Newcastle University Fell Running and Orienteering Club

Hey everyone!

We will be at the societies fair in the university Sports Centre from Sunday 24th – Tuesday 26th September – drop by to say hello and find out more about orienteering, fell running, and the club.

Free Orienteering Taster Event – Saturday 7th October – Leazes Park

We are running an event right next to the campus in Newcastle at the start of term – feel free to pop along and try out a course, all abilities welcome. Meet outside the university Sports Centre at 2:00pm, and the session will last a couple of hours. Full instruction and all equipment is provided!

The session will include a shorter course for those who haven’t been orienteering before, and longer courses suited to those who are already runners.

We hope to see many of you there!

Some footage from the trip to the Lake District  – the conditions were so good that it was worth putting a short clip together:

Thanks to Ben for editing the video, and see everyone next year!

Events [Apr – Jun 2016]

24/04/16     Regional Event                             Northumberland

27/04/16     UNOC AGM                            North Terrace

30/04/16     Spring Series Event               Silverlink Park

07/05/16     Mud Run Obstacle Course   Slaley Hall Estate

08/05/16     Regional Event                             Northumberland

14/05/16     Spring Series Event               Wallsend Park

15/05/16     Regional Event                              North Yorkshire Moors

22/05/16     Chasing Sprint                        Exhibition Park

28/05/16     Spring Series Event               Percy Pit

05/06/16     Local Event                             Jesmond Dene

11/06/16     Spring Series Event               North Shields

18/06/16     Spring Series Event + BBQ  Rising Sun Country Park

19/06/16     Windy Gyle Fell Race            Northumberland

Event Types

Spring Series Event – informal Saturday morning event within 10 miles
Local Event – orienteering event within 30 miles
Regional Event – highlight orienteering event within 70 miles
Urban event – orienteering event within a built up area

The inaugural UNOC fell running weekend took place recently, combining the INOV8 High Cup Nick Fell Race with a long run in the Lake District. With a high class field and a challenging course, the race provided ample interest to start the weekend off, and saw some good performances.

http://www.racingsnakes.com/store/assets/cache/idMDU0NWY4Y2U1M2RmZjQ=-6a1c9b2ad71e5f333c03350faea32a4c.jpg

The toughest part of the route was the gradual climb up to the head of High Cup Nick, followed by the unrelenting steep scramble onto the Pennine plateau.

http://www.racingsnakes.com/store/assets/cache/idNTg0NWY4Y2U1M2RmZjQ=-572075027a4dcfb8f9ec055f7bad7e7a.jpg

With some slightly sore legs the chosen route for the following day was the classic Coniston horseshoe, from Dow Crag around to Wetherlam. The conditions were excellent for the time of year, and a great run was enjoyed by all.

http://www.racingsnakes.com/store/assets/cache/idNzE1NWY4Y2U1M2RmZjQ=-3f044158a005d99f2ec3d4e87c7be221.jpg

Thanks for everyone who came along, especially George and Richard for driving. Keep an eye out for the next trip!

Burn’s weekend saw a UNOC group travelling up to Edinburgh for the annual EUOC big weekend, in anticipation of some exciting orienteering and ceilidh dancing.

On the Saturday the Edinburgh city race provided some well-planned courses taking in all the key areas, from the university campus, housing estates, the Royal Mile, the infamously trickly multi-levelled Exchange district, and finishing on the meadows. With some members running in excess of 11 miles, some well-earned recovery was required.

However what we got instead was the big weekend ceilidh, fusing a combination of traditional dancing and haggis into an excellent evening. On Sunday the classic event on Arthur’s Seat had some brilliant courses with a blend of fine navigation and big route choice providing the main interest, although the uphill legs were particularly tiring!

Thanks to everyone who came along and also to EUOC for putting on such a great set of events. We’ll definitely be back next year! Results

Another foray into the Cheviots saw us greeted with a fine winter’s day; clear(ish) skies with a hint of sun and a baltic southerly breeze.

Beginning from Hethpool, the easy tracks of St Cuthberts Way were followed to the border ridge, at which point progress slowed due to the deep snow drifts. Continuing over The Schil, a mountain refuge hut provided a welcome lunch stop. Climbing up Cairn Hill and the Cheviot was considerably slower than expected, however this was made up for with a swift trail run down the stunning College Valley to end the day. Cheers to Ben for the footage!

Events [Jan – Mar 2016]

16/01/16    Winter Series Event              Ponteland

17/01/16    Fell Run                                   Cheviots

21/01/16   Night Owl 7                              Ponteland

23-24/01/16    EUOC Big Weekend        Edinburgh

30/01/16    Winter Series Event              Town Moor

31/01/16     Local Event                             Cong Burn

04/02/16    Night Owl 8                             Cramlington

06/02/16   UNOC Taster Session             Leazes Park & Castle Leazes

07/02/16   Urban Event                             Cramlington

13/02/16    Winter Series Event                Prudhoe East

14/02/16    Regional Event                         North Yorkshire Moors

18/02/16    Night Owl 9                              Newcastle University

21/02/16    Glaisdale Rigg Fell Race         North Yorkshire Moors

27-28/02/16    Fell Running Weekend     Pennines + Lake District
High Cup Nick Fell Race + Long Run

05/03/16    North East Night Championships   North Yorkshire Moors

06/03/16    Regional Event                         North Yorkshire Moors

10/03/16    Night Owl Final                        Havannah Nature Reserve

12/03/16   Winter Series Event                 Blyth South Beach

13/03/16   Brough Law Fell Race              Northumberland

Event Types

Night Owl – night orienteering series
Winter Series Event – informal Saturday morning event within 10 miles
Local Event – orienteering event within 30 miles
Regional Event – highlight orienteering event within 70 miles
Urban event – orienteering event within a built up area
UNOC Taster Session – come and try it! Put on by us right here in Newcastle

Well done to those who completed the Simonside Cairns fell race last weekend – in particular top effort by Andy in 2nd and Ben in 3rd. The combination of sun in the sky and snow on the ground gave great conditions for being in the hills, and an enjoyable run was had by all. Results

Ready and raring to go

Andy and Ben with the leaders

Chris negotiating the snowy tracks

Not a bad haul for a morning’s run!

Thanks to Northumberland Fell Runners for putting on the race and providing the much appreciated soup at the end!

We were blessed with clear weather for our first foray of the year to the hills, and had a fine day running in the Cheviots.

https://vimeo.com/145788590

Starting from the upper reaches of the picturesque valley of Coquetdale, some amazing views from the border ridge provided a brilliant morning. With one group taking a detour through the forest and the other taking in the summit of The Cheviot itself, a brilliant outing was had by all, and rounded off with tea and cakes in the Barrowburn cafe at the finish. Thanks to Ben for putting the video together!

24/10/15     Night Event                                              Durham City

31/10/15     Night Event                                              Slayley Hall Estate

01/11/15     Local Event                                              Slayley Hall Estate

07/11/15     Autumn Series Event                             Ponteland

12/11/15     Night Owl Event                                      Leazes Park

14/11/15     Fell run                                                      Cheviots

21/11/15     Autumn Series Event                              Silverlink

26/11/15     Night Owl Event                                      Morpeth

05/12/15     Autumn Series Event                             Havannah

06/12/15     Hexhamshire Hobble Fell Race            Allendale

10/12/15     Night Owl Event                                     Prudhoe

12/12/15     Autumn Series Event                             Rising Sun Country Park

13/12/15     Simonside Cairns Fell Race                    Rothbury

20/12/15     Festive Frolics                                         Plessey Woods

There may be further events in addition to these – look out for further details in future emails.