2022 Thanksgiving-O at Virginia Kendall Area – CVNP | Self Serve Classic-O Event | November 19th thru 30th

<< THANK YOU!>>

Thank you for participating in this year’s Thanksgiving-O self-serve event.  We hope that you were able to enjoy the time that you spent on these courses, which are now taken down.  A Results post in the process of being compiled and should  be posted soon.

<< UPDATE >>

Controls have been set and are ready for your enjoyment starting at dawn tomorrow, November 19.  Thanks to Jay Smink for a welcomed assist with the control setting.  Here are some course notes:

• Please remember to observe normal CVNP operating hours – dawn to dusk – as you run these courses.
• For those choosing to run the Hills-A and Hills-B courses, please avoid areas of wetlands as you make your route choices.
• Take care in travels into and out of reentrants and ravines to avoid slipping, which creates a point where erosion can start.
• Most of the fields have been mowed and leaves are down.  Visibility is good.  There should be no need to get wet feet in stream crossings.
• Any missing controls or other issues can be reported to mike@neooc.com (I will be without access to a computer from 11/23-27) or fred@neooc.com.

<< Additional Update>>

For the Hills B course only, the iOrienteering App reverses controls #12 and #13 punch numbers (112 and 114 respectively).  Please punch both as you find them in normal Clue Sheet order as printed on the map.  iOrienteering will give an error, but ignore it.  We will give everyone full credit for your Start to Finish time.  LiveLox or manual self reporting users are NOT effected.

Overview

NEOOC, in partnership with the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, is pleased to offer another self-serve orienteering event for exercise and fun. 

Similar to the previous events of this type, we will be using the iOrienteering app for electronic timing on your smart phone.  However, all of the courses can be enjoyed without the Tech, by logging the key words on the marker flags as a backup for the apps.

Also, we suggest starting a stopwatch or keep track of your own time by some means, so that you can manually enter your results if needed.

Note that we are providing three courses for your enjoyment, with TWO DIFFERENT START / FINISH LOCATIONS.  See details in the course descriptions below.

Details

• Place:  Kendall Lake Shelter – Cuyahoga Valley National Park off of Truxell Road AND Kendall Hills – Little Meadow area (second parking lot SE of the one shown in the linked map) on Quick Road, third parking lot from Akron-Peninsula Road
• Three courses:
  • A family-friendly, beginner level course around Kendall Lake will Start and Finish near the parking lot at Kendall Lake Shelter
  • Two intermediate- to advanced-level courses will Start and Finish near the parking lot at the Little Meadow area, off of Quick Road.
• Dates and Times:  Saturday, Nov 19 through Wednesday, Nov 30 –  Dawn to Dusk.
• FULL SIZE control flags with iOrienteering QR codes will be in use.
• Livelox will also be active for this event.  Sign in to the Livelox app on your smartphone to record your route directly to Livelox, or record it on your Garmin or other GPS tracker, and upload it to Livelox later.

PLEASE REVIEW THE  WAIVER OF LIABILITY AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK BEFORE DOWNLOADING ANY COURSE MAP FROM THIS WEBPAGE.  BY DOWNLOADING A MAP YOU ARE AGREEING TO THE TERMS OF THIS WAIVER AND ARE ABSOLVING NEOOC AND ORIENTEERING USA , ET AL OF LIABILITY RESULTING FROM YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE ASSOCIATED ORIENTEERING ACTIVITY.

Park Usage and Guidelines

TELL SOMEONE WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WHEN YOU EXPECT TO RETURN.  SAFETY FIRST!      (see Sanae’s location sharing idea below)

Since you will likely already be using your phone with the iO app, please ALSO CONSIDER RECORDING YOUR ROUTE USING THE LIVELOX APP which can be running on your phone in the background.  This sends your position to Livelox in real time so that you can be quickly found in an emergency situation.

Here are our thoughts and guidelines for these Classic-O courses:

• • Do this as individuals only or in your cohort.  As part of your essential exercise program, while maintaining social distancing.
  • For these Classic-O courses, the idea is to find them in the specified order (Start -> 1 -> 2 -> … -> Finish).
  • But plan a specific amount of time for your course.  Find as many control flags-markers as you can, in the time that you have planned.  It can be one hour or up to three hours.  It’s up to you.
  • If you are having trouble finding a particular control flag, skip it.  No problem.
  • Have fun and get some exercise.  Do not over do it.  Know your limits.  Consult your Healthcare provider for guidance as needed.
  • Time limit of 3 hours.  Once the clock starts, it keeps going, no time off for breaks.  Come back well before dark.
  • Record the Key word from each control flag-marker you find.  Use the sheet included on the map.
  • Or use the iOrienteering Phone App to record the control flags found.
  • No water stations have been provided on the courses.  Participants will need to bring their own supply of water!
  • Please respect private property, and areas within the park that CVNP has designated as off limits.  Stay within the park boundaries and outside of the out-of-bounds areas as shown on the map.  Thank you.

Pack a lunch, snacks, and plenty of water.  Make a day of it.   Email questions to contact@neooc.com.