Meet at 18.30 Nature Discovery centre, Thatcham. 

Berkshire Orienteering (BKO) welcomes you to our Thatcham South MapRun event.

DETAILS

Course: BKO Thatcham South 1 hour score

link to maprun https://p.fne.com.au/openevent/?id=35409&auth=151002

 This is a Score course which means you should get as many controls as you can within 60 minutes. There are 25 controls in total. You do not need to get them all and you can visit them in any order. The Start and Finish are under the canopy on the lake side of the Discovery Centre.

 Avoid going back to (or passing close to) the Discovery Centre until you want to finish your run!

 Controls score different numbers of points: Controls numbered 10 to 19 score 10 points Controls numbered 20 to 26 score 20 points Controls numbered 30 to 35 score 30 points Controls numbered 40 and 41 score 40 points.

 For each minute or part-minute you are late back, you will lose 20 points. The highest number of points wins. The time you take is used as tie-break.

Planners Notes:

This is a mixed area. Mostly modern housing with lots of pedestrian paths and some areas of parkland. It is bounded to the north by the busy A4 and to the south by the canal. There is no need to cross either of these.

 The railway runs east-west just north of the canal and for this course can be crossed at 3 locations: DO NOT USE THE WESTERNMOST CROSSING marked on the map, just to the south of Control 13. Of the three usable marked crossings, two are footbridges; the middle (road) crossing is barriered with a marked pedestrian footway.

 I have marked “do not cross” north and east of Control 15, this is just to clarify that these are dead ends which are otherwise not obvious from the map.

 Car speeds tend to be low on the minor roads, but may be higher on the wider roads. Please take care when crossing.

Safety:

 Competitors under 16 should be accompanied by an adult. If running alone let someone else know of your plans.

 Consider carrying a mobile phone even if using a watch for navigation. Take care when crossing any road.

 There is a Minor Injuries Unit at West Berkshire Community Hospital, Benham Hill, Thatcham RG18 3AS to deal with dislocated joints, fractures, head and facial injuries, sprains and strains.

 Nearest A & E is the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Craven Road, Reading RG1 5AN.

  All competitors take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety.

Travel:

 Car – Free parking at the Discovery Centre (N51 24.076 W001 16.410, What3Words ///legend.soon.system) from 8am to 8pm. There is an optional donation box for BBOWT.

 The Nature Discovery Centre (visitor centre, shop and toilets) is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-4.30pm: the cafe closes at 4pm. (But they sometimes have staff shortages so best check the website https://www.bbowt.org.uk/explore/visitor-centres/nature-discovery-centre in case of any changes).

 The entrance is locked at 8pm so ensure you are out of the car park before then! Cycle – No bike racks but plenty of posts and railings to which a bike can be locked. Bus – 1A or 1C from Thatcham or Newbury.

 Rail – Thatcham Station is 3.0km from the start.

 Previous maprun at Bracknell Crown Wood: If you missed our earlier maprun, details and maps are still here: https://www.bko.org.uk/activity/crown-woods-bracknell-8-aug-24