Relay – Darnaway

Wednesday 5th August

The Relay was staged in the complex glacial terrain of Darnaway, seat of the Earls of Moray for many centuries. The forest has a wealth of subtle contour detail, with many small lumps and bumps which will require careful map reading at high speed.

The current Earl of Moray (the 2015 World Championships Patron) was present at the 1976 World Championships in Darnaway, where athletes battled it out in the Long race. The Relay arena will be in sight of Darnaway Castle.

Last edited: 09th Aug  

What is the Relay?

There are separate men’s and women’s relay races, each for teams of three athletes. 

Each team member races their course individually before handing over to the next runner, with the first team to cross the finish line being the winner. To stop athletes forming a pack and following one another, there are several slight variations to the courses. To keep it fair, each team runs all the different variations, just not necessarily in the same order.

The drama of the head-to-head racing makes it tense and exciting for fans as well as for competitors.

Weather Forecast

Medallists

Men		Women
Switzerland   Fabian Hertner Daniel Hubmann Matthias Kyburz	101:40	Denmark   Maja Møller Alm Ida Bobach Emma Klingenberg	109:06
Norway   Øystein Kvaal Østerbø Carl Godager Kaas Magne Dæhli	103:30	Norway   Heidi Østlid Bagstevold Mari Fasting Anne Margrethe Hausken Nordberg	112:08
France   Vincent Coupat Lucas Basset Frédéric Tranchand	103:52	Sweden   Helena Jansson Annika Billstam Emma Johansson	112:17

Terrain

Darnaway is an area of former glacial moraine, with numerous small hills and depressions making for tricky navigation.

The forest has a mixture of woodland types: open pine wood with ground cover of heather and dwarf shrub, denser pine and areas of broadleaves, especially beech. Both runnability and visibility will vary throughout the courses.

Course Details

All course details are given per lap.

Timings

All times are in British Summer Time (BST).

Extended Start Lists

Provided by Jan Kocbach, World of O

World of O header image

Subject to change when final team declarations are made.

2014 Medallists

Men	Women
Sweden   Jonas Leandersson Fredrik Johansson Gustav Bergman	Switzerland   Sara Lüscher Sabine Hauswirth Judith Wyder
Switzerland   Fabian Hertner Daniel Hubmann Matthias Kyburz	Denmark   Emma Klingenberg Ida Bobach Maja Møller Alm
France   Frederic Tranchand François Gonon Thierry Gueorgiou	Sweden   Helena Jansson Annika Billstam Tove Alexandersson

IOF LiveCenter

TV Coverage

All times are in the local time of the broadcaster.

Travel Directions – Public Transport

Stagecoach bus routes 10 (between Aberdeen and Inverness) and 11 (between Inverness and Elgin) both stop at Barleymill Road End, approximately 1.5 km by road from the entrance to Darnaway. See Stagecoach for full details of routes and timetables.

The entrance to Darnaway is approximately 4 km by road from Forres railway station, which is on the Aberdeen to Inverness line. See National Rail for details of train times and connections.

Travel Directions – By Road

Follow the A96 east from Inverness through Nairn towards Forres. Beyond the village of Brodie (50 miles per hour limit), turn right at the junction signposted “Whitemire and Conicavel”. After 1 km turn left – do not go straight on at the “Moray Estates Development Company” sign – and after 400 m turn right through impressive ‘golden gates’ at East Lodge (IV36 2ST). Follow WOC signs to parking on estate roads 500 m north-east of Darnaway Castle (IV36 2SW).

Competitors at the Scottish 6 Days and spectators at the World Championships must approach Darnway from the north and follow the race signs to the arena. The entrance from the south via Redstone, on roads signposted as private, must not be used. Do not rely on a satnav if travelling from the south – follow routes around to Forres or Nairn and approach Darnaway from the north.

There will be a one-way system in operation covering the last section of track to the parking field. All traffic must be in the field by 14:00. From 12:30 until 14:00 the direction of traffic flow will change every 15 minutes, so there may be a short delay in getting in to the parking field. Departure from the field after the Relay is expected to be slow.

Typical travel time from Inverness: 45 minutes.

Officials

Images

You can use any of these images in publications as long as you credit the source. Click/tap to preview a larger version

Darnaway terrain (Full size)

Relay All courses map (Full size)