With a week to go until the 7th 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, but as we’ve learned from previous years, anything can happen. It’s spring time in the Rockies. Be prepared for heat, cold, sun, or rain. 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 will be following the same 2017 re-route this year due to an eagle-nesting closure on the Spring Creek trail. The re-route 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 than the original route, 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 on site demo’ing their latest offerings, including the new S/LAB Ultra. Altitude Running will be offering 15% off any Salomon or Drymax Socks products bought at the store. There will also be a coupon on the back of your race bib that is good for 15% off Drymax and Salomon products bought at the store after the race.
Bibs will not be handed out at Friday packet pickup. If you can, we ask that you come by Friday to pick up your race shirt, schwag, and any pre-ordered merchandise 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 – 5:00 for 50 milers and from 6:00 – 7:30 for 25 milers.
The 50 mile race will begin at 5:30am and the 25 mile race will begin at 8:00am.
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.
**New Soldier Turnaround Aid Station for 50 Milers**
50 Milers will not check through the finish line at the 25 mile Soldier Canyon Aid station. All 50 Milers will be directed to the new aid location next to the shed by the race start to check in and out after the first lap. Drop out times will be recorded and 25 mile finisher awards will be handed out at the aid station for any 50 miler who decides to stop after the first lap. Drop outs should not run through the finish line to avoid confusing our timing staff.
**New 25 Mile Early Start Option**
If you think you will need more than 9 hours to finish the 25 mile race, you can start with the 50 milers at 5:30am. Arthur’s Aid Station at mile 17.5 will close at the 50 mile cut off at 2:10pm and anyone over a 9 hour pace will not make make it on time.
Please email racedirector@gnarrunners.com to request the 5:30am start option.
Bib numbers must be worn on the front and visible at all times. Please do not remove, fold, or pin your bib tag – this will be used for your official finish time.
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 50-mile 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 (while spots last). 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 Spur Road. Parking on the Lodgepole Spur Road 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.
**Horsetooth trailhead parking is not guaranteed for crews as it is a very busy trailhead that fills early every weekend. If you need any specific items that aren’t provided by our aid station, make sure you include them in your drop bag.**
Bib numbers will be assigned on the Ultrasignup entrant list and on OpenSplitTime by end of day 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.
This year at the post-race BBQ we will have beer from New Belgium Brewing (Fat Tire Amber Ale). 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, Boulder Organic Soup, Mary’s Mountain Cookies, Great Harvest buns, fruit, and lots of other goodies.
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 (gnar_runners, #QR50), and we will be attempting to publish aid station split updates to OpenSplitTime.org; however, 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.
** Please note that if the weather is nice, both Lory State Park and Horsetooth Mountain Park may reach capacity. Parking space at Horsetooth or Arthur’s trailheads is not guaranteed. Crews and spectators are highly encouraged to meet at the starting line after the start of each race to try to carpool together to the Horsetooth aid station.
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!
Top Tier Sponsors
Race Support
