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Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline

Date: (Sat.) Jan. 24, 2009
Location: San Leandro, CA
Event Director: - 925.872.3935
Course Setter: Jay Hann
Type: C; White, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Green, and Sprint courses

Please note that fees and time limits apply, unless otherwise mentioned below. Events are typically not canceled due to bad weather.


This meet will be held at a brand new map (courtesy of Bob Cooley) of Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline, near the north end of Neptune Drive in San Leandro. This site used to be the San Leandro dump. Like Bayfront Park, it has been capped with dirt and is being turned into a park. Over 500,000 yards of dirt have been added last summer. There are some scattered trees on the east side, and an extensive network of dirt roads that will make for some interesting navigation.

Note: There will be no water put out on the courses, so bring whatever liquids you'll need to drink.

Registration

Please register here (http://wayoutyonder.com/BAOCRegisterForEvent.php?event=Oyster+Bay+Regional+Shoreline&prefix=OBRS20090124) even if you think you have only a small chance of attending. This is not mandatory—you can come to the event if you have not pre-registered—but pre-registration helps us plan for the event.

Multiple Courses

We will be offering our multiple-course deal for those who pay for an Orange, Sprint, or Advanced course. Additional courses are free. Of course, any COOL student gets additional courses for free as part of the league program.

Runners who want to participate in Rex's Sprint series should run the Sprint first.

The Brown course is a subset of the Green course, so don't expect much new on the other after having run one of these.

Unusual Location

Oyster Bay is unusual because:

So, if you feel like punishing yourself on an Orienteering course or six, come on out for some COOL and Unusual Punishment! [fade in laugh track] And if you don't feel like punishing yourself, come out and stroll through a course (or two).

Preliminary Course Statistics

         COOL         Public               Climb      Navigational
Course   Class        Class     Length    m     %     Difficulty
                                         
   1     Elementary   White     1.6 km    25  1.60    Beginner
   2     Middle       Yellow    2.7 km    40  1.50    Adv. Beginner
   3     JV           Orange    4.0 km    55  1.39    Intermediate
   4     Varsity      Green     4.6 km    85  1.83    Advanced
   5                  Brown     3.2 km    65  2.01    Advanced
   6                  Sprint    2.8 km    43  1.51    Intermediate


Course Setter's Notes

Hazards

No poison oak!

Loose dogs abound.

Map

The map is new, done to ISSOM standard, scale of 1:5000 and contour intervals of 2.5 meters.

There are many gas wells mapped, usually as a blue "X", but they have a variety of appearances: round pipes, square pipes, a plastic vertical cylinder 1 meter in diameter, a plastic block 1 meter long, or a plate flush with the ground.

What to Wear

Footwear: I would recommend leaving your steel cleats at home. There is nothing so steep that I thought that cleats would be nice, and there is pavement and piles of old concrete on which steel cleats might slip.

Leg wear: There is no stickery or thorny stuff. There is tall (up to two meters) undergrowth on the Brown and Green courses, and a minor amount on Orange and Sprint courses.

Rain gear: There is currently a small chance of rain, so be prepared.

- Jay


Driving Directions

Exit I-880 at Marina Blvd. Drive SW (toward the bay) on Marina for 0.3 mi. Turn Right onto Merced St. and go 0.3 mi. Turn Left onto Williams St. and go 1.0 mi. Turn Right onto Neptune Drive and to 0.3 mi. Park on the street.

Public Transit

Take BART to the San Leandro Station. Walk 2.6 mi. via Alvarado St and Williams St.