A NOTE ABOUT OUR DISTANCES
When we design our courses, we take care to use logical trail routes within the parklands where we run. Unfortunately, GPS and other snazzy technological gadgets are often rendered unreliable on tree-shrouded trails. We make our best effort to determine our course distances based on the mileage information available on trail maps and posted markers.
Of course, the park rangers and volunteers who built these precious trails years ago likely never imagined long-distance running as a popular use, which is why you’d be hard-pressed to find a “true” 6.2, 13.1 or 26.2-mile* course entirely on trails. Rather than going to great lengths to add illogical – and often confusing – out-and-back sections to our routes to milk more mileage, we keep the emphasis on your enjoyment and use our Type E license to give you extra credit for all of the elevation gain and descent along the way.
Most trail runners agree that a beautiful course surrounded by nature wins out over one that’s measured precisely to a tenth of a mile. After all, if your priority is precise mileage, you’d be running on the road, right?
*Since many of our races include multiple distances, if a runner decides to switch distances mid-race, they will be considered ineligible for awards.