Join us June 9, 16, 23 & 30th for a fun series of shorter midweek trail races. Our goal is to offer a fun, low-key series of races designed to give newer trail runners an opportunity to dip their toes into the trail racing waters, and to offer more experienced trail racers a chance to sharpen their speed on shorter, quicker courses. All races will start between 6:00pm and 6:15pm, ranging in distance from 5k to 12k. See full details here.

Registration

In order to reduce crowding at the start and to be able to cap our numbers at 50 as approved by the Larimer County Health Department and Lory State Park, all participants will be required to pre-register. There will be no race-day registration. We will be offering a rolling wave start from 6:00 through 6:15. Results will be tabulated according to chip times, with series points awarded based on finish times. Top series finishers will earn unique awards.

We’ll have a wide selection of vintage Gnar race shirts, and all registrants are welcome to their pick to call their own.

After each race, we will be providing pizza with support from the Fort Collins Running Club and beverages with support from New Belgium Brewing. Appropriate food and beverage distribution measures will be put in place to ensure safety. Full safety measures and protocols are viewable here and will be communicated to race participants in pre-race emails. 

Race dates and distance are as follows:

June 9: Flat and Fast Eltuck Valley 5k (250′ elevation gain)
June 16: Into the Hills Eltuck 5k (700′ elevation gain)
June 23: Into the Hills Eltuck 10k (1,700′ elevation gain)
June 30: Flat and Fast Eltuck Valley 12k (500′ elevation gain)

We are continuing to evaluate the COVID-19 situation and how it will affect plans for the Never Summer 100km (NS100) on July 25/26. You likely have seen announcements from races scheduled for dates before NS100 that plan to go ahead, as well as from races scheduled for dates after NS100 that have already been cancelled. Public health recommendations in Colorado and Jackson County continue to evolve as more data becomes available, and we believe there is still time to wait and see how guidance evolves before we make final decisions on the status of the 2020 race.

As regular race participants ourselves, we are committed to delivering a race if we believe it can be done safely and in accordance with guidance from state and county public health officials. Based on recent discussions with our main permitting partner at State Forest State Park, we are still hoping and planning to hold a version of NS100 on its scheduled date. We will re-evaluate our plans and decision timelines based on guidance issued after the May 27th expiration of the current ‘Safer at Home’ phase of Colorado’s re-opening plan, and issue further communication and decision timelines by the week of June 1.  

If the race does go forward, you will enjoy the usual beautiful course – but every other aspect of the race can and will likely have significant changes.

If the race does not proceed on July 25-26, current entrants will have the option to:

• Receive 100% transfer credit toward Never Summer 2021
• Receive 75% transfer credit toward any of our other events
• Run the race virtually
  • Both transfer credit options are available starting today, out of respect for runners who wish to withdraw before our own final decision is made. If you would like to request a transfer, please contact: registration@gnarrunners.com

If public health recommendations are such that the race cannot proceed on its original date, we anticipate the safe weather window to end before the pandemic threat lessens enough for an event of our size, so postponement will not be an option.

If Never Summer does take place in July, it will likely include:

• Wave Starts
• Strict limitations and/or cancellations of pre- and post-race activities
• Limitations on crews and pacers
• Drop bag service for every possible aid station
• Individual servings at aid stations (no communal bowls/plates)
• Gloves for every volunteer and hand sanitizer on every table
  And other steps as appropriate – your recommendations are welcome!

As ultrarunners ourselves, we are doing our best to strike a balance between doing right by you and ensuring we have the capacity to continue Never Summer next year and beyond. Please contact us any time with questions.

Brad Bishop & Nick Clark
Gnar Runners

P.S. Wash your hands

After the latest round of data and recommendations from public health agencies, we have decided in partnership with our permitting partners at Lory State Park and Horsetooth Mountain Park that the best course of action is to postpone the date of the 2020 Quad Rock 50/25mi to August 15.

On Monday, Colorado Governor Jared Polis issued an extension of the current state-wide stay-at-home order until April 26. While we agree with his optimism that life can begin returning to normal past that date, we feel that we can neither adequately prepare for Quad Rock in that shortened window nor safely conduct the event on its originally scheduled date of May 9.

With help from learned friends, we understand the latest data trends from the CDC indicate that by late summer events like Quad Rock could proceed safely. We will continue monitoring the situation, and implement safety procedures as necessary. Depending on the transfer rate, we may explore adding an additional shorter distance on race day. 

Registered runners have four options:

1. Stay registered for Quad Rock 2020 on August 15 (No Action Required)
2. Receive 100% transfer credit toward Quad Rock 2021 (Email Required) 
3. Receive 75% transfer credit toward any of our other 2020/21 events (Email Required)
4. Run a Virtual Quad Rock during the month of May, practicing appropriate social distancing, and receive finisher race swag (Email Required) 

Registered runners, please email registration@gnarrunners.com if you’d like to take advantage of one of the transfer credit options or complete the race as a virtual run. If you wish to stay registered for August, no response is necessary.

Transfers, please reply by June 1. We will return to our normal registration policy after that date. Virtual runners, please reply by May 1. We will begin extending invitations to runners on the waitlist May 1. If the August postponement date becomes non-viable due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns, the above transfer & virtual options will be extended until September 1.

Again, thank you to all our runners, volunteers, crews and community for your patience as we navigate these unknowns. We are thinking of you each day. Stay safe, and we’ll see you on the other side.

Brad Bishop & Nick Clark
Gnar Runners

P.S. Wash your hands

We are all weighing the unknown right now, as the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted nearly every level of each of our lives. As race directors, our small event is greatly outweighed by our concern for the health of our community and the quickest possible return to normalcy.

Quad Rock’s scheduled date of May 9 lies right on the outer edge of the current 8-week window recommended by the CDC for cancellation of large events. We are in constant contact with our permitting agencies, and monitoring recommendations from public health administrations.

We are continuing to prepare as if the race will occur on May 9.

If higher authorities do not make the decision for us, we will make the final go/no-go decision on Monday, April 27.

If the race does not proceed on May 9, we are working to postpone rather than cancel, targeting a mid-August date. Current entrants will have the option to:

• Stay registered for the Quad Rock 2020 makeup date later this year
• Receive 100% transfer credit toward Quad Rock 2021
• Receive 75% transfer credit toward any of our other events
• Both transfer credit options are available starting today, out of respect for runners who wish to withdraw before our own final decision is made. If you would like to request a transfer, please contact: registration@gnarrunners.com

We are taking the precautionary step of discontinuing invitations from the waitlist. With the high degree of uncertainty, we do not feel comfortable taking additional registrations until a decision is made. If the event proceeds, invitations to cover any open entry slots will go out on April 27. Wait list invitees will only be charged if they accept the invitation.

If Quad Rock does take place in May, it will include:

• Drop bag service for every aid station
• Individual servings at aid stations (no communal bowls/plates)
• Gloves for every volunteer and hand sanitizer on every table
  And other steps as appropriate – your recommendations are welcome!

As ultrarunners ourselves, we are doing our best to strike a balance between doing right by you and ensuring we have the capacity to continue Quad Rock next year and beyond. Please contact us any time with questions.

Brad Bishop & Nick Clark
Gnar Runners

P.S. Wash your hands

We’re now less than 2 months out from race day.  We hope everyone’s training has been enjoyable and productive!  A few updates:

Quad Rock Preview Run – Sat, April 6 – Lory State Park

Led by Gnar Team members, multiple options to preview most (or all) of the Quad Rock course with a potluck BBQ after the run!

Also, most Saturdays leading up to the Quad Rock 50m/25m, Fort Collins Trail Runners will continue to organize training runs on the race course. This Saturday, join us for the annual March Mileage Madness circumnavigation of Horsetooth Reservoir – 21-34mi.

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Gnar Gnight @ Altitude Running

Wednesday, April 3 – join us at 6p for a run from the store, followed by a casual social hour to learn more about the course, meet with the race directors and previous finishers, and get all your ultra and trail running questions answered.  Mark your calendars, and watch our Facebook page for more details.

Please take this SURVEY on your trail/running gear needs to help Altitude Running better understand and stock the kinds of products you’d like to see in the store. As a token of their appreciation, Altitude will be offering 20% off everything in store at the April 3 event.

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New 2019 Start Time

If you have run Quad Rock in the past, please pay special attention – we have shifted this year’s 25 mile start time an hour earlier (7:00am).  This is to keep more runners out of the heat of the day and reduce crowding during the park’s busiest time.

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Soldier Canyon Construction

The start/finish area may have some changes this year.  Lory State Park is constructing a new pavilion in Soldier Canyon, which may or may not be ready on race day.  We will still start and finish at Soldier Canyon, but may need to move the main setup to the back circle, east of the start line.  Stay tuned for details.

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Wet Route

In the event trail conditions are wet/muddy on race day, we do have an approved alternate course.  It is 95% similar to our main route; it just avoids the most easily damaged sections of the course (valley trails).  We’ll make sure to update you on race week if it looks like the alternate may come into play.

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Transfers, Deferrals & Distance Changes

We want everyone to arrive at the start line healthy & ready to rock.  Unfortunately, we know that may not happen for some of you.

The 25 mile distance is currently sold out.  As long as there are runners on the wait list, we offer race transfer credits according to the following schedule:

Until April 15: 75% credit of registration fee (excluding Ultrasignup fees).

April 16–May 4: 50% credit of registration fee (excluding Ultrasignup fees).

Credits may be applied to any future Gnar Runners race and will be valid for 12 months.

If we do not have runners on the wait list available to accept a transfer entry, then unfortunately we will not be able to offer transfers or credits.

For more details, please see the registration page. If you need to cancel your entry, please contact us at registration@gnarrunners.com.

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Volunteer!

We’re looking for fun, friendly folks to join us as volunteers for the race.  If you have friends or family coming who’d be interested, or you have to withdraw but still want to be part of the event, we’d love to have you as part of the crew!

View our available volunteer shifts and register to join our team.