Brighton City Race Sat 20 December, 2025

Report

Planner's comments (Neil Crickmore)

Two years ago we announced that the Brighton City Race had run its course. Two years on and it was resurrected as the final race in the national urban league and gone was the mass start with associated splitting strategies. I agreed to have one last stab at planning and also converted the map to Issprom (the main task being to replace the 5m contours originally traced from an OS map with 2.5m LIDAR ones). We stuck with the USP of battling Christmas shoppers under the early evening lights. Of course the courses had to go into the Lanes, but I also wanted to get them onto the beach and into the Pavilion gardens. Queens Park has been a favourite venue in past city races so I took the three longest courses there. Trying to fit all this in did mean that there was some dead running and enforced crossing points to get you between these places. Where possible I did try to find some interesting route choice legs. The race is not to everybody's taste, especially with the busy streets, but hopefully you got to enjoy the different aspects of the city (which does have some quite significant hills), and appreciated Rob's efforts to put together a magical weekend of orienteering. For the first time in the event's history I didn't end up going out to collect controls thanks the the efforts of Rob #2, John, Garry, Dave and Ed. Controller Kieran was a reassuring presence who asked all the right questions and rejected one of my proposed control sites. If the race happens again in the future it will be great to see what a new planner can do with it.

Organiser’s thanks

It was a major volunteering effort this evening and significantly more than in previous years. Thanks to Southdowners: Neil Crickmore for planning and mapping; Kieran Devine for controlling; Karen Ashworth for Safety; Clive Hawkes, Chris Hooker, Simon Fitzpatrick, Tim Hulley, and Darren Warner Swann for the Starts; Bea Waters and Alex Lines for the Junior Race co-ordination; Linda Hulley and Karen Ashworth on the front door; Clare Lines, Mo Fitzpatrick and Angela Shannon for Refreshments; Joe Barrett and Penny Parker for SI; Garry Greenstreet for Routegadget; and Dave Turner, John Dasey, Edward Lines, Garry Greenstreet and Rob Leathley for control collecting; Alex Lines and Tom Jarvis for the previous race videos; and Jane Lambert and Lara Barrable for help with the Prize Giving.

Rob.

RouteGadget

Is a web app for sharing and comparing orienteering routes. You can draw your own route or upload a GPS track from your watch. It also allows you to watch an animated replay with a simulated mass start.

Pre event info

Final Details are now available. Register at Racesignup.

Check out the support races at the Brighton City Race weekend page.

Location Info

Nearest town: Brighton

• Postcode: BN11YD *
• Lat,Lng: 50.82589,-0.14194
• Grid Ref:
• Google Map
• Streetmap (OS 50k)
• Bing Map (OS 50k)
• OpenStreetMap

* Postcodes are not very precise in some areas, so don't rely on them for an exact location.

Directions / Parking

This year's event centre is the Brighthelm Centre. Public transport is the best option and there are excellent links from all over the city. The nearest free parking is north of Preston Park which is a 30-minute walk away. Parking at the venue is possible from 5pm for a fixed price of £6 for the evening. However, it is significantly more expensive if you arrive earlier than that. (Eg £19 for 2-4 hours).

Public Transport

Brighton Station is 300m from the event centre.

Course Information

Course details

Course 1 MO (M18-M35) 8.5km 180m 1:4000 33 controls

Course 2 MV (M40+) WO (W18-W35) 6.9km 150m 1:4000 31 controls

Course 3 MSV (M55+) WV (W40+) 6.3km 145m 1:4000 29 controls

Course 4 MUV (M65+) WSV (W55+) 5.4km 90m 1:3000 25 controls

Course 5 MHV (M75+) WUV (W65+) 4.2km 60m 1:3000 21 controls

Course 6 WHV (W75+) 3.4km 50m 1:3000 18 controls

Course 7 MJ (M16-) WJ (W16-) 3.0km 40m 1:3000 20 controls

All distances are optimal route ones.

Those under 16 (actual age) are only permitted to run Course 7. Unfortunately the nature of the event means that it has not been possible to plan a course for young juniors (M/W12-). Juniors over the age of 12 may run course 7 unaccompanied. There is also a special class for accompanied juniors (of any age).

Course 7 will feature a mass start for all accompanied and unaccompanied juniors. The group will leave the Brighthelm Centre together at 17.30 for a short (400m) walk to a remote start south of Assembly. The Course 7 Finish will be located at the remote start. There is a single road crossing (with a pedestrian crossing) between the start/finish and Assembly. When you enter this course the system requires you to enter a start time, just select any time.

Entry Details

Entries via RaceSignup which close at 8pm on Friday Dec 19th.

Late fees (from 15th December): Adults £14, Juniors £7. Late entries are subject to map availability.

SI-card hire fee £1, or £2 for a contactless SIAC

Discounts:

SO junior members - 100% discount off entry fees - use code SOjuniors

Full time adult students - 50% discount off Adult fees - use code Student

Non-student young adults (18-25) - 30% off Adult fees - use code YA

Registration

Via Racesignup

Start Times

17:30 - 18:30. All competitors should book start times. Course 7 will be a mass start around 17.30.

Map Details

Scale 1:4,000 or 1:3000 with 2.5m contours

Terrain Description

Primarily urban streets. Courses 1-3 have some legs in parkland which could be slippery if wet. The Start and Finish will be close to the Brighthelm Centre.

Electric scooters and mopeds are popular in Brighton. Extra care is needed as the delivery vehicles are quiet and can sometimes be seen in pedestrian zones.

Dog restrictions

Sorry, no dogs allowed at this event

Facilities

Indoor hall with toilets and refreshments.

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Neil Crickmore

Organiser: Robert Lines ([email protected])

Controller / Event Adviser: Kieran Devine