Nestled in the rolling hills of northeastern Kentucky and with more than 8,000 acres of open water, Cave Run Lake is known for its scenery and endless recreation opportunities!
With three race distances for ultra and trail runners of all abilities. Cave Run Lake Trail Races offers lake views, changing colors, and perfect Fall temperatures. The racecourse follows beautiful trails and forest roads through Appalachian foothills and shoreline near Cave Run Lake, including the Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail.
The event starts and finishes in Twin Knobs Recreation Area, which includes nearly 200 campsites. The spectator-friendly Start/Finish Line provides quick and easy parking, permanent bathrooms, and even shelter! The nearby City of Morehead offers all necessary amenities such as lodging, restaurants, and retail.
The racecourse will use combination trails and forest roads near Cave Run Lake, including the Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail, Limestone Bike Trail, Limestone Connector Trail, Lakeview Ridge Trail, Twin Knobs Shoreline Trail, Clack Mountain Road, and more! All three races will start in Twin Knobs Recreation Area at the West Group Use Area.
The racecourse surface includes a little bit of everything – flowy dirt singletrack with a few technical sections, cruiser doubletrack, and fast gravel forest roads! The racecourse will also include pavement when departing and returning to the Start/Finish Line at Twin Knobs Recreation Area. Athletes running the 32M and 22M races will cross a swinging bridge to reach the Triplett Creek Aid-Station. Depending on recent rainfall, a few minor stream crossings are possible.
The racecourse terrain includes rolling sections, fast ridges, and a few steep, but short, climbs. The 32M race offers approximately +2,500’ feet of elevation gain and equal loss. The 22M race offers approximately +2,000’ feet of elevation gain and equal loss. The 12M race offers approximately +1,100’ feet of elevation gain and equal loss.
There will be four Aid-Stations for the 32M race (mile 7.5, 17, 22, and 26), three for the 22M race (mile 7.5, 11.5, and 17.5) and two for the 12M race (mile 6 and 10). Aid-Stations will be manned by event staff and fully stocked with fluids and nutrition. Cave Run Lake Trail Races is a cupless event, a fluid vessel is required gear for all race distances.
The racecourse will be superbly marked with flags, ribbons, and signs, and will also include marshals at key locations as needed.
The final Finish Line Cutoff for all races is 6:00 pm.
All registrations include an awesome custom tee shirt, swag, and special offers from our partners! Professional photographers will be photographing before, during, and after the event and all images will be available for free download and personal use shortly after the event!
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Perfect Fall Day in the Woods
The weather was perfect for a fall run in the woods. Clear, breezy at the knob tops, 58 - 70 degree range over the day. The colors were gorgeous. The … MORE
The weather was perfect for a fall run in the woods. Clear, breezy at the knob tops, 58 – 70 degree range over the day. The colors were gorgeous.
The race production supported enjoying the day. Good pre-race communication, nice staging area with adequate parking, restroom facilities (I was there an hour and then 15 minutes before the start and didn’t see a line), aid stations, and course marking. The aid stations were well placed if you were wearing a vest and had a nice array of food, water, and sport drink.
There was a map you could download to your watch; I would do this in the future, the course loops all around on the knob tops. I was signed up for the marathon(ish) 27+ miles but must have missed a turn (totally my fault) and ended up having the 50k distance my watch. Couldn’t have happened on a better day.
The swag was a nice looking medal. Tshirts were available if you registered in time, and also hats.
Can’t think of a better way to enjoy perfect fall weather.