The weather might be cold, wet and dreary today but there's so much great things going on at Rainshadow Running that it's impossible for me to have the blues! In addition to announcing the race dates for all of our 2014 races I have even more good stuff to announce in this email: new races, new rainshadow merch, and one really exciting thing that has more to do about music than it does running(but of course running is still involved!).
Multi-day Summer Music FestivalWe are working with Lob and Joe from The Pine Hearts to create an outdoor roots music festival that focuses on bringing together great music and outdoor recreation in a world class location. Folks who attend this festival will have the opportunity to camp in an amazing location, dine on yummy foods, participate in outdoor activities such as: trail running, mountain, river rafting, hiking, rock climbing and much more. Participants will arrive back to their camps after enjoying the activity of their choice, and then will have the opportunity to enjoy locally crafted beer or wine while listening to some of the of most talented bluegrass, americana, and folk-rock bands currently playing in the Pacific Northwest. As the night approaches nationally headlining bands will take the stage for a night of dancing, lights, surprises and fun. This weekend package is designed with the intention of providing individuals and families with an experience combing awesome live music and wonderful outdoors that will create memories that will last a lifetime.
We're still finalizing all the key details like date, price, bands, etc but It will be in the summer in Washington and it will be absolutely something you don't want to miss. Stay tuned... We'll have a lot more figured out before the end of the year.
New Rainshadow Running Merchandise At our 2014 races we will have nice cotton t-shirts, Patagonia jackets, pint glasses, and maybe a few other items with our logo on them. Yes finally! I know some of you have been wanting these for years. Definitely by our Orcas Island races we'll have these but maybe even by the Deception Pass races. We will not do pre-sale or mail them out to folks so you'll have to be at the races to get them.
We'll also continue making the stickers for each race and have the trucker hats from Ink.Hat
New Races for 2014!
Rainshadow Running will have two(or maybe three if a permit miracle can happen on the Rogue River) new races in 2014: The Gorge Waterfalls 100k and The Oregon Coast 50k. Plus we are working very closely with Candice Burt to help launch and direct the Tahoe 200 Mile Endurance Run and the Deception Pass Trail Half Marathon(part of her brand new Trail 13.1 Series)
The Gorge Waterfalls 100k will be an Out and Back on the Gorge Trail from Benson Recreation Area(near Multnomah Falls) to the Wyeth Campground(near Hood River, OR). The 50k will be the day before and will hopefully(assuming we can get bus transportation worked out) be a point to point from Wyeth to Benson. Both races of course pass almost an infinite number of amazing large waterfalls! We will also once again have the Trail Running Film Festival and other fun stuff going on all weekend at the Edgefield, the awesome renovated historic Mcmeniamins hotel in Troutdale, OR complete with it's own Brewery, Winery, Distillery, numerous restaurants and bars, heated outdoor swimming pool and more!
From the beach to the bluffs to the ridges high above with waves crashing into rocks just feet away at times The Oregon Coast 50k is never far from the ocean and is always incredibly scenic. Starting on the wide, flat-ish beach just south of Waldport the runners will run to the small seaside town of Yachats and past it to Cape Perpetua Park where they'll do a big loop and then run back to Yachats and finish there. Most of the miles are on narrow, twisty, soft single track trails but there's also a 6 mile sandy but firm beach section at the start and a tiny bit of pavement and packed gravel trail as well to round out the course. There's flat sections, steep sections, big hills and little hills, waves crashing into rocks, deep old forest, views from up high, and views from as low as the tide will let you go. This race has something for everyone and fun for all!
The first ever 200 mile single loop mountain race in the United States, The Tahoe 200 circumnavigates the sparkling, clear blue waters of Lake Tahoe from the Tahoe Rim Trail. The route occasionally detours off the TRT to explore aspen meadows, rock gardens of giants, small impossibly blue lakes, thick canopied forests, and long ridge lines with stunning views. The course is nothing less than magical. This race aims to create an unique and unparallelled experience for ultra distance trail runners who want to have an adventure of a lifetime. The race is a non-stop traverse of the lake, with numerous aid stations and sleep stations to support your epic run. All finishers receive a belt buckle and artistic finisher's print commemorating their accomplishment.
When I created the Deception Pass 50k/25k a few years ago it was an instant success selling out every year. And for good reason, the trails are so much fun to run with all the twists and turns and steep little hills and the whole area is just so beautiful and you're never far from the sea with the trails often running right along the beach or on bulffs above the shore. Candice's Deception Pass Trail Half Marathon will be just as great and perfect for runners of all abilities.
2014 Rainshadow Running Race Dates*
| January 25 | Orcas Island 25k |
| February 1 | Orcas Island 50k |
| March 29 | Gorge Waterfalls 50k |
| March 30 | Gorge Waterfalls 100k** |
| April 19 | Yakima Skyline Rim 25k |
| April 20 | Yakima Skyline Rim 50k |
| May 17 | Sun Mountain 25k |
| May 18 | Sun Mountain 50k/50m |
| June 8 | Beacon Rock 50k/25k |
| August 9 | Angels Staircase 60k/35k |
| Sept 5-9 | Tahoe 200*** |
| October 18 | Oregon Coast 50k** |
| December 13 | Deception Pass 25k |
| December 14 | Deception Pass 50k |
* Not all race dates are definite yet, permits still pending
** Websites coming soon
*** Technically this is NOT a Rainshadow Running Race instead contact Candice Burt
Candice's 2014 Race Dates*
| February 15 | Fragrance Lake 10k/13.1 mile |
| March 2 | Stewart Mt. 5k/13.1mi |
| April 12 | Alger Alp 5 mile/13.1mi |
| May 4 | Little Mountain 10k/13.1mi |
| June 1 | Deception Pass 13.1mi |
| July 27 | Chuckanut Mountain 13.1/26.2 mile |
| Sept 5-9 | Tahoe 200 |
| September 27 | Cle Elum 50k/25k |
| November 9 | Bellingham Trail Marathon and Half |
* Not all race dates are definite yet, permits still pending
Other Notes about 2014
Dropped Races
As you may have noticed there were two races not listed on our calendars: The Winthrop Road Marathon and Half and The Mt Spokane 50k/25k. For 2014 these races are taking a hiatus to allow us to add these other new races and so we can possibly smoothly transition the races to other race directors in the future. It is possible we will keeping doing them ourselves but at this point we needed to atleast temporarily free up some space on our calendars.
Split Races
We have split even more races into multiple days to allow for more runners and to make sure we aren't creating a "leadville-like" scenario where there are too many people on the trails and roads and parking lots making a big mess and making for an miserable situation for everyone involved including the other trail users. Now the Yakima Skyline 25k and Sun Mountain 25k will both be on Saturday and the Yakima 50k and Sun Mountain 50k/50m will be on Sunday.
Volunteer Signup
Also in 2014 look for us to try to streamline the volunteer registration process to make it easier and more efficient for everyone to volunteer at one of our races. Volunteers are so important to the success of our races and really make all of this even more fun but there are so many of them and so many races that we are having a hard time responding to all the volunteer requests in a timely manner. So please be patient and understand we are working on improving.
No Waitlists
None of our races have waitlists. except The Tahoe 200. What we do instead, to make things much simpler to administer, is that we overfill the races above our permitted limits knowing that there is a natural dropout rate before race day that will get us down to our permit limit. So if you miss out on registering before the race sells out you simply have to suck it up and try next year, sorry. But thankfully between Candice and I we now have 18 races(23 if you count the saturday/sunday split races as two separate races) for you to choose from! And if you're one of those runners who drops out we allow you to transfer to one of our other future non-sold out races(as long as you notify us before hand). Also at most races we have volunteer positions available so you can get into a sold out race if you either volunteer before or after the race or bring a volunteer for during the race but these positions are also limited and often are gobbled up just as quick as the paid entries.
How to get involved! WE NEED YOU!
There are a ton of ways for you to help make Rainshadow Running better and to make our running community better and make the world better! I've got a lot of ideas and I've got numerous things from big to small that you can do. It's actually enough for a whole email on it own so stay tuned for that in the next couple weeks. But I hope you all know just how amazing and important you are to us and we are so thankful to have such an excited and motivated and merry band of supporters!!! We can't do what we do with out y'all and we want to keep ya around! For now please help by spreading the word, especially about all our new races, and I'll be in touch again soon with more. And as always shoot me an email or message on facebook and we'll chat more!
Thanks again and see you soon!
