Granville Loop Wednesday Evening Training

Organizers: Brian Ellis (Event Director), Marg Ellis (Course Planner), Brian Ellis (Controller), Joanne Woods (Membership), Meghan Rance (Coach)

Map: Granville Loop

Description

This map was drawn in 2016 (updated 2020) to ISSOM 2007 sprint standard (1:4000; 2m contours). It covers >15 blocks of detailed urban terrain that is home to many restaurants and businesses (including high-end car dealerships – you can admire the Teslas, Jaguars and Maseratis as you run past). The mapped area is surrounded on all four sides by busy streets, with numerous quieter interior streets and lanes, community gardens, and a small park system.

Schedule

6:15 pm Introduction to Orienteering for Beginners

6:30 pm Starts

8:00 pm Course Closure, participants must report to the Finish before leaving.

Courses

Three point-to-point courses are on offer – Beginner, Long Loop A and Long Loop B.
The Beginner course is suitable for those trying orienteering for the first time. It will share some controls with the Long course loops. The two Long course loops have a total length of (4.3 km); you can run either Loop A or Loop B, or both, sequentially.

TRAINING TIP: Reading ahead.
This is a true urban sprint event – no trees to jump over or thick woods to deal with. You have to make quick route choice decisions, and keep yourself oriented despite frequent changes of direction. Practice planning your route to the control after the next one (once you have planned the current leg). If you have some “dead running” on the current leg, look ahead on the map and choose the next route. You may need to slow down to do this, but before you reach the control, try to have your map refolded along the line to the following control. Keep the map oriented (use your compass) so that you know which direction to exit the control; it is very easy in this area to lose the sense of where North is!

When planning your route, consider the following:

• Every time you make a sharp turn while running in a sprint, you lose time. Therefore, if two routes seem to be about the same length, choose the one that minimizes the number of times you change direction. Such route choices also demand less detailed map reading, which again saves time.

Safety Precautions

The boundary streets (Fourth Avenue, Burrard, Broadway and Granville) are strictly out of bounds and marked so on the map. However, you can run the sidewalks bordering these streets. There are only two locations where you can safely cross Granville St. These are both underpasses. Ask us if you do not know how underpasses are shown on the map. Note that Fir St can sometimes have heavier traffic. If it looks unsafe to cross any street between corners, please use the pedestrian cross-walks/traffic lights at the corners.

While there is a lot of urban light in this district, headlamps are essential for good map reading. Almost the entire course is paved, so runners or trail shoes will be suitable footwear.

Take great care when crossing or running along streets, lanes and parking lots - cars can suddenly appear out of nowhere, and they won't be expecting you. Wearing high visibility clothing items is highly recommended. Run heads up! Always be respectful of drivers and pedestrians, and remember that the streets all have cement curbs, so watch your footing. Always carry a whistle.

Parking/Start Location:

Parking in this area is very limited, and it is almost all meter parking. There may be some free parking at Granville Island after 6 pm. Use transit, or bike, if possible, to reach the event. Start and finish will be located in Pop-Up Park, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Pine St. There is no shelter there, but the weather forecast looks to be fine.

Acknowledgements

Without volunteers, these events cannot take place. A hearty thanks to all those helping put this event on. If you would like to volunteer/help at upcoming WETs/WJRs or would like to organize a WET please let us know.

Location