Manchester in May – Day 1
Urban Middle Distance Race
This is the first event of the Manchester in May 2026 urban weekend comprising of three events.
Sat 23rd May 2026
Type of event: Regional, Urban
Type of terrain: Urban
Info updated: 07th Feb
Pre Event Info
Assembly: Track Brewery & Tap Room, Unit 18, Piccadilly Trading Estate, Manchester, M1 2NP
This will be a Middle distance Urban – Regional event, with a full range of Age Class Courses.
This event is part of the 2026 North West Urban League.
A 45 minute City Score course will also be available for individuals, families or small groups wishing to try out urban orienteering.
Race Number bibs will be available to collect at the Assembly venue and must be worn and visible at all times by all competitors while competing on courses.
Location
Nearest town: Manchester
- Grid Ref:
- Postcode: M1 2NP
- Latitude: 53.47756
- Longitude: -2.22166
- Google Map
- Streetmap (OS 50k)
- Bing Map (OS 50k)
- OpenStreetMap
Directions / Parking
Bus: nearest 'Adair Street' stop on Great Ancoats buses 230 and 231.
Train/tram: 15 min walk from Manchester Piccadilly Rail and Tram station.
Car: various Pay and Display car parks available within 10 minutes walk.
Limited roadside parking on Travis Street.
There is no parking at the Assembly Venue.
Registration & Start Times
Starts will be from 11:00 to 13:00.
Self-selected start blocks of 15 minutes are requested on the online entry system. Please start during your selected block.
Timings:
| Enquiries Open | 10:00 |
| First Starts | 11:00 |
| Last Starts | 13:00 |
| Courses Close | 14:30 |
|
Prizegiving Presentation |
14:00 |
Course Information
Full range of Urban Age classes as per UKUL plus a 45 minute City Score course.
| Course | Classes | Age Classes | Distance | Climb | No. of Controls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Men Open | M18-M35 | |||
| 2 |
Women Open Men Veteran |
W18-W35 M40-M50 |
|||
| 3 |
Women Veteran Men Super Vet |
W40-W50 M55-M60 |
|||
| 4 |
Women Super Vet Men Ultra Vet |
W55-W60 M65-M70 |
|||
| 5 |
Women Ultra Vet Men Hyper Vet |
W65-W70 M75+ |
|||
| 6 | Women Hyper Vet | W75+ | |||
| 7 |
Men Junior Women Junior |
M16- W16- |
|||
| 8 |
Men Young Junior Women Young Junior |
M12- W12- |
|||
|
City Score |
None | Any |
Distances and Climb are based on the optimal route.
Note regarding Junior competitors running on their own (not accompanied by an adult):
- 16 Years or under on the day can only enter Courses 7 or 8
- 12 Years or under on the day can only enter Course 8
- Juniors 16 years or under on the day running the City Score course MUST be accompanied by an adult
Explanation of colour courses
- White are very easy with all controls on paths. They are mainly used by 6-10 year olds and family groups.
- Yellow use simple linear features like paths, walls and streams. They are mainly used by under 12’s and family groups.
- Orange progress to basic use of the compass and route choice. They are ideal for novice adults or experienced youngsters.
- Light Green are ideal for improvers as the navigational difficulty begins to increase and uses simple contours and point features.
- Green are used mostly by experienced under 18’s and adults wanting a short but challenging course with a very hard navigational difficulty.
- Blue are a longer, more physically demanding course in comparison to the green. The distances are more varied between controls and the course attracts experienced orienteers.
- Brown & Black are very physically demanding and have a very hard navigational difficulty. They are for experienced orienteers only.
- Score means visiting as many controls as possible in any order in a specific time, like 45mins.
Entry Details
Entries via RaceSignUp from Sunday 1st March 2026.
Start Blocks (15 min) to be selected by competitors on entering the event.
Early Bird rate will apply up to midnight 12th April 2026
Standard rate will apply from 13th April to midnight Sunday 17th May 2026.
Late / EOD rate will apply for any entries accepted after midnight 17th May 2026.
Entrants may select to borrow an SI timing card at no cost.
Entrants running courses with over 30 controls will be allocated a high capacity SI Card to borrow free of charge for the day(s) in question.
| Early Bird | Standard | Late/EOD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Non MDOC Member | £10.00 | £12.00 | £15.00 |
| Junior Non MDOC Member | £5.00 | £6.00 | £7.50 |
| City Score Senior | £5.00 | £6.00 | £9.00 |
| City Score Junior | £2.50 | £3.00 | £4.50 |
(MDOC Member Discount applies.)
Refund Policy
Full refund will be made, less the RSU transaction fees, on cancelled entries up to midnight on the 17th May.
No automatic refund will be available after this date.
Terrain Description
Urban.
Facilities
Toilets and bag drop area will be available at the Assembly venue.
Bags are left at competitors risk.
Race Number bibs will be available to collect at the Assembly venue and must be worn and visible at all times by all competitors while competing on courses.
Drinks and freshly made Pizzas are served at the Track Brewery and Tap Room.
Dogs allowed?
No dogs on Courses. Dogs are allowed in the area if kept on leads.
Contacts / Officials
Enquiries to:
Co-ordinator: David Wathey
Organiser: David McCann
Planners: Trevor Hindle & Hazel Hindle
Controller: Ian Gilliver
Safety and Risk
A comprehensive risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event.
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