By Mikkel Conradi (email)
I hope you will join us in January for the Golden Goat and Golden Kid! Here are the preliminary Course Setter’s Notes. We will update the missing details over the next few weeks.
Please pre-register if you are planning to compete!
Schedule
9:00 – 9:45 AM: Registration (but we strongly recommend pre-registering here)
9:45 AM: Group walk from assembly area to Start Triangle
9:50 AM: Instructions for the Goat and Kid
10:00 AM: Mass start for the Goat and Kid
12:30 PM: Awards ceremony for the Goat and Kid (later if winners aren't back)
2:00 PM: Everyone must have returned to the Finish
You may start after 10:00 AM as long as you finish by 2:00 PM. Note, however, that late starters will be assigned the same start time as the mass start.
Please check in at the Finish even if you return after 2:00 PM, so we will know you are back.
There will not be a START punch for this event.
Map
The map is your typical Bay Area map with a mix of open meadow, redwood forest, oak forest, and steep Marin hills. The invasive horsetail plant is spreading in some areas, and there are other areas of more dense vegetation. Some clearings have transformed into dense undergrowth.
The map has not been updated professionally in quite some time, and corrections will be made on a best-effort basis around controls and along important route choices. Rock and topography features are generally reliable. There is a network of unmapped mountain bike trails at the N end of the map that will not be added, but competitors should not need to rely on these for navigation as there are other major trails nearby.
The oak forest has been thinned in some areas, and the lumber has been gathered in neat little round piles around 4' high and 5' in diameter. These wood piles are not mapped.
Creek beds are quite runnable when dry, though the probability of them being dry in early January is pretty low. Even with water, they are generally easy to cross, although not without getting wet.
Minor trails may be overgrown in some spots, and there may be unmapped animal tracks.
The map scale is 1:10,000 with a 5 m contour interval.
Directions
Precise directions will be provided closer to the event, but we will be parking in a different part of the camp than at previous events. Carpooling is always encouraged.
Courses
Here are the preliminary course statistics:
Course Length Climb Rate Controls Scale
Golden Kid 6.2 km 475 m 7.5% 17 1:7500
Golden Goat 11.2 km 825 m 7.4% 28 1:10000
Note: At the event, if you start out on the Goat, you will not be able to cut it short and qualify for the Kid. The courses are differentiated to such a degree that this is not possible. Sign up for either the Goat or the Kid — you can change your mind between registering and starting — but whichever course you start out on, will be your official course.
The details above are preliminary until field checking is complete.
The expected winning time on the Goat is around two hours.
No beginner courses will be provided.
Special Rules
Both the Goat and Kid courses will have forking. This means runners will run the same legs before they finish, but not in the same order.
Skipping a control will not be allowed this year.
Both courses will have a map-flip halfway through the course.
Registration
Pre-registration is strongly encouraged, since we have to prepare and seal two-sided maps. See the event announcement webpage for registration details.
Start/Finish
The Start and Finish will be near the assembly area. It will take less than 5 minutes to walk from the assembly area to the Start.
Water
Water will be available at the Start/Finish and on the courses. Since the courses are long and arduous, competitors may wish to carry additional water.
Hazards
There is some poison oak, but it can generally be avoided and won’t have leaves this time of year (but the stalks should be avoided if you are sensitive to poison oak). (Information about poison oak, including precautions and after-exposure cleaning, is here.)
Ticks can be active year round, and could carry Lyme disease. Be sure to check for them after your run.
Competitors should wear shoes with good traction, as the courses are hilly and may take you across loose dirt and leaves, wet grass and exposed rock, and mud.
Out of Bounds Areas
Some parts of the map are marked as out of bounds. This includes some small firing ranges, a machine shop, and a central hilltop where the scouts will be hosting a special event. Please be respectful, and avoid these areas to protect your own safety and our ability to continue to host events at this venue.
I hope to see you at the event!