Withdean Park

Report

A beautiful day but definitely on the hot side for hard running! Despite this there was clearly much close competition out there and not always easy consistent route choices to lead to the best splits. The complex beds of the middle laid garden was reportedly as confusing as intended, particularly with the uphill combinations playing their part, with longer legs to test too. Despite this, times were tight.

The Orange course emulated much of the Sprint but at smaller scale, where careful navigation balanced with wise course choice led to a good spread of creditable results.

For Yellow, this was a challenging area with the path network being disjointed and highly varied in character, so well done to the large field of newcomers in successfully dealing with the open areas, using not just the paths, but the edge vegetation boundaries and fences to find your way around.

As first-time planners, the kind words offered from the many runners finishing did much to enthuse us to even doing this again! We certainly learnt a huge amount in the process – all guided by the admirable coaching from Will Heap, Safety advice by Karen Ashworth, and the help of so many of the committee quietly behind the scenes. You know who you are and thank you from Mark, Oliver and myself for helping to ensure an enjoyable event for all. Particular thanks are due also to our amazing SI team of Joe and Les, also to Anna Chapman for running the Warm-up session for the many juniors attending today and covering First Aid, and finally to Euan, Ed and Garry for kindly doing the control collecting in the heat of the day. Well done all and thank you!

Ian Johnson

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

Sign up at RaceSignUp. Withdean Park has mixed terrain including woodland and open areas. It also features a technical zone of lilac planting which requires close attention to the map.

Junior warm up session 10:15 to 10:30

We will be running a junior warm up session from 10:15 to 10:30. Juniors are anyone under 20. Do come and join us. It's a chance to warm up the muscles and have a bit of fun, before your run. Find us by the coaching flag & junior squad banner.

Park O Series Info

Park-Os are friendly club events, usually in parks or school grounds, where children and newcomers are very welcome. These are fun events where you can get a feeling for the sport – you can walk or run, go as a group or on your own or challenge your navigation at high speed against some of our top competitive orienteers. Yellow and Orange courses are suitable for children to walk or run on their own with a bit of practice. Adults are welcome to shadow children until they are confident to go on their own. Sprint courses are run or walked by any age group.

The Park-O series takes place in the early summer and early Autumn and is 8 events this year. Medals are awarded for the best placed in a variety of age categories.

Volunteer here

Enquiries here

Location Info

Nearest town: Brighton

Postcode: *
Lat,Lng: 50.85370,-0.15370
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

Free parking is available for up to 3 hours at Withdean Stadium, Tongdean Lane, Brighton BN1 5JD

google

Street parking in the surrounding area may also be available.

Public Transport

Good public transport. Use Google Maps to plan your trip.

Course Information

Start/registration is in the SW corner of Withdean Park.

Easy Yellow course 1.2km, 35m climb, 13 controls

Easy Orange course 1.8km, 60m of climb, 16 controls

Sprint course 2.9km, 100m of climb, 24 controls

Entry Details

Entry via Racesignup.co.uk. Newcomers are welcome and eligible for a free trial session - if you'd like to reserve a map or discuss the event please email our club secretary.

Entry fees: Sprint £5.00, Orange £2.50, Yellow £2.50 (SO Juniors free - use code SOJuniors)

SI card hire: Seniors £1 (£2 for SIAC), Juniors 50p (£1 for SIAC)

Registration

From 9:45 to 10:45

Start Times

From 10:00 - 11:00. Courses close 12:00

Map Details

1:4,000. 5m contours

Terrain Description

A nice slope with a mixture of woodland, small path networks, open grass and formal gardens.
Please do not attempt to cross any of the out of bounds garden beds shown as olive green on the map.
There are many small trees on the area, the smallest of which are often not mapped.
It is forbidden to run on any roads.

Facilities

No facilities. Nearest public toilets are in Preston Park (1.6km away).

Miscellaneous

Assembly is in the SW corner of the park. Access from the London Road.

Note that the Met Office have issued an amber heat warning for Saturday so do consider bringing extra drinks with you and make sure that you hydrate well before running.

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Ian Johnson

Organiser:

Controller / Event Adviser:

Parko 4 Withdean Park Sat 21 June, 2025

Results