Falls Lake FA - Part Deux, Sunday January 31, 2010 (0 to 53.4 miles)

[Mike Walsh]

Save the date for Falls Lake Fat Ass - Part Deux on Sunday January 31, 2010

 

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.

 

This year we are going to change things up a bit.  People wanted to go longer, so we are going to set this up for an out and back of up to 53.4 miles, but people can run as little or as much as they want.  We'll 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 chose January 31 again as something easy on our brains, but also to give some time gaps from Weymouth Woods 100K and from Myrtle Beach Marathon, as well as to give an option for people who got shut out due to Uwharrie closing so fast.

 

We'll follow with more details closer to January 31, but here is what we've figured out so far:

 

Registration: Complete the Google Docs form at:

 

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGh4elNXd3B0VnE5T0x3ZkVCY3hvZ3c6MA

 

(if your email or browser application breaks up this url, please cut and paste into your browser)

 

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.

 

Start/finish: Parking lot at the end of Section 10, 1.6m north of NC-98 on Rt. 50.

 

Route: runners will go out east 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'll mark the 13.1-ish point for the marathon folks.  Other distances can improvise.

 

Aid: we'll be setting up two static aid stations at approximately miles 9 and 18 (as described from section 10 to section 1) with water, Gatorade and the donated food items.  We'll also try to set up a drop bag shuttle as well to the beginning of section 1 as the turnaround for the "50-milers".  The longest anyone should need to go between aid stations will be 9 miles, so carrying 1-2 bottles and maybe a few gels should be enough.

 

6AM early start: all runners attempting more than marathon distance MUST start at the 6am start, optional start for marathon or less.

 

9AM late start: all runners attempting marathon distance or less may start at the 9am late start.

 

Cutoffs: "50 milers" must turn around by 11am wherever they are.  NOTE: All runners must be finished by 6PM at the start/finish area.  We'll determine cut-off times for the two aid-stations also, and make the runners aware of those cut off times closer to race day.

 

Safety: We'll have participant lists at each of the aid stations and every runner will be required to check their name off going out and back.  We don't want to lose anyone!

 

Regards,

Mike

 

(Please note this email was composed using Word as the editor)

 

[jeff]

Ran section 1 of the Falls Lake Trail today. The bridge over the
creek has been washed down stream about 50 feet. This creek crossing
is about 0.7 miles from Raven Ridge Rd and 2.8 miles from the Falls of
the Neuse/Dam trailhead. Water level of the creek was low. A dry
crossing today on stepping stones. Only other obstacle was a tree
trunk that had fallen across the trail not far from the bridge site.
Easy to hop over. Otherwise, Section 1 was in good shape. No idea
how the other sections have fared in the aftermath of the recent heavy
rains. jeff

[Jon H]

I did 18 (9 out and back) miles starting with section 1 on Saturday.  Other than the missing bridge, the trails were fine.  And like Jeff said, the water was low so you could step on stones, but any rain will make the water rise.  The tricky part was the return trip.  With the bridge gone, I completely passed the crossing because the trail continues on along the water and with the bridge gone, I didn't notice I was suppose to cross.

 I'll be doing 22 this Saturday and 40 the following weekend so if I see anything else, I'll let everyone know.

Jon

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[Jon H]

One more update on section 1.  I did 22 on Saturday morning and with all the rain, the stepping stones were hidden under the water so I stepped in foot deep water crossing the area where the bridge was out.  But to be honest, that was just a minor annoyance.  Most of the sections had numerous areas where you had to go through ankle deep water from all the rain.  So if the race follows a rain day, plan on wet feet.  I attached a picture of where the bridge is out...this was on my way back so the water had gone down a little since the rain had finally stopped.  I might have to invest in Sealskinz socks because freezing temps and wet feet were not an enjoyable combo :)