Runners Without Borders: Last Minute Information

Some last minute questions and answers about RWB this Saturday:


How do I get there?

The official host location of this event is Lory State Park, and we will be at the Arthurs Rock trailhead, which is the parking lot at the farthest end of the dirt road that travels the length of the park.  There is a $7 entrance fee so I strongly encourage you to carpool and save money and space!

Also many of you have Larimer County Parks passes, you can park at the Sodeberg trailhead and access the trail from that location.  Again, please carpool to save parking space and ease congestion and pollution.  You will have to run an extra 0.4 miles to access the loop via Soderberg, and obviously your loops will be offset since you're not starting at the "official" start, so just sign in when you reach the truck at the halfway point of your loop.  I'll assume you made it back to Soderberg!

Where do I check in?

It is important that you check in at the big white truck at the Arthur's Rock trailhead at each loop.  I or someone else (if I'm running) will have you sign your name and note the time on a log sheet.  We need you to log each loop so we can get an accurate count for those people who have made "global-dynamic" pledges.

How do I actually give money?

Someone, usually me, will be at the truck signing in participants and collecting and logging pledges.  I prefer checks made out to "Doctors Without Borders" but we will accept cash if necessary.  I will bundle up all donations and send them in to DWB on Monday.  Also you can go on line and donate directly to Doctors Without Borders if you prefer.  Those of you who are pledging based on "dynamic" formulas may not know your pledge commitment until after 4 pm.  For those people I will contact you shortly after the event, and post on my blog with your final pledge amount.

What sort of aid are you providing?

In short; not much!  I'm not promising any aid in the way of food or drink, I'm going to try to round up some coolers and fill them with water, and I'll get some snacks from the store, but please assume that this is a self-supported event.  Bring your own water and food!  We will have limited first aid at the truck as well.  And massages for $1/minute, with half the proceeds going to DWB!  Now that's my kind of aid.

Do I need to start at 8?

No; Unless you're planning on running for 8 hours, you do not need to start at 8 am Saturday.  The weather forecast calls for a sunny day with lows in the 30s and highs in the 60s.  I expect the temperature at 8 am on Saturday to be in the lower 30s, so if you want to wait for the temperature to warm up a bit, try coming at 10 am or so!  It looks like the weather will be really nice Saturday so we have that going for us, which is nice.

Do I need to finish by 4?

I suggest that you do try to finish your last loop by 4 pm, which means you should probably be starting your final  loop before 3 pm (see below for loop time estimates).  I'll need to sweep the course and take down the signs, and it will start getting dark pretty quickly up there after 4 pm, so please try to finish by then.

How long will it take to complete a loop?

Obviously it is difficult to answer that question for everyone, but I have ran the "grande" loop 4 or 5 times in the past two months, and it takes me between 1:10 and 1:30 to complete the loop, going at a moderate (medium effort) (1:10) to easy (walking the steep bits) (1:30) pace.  The "petite" loop is both shorter and easier so I suspect it would take me about 50 minutes at a moderate to easy effort.  So if you have ran with me and know what constitutes a "moderate" effort for me, then you should be able to estimate accordingly.

Do I need trail shoes?

I recommend trail shoes for the grande loop, as sections of it are loose and rocky.  The petite loop can be ran in regular shoes.

Will the loops be marked?

I am planning on going up Friday afternoon and marking the loops with little tags, particularly the grande loop since it contains many turns.

Will it be fun?

Nope.  It will be ultra-mega-dank-fun, and you will all be super-stoked to be there.  Your support means a lot to me, and you all can congratulate yourselves on doing something that really matters this Saturday.  Not to get too over the top, but your actions are literally saving lives.  Feel good about that!

Loop maps:

Le grande loop:

Le petite loop: