The lore of Foxcatcher Farms continues… Throughout the decades, the hills and hollows of William duPont’s storied estate have tested the limits of thoroughbreds. Barbaro trained for his Triple Crown; Olympic swimmers and wrestlers grappled for glory; and generations of duPonts out-foxed their furry foes. This year, as the sun …
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The lore of Foxcatcher Farms continues…
Throughout the decades, the hills and hollows of William duPont’s storied estate have tested the limits of thoroughbreds. Barbaro trained for his Triple Crown; Olympic swimmers and wrestlers grappled for glory; and generations of duPonts out-foxed their furry foes.
This year, as the sun rises on the summer solstice, you can follow in the footsteps of greatness.
Whether foal or filly, we invite you to trod the grounds of Fair Hill for the Big Elk Marathon & Half-Marathon. You’re in for 26.2 miles of rollicking terrain, on which jockeys have ridden and stallions have stridden. Get the jump out of the gate if you must, but remember: It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
And at the height of summer, this race has all the trappings of a sweat-stained steeplechase — except instead of sipping a mint julep, you’ll have competitors nipping at your heels.
Will you be in the hunt?
This off-road course has a little bit of everything!
Starting by the fairground rec center we’ll run a little bit of a road prologue to thin out the crowd before we hit the trails. The course is a mixture of single track, double track, gravel road/DNR fire roads, bridge crossing, XC field crossings, and a creek crossing or two. The first third of the trail has a healthy amount of rock gardens to keep you alert and on your toes while the rest of the course has a fair amount of roots to keep you engaged.
If we happen to run after or during rainy conditions the first half of the course does a great job at managing water but the second half does not meaning you will get muddy.
The Marathon is a 13.1 x 2 loop course.
The course will be marked with PINK ARROWS and PINK survey flags.
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Big Elk Half Marathon Race Report
My hubby Bill and I got up super early on Saturday and drove to Elkton, MD (about an hour from our house) to run the XTERRA Big Elk Half Marathon. … MORE
My hubby Bill and I got up super early on Saturday and drove to Elkton, MD (about an hour from our house) to run the XTERRA Big Elk Half Marathon. This was part of a running festival that included full and half marathons, as well as a 5k, 10k, and kids’ race. The race is part of the XTERRA Atlantic Trail Run series.
We pinned on our bibs, visited the indoor restrooms (nice!), and chatted with a friend while we waited for the race to start. The full and half marathons began at 7:00 a.m. The other races started after this to alleviate congestion. Good planning!
At 6:50, we lined up at the starting line marked on the ground with chalk and listened to the race director’s message, (basically, follow the signs). The race began promptly at 7:00, and we were off, down a gravel road to the trails.
My favorite kind of trail race is one run on a variety of surfaces, and this course definitely checked that box. While the vast majority of the course was wooded single track with plenty of rocks and roots, there were stretches of double track, gravel road, fields of high grass (tick check after the race!), and dirt single track through low cut fields for variety. There were mile markers at each mile, and the trails were extremely well marked.
Most aid stations, except for the final one, where I saw pretzels, had only water and Gatorade. The volunteers were helpful and enthusiastic, and the aid was adequate (approximately every two miles), but many trail races have more abundant food and drink at the aid stations.