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Thread: Four Fans

  1. #21
    Master Travs's Avatar
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    Cheers Dave... it's all set up, map downloaded... however i'll also be recording the route on my watch as backup proof of visiting all checkpoints, in case there are any technical issues on the day...

  2. #22
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    Good day out at Storey Arms yesterday. There was a bit of cloud cover when i arrived, but by the time i'd started 20 minutes later, it had burned away and it was absolutely sweltering... not too far off the hottest conditions i've raced in.

    Was all ran using the Maprun app, which despite my scepticism, worked perfectly, phone beeped clearly within about 20 yards of each checkpoint so i knew i'd been logged. It also allowed the RO to track my route (although racers couldn't use it as a navigational aid... that had been turned off). Within 30secs of collapsing over the finish, i was subject to a detailed interrogation of my route choice up the final climb!

    Wasn't quite the same level of competition as last year when it was a counter in the South Wales Champs. But i wasn't taking it lightly and attacked the first climb like it was a cross-country race. I knew there were one or two people starting behind me who looked fairly handy, so i didn't want to be followed as i am fairly confident i know the route well.

    As it happened i was 7 minutes clear by the first top, and stretched that to 16mins by the end... but due to the staggered starts i had no idea of this, and that i could have eased off.

    A slight disappointment to not beat last year's time... i'd hoped that my increased fitness might negate the oppresively hot conditions, but i fell short by about 4mins. But nothing i could do, i'd given it my all... Had nothing left in the tank coming off the final top.

    Looks like they are going to run it in opposite direction each year now... a la Brecon Beacons... which will make for an interesting contrast, given the distinctly different nature of the two halves of the race.

    One of my favourite medium races, which certainly deserves more support.
    Last edited by Travs; 09-08-2020 at 11:28 AM.

  3. #23
    Master Dave_Mole's Avatar
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    "A slight disappointment to not beat last year's time.."

    But still a WIN!!
    Congratulations!

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave_Mole View Post
    "A slight disappointment to not beat last year's time.."

    But still a WIN!!
    Congratulations!

    Thank-you Dave... shame you couldn't make it. I've never heard your clubmate Mr Farrow swear before, until i passed him on the final climb and he informed me exactly how he was feeling!

    Don't think i'll get carried away though... position is nice, but largely dictated by who else turns up... if any of the likes of O'Keefe/Pinker/Aggleton had turned up, they'd have beaten me into a cocked hat... those guys are in a different stratosphere...

    However it was promising... heat issues aside, i felt strong, and reckon my run yesterday would possibly have been strong enough for 3rd place (possibly 2nd) against last year's opposition.

  5. #25
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    Travs, a nice reward for some solid training during testing times. Good to read
    Poacher turned game-keeper

  6. #26
    Master Wheeze's Avatar
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    top man travs. its a tough course! very interested to hear about maprun. sounds like we may not need trackers anymore??
    Simon Blease
    Monmouth

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wheeze View Post
    top man travs. its a tough course! very interested to hear about maprun. sounds like we may not need trackers anymore??
    Maprun seems to essentially be a tracker system, but runs off your smart-phone rather than "dibbing" using a wristband, SOS tracker, etc...

    Think it's very popular within orienteering, so it is proven.

    Download the event map before the race. Change the relevant settings on your phone if necessary(allow the app to run in the background, so when your phone goes on standby it doesn't switch the App off... turn the media volume up full blast so you can hear the phone bleep as you pass a checkpoint).

    Press "go to start" when you are ready to start... as soon as you hit the start line your phone bleeps and the clock is ticking. All being well, it tracks your route, records you through each checkpoint, and knows when you finish.

    The RO switches the nav option off, so you can't use it to find your way round. However afterwards you can review the route you took (and everyone else's route, which can provide hours of entertainment!). Results get automatically downloaded to the RO's laptop.

    I did record my run on GPS watch as backup, and would continue to do so in future Maprun races, but it all worked perfectly.

    One or two had issues, although i know in at least one case it was due to going to the incorrect top on Fan Llia, and i suspect other cases were issues caused by phone settings.
    Last edited by Travs; 10-08-2020 at 05:15 PM.

  8. #28
    Master Wheeze's Avatar
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    That's really interesting. I was watching out for something that could work without trackers. When I put my hay bluff race on using trackers was a real faff.

  9. #29
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    Dave Mole seems to know a fair bit about the technical side.

    And in Wales, if you know Andy Blackmore or Helen Brown, I think they can help from an RO point of view. Or certainly put you in touch with the right person.

  10. #30
    Master Dave_Mole's Avatar
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    MapRin isn't a tracker as such. You set up the course controls and an app on the runners phone records when they pass them. The routes can be linear or scatter. The app will compile results etc, too.

    There are a couple of permanent MapRun courses in South Wales, if you want to try them, Wheeze, and I'm currently setting up a series in Shropshire.

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