Ropaži Legends rogaining

Regulations Programme  How to get there and competition centre  Map

LEGEND ABOUT ROPAŽI AND ITS SURROUNDINGS

The terrain of the Ropaži Legend Rogaining holds stories ranging from the medieval Ropaži Castle and ancient trade routes to traces of the manor era and remnants of Soviet-era collective farms and military zones. Forests, bogs, and old roads that once served both defence and livelihood have today turned into paths and labyrinths where centuries of history intertwine. In the rogaining on 30.05.26, participants will run through places where historical layers still coexist with the nature and quiet of modern-day Ropaži surroundings.

Event schedule and programme

 Add the event to Google Calendar, or  Add the event to Apple Calendar

Time Activity
09:30 Race number pick-up and map distribution begins
11:00 Start of the 6 h rogaining (Rogaining hike participants may start between 11:00 and 13:00)
11:30 Start of the 3 h MTB rogaining
12:00 Start of the 4 h rogaining
13:00 Start of the 2 h rogaining, 2 h rogaining run and 2 h rogaining hike
14:30 Finish time limit for the 3 h MTB rogaining
15:00 Finish time limit for the 2 h rogaining and 2 h rogaining run
16:00 Finish time limit for the 4 h rogaining
17:00 Finish time limit for the 6 h rogaining and Rogaining hike
17:10 Awards ceremony for all courses and INTERVALS.LV lottery with Garmin and other prizes

Competition centre location and terrain

The competition centre will be located next to Ropaži Secondary School (Rīgas iela 5, Ropaži, Ropažu pagasts, Ropažu novads, LV-2135).

Directions to the competition centre: 

 

RECORDING AND ANALYSING GPS ROUTES AFTER THE EVENT

If you want spectators to be able to follow you live on the big screen in the competition centre, or to analyse after the race how you (or your rivals) wandered around the true control point location, use the MapRun smartphone app:

Map symbols

Since this year it will be possible to ride a bike in the MTB class at all stages, for the convenience of cyclists the map will distinguish between asphalt roads (brown) and unpaved fast/medium/slow/very slow black roads and paths (the more “broken” the line, the slower the surface). Tracks mapped with a narrow ride line symbol represent tractor ruts which are not suitable for cyclists, though runners may try to squeeze through.

Vegetation is shown as close as possible to the gradual transitions observed in nature – from very young to young, medium and old forest stands – using four colours: green, lighter green, very light green and white, as orienteers are used to in their maps. However, unlike classic orienteering maps, these colours do not indicate runnability, only the age of the forest. Such a detailed depiction of the forest is possible thanks to the open laser point cloud data published by the Latvian Geospatial Information Agency, which anyone can download free of charge and use to generate map layers.

We remind you that areas coloured in olive green according to the standard orienteering map symbols are out of bounds for participants. Closed roads are marked in red. Even if a restriction is not shown on the map but you see a “Private property” or “No entry” sign in the terrain (unless it is clearly outdated and no longer valid), please respect it and choose another route. Of course, the organisers will first of all try to place control points so that access to them does not infringe landowners’ rights.

Contours will have a relatively fine 2 m interval.

 

COMPETITION MAP AND TERRAIN

Participants will receive the competition maps on the morning of the event when registering in the registration tent. Maps will be laminated for moisture resistance; however, moisture may still get into the edges, corners and damaged areas of the map. Long-distance participants, the keenest swimmers and bog-waders may tape the map edges with transparent tape for extra durability or even put the maps into special transparent, waterproof map cases. The map scale is 1:20 000, i.e. 1 cm = 200 m in the terrain. Size 62 x 43 cm (take this into account when choosing a bike map holder).

The terrain is dominated by well runnable pine forests. In places there are sandy dunes. As a result, almost all roads that cross the dunes turn into sandy tracks that are not rideable for cyclists (although there are often parallel micro-paths ridden in). On the map, such unrideable sections are often marked with the narrowest ride line symbol (rather than the thicker road or path symbol), but as with general rogaining maps, some imperfections are possible. In the lowest relief areas there are extensive flat bogs with bushy, hard-to-pass vegetation. However, after prolonged dry weather, the bogs are relatively dry. Likewise, there is less water than usual in the ditches.

Control point descriptions

Get acquainted with the control point descriptions – the location codes! Although in any case you must search for the feature in the centre of the circle, the descriptions explain more precisely whether you should look on the north or south side of a building, and so on. Some of the control point locations are so legendary that we have had to encode them so as not to give away the secrets in advance. You can still try to decipher them even now. You will find the correct answers on race day before the start, when you receive the map with control points.