City Race Series 2007

[T5]

I realise that the initially suggested venues are based on current/expected fixtures.

However, one of the main aims of the series is presumably to interact with as large a group of the public as possible... Therefore, the venues should be selected based on population density: London, Manchester, Birmingham, etc. Perhaps London should have 2 or 3 events in the year?

Anyone got a Geography textbook showing population centres in the UK...?

[tim sleepless]

I realise that the initially suggested venues are based on current/expected fixtures.

However, one of the main aims of the series is presumably to interact with as large a group of the public as possible... Therefore, the venues should be selected based on population density: London, Manchester, Birmingham, etc. Perhaps London should have 2 or 3 events in the year?

Anyone got a Geography textbook showing population centres in the UK...?

Here you go...

1 London 7,172,091
2 Birmingham 970,892
3 Glasgow 629,501
4 Liverpool 469,017
5 Leeds 443,247
6 Sheffield 439,866
7 Edinburgh 430,082
8 Bristol 420,556
9 Manchester 394,269
10 Leicester 330,574
11 Coventry 303,475
12 Kingston upon Hull 301,416
13 Bradford 293,717
14 Cardiff 292,150
15 Belfast 277,391
16 Stoke-on-Trent 259,252
17 Wolverhampton 251,462

[Adventure Racer]

However, one of the main aims of the series is presumably to interact with as large a group of the public as possible... Therefore, the venues should be selected based on population density: London, Manchester, Birmingham, etc.

Not convinced that should override the need to have quality venues. Yes have it in urban centres, but picking those urban centres on the basis of popluation is a really bad idea. For example of the Rat Race venues, Bristol and Edinburgh are far nicer than Manchester (Edinburgh is the best ). Noting concerns about control vandalism, Manchester also suffered from a far greater criminal problem compared to the others.

[Neil M35]

Anyone got a Geography textbook showing population centres in the UK...?

Here you go...

1 London 7,172,091
2 Birmingham 970,892
3 Glasgow 629,501
4 Liverpool 469,017
5 Leeds 443,247
6 Sheffield 439,866
7 Edinburgh 430,082
8 Bristol 420,556
9 Manchester 394,269
10 Leicester 330,574
11 Coventry 303,475
12 Kingston upon Hull 301,416
13 Bradford 293,717
14 Cardiff 292,150
15 Belfast 277,391
16 Stoke-on-Trent 259,252
17 Wolverhampton 251,462

Or alternatively

2001 Population : All people
K60200 Greater London Urban Area 8,278,251
G90700 West Midlands Urban Area 2,284,093
D90200 Greater Manchester Urban Area 2,244,931
D41300 West Yorkshire Urban Area 1,499,465
B81100 Tyneside 879,996
D84100 Liverpool Urban Area 816,216
F90800 Nottingham Urban Area 666,358
E17000 Sheffield Urban Area 640,720
K24600 Bristol Urban Area 551,066
M83700 Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton 461,181
M61700 Portsmouth Urban Area 442,252
H07200 Leicester Urban Area 441,213
M54500 Bournemouth Urban Area 383,713
K56800 Reading/Wokingham 369,804
C35000 Teesside 365,323
E83200 The Potteries 362,403
H07000 Coventry/Bedworth 336,452
K12200 Cardiff Urban Area 327,706
D82300 Birkenhead Urban Area 319,675
M66600 Southampton Urban Area 304,400
D70400 Kingston upon Hull 301,416

and for Scotland
Name 2004 Population Estimate
Glasgow, Settlement of 1,171,390
Edinburgh, Settlement of 457,420
Aberdeen, Settlement of 188,760
Dundee, Settlement of 151,530
Falkirk, Settlement of 93,070

[Nails]

yep except 95% of londons population are so focused on working 12 hour days and spend their weekends drinking themselves into oblivion or in bed.

[redkite]

Looking over the centre of Cardiff from my window as i eat a sandwhich i can see great potential for an urban race. Some great civic buildings, parks, shopping arcades and underpasses (no major roads to cross).

Perhaps I need to bring up at the next committee meeting.

[SeanC]

Nails wrote

"yep except 95% of londons population are so focused on working 12 hour days and spend their weekends drinking themselves into oblivion or in bed."

So that leaves just 358,604 people interested in urban orienteering racing.

Not that I agree with your assertion in the first place, you wont find a more diverse set of people than Londoners.

[Freefall]

Newcastle & Gateshead together must be big (about 250,000?). We are thinking along the lines of linking up the Quayside for orienteering (as well as drinking.

We have been sprinting around places including the Town Moor for years.

[Nails]

So that leaves just 358,604 people interested in urban orienteering racing. Wink

Not that I agree with your assertion in the first place, you wont find a more diverse set of people than Londoners.

dur -all i was suggesting was that population density is a jobby way to decide where races should be..

[SeanC]

Now that you've clarified your point Nails, that makes perfect sense.

London might indeed be a tough nut to crack. It's sheer size might make marketing difficult. Would you be allowed a street race in central London with the amount of traffic, even on a sunday morning?

Personally I'd think some kind of team race might be a better idea. Then you might then get teams from different companies entering and competing against each other. HR departments of larger companies are often keen to promote this type of thing.

This form of orienteering would be very accessible to non-orienteers as it wouldnt necessarily need any advanced orienteering skills and would just need running kit. If you made the start/finish near some riverside pubs in the summer months it could be very popular as this would be a good day out for a group of friends and wouldnt need the same level of fitness as an adventure race. I'd also avoid the word orienteering in the race title, just like the Oxford City Race did.

[tim sleepless]

You could do a great city race in "The City" itself... it's deserted on Sunday, and you have the multilevel Barbican, as well as all the old alleyways to add to the fun.

[brooner]

if anyone would like to suggest how the hell you'd go about mapping the barbican let me know!!!

[Mrs H.]

I think wearing bibs is a good idea in races like this as it signals to the public that you're not just a bolshy jogger but there is actually something going on (so a good place to say what exactly as welleven if strictly speaking you dont need a number).

speaking personally - having somewhere attractive/interesting/historic to run around would make me far more likely to want to come

[Becks]

I'd love the Barbican too, but surely it would be waaaay too difficult to map? We're talking of multiple maps of levels somehow joined up aren't we?

[Gnitworp]

if anyone would like to suggest how the hell you'd go about mapping the barbican let me know!!!

I don't know The Barbican, but could you use architecural plans for each level with the connecting staircases between the levels code referenced?

You could perhaps have a new version of the sport which takes place inside buildings, with the option of taking the lift if you think it's quicker!