This is the second event in the 2024 Greater London Orienteering Summer Series (GLOSS) and the first time that Cranford Country Park has been used for an event since 2012.
Cooler weather today (16c) but ideal running conditions for a canter around Cranford Country Park, a venue that has only once previous used for orienteering – the final FROLICS event in 2012.
The GLOSS course was on the shorter side – with Richard Lloyd (M55) of LOK being fastest in 17:11 minutes, well within the target winning time of 20-22 minutes. The planner, Julie Cleary, prioritised maintaining orienteering interest over slavish adherence to the GLOSS Guidelines. The ongoing building work – not least to create a new National Lottery funded café – restricted the usable area of the map.
In fact, LOK provided the 3 fastest runners on the 3.0k 10m climb and 17 control GLOSS course. Fastest among the ladies was Chloe Fowler (W21) of HAVOC in 24:08 minutes. Chloe was also quickest on handicap with the highest ratio of actual event points to expected points based on current ranking with a ratio of 1.128. Juniors were thin on the ground but Krum Yanev (M12) of SLOW completed the course in 35:08 minutes.
For handicapping purposes competitors are awarded points based on how well on the day they outdo their average ranking scores across all British Orienteering (BO) ranking events over the past year instead of their best six. Full details of the handicapping approach is here and the list of average scores for all BO members as at 17 June 2024 is given in the penultimate column here. Unranked competitors are each assumed to perform at 0.95 against expectations.
Thanks to Julie for planning, Ronan Cleary for controlling and Charles Spence for organising.
Unhandicapped course results (thanks to Paul Todd and Neil Brooks) and Routegadget are already available on LOK’s website. You can use Routegadget to show the planner where you went and review others’ routes.
Three clubs fielded a full team of at least six successful competitors for the handicap competition with a further three clubs (HH, MV and TVOC) all just one competitor short of a full team. HAVOC, current holders of the London Bus GLOSS trophy prevailed against hosts LOK, with SLOW in third place.
Full handicapped results are here. Any scoring queries to Paul Todd at fixtures@londonorienteering.co.uk.
For Après O the 12-minute virtual heritage site tour of Cranford Park is recommended – scroll down here. See if you can tally areas filmed to the correct location on your map.
We now take a pause – many of us are helping at next Sunday’s Yvette Baker Trophy competition, the premier Junior Inter-Club competition for English and Welsh orienteering clubs, being held at Northaw Great Wood in Hertfordshire – before resuming for the finale of the 2024 GLOSS series at Bedfords Park on Sunday, 14 July 2024. HAVOC are hosting, using an area not previously used for GLOSS. The event will provide a rare opportunity to see the famous London Bus Trophy in real life.
See you there!
Catherine Galvin – 2024 GLOSS series coordinator (LOK)
Planner’s comments
Cranford CP is not a difficult area with various grades of paths crossing the area. So I tried to make the most of route choice legs, using the un-crossable fence, the ha-ha and the blocks of green. And I would have given the GLOSS course a couple of controls in the stable block, but because of the construction work we couldn’t.
So we knew the courses were going to be a little short – sorry. But I figured that you wouldn’t want/need another 1km in the parkland, especially if the weather was like last week – blazing sunshine. On the day, the weather changed and the earlier finishers said they liked the drizzle!
Ronan and/or I spent the day at the Finish and most people were complimentary about the GLOSS course .Some loved the control codes after the control number “a la Jukola”.
Every competitor was happy on the Yellow although Jessica (your Start official) got nettledL
A few comments on the GLOSS & Extension:
No 2: easy to mix up which path of 3 you needed to head down, a few went down the southern one.
No 3 to 4: Armchair planning, there were 2 routes to control 4. When we went to tape the sites a month ago, Ronan tried the little paths (north, then east, then south) and couldn’t get through the green. At least one of you did on Sunday…..
No 13: Some of you tried to cut through the green east of the control. Some succeeded – well done, I think. 4 weeks ago I tried too and decided to put the narrow green strip onto the map as it was over head-high nettles!
No 14: The summer vegetation has grown a lot in the park, and anyone that tried to cut across the wood to the control was brave. I spent 15 mins “pruning” the path to 15 with a pair of garden shears on Sunday morning. Hope it helped.
And finally, no 18 to 19: the solid purple line along the ha-ha means NOT TO BE CROSSED. One competitor did cross it at the corner – please don’t do it again – even if you can find a way.
So, thanks to my control placers, my control collectors, my Controller, Ronan and all of you for turning up for a run.
Julie Cleary
LOK GLOSS event: Flyer (PDF) with the final details (updated 25/06/2024, as below) can be downloaded here.
Acknowledgements: LOK would like to thank Hillingdon Council and the park for permission to use the area.
Travel: Parking and assembly are in a field on the left of the access road, next to the main car park at Cranford Country Park, The Parkway, Hounslow, TW5 9RZ, What3words: influencing.badge.butter. The entrance to Cranford Country Park is signposted off the roundabout at junction 3 of the M4 and is just before the exit from the roundabout onto the M4 westbound. The park is inside the ULEZ zone. The access road is narrow in places with a humpback bridge, so take care driving in.
The nearest train station is Hayes and Harlington which is on the Elizabeth Line. It’s a 2km walk to the park. The best route is along Roseville Road, UB3 4RA and then use the underpass underneath the M4 to the stable block and St Dunstan church in the park. The main car park is just South of the church and assembly is in the neighbouring field.
Entries: Entry is available via Fabian4 only, including entry on the day subject to map availability. No cash entry on the day. After midnight Sunday 23 June, seniors £9, Juniors £5. Additional charge of £2 where not a British Orienteering member. Electronic timing using SI dibbers which can be hired for £1 or a contactless SIAC hire for £2.50 (20 SIACs available). All entries on the yellow course pay the junior rate. A penalty will be charged for the replacement cost of hired SI cards that are lost or not returned amounting to £69 for SIAC and £33 for standard SI dibbers.
Facilities: There will be an enquiries tent where hired dibbers can be collected. Key drop for your car keys will be at enquiries; those travelling alone are encouraged to use the key drop.
A toilet will be at assembly.
Course details, start and finish:
Yellow course of 1.8k with 5m climb, which is suitable for families and beginners.
GLOSS course of 3.0k with 10m of climb.
GLOSS with extension course of 4.7k total with 10m climb, which adds a 1.7k loop after the GLOSS course for those wanting a longer run.
At the end of the GLOSS course, there is a finish control for those who want to finish and an adjacent control for those who want to run the extension. The GLOSS and extension are double sided maps, so you do not have to decide in advance. Given the recent significant increase in undergrowth, competitors will almost inevitably cover greater distance than the headline course lengths.
There will be one start, which is c100 metres from Assembly. Start times are 10:30 to 12:30 with a punching start. You can start whenever suits you, subject to queuing at the start. Control descriptions will be on the map and loose control descriptions will be available in the start lanes.
SI electronic contactless and contact punching can be used, except for both the start and finish which must both be punched and will not be contactless enabled. The finish is c200 meters from Assembly.
Planner’s notes:
Cranford Park is a historic countryside park that was originally the grounds of Cranford House. The park still features a number of historical relics including a walled garden, icehouse, a restored 18th century stable block and the medieval St Dunstan’s Church and graveyard which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It is known for the ghost of the Grey Lady who is said to haunt the park.
The park comprises runnable parkland and meadows with some wooded areas (not very runnable at this time of year) and a good network of paths. There are some ha-ha walls which are shown as uncrossable (unbroken thick purple line) due to the height of the drop from the top of the ha-ha. As major refurbishment works are currently under way to the area around the visitor centre, this area has been marked Out of Bounds using the purple cross-hatch symbol. While the boundaries of the construction area may well have reduced by the time of the event, all competitors should choose routes to the NE or SW of this area. As with the comment re ha-has above, this only affects route choices on the GLOSS Extension course.
The map has been updated by Don McKerrow to ISSprOM 2019-2 standard at a scale of 1:4,000, with 5m contour interval. Maps are pre-marked on waterproof paper. As above, the GLOSS map is double-sided with the Extension on the reverse.
For the convenience of the competitor, the control code has been marked next to the control number on the GLOSS and Extension course maps as per below example, where the code is 188 on the 22nd control:
While this presentation is quite common in major international relay competitions e.g. Jukola (Finland) etc., it is somewhat experimental in the UK – we hope you like it.
Results: We expect to be uploading live results on the day and to have the QR code on your splits.
Safety: COURSES CLOSE AT 14.00. Competitors MUST report to the Finish and Download by this time, whether they complete their course or not.
We will not be providing any water – please bring your own and take your litter home with you.
Cranford Country Park is used by lots of members of the public, so please give way to them. Dogs are allowed in the car park and on the event area. The courses do not cross the access road so you should not encounter any moving vehicles. Some competitors on the GLOSS Extension may choose to run through the main car park, in which case they may encounter some slow moving/manoeuvring traffic – please take care.
If you become disoriented or wish to retire, head North to the assembly area.
The nearest A & E Hospital is Hillingdon Hospital, Pield Heath Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3NN. Tel 01895 238282. This is approximately 7.5k from assembly. Details will be held at Enquiries.
Please make yourself aware of and abide by the current British Orienteering Covid-19 Participant Code of Conduct. We will offer a full refund to you if you need to withdraw your entry because you have COVID-19 symptoms. Please contact the organiser to arrange this.
A full risk assessment has been undertaken by the Organiser. Orienteering is an adventure sport. However, competitors are reminded that they take part at their own risk and are responsible at all times for their own safety. Entries and results will be processed by computer. Your entry will be taken as agreement to this. The competition is run under the rules and guidelines of, and sanctioned by, British Orienteering.
Officials:
Planner – Julie Cleary, Controller – Ronan Cleary
Organiser – Charles Spence chairman@londonorienteering.co.uk
