Summer series Penenden Heath Maidstone Street O

Pre Event Info

Location

Nearest town: Maidstone

• Grid Ref:
• Postcode: ME14 2DH
• Latitude: 51.28913
• Longitude: 0.53931
• Google Map
• Streetmap (OS 50k)
• Bing Map (OS 50k)
• OpenStreetMap

Directions / Parking

Sandy Lane, off Penenden Heath Road, Penenden Heath, Maidstone, ME14 2DH       

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Best access for those travelling some distance is from Junction 7 of M20, then follow A249 Southbound towards Maidstone (right at roundabouts), and then after about half a mile, at top of hill, head straight-on past the Chiltern Hundreds pub, and the track (Sandy Lane) to the car park at Penenden Heath is on the right just before the Zebra Crossing.

If you are joining us in the pub afterwards, then you may wish to park in the pub car park instead – see below.

If car parks are full, then please park considerately on local residential roads.

Nearest Railway station: Maidstone East - 1.2ml (2.0km). Bus 130 leaves Maidstone East Bus Stop N at 18:02 (no return journey though).

Please be respectful of other people’s wishes to observe social distancing from the time you arrive at the event until you leave.

Public Transport options

Nearest Railway station: Maidstone East - 1.2ml (2.0km). Bus 130 leaves Maidstone East Bus Stop N at 18:02 (no return journey though).

Registration & Start Times

Registration: Pre-entry only via www.racesignup.co.uk  by 21:00 Wed 14th June (day before event).

You do not have to be a member of an orienteering club (though we would love you to join Saxons!). You can run as an individual or a small group

We need some details for safety purposes

Sorry, no registration on the evening.

Mass Start 7:00pm – North-East Corner of Penenden Heath open space in front of the Pavilion. Please arrive in good time, although we will accept late individual starts until 7:30pm.

Course Information

60 minute Score Course suitable for all abilities.

30 controls: numbered 31 - 60; visit as many as you can. 10 points per control.

10 points penalty per minute/part minute beyond 60 minutes.

Controls will be collected from 8:30pm (course closing time).

Juniors (age 15 or younger) are welcome to take part but must be accompanied by an adult (condition of British Orienteering insurance for Street events)

Explanation of colour courses

• White are very easy with all controls on paths. They are mainly used by 6-10 year olds and family groups.
• Yellow use simple linear features like paths, walls and streams. They are mainly used by under 12’s and family groups.
• Orange progress to basic use of the compass and route choice. They are ideal for novice adults or experienced youngsters.
• Light Green are ideal for improvers as the navigational difficulty begins to increase and uses simple contours and point features.
• Green are used mostly by experienced under 18’s and adults wanting a short but challenging course with a very hard navigational difficulty.
• Blue are a longer, more physically demanding course in comparison to the green. The distances are more varied between controls and the course attracts experienced orienteers.
• Brown & Black are very physically demanding and have a very hard navigational difficulty. They are for experienced orienteers only.
• Score means visiting as many controls as possible in any order in a specific time, like 45mins.

Entry Details

Pre-entry only via www.racesignup.co.uk 

Seniors (British Orienteering members) £5, Non-members of BO £7.         

Juniors & students £3 (BO or non-BO).

Group: £10 (1 dibber; map for each participant) (BO or non-BO).   

Dibber loan (non SIAC): Free.

Wearing High Visibility clothing is strongly advised – due to the various minor road crossings that you will undertake. You will need to look after your car keys yourself (eg carry in zipped pocket or waist strap).

An Emergency contact number will be printed on the map. Carrying a mobile phone is strongly recommended. You can let us know if you are lost or late, and we can contact you, if you have not returned.

Terrain Description

Urban area – streets, tarmacked pavements, paths, grassed public open spaces and small areas of woodland.

Footwear – Road / Road-to-Trail Trainers should be adequate.

Facilities

Public Toilets are adjacent to the Start.

Apres-O & Prizegiving afterwards: from 8:00pm at The Bull Inn, Boxley Road, Penenden Heath, Maidstone, ME14 2DH. This is immediately adjacent to Penenden Heath open space, located 200 metres from Start/Finish. Large Car Park to the rear of the pub.

Do join us in the pub for the usual informal discussions about participants’ (im)perfect route choices.

Please state on race entry form, if you expect to come to the pub, so we can adjust the numbers on the provisional booking.

Classic pub food menu: https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/kent/bull/menu/main-menu

Order and pay for food and drinks at the bar. Food is served until 9pm.

Dogs allowed?

No restrictions, but courses on pavements including some busy roads.

Contacts / Officials

Planner and Organiser: John Cross

Important Event Information

Health, safety and other important information related to events.

If you have pre-existing helath issues that you feel the organiser should know about please fill in this medical form.

Saxons volunteers are very happy to help beginners understand the courses, maps and timing equipment used at our events. To get advice please contact coaching@saxons-oc.org at least 3 days before the event, or go to our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/saxons.oc and ask questions there. It may be possible to arrange for someone to meet you before your start.

Ticks and Lyme Disease: Ticks are common in areas where we go orienteering, more information about ticks.

Training and help is available from qualified coaches. Please contact the organiser.

Privacy: when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Read our privacy policy to see how we look after your personal data.

Data Protection: Your personal information provided for this event or obtained from registration databases will be used to process your entry, publish results, check for missing runners and trace missing SI cards.