With a week to go until the 6th running of the Quad Rock 50 & 25 Mile Trail Races, here are some final thoughts and instructions:
Weather: The current forecast is looking pretty good, with mid-week moisture giving way to clearer skies for the weekend. Race day looks like it could be on the hot side, so come prepared for that, but as we’ve learned from previous years, anything can happen. It’s spring time in the Rockies. Should there be any weather-related last minute changes, details will be emailed to participants, published on our blog, and posted on Facebook.
Course Conditions: The trails are currently in great shape, the park is green and the creeks are flowing. We have a slight re-route this year due to an eagle-nesting closure on the Spring Creek trail. The reroute around the closure on the Herrington & Stout trails will add a mile to the section between the Towers and Horsetooth aid stations. To compensate, we are taking a mile out of the course in the opening section of the race from the start to Towers. Mileage will be almost exactly the same and there will be a net loss of 200 of vertical gain per lap. Time-wise the course may be a touch quicker, but the re-route adds a mile of technical singletrack and removes a mile of dirt road so it’s pretty much a wash.
Pre-race packet pick up will be held at Altitude Running on Friday from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at 150 East Harmony Road just north and east of the Harmony/College intersection on the south side of town. Race partner Salomon Running will be offering a gift with the purchase of any pair of Salomon shoes at packet pickup. There is also an Altitude Running coupon on the back of your race bib that is good for 15% off any Salomon or Drymax Socks products bought at the store.
We are chip timing the race this year so bibs will be handed out at Friday packet pickup. If you can, we ask that you come by Friday to pick up your bib and race gear to help smooth race day check in. Those of you that can’t pick up your bib and packet Friday afternoon can do so in the morning from 4:00 – 5:15 for 50 milers and from 6:00 – 7:45 for 25 milers.
The 50 mile race will begin at 5:30 a.m. and the 25 mile race will begin at 8:00am. The official race start will be on gun time. You will be directed over a timing mat shortly after the start to be officially recorded as a starter and confirmed on course.
If you wish to switch from the 50 mile race to the official 25 mile race start at 8am, please notify us by the end of packet pickup on Friday.
50 mile starters who drop out at 25 miles will receive a finish time and finisher award but will not be eligible for overall or age group awards.
Bib numbers must be worn on the front and visible at all times. Do not remove, fold, or damage the attached chip tag on the back of your bib.
We will be at full capacity on Saturday, so we recommend that you give yourself plenty of time to park (up to a mile away from check-in), get your bib, and get ready to run. If you can carpool, please do. Not only is it one less vehicle on the road but it helps reduce stress on Lory State Park’s limited parking infrastructure, and it gets you priority parking near the start.
There are park toilets at the Timber parking lot, at the top of the Soldier Canyon parking lot, at the bottom of the Soldier Canyon lot near the start, and at the South Eltuck trailhead at the far end of the spur road which overflow cars will be parked on. We will also have port-a-johns near the start/finish (always the longest line).
Parking passes will be distributed by parking volunteers at the entrance to the park in the morning. Make sure your pass is visible on your dash. Vehicles without a park pass may be ticketed.
Lory State Park will be open for parking at 4am. Carpools of two or more participants for both races will be given priority parking close to the start at the Soldier Canyon trailhead. All others will be directed first to the Timber trailhead parking area and then down the main park road to loop left back towards the start on the Lodgepole Loop. Parking on Lodgepole will be on the right (east) side of the road. The earlier you get there, the closer to the start you’ll be parked. Directions and parking details are here.
Horsetooth drop bags (mile 10.3 and 39.5) must be dropped off by 5:00 a.m. before the 50 mile race start. 25 Mile runners may drop off a Horsetooth drop bag at Friday packet pickup. Finish drop bags may be left any time before each race start.
Bib numbers will be assigned on the Ultrasignup entrant list by Wednesday if you want to pre-label your drop bag with name and race number. Horsetooth drop bags will be returned to the start/finish at about 5:00pm after the aid station team returns to the finish. It is a 20 minute drive from Lory to Horsetooth if you need to pick up your drop bag before then.
Aid station fare is detailed here. VFuel gel will be served from bulk containers, so we recommend that you carry a 5oz flask (or similar) if you want to use aid station gels. We will also have dixie cups at the aid stations for gel ‘shooters.’
This year at the post-race BBQ we will have beer from New Belgium Brewing (Fat Tire Amber Ale) and a refreshing raspberry weiss from Intersect Brewing. Runners will receive a meal ticket with their finisher mug. For those bringing family/friends who didn’t order extra meals when registering, food and a beer will be available for a $10 donation to our race beneficiary (cash/check). First beer is free for everyone, we then ask that you make a cash donation for additional beers. Our BBQ will be well stocked with burgers, brats, Amy’s vegan burgers, vegan quinoa salad from the Fort Collins Food Co-Op, Mary’s Mountain Cookies, Trader Joe’s fruit, Great Harvest buns, Eldorado Vitamin Water, Morning Fresh Dairy Chocolate Milk, and lots of other goodies. All BBQ proceeds will be donated to the Teaching Tree Early Childhood Learning Center.
Salomon Running will be on hand after the race demo’ing their trail running line up. Check out the back of your race bib for an Altitude Running offer on Salomon shoes and also Drymax socks. Also check out your bib for an offer from our physical therapy partners, Colorado in Motion. During the awards and raffle, we’ll be giving away some great stuff from those sponsors and other race sponsors.
Course markings will be pink ribbons, hung every 1/4 mile or so, with additional marking at all junctions. Flour markings and/or pink pin flags will supplement at key intersections.
Limited in-race updates will be via the Gnar Twitter feed, and we will be attempting to publish updates to OpenSplitTime.org; however, this is our first year trying to update the race with live splits, and data connections can be fickle at Lory, so please have patience if this doesn’t work out quite as planned.
Activities for family and friends:
Trails are open to everyone to enjoy all day; however, crewing outside of designated aid stations is not allowed. There is a BMX bike park right by the start/finish area, so feel free to bring a bike for the kids (or yourself). Trails are also open to bikes. The reservoir is just a short walk down from the start/finish area and there is a small cove ideal for paddling or submerging battered legs. The Healthy Smile, Dirty Feet One Mile Kids Race (half (closed) road, half trail) – sponsored by long-time race supporter Justin Liddle DMD – will begin at 2:00 from the race start.
Crew access info is available here.
And, finally, if you have questions that can’t be answered here or on the race website, feel free to drop us a line and we’ll do our best to get back to you.
We look forward to seeing you all on Saturday.
Cheers!
Pete & Nick
racedirector@gnarrunners.com
Gnar Runners Event Management
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