Follow this link for an introduction to MapRun Navigation Challenges.

Location

The Start is at the junction of Princess Road and Marina Road, west of Burtree Lane on the northern edge of Darlington.

Click on the link to see a map.  You can zoom in (and, optionally, switch to Satellite mode) to see the details of the final approach to the event.  You can also get directions if you put in your starting location.

You should be able to park in the car park behind the White Horse pub (postcode DL1 3AD).

Facilities

There are no public toilets near the Start.  Please make your own arrangements.  (There are customer toilets in the North Road Morrisons.)

Course

In the MapRunF app, Select Event and look for Darlington N VOC 1 under UK / County Durham / Darlington.

This challenge is a variant on a score event.  You can visit the controls in any order, and your result is the time that it takes you to visit them all.  When the Planner (who is an M55) did a test run it took him just over 42 minutes.

The competition area is urban, sloping gently downwards from north to south.  Please take care crossing roads.  There are pedestrian crossings on the busier ones.

Please note that the map is not a "proper" orienteering map, and there may be some unmapped buildings, paths, etc.

Warning: North Road, which bisects the map, is very busy (unlike how it was during the first lockdown).  Please use the pedestrian crossings, and remember that crossing North Road safely is part of the navigational challenge in your route choices!

British Orienteering's Rules of Orienteering state that "Juniors aged under 16 are not permitted to compete on courses where there are possible routes that require competitors to cross roads with significant traffic".  This means that anyone under 16 can only run this course if they are accompanied by an adult.

Paper maps

If you'd prefer to use a paper map rather than the one on your smartphone (which is going to be quite small and can be tricky to see in bright sunlight) you can use the link below to download a PDF copy of the map and print it off at home.  If you don't have a suitable printer, Phill Batts is offering a map printing service.

>>	Map
>>	Control descriptions

Results

You can access the results via the MapRun Console.  Open the menu (three horizontal lines at the top left hand corner of the window), select Leader Board and then filter by Darlington.

Organiser

Caroline Mackenzie

Planner

Dave Riches

Safety

Please ensure you use a buddy system so that someone knows when you should return.

Please be courteous to members of the public in the competition area.

Remember to comply with Government guidance on social distancing.  For one thing, permission to continue to organise these challenges depends on participants being clearly seen to be following the coronavirus rules.  Also, from your own point of view, it's not worth risking catching Covid-19 just to save a few seconds on a navigation challenge.

Go to the CLOK home page