Overall Rating: Excellent location but the logistics need some work. Course Difficulty: This course was a fairly difficult double loop + out and back course. It had all the trail … MORE
Overall Rating: Excellent location but the logistics need some work.
Course Difficulty: This course was a fairly difficult double loop + out and back course. It had all the trail necessities other than creek crossings (rocks, roots, hills, mud), and was average as far as technicality. The heat and humidity added to the difficulty; falling three times (once hard) didn’t help either. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 3500′ of elevation gain, and spread fairly evenly throughout the course. This race was a good mix of single track, double track, forest service roads, and a very small amount of pavement – less than a mile. Nearly 100% shade on this course, without that it would have been crazy hot.
Course scenery: With pretty constant views of waterfalls, old growth forest, the new river and bridge, and a lot of other interesting stuff, the scenery on this run was fantastic.
Race Production: I’m mixed on this.
Pre-race communication was sparse, with the race manual coming out the Thursday before the race at noon (I left Fri morning at 6), so questions like “can I car camp at the start finish line weren’t answered until then (despite having asked earlier via messenger). With the lack of communication, I had booked a campsite, but still this would have been nice to know. Not that big of a deal.
Packet pickup was a breeze, with no issues. Race morning everything was fine, there was a line for the port-a-jon, which is something I haven’t had to deal with at ultras much (maybe ultra runners just go in the woods), but all else was good…until start time. The race started as it should have, but it turned into one long train coming off of the mat. There were 240ish half marathoners and 100ish 50kers (I think these are the numbers I heard) starting at the same time straight onto single track; coupled with 45% of the 50k field being first timers (pre-race stat), it was an immediate log jam. We continued on and at 5 miles, I asked wasn’t there supposed to be an aid station at mile 3.7? Someone mentioned that we were running the course backward, so aid stations would be messed up. What really happened, is that everyone except a few of the fastest folks missed an early turn…everyone! The RD made a decision (which we were informed of at the first AS – mile 7) that we could simply continue running the course backward…which was fine, I’m actually glad they didn’t make us go back to the turn we missed. Of course, all the AS’s were messed up the rest of the day, since the plan was not built for trying to restock with people running in reverse, and as every ultra runner who has ever started with 5k, 10k, or half knows…whatever you actually wanted at the aid station is gone.Staggered start times would make a huge difference at this race.
Timing was excellent with regular mats and the ability for friends to track online. Times were posted immediately.
Race Swag: Good. Wicking T-shirt, custom finish medal, race specific stickers.
My Performance: Ok. I had decided at the beginning (in the log jam) that there was no reason to get in a hurry, it was just about time on the feet for me. I took my time, talked to a lot of folks, stopped to help a few runners out. Oh, and I fell hard enough to break my glasses…that will take the run right out of you. So not great – not terrible – nobody died.
Final notes: This race has really great potential. I think there was a little higher DNF rate in the 50k due to the heat, difficulty of the run, and logistic issues. I think this race will be a sellout in the future, it is truly a destination race and it is gorge-ous.
At the end of the day, it is the runners responsibility to know where you are supposed to go and to have enough nutrition; so as I tell everyone else “take what you get, and don’t throw a fit”. I would like to see a little better coordination from the race staff, but don’t let that deter you, if you are looking for a beautiful West Virginia run, prepare accordingly and go run this race. Not sure there is any prettier scenery to be found there.
Please login to reply to this review.
Strong potential, still needs some work.
Overall Rating: Excellent location but the logistics need some work. Course Difficulty: This course was a fairly difficult double loop + out and back course. It had all the trail … MORE
Overall Rating: Excellent location but the logistics need some work.
Course Difficulty: This course was a fairly difficult double loop + out and back course. It had all the trail necessities other than creek crossings (rocks, roots, hills, mud), and was average as far as technicality. The heat and humidity added to the difficulty; falling three times (once hard) didn’t help either. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 3500′ of elevation gain, and spread fairly evenly throughout the course. This race was a good mix of single track, double track, forest service roads, and a very small amount of pavement – less than a mile. Nearly 100% shade on this course, without that it would have been crazy hot.
Course scenery: With pretty constant views of waterfalls, old growth forest, the new river and bridge, and a lot of other interesting stuff, the scenery on this run was fantastic.
Race Production: I’m mixed on this.
Pre-race communication was sparse, with the race manual coming out the Thursday before the race at noon (I left Fri morning at 6), so questions like “can I car camp at the start finish line weren’t answered until then (despite having asked earlier via messenger). With the lack of communication, I had booked a campsite, but still this would have been nice to know. Not that big of a deal.
Packet pickup was a breeze, with no issues. Race morning everything was fine, there was a line for the port-a-jon, which is something I haven’t had to deal with at ultras much (maybe ultra runners just go in the woods), but all else was good…until start time. The race started as it should have, but it turned into one long train coming off of the mat. There were 240ish half marathoners and 100ish 50kers (I think these are the numbers I heard) starting at the same time straight onto single track; coupled with 45% of the 50k field being first timers (pre-race stat), it was an immediate log jam. We continued on and at 5 miles, I asked wasn’t there supposed to be an aid station at mile 3.7? Someone mentioned that we were running the course backward, so aid stations would be messed up. What really happened, is that everyone except a few of the fastest folks missed an early turn…everyone! The RD made a decision (which we were informed of at the first AS – mile 7) that we could simply continue running the course backward…which was fine, I’m actually glad they didn’t make us go back to the turn we missed. Of course, all the AS’s were messed up the rest of the day, since the plan was not built for trying to restock with people running in reverse, and as every ultra runner who has ever started with 5k, 10k, or half knows…whatever you actually wanted at the aid station is gone.Staggered start times would make a huge difference at this race.
Timing was excellent with regular mats and the ability for friends to track online. Times were posted immediately.
Race Swag: Good. Wicking T-shirt, custom finish medal, race specific stickers.
My Performance: Ok. I had decided at the beginning (in the log jam) that there was no reason to get in a hurry, it was just about time on the feet for me. I took my time, talked to a lot of folks, stopped to help a few runners out. Oh, and I fell hard enough to break my glasses…that will take the run right out of you. So not great – not terrible – nobody died.
Final notes: This race has really great potential. I think there was a little higher DNF rate in the 50k due to the heat, difficulty of the run, and logistic issues. I think this race will be a sellout in the future, it is truly a destination race and it is gorge-ous.
At the end of the day, it is the runners responsibility to know where you are supposed to go and to have enough nutrition; so as I tell everyone else “take what you get, and don’t throw a fit”. I would like to see a little better coordination from the race staff, but don’t let that deter you, if you are looking for a beautiful West Virginia run, prepare accordingly and go run this race. Not sure there is any prettier scenery to be found there.
Challenging but Fun Trail Run
This was a more technical trail than I am used to, so that might have been part of my struggle, but I had so much fun. At times the terrain … MORE
This was a more technical trail than I am used to, so that might have been part of my struggle, but I had so much fun. At times the terrain was very rocky, and the last few miles were basically straight uphill. Definitely not a PR type course, but the scenery was beautiful and I stopped for several pictures. This course inspired me to take up trail running, and I will be back for more next year. Well supported and the medals were beautiful. The shirt is also one of my favorite running shirts now.