2018 was our first year and we’re back with some changes from lessons learned. The race will now be known as “Shepherd’s Spring 50k & Other”. There will no longer be a 100k. There will be two (2) 50k races. Wait! What? Yes! We there’s the standard course with Aid Stations, which is run on the C&O Canal. The second 50k is done off your GPS. 50k GPS’ers start with everyone else but you can run what ever course or modification of the set course you want. You track your mileage on your GPS and once crossing the Finish we verify that your ran at least 31 miles. There will also be an “other” “surprise” distance race as well. The total distance will not be published ahead of time and you’ll be notified at the start. The distance will be between 8 miles and 14 miles. We are still in the early planning phase on this and welcome any comments you might have.
The course is simple… the adventure starts at the Shepherd’s Spring Retreat Center. Runners will follow the trail to the Historic C&O canal and then turn left (south bound). You will then run on the C&O Tow Path for approx 15 miles then turn around and head back to the Start / Finish line. GPS runners start with the course runners then… do your own thing.
The TIME LIMIT is 11 HOURS. This was determined by looking at the last place finisher at the hilly and rocky Greenbrier 50k and then rounding up. FYI… the Catoctin 50k (Cat50k) is 9.5 hours and it’s “hard”. CUT OFF: You will not be allowed to continue if you don’t reach the half way point by 6.0 hours (1:00 p.m.). The 50k GPS has no cutoffs since we have no idea where you are to cut you off. The “other” distance will have more than enough time to finish. Once again…the goal is to get you to finish… not cut you off.
There will be two, possibly three Aid Stations. If there are only two Aid Stations then the turn around point will not have Aid. The turn around would be a manned water stop but the full Aid Stations will be located on the out and back giving the runners four opportunities for aid on the course.
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Good course for the velocity challenged
One of the goals of this race according to the race director is to provide an opportunity for older/slower runners to run an ultra without having to worry about finish … MORE
One of the goals of this race according to the race director is to provide an opportunity for older/slower runners to run an ultra without having to worry about finish line cutoffs. Accordingly, the time limit for the 50K was 15 hours. Unfortunately, this inaugural race didn’t attract very many older runners, possibly because there were a lot of other races that same weekend. The course started at Shepherd’s Springs camp, and was supposed to go about 15 miles downstream along the historic C & O canal and then return back to the camp. Unfortunately, heavy rains earlier in the week caused the Potomac River to rise, flooding the road in two places on the drive in to the start, and flooded the course on the C & O towpath. Fortunately, the race director was able to make adjustments on the fly and allowed us to continue running three shorter out and backs to complete the 50K distance. This meant that we had to cross two flooded sections of trail, and also go up a steep hill to get back to the camp at the end of each out and back. My favorite part of the course was along the C & O canal, as it was cooler, shaded, and the dirt (mud) and gravel was easier on the feet and legs. I was disappointed that we weren’t able to see the whole course, but was grateful to the race director for allowing us to continue with the race.