The typical views of our prominent Horsetooth and Arthur’s rocks remained shrouded in mist on race day. (Photo by Eric Lee)

The sun didn’t shine, the ridge lines were lost in the mist and yet we still had a great day at the inaugural running of the Quad Rock 50.

A total of 219 runners toed the start line, with 125 in the 50 mile race and 94 in the 25 mile race. When it was all said and done, 99 runners finished the 50 miler and119 completed one loop for 25 miles, with 26 registered 50 milers calling it a day after one trip across the Fort Collins skyline.

In the men’s 25 mile race, Loveland resident Dan Goding came home with the win in a time of 3:33, after leader Dane Mitchell took a wrong turn at the three-way coming down off the Spring Creek trail. Just three minutes back in second was Scott Jaime in a strong showing for team Pearl iZumi, one of the race’s title sponsors. Zach Crandall rounded out the top three, just 30 seconds back of Jaime.

Ryan Burch leading the Quad Rock 50 Mile race. (Photo by Erin Bibeau)

With a 25-mile split that would have finished him fourth in the one lapper, Ryan Burch charged through the turnaround and headed out for his second – reversed – loop with almost the whole field to say ‘hi’ to on his way back up the Timber trail towards Arthurs Rock. The gap between Ryan and second place finisher Jim Rebenack was relatively small, but stayed essentially the same for most of the second loop, with Jim closing slightly to finish six minutes back of Burch. Jason Koop finished third with yet another strong run in his loaded 2012 season, and Patrick Stewart rounded out the sub-8 hour finishers.

Our first finisher in the women’s 25 mile race was Eliza Walthers in a time of 4:44, closely followed by Kelli Picon (4:47:26) and Jenn Malmberg (4:47:56). At the turn for the 50-mile race Jenny Pierce, a palladium miner from Livingstone Montana, had close to a ten-minute lead over local favorite Steph Lynn. The gap would stay close for most of the second lap, with Steph fighting some stomach demons, but gaming through as best she could to finish a quarter of an hour back of Jenny’s 9:51 winning time. Third across the line was Kristine Klotzbach from Parker, CO in her first 50 mile race, which she completed in its entirety with her husband Phil.

Just a week after winning the masters division of the Colorado Marathon, Cat Speights – owner of race sponsor Countryside Animal Hospital – came home for the masters win in the Quad Rock 50, a most impressive double. Ryan Philips from Sturgis, SD took home the master’s victory in the men’s race.

Despite the dank and cold conditions, runners huddled around the campfire post race to listen to the rhythm and blues of Lee Holiday and the Time Off, enjoy a special batch of “Mile 51 Mild” beer from Pateros Creek Brewing, eat food barbecued by volunteers from the Animal House Rescue – a race beneficiary – receive cowbell awards and prizes from race sponsors including Cornerstone Mortgage, Justin K Liddle DMD, Colorado Physical Therapy Specialists, Pearl iZumi, Smith Optics, Highgear, and Runners Roost.

The race of course could not have happened without the help of our amazing core of over 50 volunteers, drawn mainly from the ranks of Colorado trail runners from Fort Collins, Boulder, Denver, and even as far away as Colorado Springs. Of all the praise we received after the race, the most commonly heard comment was how great the volunteers were. You guys rocked. Thank you. And thank you also to all the runners who took part, the two park jurisdictions (Lory and Horsetooth), our kind sponsors and to Mother Nature for not raining us.

Our dedicated team of volunteers camped out in the mist on top of Towers Road. (Photo by Eric Lee.)

Maggie and Lindsay entertaining our 50 mile finishers at the last aid station with Tu point Tu miles to go. (Photo by Eric Lee)

Runners Roost is open from 10am to 9pm Mon-Sat and 10am to 6pm on Sunday.

Address
2720 Council Tree Avenue
Suite 112
Fort Collins, CO 80525

Packet pick up will be at Runners Roost on Friday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. The Roost is located at 2720 Council Tree Ave #112, just west of I-25 off the Harmony Rd exit. Pearl Izumi gear will be offered at 20% off during packet pick-up hours. If you can, we ask that you come by Friday to pick up your race gear to help smooth race day parking and sign in.

Bib numbers will be distributed race morning beginning at 4:00 a.m after Lory Park opens to race traffic. For those of you who can’t pick up packets Friday afternoon, EFS gel flasks will be distributed with your bibs in the morning.

Bob’s Coffee in Laporte will be open from 3:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. race day. Mention the race and they will take 15% off your order: 3522 County Road 54G, Laporte, CO 80535.

Parking passes will be distributed at packet pick up on Friday or by parking volunteers at the entrance to the park in the morning. Carpools will be given priority parking close to the start, all others will be directed down the main park road to loop left back towards the start on the Lodgepole Loop. Parking on Lodgepole will be on the side of the road. The earlier you get there, the closer to the start you’ll be parked.

The race will begin at 5:00 a.m. sharp, so we recommend you give yourself plenty of time to get your bib and do whatever it is you do to get ready to run 25/50 miles. Race packets, including T-shirts, will be available after you finish if you don’t pick up on Friday at The Roost.

Horsetooth drop bags must be dropped off by 4:45 a.m. There will be a short pre-race briefing five minutes before the start. Bib numbers have been assigned, if you want to pre-label your drop bag with name and race number.

Headlamps/flashlights will be necessary for the first 15-20 minutes of the race. There will be a drop box at the Arthurs East Valley Aid station at mile 2.2. Please label your light for post-race retrieval or keep it and drop it in your Horsetooth drop bag, if you prefer. Faster runners who might pass through Arthur’s before it is light enough to see can leave headlamps at the Towers aid, although we cannot guarantee that those will be back to the start/finish until that aid station packs up and returns later in the afternoon. We may try to make an arrangement for a drop at the Sawmill turn, but that is yet to be confirmed.

Aid station fare is detailed here.

Pateros Creek Brewery will be providing a special English Mild brew, ‘The 51st Mile,’ for the post-race BBQ. Please remember to bring an i.d. if you wish to partake. Runners will receive a meal ticket in their race packets. For those bringing family/friends who didn’t order extra meals when registering, food and brews will be available for $10 (cash). All proceeds will be donated to the Animal House Shelter along with race sponsorship funds from Countryside Vet. The race is also benefiting Larimer County Search and Rescue.

Lee Holiday and the Time Off will be playing at the post-race BBQ from 1:30 – 2:30 and 3:30 – 4:30.

In addition to the Pateros Creek recovery blend, First Endurance’s Ultragen recovery drink will be available post race, as will massage and PT help from Colorado Physical Therapists.

Trail conditions are currently stellar, if a little dry and dusty. Recent rain has helped firm things up. Weather for Saturday looks about as good as you could hope for – 60s and overcast, with just a slight chance of showers.

There will be an unmanned water drop at the intersection of Westridge and Timber between Arthurs aid and the Start/Finish.

Course markings will be pink ribbons, hung every 1/4 mile or so, with a run of three ribbons leading up to and beyond each turn. There will be glow sticks for the very early going in the dark.

Activities for family and friends:

Trails are open to everyone to enjoy all day; however, crewing outside of designated areas is not allowed. There is a BMX bike park right by the start/finish area, so bring a bike for the kids. Trails are also open to bikes. The reservoir is just a short walk down from the start/finish and there is a small cove ideal for paddling or submerging battered legs. There will be a half mile kids race (half (closed) road, half trail) beginning at 1:00 ish.

Crew access info is available here.

Early 25-mile finishers who want to shower before the post race can use the facilities at Horsetooth South Bay, located at the southern end of Horsetooth Reservoir off 38e by the Stout sign and shop. Showers are coin operated and cost $2. It is an approximately 15 minute drive to get there. Alternatively, a cold dunk in the reservoir is also available.

And, finally, if you have questions that can’t be answered here or on the race website, feel free to drop me a line and I’ll do my best to get back to you.

On behalf of Pete, myself and our outstanding battalion of volunteers, we look forward to seeing you all on Saturday.

Cheers!

Nick

We will meet at the official race start at the Soldier Canyon Trailhead in Lory State Park to run the first 25 mile loop.

Group start time is at 8am. Pete will be available at the start at 7:30am if anyone new to the area has questions or needs any additional information.

This is not a guided group run so every runner is free to run at their own pace and modify the route to run whatever distance they want. Our goal is to simply coordinate a common start time to give runners an opportunity to meet and run together. We usually get a very good turn out from the local trail running group on weekend runs so there is a good chance that any runner from out of the area will have a chance to buddy up with locals who know the trail systems. If you end up starting earlier or later or run at your own pace by yourself, there will be plenty of other trail runners out in the park to cross paths with throughout the day.

There is a $7 Day use fee to access Lory State Park. Feel free to join and post to the Fort Collins Trail Runners list if you want to try to coordinate a carpool.

Water will be available at the pump at the entrance to Lory State Park at the visitor center and at the Horsetooth Trailhead. Be prepared to carry water to cover the 10.5 miles from the start to Horsetooth and the 14.5 miles back to the finish.

The course will not be marked so please make sure that you have a map and review our course description for directions.

On race day, we will have aid station junctions staffed with volunteers and all turns will be well flagged. Without course markings there are a few tricky turns to make note of:

• At the top of the Horsetooth Rock trail, you will need to make a right to follow the Wathan sign post and then keep to your left to continue straight through to the Westridge trail that takes you back to Towers.
• Halfway down the descent on Mill Creek, there is a sharp left hand turn to continue on course down Mill Creek. If you’re moving fast, the right turn onto Loggers looks like the obvious route and will add significant bonus miles to your training run.
• After entering Lory State park at the end of Mill Creek, take the right turn to follow the Mill Creek link to the Arthur’s Trailhead. When you exit the Trailhead, start up the Arthur’s Rock trail and take a sharp left turn about half a mile up the trail in the meadow to connect to Howard.

For longer or shorter options, here are a couple suggestions:

19.8 Miles: Start out and follow the 25 mile route through to the Arthur’s Rock Trailhead (Mile 17.6). Skip the last climb around Arthur’s Rock and return to the finish on the 2.2 miles up the East Valley Trail.

34.6 Miles: Run the full 25 mile loop. Turn around and run the next section of the second loop back to the Arthur’s Rock Trailhead (mile 32.4). Return to the finish on the 2.2 miles up the East Valley Trail.

If anyone has questions, feel free to email me at pete@gnarrunners.com.

Pete

I ran the course in the middle of a very high volume block of training on very, very tired legs so my pace for the day was much slower than my normal training pace and significantly slower than what I would have run fully tapered and rested for a race. I also didn’t have the extra benefit of aid stations with more frequent water refills and volunteer help. I jogged the easy sections and downhills and hiked every steep uphill on the course and finished the full course in 12 hours and 24 minutes. For runners who normally finish toward the back of races and close to course cut-offs, the 14 hour race cut-off for the 50 mile event will be tight but not an unreasonable goal.

Based on my 50 mile pace, I’ve estimated the following splits for a 14 hour finish time:

The pacing splits for each section should be fairly accurate based on my own actual running time on the course. This pacing plan includes a very generous amount of aid station time which I think most experienced runners can significantly reduce. While 3-5 minutes at an aid stop doesn’t sound like much, if you know what you need ahead of time you can be moving through aid stations in under 2 minutes with the help of volunteers to fill your bottles or pack/grab whatever snacks you need from the table.

I’ve included very generous 10 minute stops at the 25 mile turn around and the last stop at the Horsetooth aid station. At this point in the race, you may need to pick up extra backup fuel from your drop bags and/or change clothing layers depending on the weather. I highly suggest minimizing your time at the mile 25 stop and mentally preparing yourself to get in and out and on the trail for the climb back up to Arthur’s Rock. The section from mile 25 to the Towers aid station at mile 35.8 is the toughest of the course both mentally and physically. But trust me, if you stick it out and get yourself past the Mill Creek climb and into the home stretch, you’ll be rewarded with a very enjoyable and satisfying cruise to the finish.

Aside from minimizing aid station time, you just need to keep moving efficiently. As long as you’re hiking the uphills, you’re making progress. Make sure that you maintain focus and run every downhill and flat section. The course doesn’t have many flat miles but there are a lot of long switchbacks and traverses that are easily runnable if you stay focused and take advantage of them.

If anyone has any questions about the course or pacing strategy, feel free to email me directly at pete@gnarrunners.com. This is a tough course and not everyone will be able to finish the full 50 miles, but we want to make sure that we give everyone the support and information they need to have the best chance at success.

Pete

The Fort Collins Runners Roost exemplifies the mission of the local running store. Steve Cathcart and his team of knowledgeable staff are passionate about running and the running community, and this shines through at all levels of the sport from youth to elite and from roads to trail.

Next time you’re considering an online running purchase, remember that these guys are part of the lifeblood of our running community, and they offer the kind of invaluable advice on products, training and local running that you just can’t get from an online retailer out in who-knows-where land. Buy local folks!

We are also excited to welcome Highgear as a sponsor. The accumulated course elevation gain/ descent was measured with a Highgear Axio HR and we’ll be giving the same watches away as overall, age group and raffle prizes.

Highgear watches offer accurate altimeter, barometric pressure and compass readings, in addition to traditional chronograph/split functions among many other regular watch features. They are absolutely indispensable for adventurous long outings in the mountains.

Age group winners in the 50-mile race will receive a pair of Pearl Izumi shoes, and second and third a pair of Smith sunglasses. For a full list of prizes, please visit the awards page.

Headquartered just 50 miles south of Fort Collins in Louisville, CO, Pearl Izumi has been an industry leader for years in the outdoor apparel market. Known primarily as a high-quality cycling apparel company, in the last ten years Pearl has been making significant headway into the running world with innovative, performance-oriented shoes and clothing.

All race entrants will receive a high quality, gender-specific Pearl Izumi tech T-shirt emblazoned with a wonderful race design as part of their race entry. In addition, age-group winners will receive a free pair of Pearl Izumi shoes as part of their prize package.

For full-on, let-’er-rip trail performance, we recommend the Peak II as your racing shoe. If you want to save the quads a little, then try the Fuel Trail.

Shop for Pearl Izumi at REI.com

In other news, runners from the Front Range were treated to a snowy preview of many parts of the course on December 10 at the second annual Chubby Cheeks Fat Ass 50k, hosted from the home of race director Nick Clark. Check out the report for images from the day and the race course. Or check out a little video action from the course before the snow began to fly:

]]> http://gnarrunners.com/2011/12/registration-open/feed/ 0 http://gnarrunners.com/2011/11/first-endurance-efs-liquid-shot/ http://gnarrunners.com/2011/11/first-endurance-efs-liquid-shot/#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:04:12 +0000 Nick http://gnarrunners.com/?p=257 Continue reading →]]> First Endurance will be the official fueling partner of the Quad Rock 50.

As part of our mission to offer a quality racing experience with as minimal an impact on the resources hosting us as possible, we are working to partner with companies that can help reduce packaging, waste and littering.

Not only is EFS Liquid Shot a fueling product that co-race director Nick Clark uses, believes in and endorses, but the handheld flask that it comes in helps reduce packaging waste, encourages recycling and reuse, and eliminates on-course gel pack littering.

Each runner will receive a 5oz flask containing 400 calories of supercharged EFS endurance formula to begin the race. Refills from larger 30-ounce jugs will be available at each aid station along the course, ensuring that runners are properly fueled for the duration of their race.

More on EFS Liquid Shot:

It’s called a liquid shot because it doesn’t contain gelling agents that can slow down absorption and digestion. Features include First Endurance’s proprietary 400-calorie endurance formula that boasts over 1500mg electrolytes, 1000mg amino acids and 100 grams of simple & complex carbohydrates, all in clinically effective doses. Plus, it’s packaged in an easy-to-use, resealable, refillable, and fully recyclable container.

We encourage entrants to try and train with EFS Liquid Shot before race day. First Endurance is offering an exclusive discount to Quad Rock runners.

Click here and use Coupon Code RUN100 to get 20% off your order from First Endurance.

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