British Long Distance Championships 2026 Carreg Goch – 28 February 2026

Event location

The event will take place on Carreg Goch with the Car Parking and Arena located at the Dan yr Ogof Cave complex.  

NGR:  SN481162  PostCode: SA9 1GJ  What3Words: dawn.fury.digesting 

Car parking

All car parking will be on hard standing using the cave complex car park and campsite. This is the only hard standing parking in the area and space is quite restricted so we would encourage all competitors to car share into the site as much as possible.

There are a number of locations around the area that you can meet up to then come in single cars from there. 

The car park involves numerous small parking places so please follow marshals’ instructions and park as tightly as possible and take care passing competitors on their way to and from the start, finish and arena.

Please arrive by 12:00. No exits until after 12.30.

Public Transport

The T6 is an hourly bus service from Brecon to and from Swansea. It stops outside Dan yr Ogof cave complex in both directions.

Arena

The arena is within 500m of all parking.  You will find Enquiries, Download, Toilets, Commentary, Traders, Junior Zone and area for Club Tents here.

Urinal and Toilets will be available including a priority Ladies ‘WeeOnly’ Loo.

Traders confirmed: Compass Point, Podium Catering, Flynns Coffee and S&A Grill.

Swansea Bay OC Junior Squad will also selling cakes and hot drinks.

Junior Zone will include a String Course, Maze-O and Stone Painting.

Download and Enquiries are close to the route up to the start/down from the finish.

You will need to cross the track to some of the parking areas to access the route to the start, to visit enquires and return from download.  There will be marshals at this crossing Point so please follow their instructions for your own safety and be aware of moving vehicles.

Club Tents

There will be a grassy area available to put club tents close to the start of the route up to the start. For individuals without a Club Tent we will provide event shelters.

2025 Championships Trophy return

All trophies from the 2025 British Long Championships and the 2025 Welsh Championships must be returned to enquiries. If you hold one of these and are not going to attend the event please pass the trophy to someone who is attending or contact the Organiser to make alternative arrangements..

Enquiries

Enquiries will be open from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm in the Arena for collecting bibs, returning trophies, collection of hired SI dibbers, complaints/protest forms, merchandise collection/purchase, lost property, colour-coded entries and depositing car keys whilst competitors run.

First Aid

First Aid will be located in the arena and an additional point will be located near the warm up area on the hill.

Bibs

Bibs must be worn by all competitors and will be available for collection near Enquiries, ordered alphabetically by surname then forename. Safety Pins will be available nearby too. Please complete the medical information form on the reverse of the bib as this could be vital in the case of emergency. Bibs must not be folded! Please report to Enquiries if you lose/forget your bib at any stage to get a replacement.

You will not be allowed to start without your bib.

Terrain

The terrain showcases the best of South Wales with an extensive hilly area of open limestone terrain. The map features a wide slope covered in shake holes, rocky details and marshy areas, and a plateau with more bare rock, crags and boulders. The terrain is open with low bilberry, heather or grass across much of the area. There are sheep and horses on the area so some of the grass is grazed. Runnability is generally good but there are some stony sections to contend with.

Map details

Drawn to ISOM2017-2 in 2024 by Ben Mitchell. Extended and updated in 2025

Scale:  1:15,000 / 1:10,000/ 1:7500 and Map size A3 or A4 depending on course. 5m contours.

Special Map Note - Symbol 531 Prominent man-made feature - x has been used to show an Airplane wreckage.

The map from Croeso 2024 is here: https://www.croeso.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#3

Drinks

As this is a potential World Ranking Event for the elite courses, there will be water available on the courses in line with the IOF rules. It is unlikely that we will be able to supply water for other courses given the remote nature of the area.

Start Locations

There are 2 starts located adjacent to each other. The distance to both starts is 1.0Km and 150m of climb and they follow the same route from the arena to a common ‘pre-start’ area. The mountain path is well maintained. The walk to the starts has been timed at 35 minutes for a fit 60-year-old.

There will be a SIAC Battery Test and a kit check when you leave the Arena, please ensure you are wearing your bib and have your SI-card, compass and whistle. We will adopt a no bib, and no whistle no go policy. Signs in the arena will advise if additional measures such as carrying of waterproofs will be mandatory and if so, these will also be checked.   

The pre-start area is close to both starts and includes a clothing dump as well as warm up maps for Elites (WRE). You will be able to leave clothing and water here for collection on the way back from the Finish. Please take a weatherproof bag to place your clothing in (and label with your name if necessary). There are no toilets outside of the Arena.

Red Start

This is for courses 1-17.

Blue start

This is for courses 18-21 and colour coded courses.

Start Process

It is the competitors' responsibility to start at their allocated times;

Remember to clear and check (SIAC test also available) before entering the correct lane at the minus 4 box for your course. 

Officials will run quiet starts. This means they will only provide the necessary information to competitors and competitors are asked to be silent in the box area.

All competitors will have a Timed Start; no early starts will be permitted.

• Pre-Start: SI clear, SI check and SIAC test units
• -4 minutes: Call up
• -3 minutes: SI card check
• -2 minutes: Loose control descriptions
• -1 minute: Stand by the map box for your course
• -10 secs: Pick up your map from the map box and check the course number
• Start on the long beep and follow the taped funnel to the start flag.

Note:

• Competitors who do not follow the taped route to the start flag may be disqualified.
• Competitors on white and yellow colour coded courses are allowed to look at their map prior to the start.
• Competitors on the junior championship courses will not be allowed to look at their maps prior to starting
• No blank maps will be displayed in the start lanes.

Control Descriptions

Control Descriptions will be printed on the map and loose descriptions will be available in the start lanes (-2 minutes).

Late Starts

It is a Timed Start for all competitors including colour coded courses. If you have an open start please see the late team official so you can go through the late start lane and punching start.

It is the competitor’s responsibility to arrive at the pre-start area in time for their start. If you arrive late for Call-up and we can catch you up with your allocated start time (within the –4 minutes pre-start window) you will be escorted by an official into the appropriate pre-start box and continue as normal.

If we cannot catch you up (your start time has passed > -4 minutes), you must report to the late start lane. An official will identify the next available gap between competitors on your course at a 30 second interval:

e.g. original start time 11:00, you arrive at the start at 11:10, there are competitors starting on your course at 11:12 and 11:13, you will be allowed to start at 11:12:30.You will remain in the late start lane and an official will bring your control descriptions and map to you. You will manually punch the start unit at 11:12:30 and follow the taped funnel to the start flag.

Late starters will be timed from their original start time unless they believe they are late through the fault of the organiser. If you are late to the start and missed your start time and you our lateness is the fault of the organiser then please make your case after your run at enquiries.

If you have made your case and it is upheld the start time from the SI start unit will be used as your new start time. If your case is not upheld or no case is submitted your original start time will used to calculate your course completion time.

Finish

There is a single remote SIAC enabled finish for all courses. From here you will return to the arena via the pre-start and clothing drop.

Please note that apart from Courses 1, 2, 3 and 6, maps will not be collected. For fairness, competitors are asked not to show their maps or discuss their courses with anyone yet to begin their race and take your map with you back to the arena and download.

For Courses 1, 2, 3 and 6 maps can be reclaimed from Enquiries after 13:30.

Download

All competitors must visit download after finishing, even if they have not completed their course. This will be in the arena after the walk back from the Finish.

Results

Available online using QR code that will be printed on the splits. Live results might be displayed on a TV screen in the Arena.

Presentations

Prize giving will commence as soon as top positions in each Class are known.  Prizes will be awarded to the top 6 in the WRE classes, and for the first 3 in British Championship and Welsh Championship classes..

Key Timings 

Other Information

Communications

We will set up a WhatsApp community for the evenbt to facilitate communications between competitors and to the competitors from the Organising Team.

Accident and Emergency

There will be an emergency first aid post on the hill in the pre-start area.

Complaints, Protests and Appeals

We will follow the British Orienteering update rules and guidance on Complaints, Protests and Appeals.

• In the event that you are not satisfied with an aspect of the Event, please discuss your concerns with the Day’s Planner, Controller or Organiser, as appropriate, via Enquiries.
• If this does not resolve the issue then a formal complaint should be registered in writing with the Organiser via Enquiries. A complaint about a course should be made as soon as possible after finishing, and at the latest within 15 minutes of the course closing time.
• If the complainant is not satisfied with the Organiser's response, a written protest should be made at Enquiries within 10 minutes of receiving the response. This will be considered by the Event Jury, whose decision is final. 
• For M/W21E classes, where there is conflict between the IOF and British Orienteering rules, the IOF rules take precedence for all other classes the BO rules apply.

Jury

The jury for this event will be:

TBC

Photography

There will be photographers in the area. If you do not want your photograph published, please speak to the officials at enquiries before you run so that your bib can be marked. If you have concerns regarding inappropriate or intrusive photography, please report it to any event official. No drones allowed.

Dogs

Dogs are only permitted in the car park and arena provided they are under control, on a lead and cleared up after. As most of the areas have sheep and horses roaming, no dogs are allowed in the competition areas.

Acknowledgements

Bannau Brycheiniog – for use of the area, and Craig y Nos country park.

Mr Ashford Price – Dan yr Ogof Cave complex for car parking and facilities.

The local Commoners on whose land we are running.