Every now and then, there’s an eccentric relative, friend or neighbor that decides to throw you a curveball by NOT serving Turkey at Thanksgiving; they replace it with ham, shrimp, lasagna, tofu or something else that could easily be featured the other 364 days of the year. Some of what …
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Every now and then, there’s an eccentric relative, friend or neighbor that decides to throw you a curveball by NOT serving Turkey at Thanksgiving; they replace it with ham, shrimp, lasagna, tofu or something else that could easily be featured the other 364 days of the year. Some of what they force upon you can’t even be covered with gravy! Well, this year, we confess that we’re doing the same; we’re serving you up something totally different than we have in the past. In DISTANCES, that is. For the first time ever, you can run the Dirty Bird 1, 2 or 3 times – with a 5k kicker at the end to reach 50k. Each distance has its own awards.
The Dirty Bird Trail Runs will use a 15k course. All start together and you can decide in mid race if you want to finish in the 15k or 30k, much like the Double Trouble. You can NOT step up to the 50k in midrace unless you entered that event in the first place. But 50k’ers, if it is not your day, you CAN drop down to the 15k or 30k; you just won’t be refunded the price difference (unless you notify us that you are dropping down at least 1 week BEFOREHAND). But at least, you won’t get a DNF either! And you CAN win an award at the lesser distance. Race as long as you feel, after gorging yourself that weekend. Run longer in weather better suited for it than our July event!
15K/30k: we redesigned the traditional course to make it a bit easier, since some of you will be seeing it repeatedly. We anticipate that it will have 3 water stops per lap, 2 long slightly steep climbs, a long, not very steep climb up a dirt road, and a minor upgrade or two. As in years past, we’ll have about 2/10th of a mile on road so you can get your positioning before entering single track. After a quarter mile of single track, you have another half mile where passing is as easy as pie. We’ll primarily use most of the Six Penny Loop in a counter clockwise direction, the trail along the west side of Scots Run and half of the Turtle Trail. There may or may not be a short section of road to the finish; not sure yet.
50K: 3 laps of the 15k loop. As a no frills race, you’ll get everything that everyone else gets plus a finishers
memento (NOT a medal, probably a glass), the same food as others with a few higher caloric additions on a separate table (you will NOT have the 5 course spreads that you get at major races like the Blues Cruise, HAT Run, etc but you ALSO won’t PAY that much), the same shirt as everyone else, etc. You’ll run an out and back 5k at the end for your 50k.
Great race for spectators who can see you 7 times on the course by just driving between 2 spots. Food at the end of each 15k loop and snacks at aide stations along the way. Out and back 5k at end is a unique course only in the 50k.
IMPORTANT NOTE: THERE IS A MAX TIME LIMIT ON EACH LAP. IF YOU DO NOT FINISH THE 15K BY 2 HRS, 20 MIN OR THE 30K IN 5 HRS, YOU MAY NOT GO ON. THERE’S ALSO A 9 HR LIMIT OF THE 50K, DUE TO DARKNESS. FINISHERS OF 3 LAPS THAT CANNOT FINISH
THE 50K IN 9 HRS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO GO ON AND WILL BE LISTED AS A 30K FINISHER.
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#100racesin2020 Race #1-My first 30k!
Great, scenic location! Course runs by 2 lakes. A 15k loop. Course is mostly single track through the woods. Plenty of rocks, roots, downed trees, and hills. Tons of AG … MORE
Great, scenic location! Course runs by 2 lakes.
A 15k loop. Course is mostly single track through the woods. Plenty of rocks, roots, downed trees, and hills.
Tons of AG awards, and great post-race spread!
Overall, another awesome Pretzel City Sports event!
Strava stats:
https://www.strava.com/activities/2985486085/overview
Wet, Rocky and Tough
This was only my second trail race and the day before the race we got several inches of rain which impacted the trail in some interestig ways. The bib pick … MORE
This was only my second trail race and the day before the race we got several inches of rain which impacted the trail in some interestig ways.
The bib pick up was easy on race day and there were porta potties and a real bathroom available to runners. It was in the high 30’s at race time and partly cloudy for the 500 or so racers.
We started out on a paved section before being funneled into a single trail through the first of many deep puddles. There was no escaping the foot deep frigid water so we had to embrace the suck and splash through it. The trail was very rocky in sections and in others root bound and muddy. There was also one stream crossing and many, many puddles. A woman in front of me went down twice on a downhill with wet leaves. Choosing your footing wisely was a must on this trail.
Elevation gain for this race was 1100 feet and if you chose the 30 or 50 K you got to do the 9 mile loop again.
Overall it was a very well managed race. The food was adequate and I got a nice tech long sleeved shirt as part of registration. I finished 191 out of 302 in the 15K so I am happy with my results on a technical and tough course.