OUOC invites you to the sixth Oxford City Race to be held on Sunday 27th October 2024. Details can be found below.
Results are now available here
Routegadget available here - Please upload your gpx files - we'd love to see where you went!
Photos courtesy of Tom Alcock while marshaling can be found here
Organiser's Comments - Harry Stuart (OUOC):
Before anything else - To all the volunteers, university staff who've worked with us to secure permissions, and of course the competitors, thank you for joining us on a perfect day of weather and orienteering in Oxford at the weekend. Planning for this event began almost exactly a year ago with Jean-Luc and I agreeing to organise the Oxford City Race and meeting with Ben Green (TVOC) who was our controller. A quick check of the "City Race" folder of my university email account indicates that since then there have been 410 separate correspondences through my inbox! We somehow managed to pull the event off on the day without a single technical hitch, well other than the assembly initially being set up directly on the final run in. Thankfully things didn't have to be disassembled too much to rectify that issue - sorry to all the volunteers who were involved in that moving job!
As promotional materials indicated, this is the biggest the Oxford City Race has ever been. We had 483 competitors and a record ten colleges taking part in a course which was just about as challenging as we could make it. Securing so many permissions (not just the colleges but also the three separate departmental areas, the university parks, the council and the university sports federation) was a monumental task, especially given eight of the colleges had no recent experience of featuring their land in an orienteering event. We were particularly worried about competitor behaviour losing us permissions for the future but I am very glad to say we've had no complaints which means that we should be able to secure these permissions much more easily in the future!
There is a very long list of people to thank so if I don't name you directly then please know that you were nevertheless a great help. First Ben Green has been a great hand in checking that two students, who started orienteering at university and have never organised or planned an event before, knew everything they needed to know about how to pull off an event of this size. Alun Jones (TVOC) has done an incredible job on the tech side of things leading up to and during the event. Bob Beresford (TVOC) stepped in at very short notice to make our maps look so nice - he also updated the map of University Parks in March for TVOC which we have since copied. Jon and Nev (TVOC) helped provide kit for the start and on the course. Austin and Ruth Levitt of Buckinghamshire Search and Rescue provided our first aid free of charge through a mutual contact and we would like to encourage you to donate to the charity here to help support their work in the future. We are incredibly grateful for all the volunteers who helped at the event, not least Emily Elms and Carys Sharp (OUOC) who coordinated every marshal meaning Jean-Luc and I didn't have to think about it at all on the day - we really couldn't have done it without them. We've had multiple comments from competitors about how smiley the marshals were while standing at their gates on the course and we'd like to extend our thanks here.
I (Harry) also really want to thank Jean-Luc. While on the day our roles were delineated in the traditional way, this event is too much for one person to 'organise'. Since November it has really been a two-horse effort and there's absolutely no way I could have coordinated this event without Jean-Luc working his socks off too.
The colleges! In the rough order that you visited them we would like to thank all those who helped secure permissions and worked on the days leading up to the event at; Lady Margaret Hall, Wycliffe Hall, Kellogg, St Antony's, St Anne's, Green Templeton, Somerville, Keble, Mansfield and Linacre. Also our thanks go to the Science Area, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, University Club, University Parks, the Security Services and Oxfordshire County Council for their support of the event. We hope to work with you again when the City Race returns in 2026!
Controller's Comments - Ben Green (TVOC):
From our initial meeting I had complete confidence in the ability of Harry and Jean-Luc to put on a first-class Oxford City Race. Planning and organisation were meticulous. Controlling was straightforward and a pleasure - with all three of us working in the Mathematical Institute (control 121 in today's race was outside it) we could have face-to-face meetings and easily head out into the area to address concerns. In an event as complex as this, with many different permissions to negotiate, as well as randomly shifting road- and utility works to keep up with, precise planning is essential but one also needs some luck. Thankfully we had that (and excellent weather) for today's event and it is hard to see how it could have gone better.
Following the success of CUOC's Cambridge City Race last year it's OUOC's turn to organise the event in Oxford. With a permissions spreadsheet that runs into the double digits you will experience the streets of Oxford along with departmental areas and up to TEN colleges, eight of which have never featured before! The courses will begin in University Parks and the event is not one to be missed.
A live document with the most up to date details can be found here. Please read it, especially the highlighted portions, before arriving at the event on Sunday.
Entries are still available on SiEntries (click here) but are capped at 500 people so enter soon to avoid disappointment. Entries will close on Thursday evening regardless of if the cap has been met. There will be no entry on the day.
Fees: Senior: £17 | Senior Non-BOF: £19 | Junior/Student: £7 | SIAC Hire: £2 (Lost dibbers will be charged at £65)
The assembly will be in the University Parks, ///:best.prep.needed, Oxford (map to follow). Toilets are available in the park. We will provide a place to drop bags but please be aware the parks are public and we take no responsibility for any lost or damaged items. There is minimal parking in central Oxford thus we encourage everyone to use the Park and Ride or the train.
If arriving by train: Book a ticket to Oxford (not Oxford Parkway), exit the station towards George Street, walk along Broad Street and then turn left up Parks Road
If driving from the North: Travel to Peartree Park and Ride and alight at the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, then walk East
If driving from the East: Travel to Thornhill Park and Ride and alight at Queens Lane, West. Walk East along the High Street, turn left up Longwall Street and follow St Cross Road North
If driving from the South: Travel to Redbridge Park and Ride and alight at the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, then walk East
If driving from the West: Do not use Seacourt Park and Ride. Instead follow the ring road to Peartree or Redbridge Park and Rides. There are long term road works by the train station which will leave you a long walk otherwise!
Seven courses are available, the approximate optimum distances have now been finalised and can be seen in the table below. Course 1 is the longest while courses 6 and 7 are for juniors. Courses 1-5 feature multiple major road crossings which will not be marshalled. These courses have been planned to cross major roads diagonally and roads are typically quieter on Sundays but you will still need to take extra care. Under 16s MUST enter on course 6 or 7 which will not cross roads. Junior courses will still be technically challenging and they will leave the bounds of the park to visit a nearby college or two - they are comparable in difficulty to an Orange course. While Oxford is a very flat city all courses feature stairs. The courses are listed in the following table - we have included the number of colleges each course will visit in case you may wish to run up a class. Please note some courses feature more than 30 controls - if you wish to enter a course with more than 30 controls and do not own a dibber with large enough capacity then you will need to hire one.
| Course | Class | Approximate Optimum Distance (km) | Controls | Colleges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Men's Open | 10.8 | 37 | 10 |
| 2 | Women's Open, M40+ | 9.3 | 33 | 10 |
| 3 | W40+, M55+ | 7.4 | 27 | 10 |
| 4 | W55+, M65+ | 5.8 | 21 | 9 |
| 5 | W65+, W75+, M75+ | 4.9 | 18 | 7 |
| 6 | M/W16- | 4.8 | 20 | 2 |
| 7 | M/W12- | 2.4 | 12 | 1 |
Starts are from 10:00-12:30. Courses close at 14:30 by which point all competitors must have reported to download. Note that the clocks change on Sunday morning.
Organiser: Harry Stuart
Planner: Jean-Luc Portner
Controller: Ben Green, TVOC
Mappers: Bob and Pattie Beresford (TVOC), Harry Stuart
If you have any questions please contact us at cityrace@ouoc.org.uk. See you in October!
Results now available: results; winsplits; routegadget.
Final details now available here.
Start lists now available: Start Lists by Course; Start Lists by Name.
Oxford University Orienteering Club are delighted to once again be hosting the Oxford City orienteering race. It offers an opportunity for orienteers to experience high quality orienteering around the serene university environment of Oxford. This is a regional level event.
The event will be held in a COVID-secure manner in accordance with British Orienteering’s operational guidance. It is really important that all participants read the COVID-19 Code of Conduct and abide by it before, during and after competing. It has recently been updated so please click the link above to read the latest version.
This event will be SIAC enabled.
The assembly will be right in the heart of the city, located in the University Parks, providing a great opportunity for any tourist activities or simply lunch in one of Oxford’s traditional old pubs following the event.
Parking in the centre of Oxford is difficult to find, and expensive (nearest post code is OX2 6PS). If coming by car, we strongly recommend you use Park & Ride. Watch for signs to Park & Ride locations as you approach the Oxford Ring Road. Even better, come by public transport.
Oxford is well served by rail and coach links from most major cities. The rail and coach stations are both about 15 minutes walk from University Parks.
An urban style race, in line with British Orienteering’s urban event guidelines, providing winning times longer than traditional sprint races. The race will feature navigation through technical housing estates and and enjoyable scenery as you race along the streets of Oxford’s serene colleges.
The map has scale 1:4000 (tbc). Recently updated by Bob and Pattie Beresford, TVOC.
Usual range of UK Urban courses and classes (provisional course lengths now listed alongside class below):
1. MO (Men's Open); - 8.1km
2. WO (Women's Open); M40+ (Men's Vet, 40+); - 7.1km
3. W40+ (Women's Vet, 40+); M55+ (Men's Super Vet, 55+); - 5.5km
4. W55+ (Women's Super Vet, 55+); M65+ (Men's Ultra Vet, 65+); - 3.9km
5. W65+ (Women's Ultra Vet, 65+); W75+ (Women's Hyper Vet, 75+); M75+ (Men's Hyper Vet, 75+); - 3.8km
6. M/W16- (Men/ Women Junior, 16-); - 3.1km
7. M/W12- (Men/Women Young Junior, 12-); - 1.7km
Please note that all distances quoted are straight line distances, the actual distance run will be further than this.
Courses 6 and 7 will be entirely within the confines of the University Parks and the Chemistry campus, so will not cross any roads. Competitors who are under 16 on 12th February may enter only classes M/W16- and M/W12-.
Older competitors may enter whichever classes they like. However, to score points in the South of England Orienteering Urban league, they must enter the class for their age or run up.
Start times from 10:30 to 13:00.
Courses close at 14:30.
Pre-entry only through SiEntries - enter here.
Under 16s may only enter courses 6 and 7.
Entry Cost: Seniors £15 (£13 up to 9th January); Juniors and students £5 (£4 up to 9th January); SIAC hire £2.
Public toilets 200m from Assembly.
Organiser: Colm Moran - colm.moran15@yahoo.co.uk
Planner: Zac Hudd
Controller: Neville Baker, TVOC
For results from previous city races go to the old website linked at the bottom of this page and navigate to the city races section
Unfortunately due to permissions issues and ongoing uncertainty about which parts of the area would have been useable on the day the organiser and controller have taken the decision to cancel this year's Oxford City Race. Apologies to everyone who had been planning on attending. Unfortunately rescheduling this year's race is not realistic, but hopefully the next city race will be held before the usual date of October 2020...
Simple results and splits
UK Urban League
South East Urban League
BOF ranking points (updated 22/11/16)
Winsplits, splitsbrower, routegadget
Attackpoint
Please contact the organiser with any results enquiries.
Organisers comments
Whilst most of the world has spent the last month worrying about the US elections, I have been significantly more concerned about ensuring that yesterday's race went smoothly. I'll leave it to you to decide which of the two had a more successful outcome. This event wouldn't be possible without the support of the colleges who kindly granted us access - Magdalen, St Anne's, Wadham and New along with the University Parks and University Security Services. Thank you also to everyone who ran for avoiding any alteractions with cars, bicycles and tourists (or at least none that I've heard of).
Not everything went smoothly, but despite my best efforts we managed to avoid any disasters. If you used loose control descriptions then you should be grateful to BML print for sending them at the last minute after I originally forgot to order them. I have heard some reports (but no official complaints) of competitors spotted crossing uncrossable features. Notably the OOB pitches to the east of the map (controls 159 and 162) and various flowerbeds in St Anne's (northenmost college, controls 157, 198, 191, 149). If on reflection you realise that you went OOB at some point, please let me know. I am aware of some impossibly fast split times, but would prefer it if people realised their mistakes than for me to have to chase people up.
The map has now evolved significantly since Ian Webb's excellent original survey. It can be difficult when producing the map to represent the intricate colleges both accurately and legibly, and I would love to heard any feedback - particularly regarding areas where the cartography can be improved for future races. The raised walkway in the engineering department should have been described on the map legend, and I apologise to anyone who was disadvantanged by this oversight.
The next Oxford City race is very provisionally scheduled for Saturday 27th October 2018. I hope to see you there.
- Jamie Parkinson, 20/11/2016
Simple results, by
class and by
course
Splits, by class
and by course.
Winsplits
Splitsbrowser
Routegadget
Officials Comments
SEOUL
results
Attackpoint
BOF
Ranking points
Oxford City Race 2012
Simple Results
Splits
WinSplits
Splits
Browser
RouteGadget
Official's comments
Oxford City Race 2009
Results by class
Split times by class
Route Gadget is also avalible here
The 2009 city race page can be found here.
Oxford City Race 2007
The 2007 city race page can be found here.
Oxford City Race 2006
Final results from the 2006 City Race, held on Saturday 4th November, are
available by class or
as a PDF,
along with split
times.
The Planner's and Controller's Comments
are also available.