Tullochroisk
Relay • Monday 6th April
Having only previously competed in this terrain as a young junior, I am excited to return to tackle Tullochroisk as an elite. The contour shapes of this unique area will challenge competitors, particularly with the added pressure of relay racing
— Grace Molloy
After the weekend in Rannoch Forest, for Easter Monday we move a few miles further east for the relay, to Tullochroisk on the Dunalastair Estate. The arena and parking are close together (and also adjacent to the fictional Craigh na Dun stone circle from the Outlander TV series! This is the vital location where Claire Randall travels through time from 1945 to 1743 in the very first episode).
Travel
As for the individual days, it is very important that event attendees recognise that we are guests in the local community. Please be safe and courteous drivers and follow the information below.
Driving in rural Scotland
Many roads are single track with passing places. If you are not familiar with how to use these, please read the Scottish Government guidelines
You MUST NOT PARK, even briefly, IN PASSING PLACES. This will make driving hazardous for other users and will cause havoc with traffic flow in the area as well as our event.
In the middle of the village of Kinloch Rannoch, there will be a temporary traffic light system in operation until 1200 on Monday (in the same place as for Saturday and Sunday). Approaching the village from the North, there is another small bridge by the Cornerstone Café. It is narrow, so if traffic is queuing as you approach, please stop well back from this small bridge to allow north- bound traffic to cross.
Directions
Please allow plenty of time for getting to the relays as access is via the unnamed minor road between Kinloch Rannoch and the B846, which in places is a single track road. As above, please drive carefully and considerately and use passing places as needed.
The entrance to the parking field is on the north side of the minor road at Tullochroisk Farm PH16 5QF, What3words///sparkles.pylons.unwound, or Grid ref NN709577.
Competitors arriving after 10am are asked if at all possible to avoid approaching from the east for safety reasons, as the competition area is on both sides of the road. If it becomes essential for you to use this road for any reason, please beware runners on their course.
(Similarly, competitors leaving the event before 12.30pm are encouraged to take a route westwards via Kinloch Rannoch rather than driving through the competition area. There may still be runners crossing the road for some time after 12.30pm, so any departures heading east until at least 1.30pm should drive slowly and be careful of runners).
Parking
Parking opens at 8am and closes at 4pm. All vehicles will be parked in a large grassy field, with entry via a gate directly from the approach road.
Please follow instructions from parking marshals at all times.
Vehicles will leave by a separate exit gate in the NW of the parking field and follow the farm track back to the road.
Dogs
On lead and under control in parking fields only. No dogs allowed in the assembly area.
Arena
The event arena is in a small field adjacent to Tullochroisk Farm about 100m from the car park. The field is hilly with limited room for club tents either side of the run-in, as well as some space for club tents in a nearby more sheltered area.
The run-in bisects the arena and there will be one crossing point on the western side of the arena. This will be marshalled. Please do not cross at any other point.
There is a small stream at the south of the arena. Please do not let children (or anyone!) play in it. There will be no bins provided so please take all your rubbish home with you.
Toilets
There will be portable toilets adjacent to the event arena and parking.
Traders
The traders and the JK merchandise stall will all be adjacent to the pedestrian exit from parking field. For relay day we are again joined by Podium and Oakliés to fuel you before and after your run, and by Compass Point for all your equipment needs.
String Course
The final string course of the weekend is available from 0945-1300, once more planned by Alasdair McLeod. This is sited 100m from the centre of the arena, and visible from the route between parking and the arena. The location is a sloping area of pasture with widely spaced trees, used previously for filming of the TV series Outlander.
Commentary and radio controls
We will once again have Katherine Bett and Holly Stodgell keeping you well informed and entertained with their commentary. They will be supported by some radio control information from the terrain so keep listening to follow the races as they unfold!
Team Captain Information
Relay Team Declarations
The deadline for online team declaration and updates by Club Captains (via SIEntries) is 20:00 on Sunday 5 April. Please note:
- If your team is now non-competitive (N/C), please declare it. N/C teams are welcome to compete but are not eligible for prizes. Please note the rules on neighbouring club alliances for junior and Trophy classes
- Course P (Ad Hoc Relay) runs in a fixed order - Lap 1 Medium, Lap 2 Short and Lap Long.
Last-minute changes
We do understand that last-minute changes happen. Changes can be made to Team members, SI- cards, Team order and competitive status. We ask that as many are made online beforehand, until 20:00 the previous evening (as above).
You will be able to make absolutely last-minute changes on Monday at Enquiries between 08:30 and 09:30 by completing the change form.
Team Bib Collection
Team Captains or nominated representatives (one per club) may collect their Team envelopes with bibs from Enquiries, after 12:00 on Sunday and from 08:30 on Monday. Please note:
- Runners on Leg 1 will have red bibs, Leg 2 white bibs and Leg 3 blue bibs.
- Some clubs may have more than one envelope (e.g. labelled 1 of 2)
- The club envelopes include all Ad-hoc entries
- Collection will be recorded by the enquiries team and advise you check the contents match the listing before departing.
Call-up and Start times
| Class | Call Up | Start |
|---|---|---|
| Mini Relay (all runners M/W12-) | 09:45 | 10:00 |
| JK Trophy, M120+ | 09:55 | 10:10 |
| Women's Trophy | 10:05 | 10:20 |
| M/W40-, W48-, M48-, Ad Hoc | 10:15 | 10:30 |
| Women's Short, W120+, W165+, M/W210+ | 10:25 | 10:40 |
| Men's Short, M165+ | 10:35 | 10:50 |
Call-up and map issue process (all legs)
Leg 1 competitors will be called up 15 minutes before their start time.
All competitors should proceed to map issue in good time. They will have a bib/SI-card check and then proceed to map issue.
At map issue you will be handed a folded map that should match the class, course, team name, leg details on your bib. Please check the details on the map are correct.
Leg 1 runners will be directed to an initial holding pen after collecting their map. 5 minutes before the start time for their class, they will be called through to the main leg 1 mass start area (once the previous mass start has cleared).
Leg 2 and 3 runners proceed to the waiting pen once they have collected their map. There will be a mass start for remaining leg 2 runners at 1200 and for leg 3 runners at 1230
Handover, Finish, Download (all legs)
Leg 1 and 2 runners have a (SIAC enabled) finish to punch BEFORE they hand to their next runner.
Leg 3 runners finish under the finish banner. It is the finishing order past the banner that counts, not punching order. Marshalls will be at the finish to ensure competitors punch in finishing order. The finish punches for leg 3 will not be SIAC enabled and will be after the finish banner. All finishers will be guided to download by tapes/barriers.
Map Reclaim
Maps will be collected at the finish and an announcement will be made when they are available for collection by club captains. This is expected to be around 1245.
Course Closure Time
Courses close at 2pm
Terrain
Tullochroisk offers some of the best of Highland Scottish orienteering terrain. Its slopes below the mountain of Schiehallion (famed for its role in the invention of contours) run down to the River Tummel and Dunalistair Water, and provide very varied terrain with a mixture of open moor, birch woodland, and sheep-grazed fields. There are many rock and contour features and some fences (see course information below). The rock features mapped are large, some very big, and two large crags near the start will have black/yellow hazard tape above them. There may be sheep in some areas of the terrain. The area is very runnable...
Maps
New map for JK 2026, by Alasdair Pedley (MA/AROS).
Maps from previous events can be found on Routegadget:
Course Notes
Runners are reminded to double check control codes as all courses are gaffled (including the Mini Relay). The Mini Relay will have both textual and pictorial control descriptions.
Special notes for the TD2 and TD3 courses
(this is all legs on the Junior Relay and Mini Relay, and also the TD3 middle leg of the M48-, W48- and Ad Hoc relays)
Constructed paths and other line features: There are few paths and tracks in the competition area, so those on TD2 and TD3 courses will need to follow/use fences, streams and earth walls. In addition, these courses will also include ‘constructed paths’ on their maps.
These will be marked on the map as a red dashed line (like a path but red, see map example below). On the ground, there will be canes with white tape along the route. Runners should use these as paths and pick up on the 'proper paths' when the flags end.
Other courses will also come across these canes, but the paths will not be shown on the map, so the canes should be ignored.
Team captains are asked to make sure their runners on these TD2 and TD3 courses are aware of this.
Map Flip
All TD5 courses will have a map flip. Remember to punch at the map flip control.
Fences and fence crossings
Fences are generally crossable, except where mapped using the “high fence” symbol. Fences are not forbidden to cross, but runners are strongly recommended to use gates and stiles instead, which will certainly be faster. Stiles have been mapped as in the map excerpt below. Crossing points are marked on the map, but they are not compulsory.
Road Crossings
Many TD5 courses will have two road crossings. There are no road crossings on junior courses. The crossings will be marshalled but please take care – remember that vehicles have priority and marshals are not expected or empowered to stop traffic.
You are allowed to cross at any point but it is forbidden to run along the road. This is shown by the forbidden route choice symbol as in the example below
Spectator Control
There is a spectator control roughly 4-5 minutes from the finish (for a fast runner!).
The spectator control is visited by all TD5 courses. It is not visited by the TD2/TD3 courses (all legs on the Junior Relay and Mini Relay, and also the TD3 middle leg of the M48-, W48- and Ad Hoc relays).
Course Information
| Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relay Class | Map Scale | Average Distance (km) | Climb (m) | Tech Diff | Average Distance (km) | Climb (m) | Tech Diff | Average Distance (km) | Climb (m) | Tech Diff | |
| A | JK Trophy | 10000 | 5.7 | 285 | 5 | 4.6 | 215 | 5 | 5.7 | 285 | 5 |
| B | Women’s Trophy | 10000 | 4.7 | 215 | 5 | 3.9 | 220 | 5 | 4.7 | 215 | 5 |
| C | Men’s Short | 10000 | 4.0 | 220 | 5 | 3.1 | 150 | 5 | 4.0 | 200 | 5 |
| D | Women’s Short | 7500 | 3.0 | 150 | 5 | 2.4 | 120 | 5 | 3.0 | 150 | 5 |
| E | Men 120+ | 10000 | 5.7 | 285 | 5 | 4.6 | 215 | 5 | 5.7 | 285 | 5 |
| F | Women 120+ | 10000 | 4.0 | 220 | 5 | 3.1 | 150 | 5 | 4.0 | 200 | 5 |
| G | Men 165+ | 7500 | 4.7 | 215 | 5 | 3.9 | 220 | 5 | 4.7 | 215 | 5 |
| H | Women 165+ | 7500 | 3.0 | 150 | 5 | 2.4 | 120 | 5 | 3.0 | 150 | 5 |
| J | M/W210+ | 7500 | 3.0 | 150 | 5 | 2.4 | 120 | 5 | 3.0 | 150 | 5 |
| K | M48- | 7500 | 4.0 | 220 | 5 | 1.6 | 90 | 3 | 4.0 | 220 | 5 |
| L | W48- | 7500 | 3.1 | 150 | 5 | 1.5 | 90 | 3 | 3.1 | 150 | 5 |
| M | Junior Relay M/W40- | 7500 | 1.7 | 90 | 3 | 1.3 | 75 | 2 | 1.7 | 90 | 3 |
| N | Mini Relay (M/W12-) | 7500 | 1.4 | 75 | 2 | 1.4 | 75 | 2 | 1.4 | 75 | 2 |
| P | Ad Hoc | 7500 | 3.1 | 150 | 5 | 1.5 | 90 | 3 | 4.6 | 215 | 5 |
Safety Information
Please check yourself for ticks after the event and when home. Please also note that sheep have been in all fields recently, and so apply basic hygiene.
Helpers
Volunteers to help on the day are welcome. Offers to the Enquiries tent please, or direct to Angela Dixon the Day Organiser.
Prizegiving
The prizegiving will take place in the arena at 1pm.
Officials
| Planners | Iain Cattermole (STAG) and Fredrik Nordvall Forsberg (STAG) |
|---|---|
| Organisers | Angela Dixon (TAY) |
| Controller | Andy Lewsley (BL) |
| Helpers | BASOC, ECKO, ELO, INT, MAROC, SOLWAY, STAG, and individual volunteers |
| Jury | Simon Errington, Colin Matheson, Alan Rosen |