Before we set you on your way next weekend, we want to bring to your attention some final race instructions and reminders.
New This Year
- There is no crew parking on Highway 14. All parking for the Diamond Peaks aid station will be on the Lake Agnes access road adjacent to the aid station. Please follow the cones to cross the highway safely at our staffed crossing points.
- The Canadian aid station has been moved a quarter mile north and will be located at the junction of the Clear Lake Road and the Yurt Trail.
- Night-time markings will be a mix of reflective tape and LED lights.
- Runners finishing the race in under 23 hours will be eligible for the Western States 100 lottery.
- An active and large wildfire (Beaver Creek) is currently burning some 30-35 miles northwest of the northern perimeter of the course. Prevailing winds have been blowing smoke to the north, northeast into Wyoming, but if winds are blowing in a southeasterly direction in the days leading up to the race and on race day, there may be some air quality issues.
Safety and Communications:
The event is taking place in a remote and mountainous part of Northern Colorado. As such, runner safety is our number one concern. We will be tracking runners via ham radio communications at every aid station, so please be sure to check your bib number with volunteers at each and every stop along the way. If you need to drop out, you *must* notify the closest aid station captain before you leave the course. If you don’t officially check out of the race, we will assume you are missing on course.
For added safety, we will have first responders at every aid station and a team of backcountry paramedics located at strategic points along the course. It would be helpful to write any allergies or medical conditions on the back of your race bib to aid first responders in assessing any given situation in the unlikely event of emergency.
There is cell phone coverage (at least with Verizon) in most high areas with a clear view to the west so runners who carry phones can get messages out to crew periodically and may be able to make a call in the case of emergency. Potential hazards on course include: high altitude; steep, technical and rough terrain; downed trees and other obstacles; cattle & wildlife (watch out for moose!); significant temperature changes from daytime heat to overnight cold; storms and lightning; and dense vegetation that may trigger allergic reactions.
Our 24 hour cut off is generous and should allow everyone enough time to get to the finish safely. With that in mind, we ask that you watch out for your fellow runners on course and run a smart and safe race.
Highway Crossings:
There are two crossings of Highway 14 during the course of the race. One at mile 18, just before the Diamond aid station, and one at mile 62 just before the Ranger Lakes aid station. Traffic will not stop for runners and cars and trucks may be traveling in excess of 55 MPH (the posted speed limit). Runners are required to follow the instructions of road crossing volunteers who will be directing you safely across the road.
There will be *no crew parking* on the hard shoulder of Hwy 14 this year at the Diamond Peaks aid station. All parking will be on the side of the Lake Agnes Road adjacent to the crew area. Crew are asked to follow cones to the designated road crossing area and to follow instructions from our road safety volunteers.
Course Markings:
The route will be well marked with white-striped pink flagging; pink and white pin flags; black and yellow turn signs; and flour at key turns. Night-time marking from the Clear Lake aid station to the finish will be a combination of white reflectors and LED lights. In addition, flagging for this section will change to red with shiny silver stripes designed to reflect light in the dark. For nighttime navigation, we recommend as powerful a light setup as you have. And don’t forget backup lighting and batteries.
Parts of the course involve cross country travel. In these areas there will be flagging in line of sight at all times, so all runners who pay attention should have absolutely no problem staying on course. On more obvious parts of the course, confidence markers will be hung approximately every quarter mile and at every trail or road junction. With that said, there are many game trails, cow paths, and logging cuts in parts of the course that could lead you astray if you’re not paying attention. Never assume and always follow the course markings.
Detailed maps and turn-by-turn directions are available to print out from the race website and the full course GPX file is available by request (email: pete@gnarrunners.com) – it wouldn’t hurt to have this backup information with you if you are not familiar with the area. Please remember to print the information you need before leaving for the race. We will not have hard copies available to hand out to all runners at the start and will not have the ability to download and print documents on site.
Tricky Turns:
The right turn off the Montgomery Road onto the Yurt trail at approximately mile 26 (~9,600?) is easily missed if you zone out coming down the jeep road from the Medicine Bow Ridge. It will be heavily flagged and flour’ed, but if you get to the Montgomery Yurts, you have gone too far. Turn around and retrace a third of a mile.
There may be a short overlap (for an eighth of a mile) between the first and last runners on the Ruby Jewel Rd (mile ~29 out, ~53 back). Runners heading outbound (north) from the Montgomery Aid to the Ruby Jewel Aid will turn right onto the Ruby Jewel road and proceed right up the road to the Yurt aid station. Front runners coming south from the Canadian Yurt will turn right to head down the Ruby Jewel Road towards the turn for the Lumberjack Trail. This junction will be heavily and unambiguously marked (likely with a course marshal), so there should be no cause for confusion. Nonetheless, everyone should be aware of these junctions to make sure that you can follow the route without guidance from a volunteer.
Drop Bags
We have 5 aid stations where you can leave a drop bag with essential supplies that you are unable to get from our aid stations. Drop bags can be left at the start on race morning and during Friday check in. Please keep your bags to a reasonable size (small duffel bag or stuff sack) as volunteers will need to transport these for you. Please do not use coolers, buckets, or other hard plastic containers and do not pack any breakable glass or valuables in your drop bags.
Parking
We have a limited amount of parking at the start/finish at the Gould Community Center. To help make race morning check in run smoothly and limit traffic, we encourage runners to carpool if possible. Please feel free to post to our race event page on Facebook to coordinate carpools from the Crags, Ranger Lakes, Gould, Michigan, Bockman, or other nearby camps or cabins.
https://www.facebook.com/events/843709709079120/
Crew Details ):
The route and all access points are entirely within the boundaries of State Forest State Park, so all crew vehicles are required to purchase a park pass ($7) in order to access crew areas if they do not have an annual Colorado State Parks pass. Passes are available at the main park entrance, the Moose Visitor Center, or at the self-pay station on the Lake Agnes Road.
To save parking space at the start, we ask that crews drop off runners at the entrance to the Gould Community Center (the start area) and park .5 miles west at the Moose Visitor Center and walk over on the short connector trail. Crews can use the extra parking at the Visitor Center after hours before 9am and after 5pm. In the unlikely event that we run out of parking space at the finish, there is another large parking turn out off the highway about 1 mile to the east of the start that connects with the Gould trail leading to the finish.
Parking is allowed anywhere on park roads as long as vehicles do not block traffic and do not block any access gates.
Important crew notes:
- Diamond Aid: all crew parking will be on the Lake Agnes access road adjacent to the aid station. There is absolutely no parking on Hwy 14.
- Ruby Jewel: Crew vehicles are permitted to drive a mile up the Ruby Jewel Rd as far as the junction with the Francisco Loop Forest Road (a left turn off Ruby Jewel Rd). Parking will be on the side of Ruby Jewel Rd (below Francisco Rd) or on the side of Francisco Road, but will not be allowed on the Ruby Jewel Road past the Francisco Road. Please park as tightly to the side of the road as possible so all additional park visitor traffic and race vehicles can pass through unimpeded. From the Francisco Road, it is a little less than a mile hike/run up the Ruby Jewel Road to the aid location and crew access point at the Ruby Jewel Yurt. Additional parking space is available at the start of the Ruby Jewel Rd off of the main park road 41. It is just under 2 miles to the aid station from 41.
- Crew vehicles should not enter the Bockman campground (near the Bockman aid station) – especially after dark – unless they have a camp spot. We will have a port-a-john at the aid location. Additionally, there is a public bathroom and water on the main park road by the Michigan Reservoir.
- Dogs with crew must be leashed at all times. Please keep dogs out of the aid stations and out of the runner lanes to avoid interfering with volunteers or tripping runners.
Pacing ):
Pacers are allowed starting at the Clear Lake aid station (mile 39.4 or 43.9). Runners over 60 can pick up a pacer at the Ruby Jewel aid station. Clear Lake access is a 5 mile hike/run in from the trailhead at the north end of the main park road (CO 41). Pacers heading to Clear Lake to pace should be made aware that there is a junction a little over a mile from the trailhead that indicates a left for trail access to Clear Lake and a right for road access. The quickest way to the aid location is to take the right fork following the forest road. This could be somewhat confusing as course markers will be coming in from the left off the trail (the race route from Clear Lake to the next aid station). If pacers follow the course markings and trail to the aid location (i.e. take a left at the junction), the run/hike in will be closer to 7.5 miles.
If you plan to have a pacer meet you at the Canadian Yurt aid station, the hike in is less than a mile and the aid station will be located at the junction of the Clear Lake Road and the Canadian Yurt Trail.
The Bockman aid station is accessible from the park road, and is about a half mile shy of the Bockman Campground. If you have somebody pacing you from Bockman, try to arrange a carpool to avoid crowding the area with too many parked cars. The aid station is just a small pull off on the Bockman Rd.
Pacers are there to provide company, moral support, but are primarily allowed for added safety for runners after dark. Muling (schlepping runner gear) and crewing outside of designated aid stations, or providing any other assistance is not allowed.
Pacers may not have extra drop bags – any extra items that a pacer needs must be packed in the runner’s drop bag.
Pacers should plan to bring whatever water and food that they need while waiting for their runner to arrive. While on course with their runner, pacers may make full use of our aid stations.
Race and Aid Station Pacing:
Results and aid station splits from last year are available here: .
Pete’s pacing spreadsheet/calculator with course notes from a run through prior to last year’s inaugural race are available here:
Awards and Runner Breakfast
We will be offering a fully catered breakfast during the awards and prize giving on Sunday morning, beginning at 9am. Finisher awards will be handed out at this time. We encourage you to come and enjoy the breakfast with your fellow competitors and race volunteers. If you cannot make it in the morning, finisher awards will also be available at the finish, so please check in there before you leave.
Breakfast is free to all runners and volunteers. Friends and family are welcome to join too and are asked to make a $10 donation if extra meal tickets have not been purchased in advance.
Thank You:
We want to thank you for registering to run the Never Summer 100km. We have received considerable support from friends, family, volunteers and sponsors in bringing this second running of the race to fruition. We would like to extend a huge thank you to all those who have helped get the course ready and who will be out volunteering on race day. Please remember to thank those out there helping you achieve your goals.
We also encourage you to consider the products and services of our sponsors:
Top Tier
Race Support
Product and Service Support
- VFuel
- New Belgium Brewing
- Mary’s Mountain Cookies
- Great Harvest Bread Company
- Erin Bibeau Photography
- Trader Joes
- Ultimate Direction
- Squirrels Nut Butter
- Real Athlete Diets
And, finally, if you have questions that can’t be answered here or on the race website, feel free to email us at racedirector@gnarrunners.com and we’ll do our best to get back to you. We will have limited internet access on site at the race so we may not be able to respond to all emails or Facebook posts after Thursday 7/21.
We look forward to seeing you up in the Northern Colorado Rockies next weekend!
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Michigan Man’s ready to go!