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Anthony Chabot Regional Park

Date: (Wed.) Jul. 27, 2005
Location: Oakland, CA
Event Director: - 510.681.6181
Course Setter: Rex Winterbottom
Type: C; Evening Sprint; starts from 6:00-7:00 pm


Come out Wednesday evening for a fun romp in Anthony Chabot park. You can choose to enjoy a short course or collect points for the USOF Sprint Series. This will be a low-key evening Sprint. I will be submitting this to the USOF Sprint Series for ranking points. There will not be beginner clinics or courses.

The one course available is 3.0 km, 120 m of climb, 9 controls. It is not recommended for beginners.

The map is 1:5000 scale, 20-foot contours, black and white with 3 "vegetation" shades: run, walk, and fight!

You'll find some open grassland, but a lot of the grassland has coyote brush, and in many places it presents a significant obstacle to forward progress. This will be indicated on the map, but not perfectly so. It should give you enough information to make the route choice you feel is best for you. If you can roll over on top of the brush a la Bob Cooley, then you'll probably have a good quote for the event write-up.

You are also allowed to take trails and roads and run through a few patches of eucalyptus forest with avoidable poison oak bushes. There are some prolific areas of it, I tried to keep the course away from them. Rock features dot the landscape here and there, including a concentration in one area you will visit.

The course will keep you on your toes. It has straightforward legs, a few interesting route choice decisions, some of the navigation is technical. Maybe technical enough to cost you a minute, but not too much time. Just be careful on the last 2 legs — lots of coyote brush once you cross the road!

Hazards: Heat. It could be hot. Check the forecast. Too bad pants are recommended, to shield you against vegetation and some patches of poison oak bushes — watch out and bring Technu if you require it. Cleats will help with footing, especially in the eucalyptus forests. For some sprints I would recommend running shoes over cleats (Bayfront?) but not this one!

Personally, I wore shorts and unspiked running shoes when I first designed and field checked the courses, but I wouldn't recommend you do the same. I took my usual lukewarm shower with dishwashing soap and didn't catch the P.O., but my running shoes have all this sticky vegetation garbage in them now.

Starts available 6:00 PM to 7:00. You can probably start early, if you're there early. Course closes and control pickup begins at 7:30 PM — this is a condition of our event permit.

A bathroom and a water fountain are located at the staging area. There will be no water stops on the course.

There are about 12 parking spaces at the staging area, so carpooling is recommended (and requested). Castro Valley BART station is not far from the intersection of Redwood Rd. and Castro Valley Blvd., so it would make a natural meeting point. If we get too many cars we'll have to use the gravel lot just off of Redwood Rd. at Marciel Gate, which is actually 2 miles from the staging area.

Remember when we used to have summer training and go out for food and drinks afterwards? I hope we can get a few of you willing to head to either the Oakland Hills or Castro Valley for some post-event socializing.

Driving Directions

From I-580 westbound in Castro Valley, take the Castro Valley exit and turn left at Castro Valley Boulevard. At Redwood Road, turn right. From I-580 eastbound, take the Redwood Road exit and turn left at Redwood.

After going for a few miles on Redwood Road, and passing the Proctor Staging Area and Willow Park Public Golf Course, you will reach the Marciel Gate. After you turn left onto the road going into Marciel Gate, it will be about 2 miles to the parking area and staging area for the event. Look for a control bag.

From Highway 13 southbound or northbound, take the exit for Redwood and head higher into the hills, crossing Skyline Boulevard and heading toward Castro Valley. This requires you to go farther on Redwood Road but this is quicker from Oakland or areas north. On Redwood Road you will pass the MacDonald Staging Area, Redwood Park, Pinehurst Road, and the Bort Meadow Staging Area. When you read Marciel Gate, turn right, go for 2 miles on the road, and look for the control bag.