2022 RTW Pre-Race Brief
Greetings runners!
First of all, let me say again, thank you for signing up for our race. You are all amazing, and April and I appreciate you coming out to support us and Ride To Walk more than ever. This new venue brings some new "awesomeness" and some new challenges. Please read through this, and help to make it great for both of us. We humbly ask for your patience. Although this is our fourth year, in some ways this new venue makes it a brand-new event. There will be "gotchas" and there will be things that you don't like- and hopefully some that you like more! I know what the entire race looks like in my mind- now we just have to see if reality matches that. Please give us some grace as we work the bugs out in year "one".
Mosquito Fire Update\Weather Outlook:
As of today, the Mosquito Fire 39% contained, which is about double what it was yesterday. It's been raining pretty decently, and that is helping tremendously. Air quality is great, and the forecast looks good for this weekend. Barring any unforeseen issues, we are a go!
Temps are forecast to be 89/60 degrees for Saturday, and 91/63 for Sunday. Rain should be long gone, but you might want your trail shoes, just in case.
New Venue:
Please don't go to last year's venue in Lincoln. The gates are locked and we won't be there.
New address is 2460 Delmar Ave, Penryn CA, 95663. Delmar is right off of Sierra College.
Parking, Camping and Personal Aid Stations:
I'll put a (poorly drawn 😊) picture at the end of this. Click on it for a bigger pic.
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Parking (Blue areas)
We will be parking in small, fenced pastures and the arena. Due to the tight nature of these areas, we ask that you don't set up your aid station at your car. You won't want to, anyway, as the fences will make it inconvenient for you to get to your car. Please park tightly and orderly. Backing in might be a pretty good idea for easy out. Please use caution when entering and leaving. Runners and cars will intersect in a couple of places. Cars must yield to runners. If you are running the 48 or 100, we ask that you park in the arena, if possible. That way, when you leave, there will be fewer runners to avoid on the way out, and it ensures that the folks who won't be there all weekend have easy in and out of the ranch from the front parking area. There will be a volunteer to provide direction upon entering for the 9am Saturday start. You can sleep in your car, by all means- but don't plan to use it as an aid station.
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Camping (Orange Areas)
Pitch a tent, make yourself comfy. You may come camp starting Friday night. You will not be able to drive right up to your camping spot, so bring a wagon, or borrow ours. But, it's not far, and we will try to make access as easy as possible. You may claim your spot Friday night, and come back Saturday or even Sunday. There will be several of us camped at the ranch, and your stuff should be fine.
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Personal Aid Stations (Yellow lines along course)
Plenty of convenient real estate along the course to set up your own table, and your own aid.
I know this is inconvenient for those of you who are used to car-camping. The layout of the ranch physically prevents it at this venue. We also can't have you driving through the ranch once the race has started, except to exit. So, the best way to guarantee your spot, and make it easy on yourself is to show up Friday night and drop your gear, or set up your tent, pop-up or table. That way, you can drive right up to the camping areas and drop your gear in. The orange areas in the upper left are going to be pretty much inaccessible by car once the race starts. Also, be aware that the road through the ranch is narrow, and two-way traffic is not going to work well- so please get in, get parked, and allow your fellow runners to get set up as well. Traffic will be one-way starting about 7:30am on Saturday, to allow people to get in.
Horses and Neighbor:
I hate to harp on it, but I was asked again today to remind all of you that the horses are off-limits. Please don't approach, pet, or take pictures with the horses (or let your kids do any of those things.) Some are quite friendly, and it's hard to resist- but some are also rescues, who are extremely skittish and easily spooked. We will have the electric fences down, so we don't want scared horses blowing through the fences.
In addition, we now have a neighbor, unlike prior years, where we were out in the country by ourselves. We will have to be mindful of that, keep the music down a touch lower, and ask that you are respectful (No cowbells, screaming in the middle of the night, etc- we will cheer you on, it will just be quietly). The off-limits area on the map includes a wide-patch on "our" side of the fence along the driveway as you pull in. Please don't park, run, or setup anything on this area. It belongs to the neighbors, and they are pretty particular about it.
RV's:
Unfortunately, there just doesn't appear to be space for RV's at the venue. Please leave them home this year. Ride to Walk is making some improvements and some space, so next year is a possibility. I'd like to see how our "office" fits, and we will go from there. I'd love to allow at least a few, once we see how this all lines out.
Packet Pickup and "EdTalk":
Packet Pickup begins at 5pm on Friday. Be sure to join us at 7pm for a motivational speech from Ed "The Jester" Ettinghausen. I'll let him tell you what it's about:
It’s taken the better part of six decades, but I’ve learned to appreciate that people often offer words of advice in life - and in 100-mile races - that may, or may not always be the best advice, even when their heart is in the right place.
Come join me at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 23, at the Ride to Walk Endurance race. I’ll pass on some words of wisdom, and share some hard-learned lessons. I’ll talk about some places I’ve been, some people I’ve met, and some of the fun, exciting, strange experiences I’ve had while running across the finish line of 222 races of 100-miles or longer.
I’ll also share my not so secret secret word that’s helped me on the way to setting seven 100-mile World Records, including 67 Ed-WiNS!
Grab a folding chair, bring a water bottle, and come listen to Ed's incredible story, then stake out your favorite spot by the loop.
The Course:
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We still don't have an accurate course length, and won't until Thursday or Friday when we start taking fences down.
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We will turn you around every six hours so you can work out the other ankle.
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Don't cheat. We will have a second timing mat, and we will check. Mike will catch you, and then we will have to ask you to leave and mock you incessantly.
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Bring a light or two, if you are running overnight. It will be dark, and tripping hazards exist.
General:
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We have some swag from Fleet Feet to raffle off. Winners will be announced at the Pre-Race brief (about fifteen minutes before each race, at the Start\Finish)
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Awards will be presented to the male and female winner of each event immediately after each race. All six, twelve, and twenty-four hour races will be combined for scoring, so if you kick butt in an early race, we might have to mail your award when all races finish.
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No cutoff for the 100 this year- you have the full 48 hours that we are there to get your buckle.
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Please be nice to our volunteers. We can't do this without them.
Thank you to our sponsors. I use and love them all:
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Fleet Feet Folsom\Roseville
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Tailwind Nutrition
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Honey Stinger
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NorCalUltras
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Honey Bucket Portables
A huge thank you to our volunteers. We love that you give freely of your time so that others may succeed. You are the real stars here, and we appreciate you so much.
Lastly, thank you to Mike Melton of MCM Timing. He is the absolute best in the business, and you are going to be impressed. For a small race, we bring out the big guns for timing. Nicest guy you will ever meet, and he dances pretty great, too...
Again, we want you to succeed, whatever your goal. If there is something you need, but don’t see, please let us know. If it’s within our power, we will get it done. Feel free to text or call me- even during the race- or shoot me an email if you have any questions or requests. I can’t wait to see each of you out there!
Craig and April Simmons
Thunder Ultras
