North Cascades PCT 100k/50k Postponed Until 2012

Due to severe flood damage to the roads and trails at Cle Elum that race has been postponed to September 17th. To make room for that race which already had over 150 runners signed up I decided to postpone the North Cascades PCT 100k/50k which had not yet had any runners registered(only because I had been too busy with other races to open the registration--I'm sure the race would have filled to capacity with-in days or maybe even hours of the opening of registration).  Since there are many of you who had your hearts set on doing the North Cascades Race I've decided to post the race info here so those who want to can go run the route on their own. Runners deciding to do this would need to be 100% self sufficient--Rainshadow Running is not organizing any kind of event there this year and there will be no aid, no support, no course markings, no nothin'. 


Again let me repeat this info is just for "fun run" purposes there will be no official race this year due to the postponement of the Cle Elum 50k/25k.  This is a very remote route and you are totally on your own.


THE DETALS:
It's a simple enough route. Start @ T|Rainy Pass Trailhead on Hwy 20. Run north on the PCT to harts pass Rd which is 31 miles away and turnaround and run back to Rainy Pass. Harts pass Rd is the only road you cross(other than an old mine Rd when your're almost to Harts Pass) so that's the only place for aid or to bail out. But it's a long drive from Rainy Pass--about 3 to 4 hours round trip via Mazama. Water is available from creeks in a couple places but in general is scarce especially in September. Greentrails map "Washington Pass" shows the entire route and I would highly recommend carrying it. This is not a run for beginners.




THE MAP:

Cle Elum 50k/25k Date Change

Thanks everyone for your patience and understanding through this tough situation for all of us. I just got approval from the Forest Service to move the date of the Cle Elum 50k/25k to Saturday Sept 17th.  I know that this new date does not work well for all of you and I apologize-- this was the best option I could come up with to have the race happen at all this year. Ironically this is the date the race would've been held on anyhow if I hadn't moved the race date to June to make room for the brand new North Cascades PCT 100k/50k that will have to postponed until 2012 to make room for Cle Elum.

Beacon Rock Results

The preliminary results are now up for the Beacon Rock 50k/25k
http://beaconrock50k.blogspot.com/p/results.html

photo credit Matt Hagen

see all of Matt's Beacon Rock Photos here 

Latest Cle Elum Update

Bad news: the race will not be happening on June 25th. If you did not get the previous email explaining the situation click here to see it.  But good news is that we might do the race on September 17th instead-- I'm still waiting for approval from the Forest Service for the date change but they said they would let me know no later than monday the 13th.  As soon as I have more info from them I'll send out another email. 

If you cannot attend the race on the new date or if the race is cancelled you can choose between a partial refund or a transfer to another rainshadow race. 

Sorry for all the hassle and I hope to see you all one way or another soon!

Angels Staircase Registration Now Open

The moment you have all been waiting for all year... registration for the coolest new race in the northwest, Angels Staircase 50m/50k/25k, is now open. Click here to sign up for the coolest race in the northwest! Yes I'm serious this race is cooler than Orcas Island, cooler than Gorge Waterfalls, cooler than Yakima Skyline Rim, cooler than Sun Mountain, cooler than Beacon Rock, cooler than White River or Where's Waldo or Cascade Crest or Plain or any other race in the northwest that I've ever ran and it's up there with the very best in country. Are you still reading this... why haven't you gone to Databar Events to sign up yet? If you're only going to do one more race for the rest of your life then this is the one(If you're qualified that is--see website for more info about qualifying and requirements)! Well maybe that last sentence is a bit of an exaggeration but this race is definitely worthy of a very high slot on your "gotta do" list!

2011 Cle Elum 50k/25k: Flood Damage and Possible Postponement or Cancellation

Unfortunately in mid May the Cle Elum race area suffered some severe flood damage to the roads and trails and the entire area is still closed to the public.  Since the damage occurred I've been having discussions with the Forest Service about the extent of the damage, the likelihood of the damage being fixed by race week and alternative plans if the damage has not been fixed in time for the race.  As of right now there still is not much certain, all of the roads leading into this area have been closed so the Forest Service doesn't even know the full extent of damage to our race route and the roads we would need to use for supporting the race. Plus there's still some snow on the higher elevations that might not be gone by race day thanks to the combination of very high snow fall this winter/spring and the unusually cool and wet spring. So all that said it seems quite possible that the race will not take place on June 25th as planned, instead the race will likely either be postponed to September 17th or be cancelled. 

The Forest Service and I will make our decision next week using the latest information available and I will let you all know as soon as that decision has been made.