.
Some courses will go onto high (250m) open ground. Suitable weather protection and whistle will be mandatory in the event of bad weather.
The British Red Cross will be in attendance and in case of emergency can take their Landrover up one of the two forest roads (and one side turn).
Parents are reminded they should declare if they are actually helping a Junior competitor as opposed to following. Please do so at start.
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