Longniddry Sprintelope
Wednesday 15th June 2022
Longniddry
Sprintelopes are lightweight informal events featuring Urban style races around the streets of towns in East Lothian and other areas in and around Edinburgh on Wednesday evenings.
In 2022, ELO are contributing four races to the series – this is the fourth of them, around Longniddry!
Orienteers of all abilities are welcome to join us on the day when we will have a range of courses to suit everyone.
Organiser’s Report
Thank you to everyone who joined us in Longniddry on a lovely summer evening. For a small event, there seemed to be a lot going on (not least, Robin and Sheila’s flat tyre). Our apologies for the problems with the card reader that held people up at registration — the reader just needed an on/off cycle, but Robin and I weren’t holding the button down long enough. A sleek piece of tech, but by the same token, totally devoid of instructions!
In retrospect we should have had a kite, or something else very visible, at the Finish — sorry to those of you who didn’t find it easily. Whatever it says on the map, no one should actually have to navigate the run-in!
Particular thanks to Robin and Sheila for IT and Start duty respectively, to Simon for his courses, and to Michael for showing us how to press a button correctly 🙂
Controller’s Report
Everyone I spoke to enjoyed Simon’s courses. They were predictably fast, with lots of route choice, but little time to pause and think. Both Simon and I knew there was an ad-hoc beer garden in the car park behind the Longniddry Inn — we could helpfully have marked that OOB on the map. The run-in to Finish was entertaining for friends and family, and gave the download team a handy heads-up, but some of you were dodging water bottles and flying footballs, which we didn’t bargain on! Thanks to you all for coming.
Results
- Simple results are here.
General Information
Type of event:
Local event in the summer Sprintelope series.
Because they are informal, there are only SI units for the start and finish – the rest of the controls are usually drainpipes (which are less conspicuous than flags)!
There will be a long (5km) and a short (3.5km) option although these are straight line distances so expect to run further than that.
Because of the road crossings ALL under 16s must be accompanied at all times by an adult when running.
Terrain:
- Urban.
- Please observe any out of bounds areas.
Other Users
The area is very well used by the general public including dog walkers and families. Please respect their right to be there at the same time as you are orienteering.
Dogs
The area is well used by dog walkers so dogs are welcome to come with orienteers.
Toilets:
Public toilets are available about 1km away at Longniddry Bents 3 car park, until 8pm. (Head along the A198 towards the coast, turn right at the beach, and after about 200m turn left into the Longniddry Bents 3 car park. The toilets are on the right.)
Alternatively, buy a drink at the Longniddry Inn!
Accessibility:
Generally speaking, level paved routes exist between all controls. However:
- The shortest route choice for some legs is not completely step-free and paved (it may involve areas of grass, unpaved paths, steps, etc.) and a step-free paved route will be longer.
- In at least one case, the best paved route runs off the map (although it’s easy to infer)!
- The surface of some paved areas is a little uneven, and there may be low kerbs to descend or ascend, or small detours to find a dropped kerb.
- Some controls cannot be reached entirely via a step-free paved route, in the sense that the final few metres involve grass, an unpaved path, steps, etc. (but bear in mind that the controls are not dibbable anyway!).
- Some gates may be a little tight to negotiate (roughly a metre wide).
- There may be unmapped steps.
- There are at least three paths in the southern part of the map which are mapped as paved but are in fact unpaved (gravel and hardcore).
What to Expect
Sprintelopes are informal events and as such there is no electronic punching at most of the controls.
It’s taken on trust that you visit them and instead of looking for a large white and orange kite you are looking for a more discreet white drainpipe which is usually hung on a tree, a drainpipe, a fence etc…
The only time you need to “dib” a control is at the start and the finish to record your total time.
At the start there is an all-in-one board to clear, start and then indicate whether you are running the short or the long course.
After you’ve punched the long or short option its time to find the rest of the controls (but don’t try to stick your dibber into them as they won’t beep) and enjoy yourself.
You MUST report back to the finish and download even if you don’t manage to find all the controls so that we don’t go out hunting for you!
Location
Nearest Town: Longniddry
Grid Ref: NT444765
Nearest Postcode: EH32 0LN
Directions
Take the signposted exit from the A1 to Longniddry.
Public Transport
Longniddry has a train station 5 minutes’ walk from registration (20 mins journey time to Edinburgh; 15 mins to North Berwick). However, at the time of writing, the reduced timetable means the last trains are 19:59 to North Berwick and 20:30 to Edinburgh, so if you’re coming by train, run early.
The hourly/half-hourly 124 (Edinburgh-North Berwick) bus service stops nearby (Gosford House stop).
Registration & Start Times
Registration
This will be online (and for newcomers at the car park) – look for the ELO flag!
Please select an early start time if you think you might take a long time to complete your course.
Start and Finish:
Start times will be from 6:00pm to 7:00pm.
The Start and Finish locations are on the north side of the playing fields.
Courses Close:
The courses will close at 8:30pm, so if you have not completed your course by then, you should stop and must return to assembly. Controls in the first half of the course will be brought in from 8:00pm.
You must report to the Download point, whether you complete the course or not, so that we know you are not lost or injured in the town!
Course Information
Map
The map is printed at 1:5000 with 2.5m contours.
Timing
There will only be SI Units at the start and the finish – we will take it on trust that you visit the rest of the controls.
Courses
There will be Short and Long courses.
| Course | Length / Ascent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Short | 3.5km / Negligible | Moderate (no under 16s) |
| Long | 5km / Negligible | Moderate (no under 16s) |
More details about the colour coding is available on the Scottish Orienteering website.
Organiser:
Tim
Planner:
Simon
Other Information:
Because of the road crossings involved ALL under 16s must be accompanied throughout their run by an adult!
Entry Charges
Entry is cheaper if you are a current 2022 member of a club affiliated to Scottish or British Orienteering.
Please ensure that your membership has been renewed for 2022.
| British/Scottish Orienteering member* | Non‑member | |
|---|---|---|
| Seniors | £3 | £4 |
| Full-time Students | £2 | £3 |
| Juniors (must be shadowed by a free adult) | £1 | £2 |
**Note that although non-members are now permitted to take part, Covid regulations still limit the support we can give beginners.
Safety and Risk
A comprehensive risk assessment has been carried out by the organisers, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event
Medical Conditions:
If you, or anyone in your group (including juniors), have a medical condition that first-aiders or health professionals should know about in the event of accident or illness during the course of the event please print off the Medical Form, complete it fully and bring it along to the event. You should complete a separate copy for each individual who has a medical condition. Please leave the completed Medical Form at Event Registration. If it is not in a labelled sealed envelope, it will be put in one and will be opened only in an emergency. It will be shredded immediately after the event if you do not claim it back.
Privacy
When entering our events your name will appear in the results section of this website and may appear in newspaper reports.
We may also take photographs at the event for publicity purposes – please let us know if you do not want us to use your photograph in this way.
Read our privacy policy.