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Golden Gate Park

Date: (Sat.) May. 17, 2008
Location: San Francisco, CA
Event Director:
Course Setters: Vladimir Gusiatnikov, Brian Schmitz, Rex Winterbottom
Type: C; White, Yellow, Orange, & Sprint courses (Sprint Finals)

We're going to shake things up a little in San Francisco this year. Registration/Base camp for the Golden Gate Park event will be in Lindley Meadow, just a long Frisbee throw west from last Spring's rendezvous point. Come on down to the intersection of 30th Ave and JFK on the north side of the park, and you won't miss us. The eastern side of the park will be closed to traffic on JFK just like it is on Sunday and you may see some routing in that direction. Mind the bison and watch out for bikes!

This event will be a beautifully scenic urban adventure, and a great event for beginners.

The Finals for the 2008 Sprint Series will be on offer, along with White, Yellow, and Orange courses.

The White, Yellow, and Orange courses will be using “environmental” controls. After you find the control point, you will answer a multiple-choice question about the area. You will write the letter corresponding to the correct answer on your scorecard, and move to the next control.

The Sprint courses will use E-punch.

Restrooms are available throughout the park and within ¼ mile of the registration area.

See the Course Setters' Notes for more information.

Schedule

Registration for the White, Yellow, and Orange courses will be open from 9:00 AM to noon. Short beginners clinics will be offered on request from 9:30 to 10:30. Starts will be available from 10:00 until 12:30. Courses close at 2:00 PM, and all participants must check in at the finish by 2:00 PM, whether or not they have finished their course. (NOTE: Even if you decide not to finish your course, we want to know that you have gone home safely.)

You are welcome to sign up for a second course if you wish, as long as you can finish before the 2:00 PM check-in time.

The Sprint event will be staged, beginning at 10:00. Be checked in and ready by 10:00. If you choose to do all the (5) courses, you will be done by 1:00; we'll have our awards at 1:00. I will keep a tighter schedule this year.

Preregistration Required for the Sprints

This year, preregistration is mandatory for the Sprints. If you intend to participate in any Sprint course at Golden Gate Park, no matter how serious you are about it (just doing it for fun is fine—and it will be tons of fun), you must preregister.

The course design and planning has been done. Details about the staging and timing of the courses is available here—please read it.

The first course will be a prologue/seeding course. The Sprint Series standings will be used to determine the start order. The highest in the standings starts first, then starts go in order of the standings. Intervals are calculated on the difference in points. This will be kind of like a chase. The order of finish determines seeding for the second course, so earlier starters have an advantage.

Again, please preregister by sending an email with your full name, gender, and USOF age class.

Traffic and Safety

Traffic is generally light in most of the park, but there will be cars on the roadways west of Crossover Drive, and they have full access to the roads in the south. Bikes have free run of all park roads, and joggers and walkers can be found just about anywhere. Please be aware of your surroundings, especially near roads, and be considerate of others enjoying the park.

Poison oak does exist in Golden Gate Park, but only the Orange and Sprint courses might venture near it. So, people on those courses should know what it looks like.

Driving Directions

Note: The event will be at a different location than we've used for the past few years. Lindley Meadow is west of Marx Meadow, along JFK Drive, on the south side of JFK Drive.

From Marin County and the Wine Country: Cross the Golden Gate Bridge and follow Route 1 South (Park Presidio Boulevard). Turn right onto Fulton Street at the northern perimeter of the park, and drive about 16 blocks to 30th Ave. Turn left and you'll find us on JFK Drive.

• South 101 Carpool Option – Want to split the Golden Gate Bridge toll? Take the Spencer Ave/Monte Mar Dr. Exit (this is the last exit before the south 101 tunnel to the bridge). A short ways past the exit, there will be a park and ride lot on your left, which is immediately next to the south 101 onramp. If you are headed into SF via Marin, please take this small detour and share a ride. Please try to carpool if you can.

From the East Bay: Cross the Bay Bridge and take the 101 North/Golden Gate Bridge exit. Cross Market and follow Octavia Street a couple blocks to Fell St, and turn left onto Fell. Follow Fell Street west for 1.5 miles. Turn right on Stanyan, which is the eastern boundary of the park. Make the next left onto Fulton Street. Continue on for about 30 blocks and turn left onto 30th Ave. You will find us at its intersection with JFK Drive.

From the Peninsula and South Bay:

• From Interstate 280 Northbound: Take the Route 1 North/19th Avenue exit. Continue north on 19th Avenue, then continue straight through the park on Crossover Drive, staying in the left lane. Bear left onto Crossover Drive. Turn left onto Transverse Drive, and then a right onto JFK Drive. Continue on until the intersection with 30th Ave. Lindley Meadow will be on your left (on the south side of JFK Drive).
• From Highway 101 Northbound: Take the 101 North/Golden Gate Bridge exit in San Francisco. Cross Market and follow Octavia Street a couple blocks to Fell St, and turn left onto Fell. Follow Fell Street west for 1.5 miles. Turn right on Stanyan, which is the eastern boundary of the park. Make the next left onto Fulton Street. Continue on for about 30 blocks and turn left on 30th Ave. You will find us at its intersection with JFK Drive.

Public Transit

The San Francisco Muni 5 Fulton line comes all the way from downtown SF. There are many ways to connect to this line, including BART. Please go to 511.org for transit schedule/planning information.