NEHL Aykley Heads 27th November 2021

Hi folks,

It's on. Course is fine, there's a tree down but the course has been rerouted.

Wallis has arrived from Tow Law with the loos, and there's no problem with parking.

Route travelling from A167 is fine, and the wind will drop some more by midday.

As ever, make your own decisions on whether to travel or not, but the event is on should you want to take part.

There may be mud

Important Information on Parking, Travel, Registration etc. for NEHL Aykley Heads

Getting there

Directions to County Hall (postcode: DH1 5TP)

County Hall is a major landmark in Durham and many of you will already know where it is and how to get there. There are frequent trains to Durham from Newcastle and Darlington. The station is around half a mile from the course (see link to map) please use public transport where possible!

If you must come by car then directions are as follows:

Travelling south (e.g. from Newcastle):

Use the A.1m and turn off at Junction 62 (signposted for Durham & Sunderland). At the top of the slip road turn right at the roundabout joining the A.690 into Durham. At the next roundabout (where the dual carriageway ends) stay on the A.690 & follow signs to City Centre & Consett (straight over). At the next roundabout stay on the A.690 & follow signs for Crook, Consett & County Hall (straight over - but get in the outside lane). At the next traffic lights turn right signposted for Consett, Chester-Le- St & County Hall. Turn right at the next roundabout into County Hall – you’ve arrived!

Travelling north (e.g. from Darlington):

Use the A.1m and turn off at Junction 62 (signposted for Durham & Sunderland). At the top of the slip road turn left at the roundabout joining the A.690 into Durham. At the next roundabout (where the dual carriageway ends) stay on the A.690 & follow signs to City Centre & Consett (straight over). At the next roundabout stay on the A.690 & follow signs for Crook, Consett & County Hall (straight over - but get in the outside lane). At the next traffic lights turn right signposted for Consett, Chester-Le- St & County Hall. Turn right at the next roundabout into County Hall – you’ve arrived!

Travelling west (e.g. from Sunderland)

Use the A.690 from Sunderland or from the A.19 for Durham. At the junction of the A.690 and A.1m go straight over staying on the A.690 into Durham. At the next roundabout (where the dual carriageway ends) stay on the A.690 & follow signs to City Centre & Consett (straight over). At the next roundabout stay on the A.690 & follow signs for Crook, Consett & County Hall (straight over - but get in the outside lane). At the next traffic lights turn right signposted for Consett, Chester-Le- St & County Hall. Turn right at the next roundabout into County Hall – you’ve arrived!

Travelling East (e.g. from Crook)

Use the A.690 from Crook to Durham. At the Neville’s Cross traffic lights turn left onto the A.167. At the first roundabout turn right (4^th exit) following signs for City Centre. At the next roundabout go straight over. At the next roundabout go straight over into County Hall – you’ve arrived!

Race Parking is at Durham County Hall car park only. It’s free and only 400m from the start – please do not park anywhere else, please do not try to park closer to the course as you will be charged or worse and we could lose this venue!  There will be plenty of parking for everybody at County Hall but please car share and OBEY THE CAR PARK MARSHALS’ INSTRUCTIONS!  

Officials Parking This will be on the tennis courts adjacent to the new Police HQ. Go north from the County Hall roundabout on the B.6532, turn right at the next roundabout, straight over at the next roundabout & then follow the signs.

Tent drop off We have a tent drop off point adjacent to the course. Go north from the County Hall roundabout on the B.6532, turn right at the next roundabout, straight over at the next roundabout & then follow the signs. Only use this if your tent is very heavy! There is absolutely no parking for competitors here and it is not a drop off point for latecomers. Tents must be left with the tent drop off marshals and competitors return to County Hall to park.

Registration is in the NEHL Tent close to the start/finish

Toilets - portable loos close to the race start area on the old tennis courts.

Please do not warm up on the course (narrow bits) and don't take shortcuts damaging the tape

Race HQ will be the NEHL tent, collect any pre-entries there, and call in with any queries. Entries will close midday on Friday 26th.

Never re-register someone as new who is already on the system.
I repeat this frequently but someone always does it.

If in doubt, you can look up who is registered on the list of runners:
http://harrierleague.com/runners/

or you can e-mail admin@harrierleague.com and we can check it.
Running in the wrong pack means automatic disqualification.

IMPORTANT - All age groups apart from Under 11 must be affiliated to a club, we do not allow unattached runners.

Pre entries will cost £3, Lost or replacement numbers are £5

Georgia flies through 

RACE NUMBERS 2021-22

This year there are 6 sets of numbers across the categories.

Under 11 have Yellow numbers
Under 13 have Blue numbers
Under 15 have Green numbers
Under 17/20 have Purple numbers
Senior Men have White numbers
Senior Women have Orange numbers

also in the bottom right of each number is category code:
U11, U13, U15, U17&20, M, W

On the back of each number is your chip.

RACE ORDER & TIMES for the coming season

1200 Under 11 Boys (1.5k)
1205 Under 11 Girls (1.5k)
1215 Under 17 Men (1.5 laps approx. 5k)
1220 Under 20 & Under 17 Women (1.5 laps approx 5k)
1235 Under 15 Boys (1 lap approx. 2 miles - 3.2k)
1240 Under 15 Girls (1 lap approx. 2 miles - 3.2k)
1250 Under 13 Boys (1 lap approx. 2 miles - 3.2k)
1255 Under 13 Girls (1 lap approx. 2 miles - 3.2k)
1305 Senior Women (2 laps approx. 4 miles - 6.4k)
1350 Senior Men (3 laps approx. 6 miles - 9.6k)

Age restrictions as follows:

Under 11 - must be age 9 on the day of competition
Under 13 - must be 11 on 31st August 2021.  U11s turning 11 during the season may move up to the U13s
Under 15 - must be 13 on 31st August 2021.
Under 17 men - must be 15 on 31st August 2021.
Under 17 & 20 women - must be 15 on 31st August 2021.
Senior Men - must be 17 on 31st August 2021.
Senior Women - must be 20 on 31st August 2021.

Masters men aged 65 and slower men may (if they wish) run in the 2 lap Senior Women's race, they register as per normal in the men's race, then come to race hq for a replacement number.  Masters wishing to do this must stay in the 2 lap race all season.

More mud on the bottom path

Covid-19 guidance Part of the granting of our event license is based on application of current guidance provided by gov.uk and also that provided England Athletics (https://www.englandathletics.org/athletics-and-running/news/guidance-update-2021/ ) Prior to the event when final instruction / information is sent to participating clubs (e-mail, social media) the following points will be encouraged:

• Use hand gels / cleaning materials available at the toilets
• Wear a mask when not running / in areas where there are larger numbers of people
• Bring own hand gel and use frequently
• Take 2 x LFT tests in the week leading to the event
• Completed vaccination programme where possible / applicable

The following is mandatory: Do not attend the event if you currently display any symptoms associated with COVID-19