Updated:

Sunday 10/08/2025 – 2025 Summer Relay – Painswick

Sunday 10/08/2025 – 2025 Summer Relay – Painswick
Updated:
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Following an enforced late change of venue and date, our 2025 Summer 2 x 2 Relay will now take place on Painswick Beacon on Sunday 10th August.

As in previous years, you should enter as a team if you can, but if you have no team mate you can enter as a singleton, and we will pair you up on the day.

As we will be running on the Painswick golf course, we cannot start until play has finished for the day, which on a Sunday is 14:15, so there will be a mass start at 14:30, and you should plan your day accordingly.

Entries are now open on Fabian4, and will close at midnight on Thursday 7th August. Note the new, later, closing date.


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Officials

Organiser/Planner: Greg Best, NGOC. Queries? Email: Greg, or call 07989 276668

Directions and Parking

Parking is on hard standing at Catbrain Quarry, Painswick, Stroud GL6 6SU. Many thanks to Meister Masonry for allowing us to park here and for use of their outside loo.

There should be space enough for all cars, but if necessary there is overflow parking beside the road over the Beacon.

What 3 Words: ///wiping.driven.panel

Grid Reference: SO867116

There will be a mass start at 14:30 so you will need to plan in time to get to Assembly from parking.

Click on the parking icon on the map below, and then the Direction icon icon to get directions to the course.

The Area

A lovely mix of open and fast downland and golf course, with steep woodland either side of the main Beacon ridge. Largely runnable even in the summer. To test you, there is plenty of intricate terrain thanks to quarry men and iron age fort builders.

The Map

1:7,500 with 5m contours, but now decided to print at 1:5000 instead to make it eassier to read the detail. Control descriptions are printed on the map, with no loose ones available. Map updated for this event.

Start and Finish

Start, Finish and the event area are co-located about 400 metres from parking, so make sure you allow sufficient time to get from parking to the assembly area in time for the mass start at 14:30. The arena will offer a great view of the start and finish proceedings.

Format

It is a 2x2 relay, with two runners of any age or gender forming a team. Each runner will run 2 completely different courses, with a rest period in between while their team-mate runs their course.

On arrival, each team will meet up and collect their bibs and pins to pin it to their tops. There will be a meeting point for team members to group. Please bring your own pins if possible.

On arrival, all runners will be given their first map, folded and sealed with a piece of tape, so they can’t look at it before they start. At the map issue point, there will be a list of teams and team members, with the allocated course order for each runner, e.g. Blue1-Blue2 or Orange2-Orange1 etc.

The first runners set off on their first leg in a mass-start at the published time. There will be a taped start pen. Runners should then enter the pen some minutes before they expect their team mate to return, setting off as soon as they are tagged. The in-coming runner then proceeds to download, where they will be given their second map. As this is a fun event, we request that runners who have completed their course do not share their maps with runners who have yet to go out nor do they open their second map until they have been tagged and are off on their second leg.

Courses will be allocated such that half of the runners complete course 1 first and the other half complete course 2 first. This will make it more difficult to follow others.

Anybody who does not already know their team mate should hang around the registration tent, which can act as a meeting point.

The second leg runners should enter the Waiting pen in good time before their partner returns. They will then wait there for them to arrive.

In-coming runners will first tag their partner and then proceed to dib the Finish control. They will then go to download, receive their second sealed map. Dibbers must be cleared before each leg.

Note that there will be no Start control to dib, as start times for each leg are determined by the mass-start time for the first leg and team-mates' finish times for subsequent legs.

There is likely to be a mini mass-start to set off any remaining 4th leg runners - details and time tbc

Mass Start: 14:30
Courses close: 18:00

Results

Two sets of results will be published. The main one will be the relay results, i.e. the overall time for each team. The second set will be individual results per course.

Courses

Final course details. There will be 2 variants of each course,

Course lengths are designed to try and make the winning times broadly similiar for each course, but this is not an exact science!

Note that the Yellow courses will sometimes have to follow linear features like walls, fences and distinct vegetation boundaries between open and wooded areas. Please explain this to children running these courses

Course Number Equivalent Course Level Course 1, KM/climb Course 2, KM/climb Age Classes
1 Brown TD5 2.9/125 2.9/140 M18, M20, M21, M35, M40, M45
2 Blue TD5 2.4/105 2.5/115 M50, M55, M60, M16 and under
W18, W20, W21, W35, W40
3 Green TD5 2.2/75 2.1/95 M65, M70, W16 and under, W45, W50, W55
4 Short Green TD5 1.8/80 1.9/80 M75 and older, W60 and older
5 Orange TD3 1.6/80 1.9/60 Adult beginners
Older children or inexperienced adults who normally run Orange
6 Yellow TD2 1.7/70 1.6/70 Children who normally run Yellow

We will use SI Timing, in contact and touch free modes. All runners must however punch the Finish control at the end of each leg.

Those taking part will automatically be given the course for their age category, except where they have specifically asked for a different course. People can only ‘run-up’ a course, not down, unless they are young or inexperienced, in which case they are allowed to do yellow or orange.

Entries

Sorry, NO entries on the day. This is due to the extra complexities of organising a relay.

Teams are made up of 2 people of any age/course.

If you have a team-mate, one of you should enter the team as one entry on Fabian4 and pay for both of you. When completing your entry, set your team size to 2. Note that the order that you input the people in your team will be the running order. In other words, the first named person will run the first leg in the mass-start and the 3rd leg, while the second named person will run the second and fourth legs.

If you do not have a teammate, just enter as an individual, setting your team size to 1, and we will randomly assign you a partner. Where possible, your will be paired with somebody from the same club.

So, in Fabian4, there is a three step entry process:

  1. Step 1 - enter your contact details as team leader or individual entrant
  2. Step 2 - enter your competitor details, and those of your team mate if you have one - click the Add another competitor button at the bottom of the form
  3. Step 3 - Enter your actual team size - 1 or 2. Note that there is only one class - we will assign you to courses according to your age class, unless you ask to run up.

By default, you will automatically be assigned the course associated with your age group unless you request otherwise on the entry form. Note that if you wish to be competitive in the relay you can only substitute your default course with a longer one, not a shorter one, unless you are young or inexperienced, in which case you are allowed to do yellow or orange. Any experienced orienteers choosing to run a shorter course will be made non-competitive for the Relay.

Fees Pre-entry Entry on the Day Non-member Supplement
Adults £8 N/A £2
Juniors £3 N/A £1
Family (2 adults + their children) £16 N/A As above for any non-members

SI dibber hire: Standard dibber £1 Adults, Juniors free

Touch Free dibber: £2 Adults, £1 Juniors

Hired dibbers may be picked up at registration.

Entries are open and will close at midnight on Thursday 7th August


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Dogs

Allowed, under control, in Parking, Assembly and on courses

Facilities

There will be a toilet in the quarry parking area.

The NGOC cafe will be present at Assembly.

Safety

  • Ticks are an ever present but usually rare occurrence. You are advised to wear full leg cover, and to check yourselves for ticks after your second run. They carry a small threat of Lyme Disease, which alough rare can be very unpleasant. For more information about it, visit: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/lyme-disease/ or https://lymediseaseuk.com/
  • Orienteering is an adventure sport. All runners take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety.
  • A risk assessment has been completed, and a copy will be held at Registration in case competitors wish to consult it before their run.
  • A first aid kit and trained first aiders will be available at Registration.
  • There are a couple of fairly quiet minor roads which some courses will cross, although not the junior ones. These will not be marshalled, so take care.
  • There are likely to be some cows roaming free in the competition area. These are docile and used to people, but you should try not to startle them.