After two years of Covid cancellations, July 3rd 2022 was the 16th running of the Sydney Metropolitan Turkey Trot, the premier point to point event of the Sydney orienteering calendar. There were three courses available: Short (8km), Medium (12km) and Long (20km). Each course has multiple maps. The start and finish location was at the George Bell Pavilion, Castle Hill Showground, and the course traversed bush tracks, street and reserves of Castle Hill. For 2023 the exciting courses have been set through the paths and cycleways of Fairfield.
The course standard is moderate, requiring basic navigation skills in map reading and route choice. Non-orienteers will have little difficulty with this standard yet it was still challenging in terms of route choice for the experienced orienteer.
The orienteering maps have a series of checkpoints (controls). Runners decide the best route between controls. All runners carry a SportIdent (SI) electronic timing stick to record control visits and finish times. (Timing sticks are available for hire).
Each distance (long, medium and short) has three classes:
Above is an image gallery of the 2017 Long Course which had four map changes. Click on the images to see a larger version of the map.
In conjunction with the Turkey Trot, three Family Friendly Courses are available for participants to pre enter although enter on the day will be available.
Start Times
Please arrive at the start location approximately 30min prior to your start time.
| Long Course |
Medium Course |
Short Course |
Family Friendly Courses |
| 9:00 am |
9:15 am |
9:30 am |
From 10:00 am |
MTBO Start: 8.45am (regardless of course)
2023 Location and Assembly Area
As at 28 May the assembly and finish location for the 2023 Turkey Trot is still to be confirmed (Fairfield Showground is a possibility).
History
The Sydney Metropolitan Turkey Trot was first held in November 2005 and run from Castle Hill to Parramatta Park. Since then it has been an annual fixture on the orienteering calendar and in recent years has found a home on the first Sunday in July. Below are some of the combined maps of the Turkey Trot Long courses.
