Ok folks
The decision has been made to eliminate the last two mountains(Bear and Sultan). The race will now be a ~35k with close to 13,000ft of gain with two water/drop bag stations.
I’ve found a safer route up Kendall. And the race will now finish by running Anvil Ridge back to Silverton. The start/finish will now be at our rental house at 852 Reese St. Otherwise the rest of the course is basically the same as previously planned. Here is the
new course map
and here is
the new GPX file
to upload to your GPS device(watch or phone app like GAIA)
Race start is still at 5am, check in begins at 4:00am.
There will be a cutoff time at Station 1(mile 10.1) at 11am and at Station 2(mile 17.3) at 4pm. The goal is to have everyone off the course before dark(sunset is at 8:36) but the very slowest runners will want to have a light in the their station 2 drop bag to take with them on the last section just in case.
bunch
The route, though now safer, still has significant mountain conditions that require specific skills and experience to navigate safely. And in general folks should err on the side caution versus trying to set any speed records. Folks need to be careful to not to knock loose rocks that could tumble down and hit other runners below, folks need to beware of snow cornices, be careful when going down steep hillsides, watch out for hollow snow especially near edges of snowfields and near rocks, when glissading be sure to stay under control and make sure you're not going to slide off a cliff or into a ravine, beware of fragile snow bridges, watch out for lightning, be prepared for rain, hail and high winds, be prepared for high temperatures and lots of intense sun, when going up the climb after the first aid station be aware that some of the standing trees are actually dead and can topple over. The course is not marked and is pretty hard to navigate without the help of a GPS watch or a GPS phone app, be sure to have enough battery life(I'd recommend bringing a charging device) expect the course to take way longer than you expect(look at the past finishing times!). Make sure you carry enough water and food.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns or if you need any help with getting the GPS file uploaded to your GPS device.
Thanks a bunch. Oh and if folks are interested perhaps we could get together Friday evening? I'll be at the Avon Bar from 6pm to 7pm on Friday and we can hang out, have a drink and I can answer questions and stuff.
James Varner and the Rainshadow Team
