Sat, Nov 22 & Sun, Nov 23 -- Hard Labor Creek State Park

Location

Hard Labor Creek State Park, Camp Rutledge
Address: 5 Hard Labor Creek Rd, Rutledge, GA 30663
Typically less than 1 hr drive from Atlanta International Airport Rental Car Center on Saturday mornings, driving at rush hour Friday afternoon is an unknown but almost certainly more than an hour.


Click map to open in a new window.

Hard Labor Creek State Park website (includes State Park Maps and Directions).
*** Please obey the park speed limits at all times ***

Meet Headquarters

Saturday and Sunday Meet HQ is at Camp Rutledge.
Fairplay Rd runs N-S through the park. From Fairplay Rd, just north of the river crossing, turn east on to the park road to Camp Rutledge. Follow the park road approximately 1.5 mi to Camp Rutledge.

Check-In and Packet pick up will be available from 8:00 am - 12:00 pm at Meet HQ.

Site Map - Park Overview

Click map to open in a new window.

Starts

Saturday Starts will be from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm. Maximum Time is 3 hours. Courses close at 4:00 pm.
Sunday Starts will be from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm. Maximum Time is 3 hours. Courses close at 3:00 pm.

Map

Map scale is 1:10,000 with 5 meter contours for all courses.

Embargo

All of Hard Labor Creek State Park east of Fairplay Rd is embargoed from June 1, 2025.
Areas of the park west of Fairplay Rd, e.g. GAOC's Lake Brantley map, are open for training.
Course maps from various GAOC local events are on GAOC's RouteGadget here.
The Camp Rutledge map was last used for the Georgia Navigator Cup on January 18-19, 2020.

Courses

Depending upon the number of runners registered, some courses may be split (e.g. Yellow) or combined (e.g. Green-X and Green-Y).

Course	SE Interscholastic Classes	Non-SE Interscholastic Classes	Sat Dist / Climb / Cntrls	Sun Dist / Climb / Cntrls
White		M/F-White	TBD	TBD
Yellow	ISIF, ISIM	M/F-Yellow	TBD	TBD
Orange-X	ISJVM	M-Orange	TBD	TBD
Orange-Y	ISJVF	F-Orange	TBD	TBD
Brown-X		M-Brown	TBD	TBD
Brown-Y	ISVF	F-Brown	TBD	TBD
Green-X	ISVM	M-Green	TBD	TBD
Green-Y		F-Green	TBD	TBD
Red		M/F-Red	TBD	TBD

Restrooms

Restrooms are available at Camp Rutledge/Meet HQ. No studs or cleats of any kind are allowed in any buildings! There will be porta-potties near the Start.

Cell Phone Service

Cell phone coverage is challenging for all carriers, i.e. works in some locations but in many locations there is no conncetion.

Parking

Please car pool! Parking for the event is at Camp Rutledge. Please cooperate with the parking volunteers' instructions.
All passenger vehicles must have a state park parking pass. Rates are charged based on vehicle capacity, not the number of actual passengers. Cars and vans with 1-12 passenger capacity are $5/day. You will need a pass for each day you are in the park. Georgia Yellow School buses are state vehicles and are exempt from parking charges and do not require a parking pass. Buses, other school buses and 13+ passenger vehicles MUST display a Park Pass each day.
If you are bringing a bus, please contact the Meet Director in advance.

You risk a ticket without a parking pass!

You can pull an envelope from the green boxes in the parking areas and follow the instructions if you use cash. Also you can buy your Daily Park Pass online. You can print your pass and place it on your dashboard or simply pull an envelope and write your pass number on it before placing it on your dashboard

Emergency Information

In the case of a life-threatening emergency, call 911.
First aid kits and an AED will be located at Meet HQ.

Should you require additional medical aid, there are urgent care facilities in Madison and Covington:
After Hours Urgent Care
1550 Eatonton Rd, Madison, GA 30650
706-438-6486
approximately 12.6 miles (20 minutes) southeast of Hard Labor Creek State Park

The nearest hospital emergency room is:
Morgan Medical Center (hospital)
1740 Lions Club Rd, Madison, GA 30650
706-342-1667
approximately 14 miles (20 minutes) southeast of Hard Labor Creek State Park

Search and Rescue (SAR)

The SAR coordinator is Fred Zendt. His cell phone number is 678-640-5828. Put this number in your cell phone now.

He can be found through Meet HQ. Please coordinate the search and rescue of any missing or injured person through Meet HQ.
Do not attempt search and rescue operations on your own.

Time Limits

Time limit is 3 hours on all courses. You must return to the Finish, punch the Finish control and Download your e-stick within 3 hours after you start, whether you complete your course or not. Do not go out on a course if you do not have the means to tell the time and how long you have been out. This generally means a watch or a cellphone.

Safety

If you have been out for 3 hours or it is clear that you cannot finish in 3 hours, you must stop immediately and report to the Finish.

Saturday Safety Bearing:
TBD

Sunday Safety Bearing:
TBD

Carry a whistle. One will be provided upon request. Three (3) short blasts from a whistle indicate an emergency. Blowing the whistle otherwise will result in Disqualification. If you are lost after the courses close, you are already disqualified, and it is an emergency. Please blow your whistle so that we can locate you before it gets dark. You are encouraged to carry a cell phone to be able to call in an emergency. If your calls do not go through, try text messages. Before starting your course, make a contingency plan. Share your start time, expected finish time and contact details with someone who can raise the alarm. The courses close at 4:00 pm on Sat and 3:00 pm on Sun. Sunset is at 5:29 pm and last light is at 5:56 pm.

Dress appropriately for the weather conditions. Weather conditions in Georgia in November are generally very pleasant but may be cold and/or rainy. If the ground is wet, exposed red clay will be extremely slippery. Please be careful.

Assist an injured competitor. If another competitor is hurt and in need of assistance, help to the best of your ability or go to summon help. Report the injured competitor’s bib number and exact location to officials at the Finish or Start line.

Warm Up Area

You may warm up along the road to Meet HQ or on the route to the Start. Please watch out for vehicles.

Clothing Return

TBD.

LiveLox

We will have Livelox active during the event. Juniors, please take your cell phone with you during your run, install the Livelox app and make sure to turn it on before you start.

Walk to Start

Routes will be clearly marked with signs.
Rest rooms both days are at the Meet HQ and porta-potties near the Start area.

Control Descriptions

Will be available at the Start mid-line (1-min to go). Also printed on the map.

Call Up

Be at the Call-up area approximately 5-10 minutes before your Start time.
Call up is 3 minutes before your start time.
Start procedure will consist of three one-minute stages: Call-up, Mid line and Map lines.
Control descriptions will be available at the mid-line and will also be printed on your map.
At the Map line you will receive your map. Markers will be available to write your bib number on the back of the map.

If you finish before the last start, we will collect your map at the finish. You may retrieve your map once all competitors have started. There are only sufficient maps for each person to have one each day, so please do not take anyone else’s.

Finish Line

When arriving at the finish line, be sure you punch the “Finish” control at the Finish banner.
Proceed immediately to the Download Station to have your e-stick read. Take the printout of your results and split times.

If not all competitors have started, you will be asked to turn in your map and may pick it up later. Once you have finished, you may not re-enter the competition area without permission of the Meet Director.
Rental e-sticks must be turned in on the last day of your competition at the Download Station.

Map and Course Setter Notes

Hard Labor Creek State Park is mostly ridge and reentrant terrain. The map uses symbols set forth in ISOM 2017. North lines are spaced at 300m. Map scale is 1:10,000 with 5m contours.
Camp Rutledge, Hard Labor Creek SP, has been the venue for several Major Events. Over the years several weather and man-made disasters have required major updates of the map. This year's SEIS is no exception due to the effects of Hurricane Helene in 2024.
The competition maps have an abbreviated legend with just the most commonly used and relevant map symbols. A more extensive, complete map legend (as shown in the Mapper's Notes) is available to download here.
Non-standard symbols used are:

• Black small equilateral triangle: Man-made rock pile, at least 1 meter high
• Rootstocks are mapped with the green “X” symbol (prominent vegetation feature). Rootstocks less than 1 meter high are not mapped.
• Black ‘O’ used for "junk pile". Must be ~1m high or otherwise very visible.
• Black ‘X’ used for man-made object that is not trash/junk. Must be ~1m high or otherwise very visible.

Saturday Course Setter's Notes

TBD

Sunday Course Setter's Notes

TBD

Reserve Punch Boxes

In the rare event that an electronic punch unit fails, three (3) Reserve Punch boxes are provided on the map. Use the pin punch at the control to record your presence at the control.