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UC Berkeley

Date: (Sun.) Sep. 10, 2006
Location: Berkeley, CA
Event Director: - 510.862.5481
Course Setter: George Minarik
Type: C; Campus O -- White, Yellow, and Prologue & Motola Sprint

Related Information

Last Year's Event

Welcome to the beautiful UC Berkeley Campus. We will be offering a Beginner’s White course, an Advanced Beginner’s Yellow course, and two combined-time Sprint courses for intermediate and advanced competitors. Registration is at the standard times from 9 AM to 12 Noon at the Campanile.

Start times for the White and Yellow courses are from 10 AM to 12:30 PM. The Sprint Courses have special start windows as detailed below. All courses close at 2 PM.

Our event on the UC Berkeley campus will be similar to last year's. The advanced runners will compete on 2 courses: a Prologue with starts between 10 AM and 11:15 AM, and a Chase course with a mass start at 12 Noon. These courses will use e-punch and will earn points towards Peter Gagarin's US Sprint Series (http://users.crocker.com/%7Epg/2006ss/schedule.html).

For beginners, there will be White and Yellow courses that will start between 10 AM and 12:30 PM. The White and Yellow courses will not use e-punch.

There are restrooms in a number of campus buildings. The nearest is Evans Hall which is 100 meters north of the Campanile. All buildings may or may not be open on the Sunday of the event.

Course Information 

  Course            # Controls        Length

  White                 10             1.8K
  Yellow                14             3.0K
  Sprint Prologue       12             3.0K
  Sprint Motala         18             4.1K

White Course: This course will stay on the main roads and paths of the campus. Although the course is pretty easy, careful map reading will still be essential to complete the course. There is one main route choice for each control. Each control point on the map will be an object such as a statue, bridge, or bench. When you reach the control point you must answer a multiple-choice question about the circled object. At registration you will be given a control description sheet with a question for each of the 10 controls. A sample question might be a follows:

1. This Statue honors:
a) Earl Warren
b) Mario Savio
c) Steve Jobs
d) Jack London

Circle the correct answer and go on to the next control. I estimate the winning time on the White course to be 25 minutes. The predicted median time is 40 minutes for beginners.

Yellow Course: Yellow is longer and more technical than the White course. Most legs have route choices. Some of the legs will be of intermediate (Orange) difficulty and require precise map reading. The Yellow course ventures into more complex areas of the campus. The control points are campus objects that tend to be smaller than those on the White course. As on the White course, you will receive a control description sheet with multiple-choice questions that must be answered correctly. The estimate for the winning time on the Yellow Course is 45 minutes. The median time prediction is 70 minutes. This is a fun course that takes you into many interesting areas.

Sprint Prologue: Your high-speed decision making and precise map reading are put to the test in these sprint courses, as seconds matter. The Prologue will take you into the most technical terrain of the campus. The Sprint courses will use Electronic Punching. The estimated winning time of the Prologue will be 15 minutes. George Minarik pre-ran the course in 22 minutes. The start window for the Prologue will be between 9:45 AM and 11:15 AM. Anyone starting later may miss the mass start of the Motala, which starts at 12 Noon sharp. There will be a non-standard use of the control description symbol for a light pole. (A light pole will use the symbol of a power pylon.) Control 8 has a control description of a circle. This control point is an electromagnet. The results of this course will count towards points in the US Sprint Series.

Sprint Motala: There will be a mass start at 12 Noon. At 11:45 we will meet for instructions and map distribution. Only those who have completed the Prologue course will be allowed to compete in the Motala. The Motala consists of a series of 5 short courses, each on a different map segment. After each course you must return to the Finish area, punch, and begin your new course. You will required to complete the courses in the order of the maps given to you at the start. There will be 5 different course combinations. Your course combination will depend upon your finish in the Prologue. These two sprint courses will be a combined-timed event. The estimate of the winning time of the Motala is 22 minutes. George pre-ran it in 33 minutes. On Course A, control #2 has a control description of a circle. This control point is a birdbath. On Course E, control #1 and control #2 have control descriptions of X’s. These control points are benches.

Map and Terrain Notes

Hearst Ave runs along the north side of the campus and is out of bounds because of construction and lack of sidewalks. This out-of-bounds area is marked on the map as purple hatches. Anyone running along Hearst Ave will be disqualified.

Avoid the many construction areas on the campus. Most of these are depicted on the map with black vertical lines, although they may not all be mapped accurately because they are changing everyday.

The map depicts some small bridges across the creeks, some of these are just pipes and are dangerous to cross. Alternative bridges are always nearby. The campus creeks still have a bit of water in them. In many areas the banks of these creeks can be steeper and more overgrown than mapped. Please yield to pedestrians, bicycles, and motor vehicles. Running through hedges and garden areas will not only bring you bad karma, but also disqualification. It is always only seconds to go around them.

There is an unusual map scale of 1:3550. This scale is used so it is easier to identify small objects on the map. There are a number of non-standard symbols on the map. Large Buildings are depicted as dark gray. Passable covered areas are marked as light gray (important!). Light poles are small black dots. Fire Alarm boxes are small brown dots. There are a few small portal dams on the creeks represented by a rhombus.

"Westward the course takes its way;
The first four acts already past,
A fifth shall close the drama with the day:
Time's noblest offspring is the last." — Bishop Berkeley, 1751


Driving Directions

The best direction to the campus is to take the University Ave Exit off of I-80. Proceed east on University until you run into the campus.

Park anywhere on the perimeter roads of the campus. Hearst Ave on the north side of the campus has a fair amount of parking, especially if you come early. There is also a pay parking lot on Hearst if you cannot find a spot anywhere else. Most of the on-campus parking is reserved, and could get you ticketed. After parking, walk towards the Campanile, the high clock tower located in the center of the campus. Registration will take place near this tower.

Public Transit: From the Downtown Berkeley BART station, walk north on Shattuck Ave. then east on Center St. to the Campanile, approximately 0.8 km.