Gordon MapRun

There are 7 MapRun courses available in Gordon, all starting from the council owned golf course (public toilets & shower). The courses are mainly within Blackbutt Creek reserve, a lovely and tranquil bush setting which will make you forget you're in a major city. A couple of courses (mini & trail running circuit) are all on-track and suitable for running in the dark with head torch, while the short & medium courses are more challenging with some short cross-country legs.

The courses can be found in the MapRun App under: Select Event \ NSW \ Sydney \ Gordon.

Courses:

Course	Straightline Distance	Actual Distance	Summary	Map	Results
Mini	1.3km	1.5km	No road crossing, all on tracks	Here	Here
Short	2.9km	3.5km	A couple of cross-country legs	Here	Here
Medium	4.0km	5.3km	Some cross-country & indistinct tracks	Here	Here
Long	7.5km	10.0km	Some cross-country & indistinct tracks	Here	Here
Score	Your choice: 0 - 11km		Suitable for night running with head-torch	Here	Here
Scatter	Your choice: 0 - 11km		Suitable for night running with head-torch	Here	Here
Trail Running Circuit	4.2km	4.8km	Suitable for night running with head-torch	Here	Here

Safety is important

These orienteering courses are provided for your recreation and enjoyment, offering an important boost to your physical and mental well-being during these challenging COVID restrictions. Bennelong cannot provide any support or assistance during your MapRun, Bennelong takes no responsibility for any injury or misadventure, you undertake the MapRun at your own risk. Please take a mobile phone with you, and tell someone where you're going and what time you'll be back. In an emergency, please call 000.

Where is the start?

Start location on Google Maps.

Next to Gordon golf course. There is ample parking on St Johns Ave. The actual start of the MapRun course at on the corner of St Johns Avenue and Vale St. There are different finish locations (in close proximity) for some courses.

Toilets? Gordon Golf Course is owned and operated by Ku-ring-gai council. There are public toilets adjacent to the golf club car park that are open during daylight hours.

Mini Course (actual distance 1.5km)

Designed as an easy introduction to MapRun and orienteering. The course is a loop and does not cross any roads, although the first 200m and final 400m are alongside roads.

You'll descend past the scout hall into Blackbutt Creek reserve, then along the fire trail looking for a couple of rocky pits before climbing back out & returning along St Johns Ave.

Typically, your phone will buzz to register your visit just before you reach the checkpoint site. The map is 1:4k scale.

The map is available to download here.

Short Course (actual distance 3.5km)

This is a more challenging course than most Sydney MapRuns.
- there is route choice on a couple of legs
- a couple of indistinct tracks to find
- and a short cross-country section.

The map is 1:7.5k scale.

The map is available to download here.

Medium Course (actual distance 5.3km)

This is the most challenging course at Blackbutt Creek, with some cross-country legs and indistinct tracks.

This course is set for experienced navigators, with around 40 minutes of running in the bush, with only the one road crossing..

The map is 1:7.5k scale.

The map is available to download here.

Trail Running Circuit (actual distance 4.8km)

All on tracks, a nice peaceful run along the main fire trail in Blackbutt Creek reserve, and finishing along the periphery of the golf course. Please keep to the track on the eastern edge of the golf course public land.

The map is 1:7.5k scale.

The map is available to download here.

Long Course:

This course has been set for experienced navigators. It has some cross-country legs with no tracks, and the bush is a little rough in places, and some creek walking very slippery on rock platforms, but it is certainly fun to challenge your navigation skills. This course ventures to the south side of Lady Game Drive via a zebra crossing, then returns through a tunnel to Blackbutt Creek.

It's about 10km actual distance, with various route choices so you may run slightly more or less.

The Map is available to download here.

Score & Scatter Course

The score course makes use of the wider streescape, visiting different roads and locations to the line courses. The course is designed to allow night-time running with headtorch (course released in winter with shorter daylight hours, and during COVID lockdown).

Score Format: This is a different format to traditional orienteering where you must follow a certain sequence. The Score format is more akin to a treasure hunt, where you choose your own adventure and visit the controls in the order you choose. You have 45 minutes to collect as many points as possible (there are 30 controls, worth different points), a maximum of 600 points available, but you lose 10 points per minute late as a penalty. The scoring system is that used at the Sydney Summer Series: Controls numbered 1-10 are worth 10 points, 11-20 are worth 20 points, 21-20 are worth 30 points. This is actually quite a long course, so a perfect 600 score is unlikely.

Scatter Format: The Scatter uses the same map, but the goal is to collect any 10 controls (checkpoints) in the shortest time. Simple as that, 10 controls, as quick as you can.

It is recommended to plan your course beforehand, and then adjust on the run.

Map scale is 1:10k.

The map is available to download here.