Dear Umstead Marathon Interest Google Group,
The Carolina Godiva Track Club is pleased to announce that the 5th Annual Umstead Trail Marathon will be held Saturday, March 8, 2008 in the beautiful William B. Umstead State Park in Raleigh, North Carolina.  There will only be on-line registration, and this will open Friday, November 16, 2007 at 12:01 am est.  We are limited to 200 runners and we suspect the field will fill quickly, so don't delay!  You may register online through Active.com at http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1485723

Help Fund a Water Fountain in the Park:
When you register for the 2008 race, you will have the opportunity to donate to the Umstead Coalition.  This donation will go towards the funds required to install a much needed water fountain near the intersection of Old Reedy Creek Trail and Turkey Creek Trail.  

There will be NO race day registration.

Race Information:
- Saturday, March 8, 2008, 9:00 am.
- $52 entry (before Jan 1, $62 after that).
- Course:  Hilly; Some rocky, rooty single-track; Hilly; Mostly wide sand and dirt bridle trails; Hilly.
- NO headphones, baby joggers, or pets.
- No refunds or transfers.
- No wait list.
- No day-of-race registration.
- Time cut-offs will be based on a maximum 6 hour finishing time.
- Parking is limited at the race headquarters.  Parking lots near headquarters will be assigned to runners and volunteers only.  Once parked, your vehicle may not leave until you are ready to leave for the day.  (I.e. Your spectator may not drive your car out of your assigned lot and expect to get back to that lot before you finish.)
- Spectators wanting to come later that morning will park at Camp Crabtree and will have to be able to walk about a mile to get to the headquarters.  They will have to walk that same distance to get back to their cars - - - and it is uphill getting back to the cars.  Make sure they can walk this far before inviting them to see you finish.
-  Runners getting dropped off will have to be able to walk at least a half mile to get to the headquarters.  After the marathon, that half mile walk is up hill.

What you get with your entry:
- At least 26.2 miles of beautiful trail, plenty of hills, and passing discomfort, followed by an abiding sense of accomplishment.
- The coolest technical race T-shirt you will ever own.
- A Goody Bag to beat all goody bags.
- Distinctive Finisher's Pint Glass (note to medal collectors:  we offer pint glasses in place of medals).
- Handmade awards.
- Chances to win fabulous door prizes.
- Delicious Post Race Meal.

Awards:
Individual awards will be given to the top fifteen (15) males and top fifteen (15) females.

2008 Sponsors:
We'd like to thank the sponsors that we have so far:  Carolina Godiva Track Club, Great Outdoor Provision Company, and InsideOut Sports.

Questions:
If you have any questions, send an e-mail to umsteadmarat...@earthlink.net.

Volunteers:
We need quite a few volunteers to put on this marathon.  If you can't run the marathon, please consider volunteering.  Also, if you know of someone who has shown interest in volunteering, please encourage them to do so.  Just send an e-mail Doug, our Volunteer Director, at hashingo...@gmail.com to let him know that you can help.  Please put "Volunteer - Umstead Marathon" in the subject line.

The Carolina Godiva Track Club:
The Carolina Godiva Track Club (CGTC) has served the RTP area of North Carolina for 32 years.  CGTC supports a number of races and programs, including a Winter Trail Running Series, Coach Bubba 20k & 4 miler, The Bruce Koenig Memorial Running Start Program, a Summer Track Series, and an annual Marathon Training Program.  Check out our website at www.carolinagodiva.org.

We will always respect your privacy and personal information!