Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
Date: (Sun.) Mar. 20, 2011
Location: Richmond, CA
Event Director: 
- 510.407.1876
Course Setter: Steve Gregg
Type: C; Steve's back with another Prologue/Chase two-part Sprint event, plus White, Yellow, and Orange courses
March 19 (7:00 PM) Update:
- Although we did give a few moments thought to completely canceling the event, tomorrow's Point Pinole meet is still on.
- But if there are gale-force winds blowing tomorrow morning, it's very likely that we will not set up anything at Palms, but run registration and Epunch out of cars in the parking lot. Some of you may have attended the event in 2008 where we did exactly that, and things seemed to work out fine. So when you arrive, definitely check out the parking lot first, before walking up the path to the normal staging area.
- In fact, the entire event may end up being self-service, with you registering and receiving your map in the parking lot, walking up to Palms, starting yourself, finishing yourself when you are done, and then scooting back to your car. I can't think of any reason that someone would have to be physically present at the start, in poor weather. I'm happy I decided to not have a remote finish for the Prologue this year!
- And speaking of the Prologue/Chase, it's also possible that we will cancel the Chase completely, if no one wants to go out in the poor weather and run another course. We'll decide on that when the time comes. If you intend to run both courses tomorrow come hell or high water, you might email me and let me know that!
- At this point, my biggest worry about the event is not having enough people to pick up the controls afterward. So if you are planning to attend the event at all, please plan to stick around to pick up a few controls, if you possibly can. There are only 40 bags out, and the majority of them are in the southern end of the park, not all that far from the parking lot. As Harold and Penny always say, many hands make for little work, in that respect.
- I think that's about it. See you tomorrow!
March 18 Update:
- Yes it looks like rain in the forecast for this Sunday, but we'll be there! Given that rain is likely, we will need a few more hands to help set up. There will be a shuttle from the parking lot leaving at 8:30 AM to get our tents and other equipment to the picnic area.
- Planning to come a little later? Let me know if you can stay for a quick control pick-up and equipment take-down.
This event will offer Beginning/Intermediate courses for first-timers, strollers, and juniors (especially ones getting ready for the Interscholastic/Intercollegiate Champs at Pacheco in April). Or sprint (see below) if you'd like, all are welcome.
History and great views — this is the former site of a dynamite factory (Atlas Powder Co), and is surrounded by San Pablo Bay. More info is available at the East Bay Parks site (http://www.ebparks.org/parks/pt_pinole). You can even take a shuttle from the parking lot.
Volunteer opportunities! Of course we could use some help with registration, starts, finishes, control pick-up, etc. — you can still run a course as well. It's a great time to learn a new skill (which you can also use for our upcoming A-meet or any of our local events). Please contact me () if you can help.
This year’s Point Pinole sprints will follow the traditional Prologue/Chase format, with the fastest Prologue runner starting the Chase first, and everyone else’s start time based on how far back they were from the Prologue winner. The winner of the overall event will be the first person to cross the finish line at the end of the Chase.
I do not intend to use any sort of butterfly loops or forking this year. Both the Prologue and Chase will be standard length, 3.0-km sprint courses, designed to be finished by the fastest runners in 15 minutes or so. This year the Prologue will both start and finish at the staging area — no remote Finish! That will make the course exceptionally fast, and also allow good spectator opportunities. But to make up for that, the Chase will start at the far end of the park — about a 1.7-km walk from the staging area. That will allow the Chase course to get into some new terrain, and also visit some of the more familiar terrain from different directions than usual.
For those of you who are new to this, the Prologue course will have first-come, first-served starting times (starting at 10:00 AM), just like a regular event. However, if you wish to participate in the Chase that follows, you need to be sure you arrive early enough to finish your first run by 12:00 or so, since we will leave for the remote start at approximately 12:15, and I hope to start the first runner on the Chase course no later than 12:45.
As I write this, the goats are already gone from the park — hooray! The goats have eaten a lot of the tall grass down, though, and that should make the terrain exceptionally fast. I hope most of the club "regulars" will choose to compete in the Prologue and Chase, as this particular event format is much more fun for everyone if a lot of people participate. However, there will be standard White, Yellow, and Orange courses with electronic punching for those people not interested in running the sprints. The Yellow course will be specifically designed for the large scout and JROTC groups that often attend this event. And at 4.3 km, the Orange course has been set longer than usual, to accomodate the increasingly large number of people who want to run an Orange course at this event. I do not plan to run out of Orange maps again this year!
If you have questions or want to volunteer to help, please contact either or me ().
Are you interested in learning what an Event Director does? Vicki would be happy to mentor you. Work with her and learn what needs to be done to get an event ready. Just let (or [emailByName: unknown member name 'Events Coordinator'][emailByPosition: unknown position 'Events Coordinator'], BAOC Events Coordinator) know you're interested!
Courses
Here are the course stats:
Course Length Climb Controls
White 2.3 km 35 m 11 Yellow/Scout/JROTC 2.5 km 50 m 13 Orange 4.3 km 75 m 19 Prologue 3.0 km 50 m 14 Chase (*) 3.0 km 60 m 14
(*) First start at about 12:45 — remote start 1.7 km from staging area
Be sure to read the Course Setter's Notes for more information.
Driving Directions
Take the Richmond Parkway exit off Interstate 80 in Richmond and go west for 1.3 miles. Immediately after the stoplight at San Pablo Avenue, turn right at the next light onto Atlas Road. After 0.8 miles on Atlas, you will cross over a set of railroad tracks and encounter a stop sign. Turn left onto Giant Highway at this intersection. You will pass a detention center on your right, and the park entrance will be immediately after that, also on your right. Pay the fee (if there is one), park, and walk over the railroad tracks to the staging area in the meadow.
There's a map here that shows the location of the event.