Golden Gate Park
Date: (Sun.) May. 31, 2015
Location: San Francisco, CA
Event Director: 
- 415.456.8118
Course Setter: Ralf Burgart
Type: C; Multiple courses, including beginner courses, starting from Marx Meadow
Course Setter's Notes
By
I'm very fond of Golden Gate Park, and excited to have set these courses. Even if you know the place well, this event may take you to some nice spots that you didn't know were there.
I found a few challenges to setting courses here: First, the abundance of distinct trails and man-made features preclude very "technical" orienteering. So if your idea of a great time is thrashing around a poison oak thicket looking for a specific 0.5 m high boulder, you'll be disappointed here. To make things challenging for advanced runners, I've focused strongly on route choice: The controls are set so that on many legs two (or more) fast routes present themselves, each of which looks about the same on the map. A few good route picks may separate the faster runners, so come prepared to make quick decisions.
By the standards of our club, there's not a lot of elevation gain available. To keep the courses physically challenging (and make full use of this large and beautiful park), I've set the courses at the longer end of standard lengths. If long runs are not your thing, pick a shorter "color" than you normally would. Conversely, if big climbs hold you back, consider moving up a grade. As discussed, however, the advanced courses will not have the technical difficulty of our traditional events, so the color names are only used as a rough guide to course distances. That said, to keep curious folks from messing with the punches, most controls are not in direct sight of the trail, so you may have to use your clue sheet and keep good "contact" with the map.
The park is large enough I was able to make Orange and Red courses share no controls with Brown and Green. If you like running multiple courses, there are a lot of options for total distance.
I welcome comments and questions, before or after the event.
Courses
We will be using E-punch for this event! Don't forget your E-sticks (or you can always rent one at the event).
Here are the final course details:
Course Length Climb Controls
White 2.0 km 40 m 7
Yellow 2.8 km 45 m 8
Orange 3.2 km 100 m 10
Long Orange 1 ("Brown") 3.9 km 90 m 11
Long Orange 2 ("Green") 5.2 km 110 m 18
Long Orange 3 ("Red") 6.5 km 170 m 19
Long Orange 4 ("Blue") 10.8 km 275 m 30
Hazards
This park is heavily used, so please respect other visitors. I've tried to set courses to avoid major conflicts, but there's no telling where you'll all end up. Please avoid damaging vegetation—with the abundance of existing trails, it will probably not save you any time, but could jeopardize our welcome in the future.
In general, if you're considering climbing a fence you're probably going the wrong way. And respect closed areas, or you may find yourself dodging flying golf balls, flying arrows, wedding guests, a Japanese tea ceremony, bocce balls, or buffaloes.
Most plants in Golden Gate Parks were planted in the 1870s. (Originally it was largely dunes and scrub forest, and the gardeners say it would revert to that within 10 years if tending and watering stopped). As a result there's virtually no poison oak to be found, and you could run the courses in shorts.
Notice that Crossover Drive is a closed area for all courses, except at the underpass on JFK Drive. No legs would go faster if you cross this road, but if you're lost please respect the closure as this is a dangerous highway on foot. Street crossings elsewhere are minimized, but please use caution when crossing roads, as these are the biggest hazards you'll encounter here.
Water
There are water fountains very near all the courses, except White and Yellow, and I've labeled the closest ones on the maps. No water stops will be set up at controls. Plan accordingly—this may benefit the self-reliant folks who bring water on runs.