Another day another email from James...
After running the final section of the race course yesterday evening I've made a small, but significant change to the course on the very last mile on Anvil heading down into town(the previous route had the race going on a not very well used trail for a short section, I've now changed it so the race stays on the most used trail). You'll want to delete the previous GPX file from your device and download the
new file for your gps. Here is a link to learn how to
delete tracks on Gaia GPS
And if for some reason something goes wrong and you need to drop out of the race please drop out at an aid station if you can. If you bail elsewhere and run back into town or something like that you must call or text James at (509)846-5019 We are tracking all of you and if someone is unaccounted for we'll go looking for you.
Folks have asked how closely you need to follow the GPS route and my answer as close as possible as long as it's safe to do so. We ask that you do this for mostly safety reasons but also to make the race fair(we don't want people taking shortcuts and getting an unfair advantage by doing so). The safety reasons are 1, we've tried to determine the safest route so we want you to stick to that also if something were to go wrong and you got hurt but you were off the route it would take us longer to find you.
And speaking of safety it's important that everyone who glissades on the course does it carefully. You don't want to get going too fast and lose control and you also want to make sure you always can see where you're going. On the first big downhill there is a forested snowfield we found it best to do short, controlled glissades through the trees. And on the 2nd big downhill you can do some long glissades but make sure to not slide into the ravine on the left and in general when sliding make sure you're not going to go off a cliff or slam into rocks at the end of the snowfield. If you're going to run or walk down snowfields be careful and expect the unexpected and watch out for soft/hollow spots in the snow especially around fallen trees and rocks.
And don't forget to bring beverages and snacks to share for the post party. We'll have a cooler and a refrigerator at the start/finish for the stuff you bring. And we'll be cooking brats for everyone. We so far have been able to get any veggie brats so if someone is coming from/through Durango or Montrose and could pick up a few packages of veggie brats let us know and we can reimburse you. Thanks!
Runner check-in and drop bag drop off begins at 4am tomorrow am at the start/finish 852 Reese St.
Also tonight from 6pm to 7pm we'll be hanging out at The Avon bar to socialize and answer questions
See ya soon!
James, William and Emerson
