Letter from the Race Director - Ultra Running Rules
Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 9:17AM I received an email last night from the awesome Joe Prusaitis, RD of the Rocky Raccoon and many other kick-ass ultra running events. It was packed with some juicy details. Here's the fun parts -
On headphones:
NO HEADPHONES, IPODS, or any other electronic device that plays music is allowed to be attached to you while you run. I WILL DISQUALIFY ANY PERSON CAUGHT WEARING ONE.
On aid stations:
All aid stations are all are staffed by ultra veterans and will provide the standard ultra fare. Water, Coke, Gatorade, PB&J, potatoes, salt snacks, sugar snacks, cookies, chips, & pretzels. Hot food at night. Cold food during the day. Every aid station will have a large propane stove going all night.
On getting lost:
All runners who do not finish the race must turn in their race bib & chip. I need to know if you have left the course. Otherwise, when you come up missing, I’ll think you’re lost out there in the park, and this will initiate a search (which you will pay for).
On pacers:
Pacers are allowed to start from any aid station after 60 miles: only one pacer at a time per runner. No mule-ing. Each runner must carry their own gear. Pacers are welcome at all the aid stations, same as their runner. If age 60+, you can have a pacer the entire 100mi. Waivers will be available and must be signed at packet pickup or at Dogwood. If you choose to start pacing at DamNation, you need to walk there.
On weather:
The night time is deceptive. Its very damp and humid in this area near the gulf coast, so when it gets down near freezing, its much worse than it is in a less humid region. The damp cold goes through every bit of clothes you have on. Dont be fooled because this is Texas. The cold at night in this area gets pretty nasty at times. Hopefully, we get lucky, but I would plan for the worst if I were you.
On cutoffs:
The 100mi cutoff is 30 hours. But, I see no reason to stop any 50mi runner while we are still supporting the 100milers. The 50milers can continue as long as the 100milers are running. This means the 50milers have a 29 hour cutoff. There are also intermediate cutoffs beginning at 6:00am Sunday. You cannot start another loop after 6:00am Sunday. There are also cutoffs for every aid station after this time. Check the Aid Station chart. Note: the 100mi early start people only have til 11:00 AM to finish.
On terrain:
The single track and jeep road course has minimal elevation gain, but does roll a bit. The park is full of pines and much of the course rides on a bed of pine needles and dirt. Most of the single track is covered with roots. The 100mi course is five 20mi loops. The 50mi course is three 16.67mi loops. The 50mi course is the same as the 100mi course, except for the shortcut the 50milers take from DamNation back to DamNation. Be very careful of the roots.
On course records:
Course Records: 100miles
1996 13:16:02 Eric Clifton
2007 14:57:18 Jenn Shelton
Course Records: 50miles
2007 6:01:07 Patrick Russell
2010 6:59:40 Melanie Fryar
On being "special":
We are expecting a very large crowd of runners this year. Some of them are going to pushing the upper limits of speed and some are just trying to finish. I need all of you to be respectful of each other and pay attention to who is ahead and who is behind you. Allow runners to pass you when they are moving faster than you. And when passing, dont be a jerk about it. A word of encouragement or a simple friendly nod will gain you same in return. There are numerous out n backs on the same single-track trail. When approaching another runner approaching from the opposite direction, if both of you move to the right just a bit, neither one of you will be inconvenienced one bit. Again, it is all just simple courtesies. Just treat each other like you want to be treated yourself. So... While out on the playground, you need to play nice... or I will DQ you and send you home. We dont take kindly to rude behavior here. My volunteers are good people and have given up their weekend to help you run this little foot race. If I lose one volunteer because somebody was rude to them, well I wont be very happy. I need these people and you do too.
We have an extremely fast pack running this race, and we are glad to have them, but you have to understand... we treat everybody the same. You are all important to us. Every success story makes us proud that we helped you do this, and we will do whatever we can to help you achieve this. We respect you for doing this... and should respect my volunteers for helping you. Some of these people actually put in more than 100 miles during the weekend. Imagine the guy or girl who marks the course with ribbon, then runs meals out to the aid stations during the day, hangs glow-sticks later in the evening, then goes out tear down the same ribbons and glow-stick after the last runner, and then runs out to tear down the aid stations. Most of these people dont have time to make the awards ceremony or breakfast on Sunday. So, you have to understand I have TWO charges this weekend... YOU and my VOLUNTEERS.
To be sure, the Rocky Raccoon is a serious event. Ultrarunning gods Anton Krupicka and Scott Jurek are racing it this year, right alongside everybody else. The Race Director has to run a tight ship to make things go right, and Joe does it extremely well. This is getting exciting!!!
Reader Comments (2)
My prediction #1: The 13 hour mark will fall for the first time this year.
My prediction #2: I will not be the man who does it.
Without headphones, you'll certainly get the chance to apply your Zen learnings.
It sounds like an awesome event. Good luck!