Friday, December 19, 2008

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sun Mountain 50k and 25k--Aid Stations

the 50k will arrive four times and the 25k twice at well stocked, full service, pit stops.

crew access: all of the aid stations
drop bags: all aid staions will be drop bag friendly except possibly the 23.1 mile aid station depending on road access.

50k aid stations: mile 6.2(LODGE), 11.8(PATTERSON LAKE), 17.8(PATTERSON LAKE), 23.1(THOMPSON PASS)

25k aid stations: mile 5.3(PATTERSON LAKE) and 11.3(PATTERSON LAKE)

Sun Mountain 50k Elevation Profile

i'll get elevation profiles up on here soon but for now here's some info...

total elevation gain 5400ft

out of the three "major" climbs the first big one, which climbs 700 feet, is the steepest but it's early and it's only about a mile long, the 2nd big one climbs steadily 1330ft in 3.3 miles to the top of Patterson Mtn (elevation 3511ft). the last one which goes to the high point on the course Thompson Pass (elv. 3640ft) is not very steep at all taking 10.5 miles to go up 1900ft from Patterson Lake. most of the rest of the 1500ft of gain comes in short and sweet little bursts.

low point on the course is at 2200ft.

for a top runner there will be very little or no walking on this course!

Sun Mountain 25k Elevation Profile

no real profile yet but here's a little info for now:

2550ft of gain

half of which is in one 3.3 mile steady climb starting around mile 7.5 at the low point on the course 2200ft to the high point 3511, the summit of patterson mountain. the rest of the climbs are short and sweet.

Sun Mountain 25k Course Description

25k course description

Start at chickadee trailhead
Head down thompson ridge rd
Turn Left onto rodeo
Right onto homestead
Right onto black bear
Pass the grizzly hill junctions (don't follow the 50k course up the hill)
Turn right and uphill on the Winthrop trail
Left onto patterson lake rd (aid #1 and #2--mile 5.0)
Left onto patterson mountain north connector trail
Left onto patterson mountain loop and follow clockwise to summit trail
Left onto summit trail
Stay on summit trail after summiting and drop down the far side on a dirt road
Turn Right at the junction with another dirt road and follow back to patterson loop trail.
Turn Left onto the patterson loop trail
Turn Left onto the south connector trail towards the boat ramp
Turn Right onto patterson lake rd
Turn Left onto cabin trail (aid station #2 and #3--mile 11.0)
Turn Left onto paterson lake trail (don't follow 10k course which goes straight)
Turn Right onto rader creek trail
Tutn Right onto Magpie (the 50k continues uphill here)
Turn Left onto chickadee trail
Finish at Chickadee trailhead (mile 15.5)

Sun Mountain 50k Course Description

50k description

Start at chickadee
Turn leftt and head up Thompson ridge rd to little wolf creek rd and turn right
Turn left onto criss-cross
Left onto overland
Right onto criss-cross
Left onto overland
Right onto little wolf creek rd
Left onto yellowjacket
Right onto homestead
Immeadiate left onto fox
Left onto black bear
Pass the first grizzly hill junction
Right at the second grizzly hill junction
Left onto moose
At the lodge run down into the employee parking area (aid #1--6.5)
Exit aid #1 and run through grass field towards tennis courts and kraule
Take kraule back to black bear
Turn right onto black bear (runners will do this first section of black bear twice)
Pass both grizzly hill junctions and continue on black bear
Turn left and downhill towards the Winthrop trail on a short connector trail
Turn right and uphill on the Winthrop trail
Left onto patterson lake rd (aid #2 and #3--mile 11.8)
Left onto patterson mountain north connector trail
Left onto patterson mountain loop and follow clockwise to summit trail
Left onto summit trail
Stay on summit trail after summiting and drop down the far side on a dirt road
At the junction with another dirt road turn right and follow back to patterson loop trail
Turn left onto the patterson loop trail
Turn left onto the south connector trail towards the boat ramp
Turn right onto patterson lake rd
Turn left onto cabin trail (aid #2 and #3--mile 17.8)
Left onto patterson lake trail
Right onto rader creek
Left onto lower inside passage
Right onto Pete's Dragon
Right (briefly) onto upper inside passage
Left onto thompson ridge rd (aid #4 mile 23.1)
Left onto meadowlark
Right onto Bluejay
Right onto meadowlark
Right onto lower inside passage
Left onto magpie
Hard left onto chickadee
Finish at trailhead (mile 31.0)

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Sun Mountain 50m/50k/25k/1k



A sample of pictures of the Sun Mountain course taken this fall










Trail Work Oppourtunities

We believe it's a privilage that we have such great trails use for our events. We also believe in giving back by pitiching in and doing trail work on the trails we use and others in the area. If you too feel the same and want to help keep up these trails and parks we use please contact us. There will large group parties prior to each race as well as at other times through out the year so it shouldn't be a problem to fit into your schedule. The last work party was on Orcas Island on saturday jan 31. The next one will be at or near the Sun Mountain course in early April, stay tuned for more details...

for more info: please email us at rainshadowrunning@gmail.com or call 509 996 3222

Weekend Training Runs

Here at Rainshadow Running we offer numerous oppourtunites for runners of all abilites to run our races courses and other fantastic routes in the North Cascades, Methow Valley, and the Okanogans. Atleast once a month we organize a long group fun run to exoctic locations such as the Paysayten Wilderness, the Chelan Sawtooth Wilderness and the North Casacades National Park. Starting in April or May we'll start doing these weekend fun runs again, we'll post a tenative schedule soon. For now check out these links for the latest training run info:
Methow Valley Running Club
Winter Running Options and Resources

For more info: send us an email to rainshadowrunning@gmail.com or call 509 996 3222

Weeknight Training Runs

Here at Rainshadow Running we offer numerous oppourtunites for runners of all abilites to run our races courses and other fantastic routes in the North Cascades, Methow Valley, and the Okanogans. Soon we'll be getting back to normal and we'll have atleast one organized weeknight trianing run. Check out these links for more info on the latest training runs:
Methow Valley Running Club
Winter Running Options and Resources

For more info: send us an email to rainshadowrunning@gmail.com or call 509 996 3222

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

North Cascades Multi-day Fun Run


starting saturday sept 4th we'll do a 2 or 3 day loop or point to point run in the north cascades mountains. the route still hasn't been determined but you can be sure it'll go through some of the most amazing areas the northwest has to offer.

all the details will be worked out very soon. stay tuned to the blog and email me to let me know you're interested. james@rainshadowrunning.com