Falls Lake FA, the 6th edition - Saturday January 11, 2014 (26.2 to 53.4 miles)
Mike Walsh
All,
Everything has pretty much moved to Facebook it seems these days, so I have been promoting FLFA there.
I did want to do one email send to the distribution lists, and this will be the only one I think.
We do have slots open still, so please, we’d love for you to join us.
If you want to attend, you MUST sign up - we have to watch numbers at least a little bit.
I WILL email everyone that signs up at the Google Docs the final info, instructions and course stuff. Sign up there, and you are all set.
Thanks, and look forward to seeing you all!
Best to you all,
Mike
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*** Please complete the form at the Google Docs. If you don't complete and submit the form, you aren't signed up and please don't show up on the day of the run - we need to watch numbers. If you sign up and then can't come, please let me know and I can delete you.
IMPORTANT: You MUST complete the form at this URL:...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?usp=drive_web&formkey=dHRZYmE0Z0lVWDE5RG5ud2hVTVIyUVE6MA#gid=0
Or (for email programs that break up the link):
Or (for those who are security cautious and like to preview tinyurls)
http://preview.tinyurl.com/flfa2014
Everybody had such a good time last year that we decided to hold it again! Usual FA rules apply, no entry fees, no whining, no littering, etc.
We are going to do the same out-and-back format as last year. We MAY mark a turnaround point for people looking to do marathon distance. Everyone else can turn around at their pleasure. Doing an out and back also means we've been able to eliminate car shuttling.
We’d like to aim for marathon or beyond runners since the parking lots are sort of small, but may open this up to less-than-marathon if we think we have space for more runners.
We chose January 11 again as something easy on our brains, but also to avoid conflicting with Little River, Weymouth Woods 100K and NC FA 50K, as well as to give an option for people who got shut out due to Uwharrie closing so fast (and this year it is far enough away from Uwharrie that it could be a final long training run for those who get slots).
This is of course a fat-ass run, so as Doug Dawkins paraphrases Lao Tzu: "Come with no expectations and you won't be disappointed". We will have fun though! These are beautiful, if challenging, single track trails with enough beauty to keep you looking forward, and enough roots and rocks at your feet to keep you honest.
Fees: heck no, no fees. But, everyone is expected to bring some sort of food to share. Box of crackers, bag of cookies, etc. Homemade goodies get brownie points.
What you need to bring:
• A bottle or hydration pack of some kind. There will be NO cups at the aid stations. And no drinking out of the cooler spigots, that's gross.
• Some kind of runner's food to donate to the aid stations. Box of crackers, bag of cookies, etc. Homemade goodies get brownie points. This will be collected the start.
• Any additional food, gels, etc that you want to carry on your person
• Your printed map and trail description (see below)
• Whatever kind of gear you will need for your run, and prepare for worst case.
• Bring a flashlight or headlamp (with a backup just in case)
• If you are going to at least Aid Station 2 and back (round trip of 34.6 miles) you will have drop bag privileges, so feel free to bring one if you want.
• Last year none of the drop bags contained anything runners wanted to keep (mostly their preferred food or hydration) and it was tough to coordinate getting the drop bags back. This year a volunteer will grab the drop bags when he breaks down AS2 at 2pm, and we’ll ask that you contact the “volunteer to be named later” in the days following the event if you want anything back from your drop bag. Any opened food or drink will be thrown out automatically, anything unopened may be consumed by said volunteer!
• NO dedicated aid shuttle to the Falls Lake Dam this year since no one needed it last year. AS2 will be your last aid on the east end, so plan accordingly
Map and trail description: I'll send to signed-up participants before the run. Here they are for those interested:
http://www.ncmst.org/docs/fallsmap.pdf
http://www.ncmst.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Falls-Lake-Trail-official-description-2011-Apr.pdf
• I STRONGLY advise printing these out AND carrying them with you during the run.
• Follow the WHITE blazes. If you go a while and you don't see one, STOP and go back to find where you left the official trail.
• There are some tricky sections, and these can help a lot. We will NOT have the opportunity to mark with flour this time, so be prepared to possibly route find a bit.
• NOTE that we are starting at the end of Section 10 and running east, so on the way OUT you'll be reading the description in reverse.
Start/finish Location:
• Parking lot at the end of Section 10, 1.6m north of NC-98 on Rt. 50, north of Raleigh. BING shows this wrong in this FB event.
• This is just south of Beaver Dam Recreation Area.
• Sorry, I don't have GPS coordinates for this location...
• Please park courteously. Please DO NOT park in the official parking lot on the east side, let's space out on the WEST side along the road so as to not impact the other users.
Start Times:
• 8AM start: ONE START ONLY. We will collect drop bags for those going at least to Aid Station 2 – see comment above on getting drop bag contents if you need anything back at a later date.
Route:
• Runners will go out east as far as they wish heading toward the dam tailrace at the beginning of section 1, and then come back to the start/finish area. All 10 sections out and back will be 53.7 miles.
• We will mark the 13.1-ish point for the marathon folks with a cone (end of Section 5, east side of 2nd causeway on Six Forks Road).
• Other distances can improvise.
Aid, Cutoffs and Safety:
• NO check-in/check-out sheet at the aide stations – just be careful out there.
• We will leave the turn-around time up to each runner, but please be conservative and make SURE you get out of the woods safely before dark
• Aid Station 1 (AS1) will be located at Barton Creek Boat Access, approximately 9.3 miles from start (Section 7, Mile Description 17.4). Will shut down at 4pm.
• We will have an aid station (ASM) at the marathon turn-around again this year
• Aid Station 2 (AS2) will be located at Possum Track Road crossing, approximately 17.3 miles from start (End of Section 3, Mile Description 9.4). AS2 will also have the drop bags. Should be set up by 10AM or so, highlight to me if you think you might be there earlier. Will shut down at 2pm (this might get adjusted based on last year).
• The aid stations will be UNMANNED
• Each aid station will have water, Gatorade and a portion of the donated food
• Plan your hydration and nutrition strategies around these two aid stations and what you carry with you
• NO cut-off times – be conservative and safe. DO NOTE the aid station shut down times
Finish:
• Nothing officially organized. Be sure to have some nutrition and hydration in your car for when you finish.
Regards,
Mike
Mike Walsh
Cell Phone: (919) 931-6047
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewnt
Personal E-Mail: mike...@yahoo.com (this is 'mikew' then the underscore sign '_' then 'nt' then '@yahoo.com')
(Please note this email was composed using Word as the editor)