This is our fifteenth series of events.

All the 2026/27 NSL events will be planned as MapRun events, enabling runners to use the MapRun app on their phone or the MapRunG app on their watch. 

However, as usual at NSL Maprun events, a traditional paper-based backup will be available for those who request it.

Overall results and prizewinners from last season are available here.

For people unfamiliar with the Overall League Tables:

• There's separate tables for gross and handicap scores.
• Handicaps are based on age and sex and change every year - we have values for ages from 5 to 100.  The factor is derived from a table of 10k world records we found on the internet.
• Over the 8-race season, your best 4 scores count.
• Organisers and Planners get a yellow blob on their event, and are rewarded with a 4th score equal to their 3rd best.
• The "average" column on the end is a good indicator of where people with less than 4 scores at the moment will end up when they get a 4th score.
• After each event, please check your results carefully for spelling/club/handicap factor/correct timing and score, and let us know asap of any errors. 

Format

The League comprises a series of 8 events between October and March, plus a 'Cup Final'  where trophies and prizes for the series will be presented. Usually, half the events are on Tuesdays and half on Thursdays.

All the events are SCORE events using specially drawn maps, with a time allowance of either 40, 60, or 75 minutes. The control sites will mostly be items of street furniture (telegraph poles, hydrants, green boxes, post boxes etc. - see Typical NSL Controls page for examples). Evidence of your visit will be recorded by the MapRun app (see below), or by noting down a (hopefully obvious) identification mark on an answer sheet supplied at registration. There will be no O-kites and no SI boxes at individual controls, although we will use SI timing for the start and finish.

The controls will have a range of point values, adding an additional dimension to route choice and planning. As usual in score events, there will be (severe!) penalties for exceeding the time limit.

Using MapRun at MDOC NSL events

Event Schedule

(When available, clicking the Map name will take you to the individual Event page for more information on parking, food etc.) 

  * Street League Cup Final (Prize-giving) Event

Essential Equipment

• a high visibility top (you will not be allowed to start without one, a nd we have a few  available to borrow)
• dibber (lots available to borrow if necessary)
• pen / pencil (maps and answer sheets will be printed on waterproof paper)
• torch / head torch
• compass (optional)
• a backup light and a whistle (or an alternative means of summoning attention / assistance)
• NB A mobile phone with a torch app would serve as a backup light AND a means of summoning assistance

Further Information

You may run individually, or in pairs; however, under 16s MUST be accompanied by an adult, and they must stay together at all times - i.e. no shadowing is allowed; 16 and 17 year olds may run unaccompanied, but must have written consent from a parent / guardian.

As the events form a league, scores from each event will be added together to reveal the eventual winners; your best 4 scores from the 8 events will produce your overall total. Trophies will be awarded to the winners of the Handicap Competition.

Newcomers to street league events may find these expert words of wisdom helpful:

• What are you looking for? The control sites will mostly be items of street furniture e.g. telegraph posts, hydrants, green boxes, post boxes, lampposts etc. Photographs and examples can be seen on our Typical NSL Controls page. It won't be long before TP, LP, H and GB become second nature.
• Controls with different values. This seems complicated but is essential for street league to work - it means you have to think carefully about where the value is and how much of it you can get to. One useful thing I always do is to take a highlighter and pick out the top values (the 40s and 50s, say). It takes a few seconds, but gives you a very quick feel for the distribution.
• Sensible watches are essential for score events. I always carry a little compass just in case of disorientation. And a spare writing implement - pencils are most effective for waterproof paper.
• Thinking time. Even on a 40-minute event it has to be sensible to spend some time thinking about your strategy before charging off. I usually take a good couple of minutes to highlight the values and ponder the consequences before leaving the start. I'm trying to decide what I'm going to do for the first 15-20 minutes, where big decision points might be, and what return route leaves most options available.
• Some words of warning ... map scale, number of controls, values of controls, penalty rate are not guaranteed to be the same every week. Check them all before you start, to make sure your decisions are going to be correct for the way each event is set up.

Series co-ordinator: John Britton

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