Special thanks to Kurt and Bridy Oreshack, Ashley Bourgault and John King, Sarah and Brian Foster, and Pam Kennedy for their donations to the Wounded Warrior Project that sponsor this section of the course tour!
This next few stretches of the course are commonly known as "Cal Street." We've reached the fourteenth stage of the course, the first on which I've actually run!
The course exits Foresthill along Foresthill Road. Runners are on paved road for less than a mile before making a left turn onto dirt trails that descend down toward the Rucky Chucky crossing at Mile 78. Here's the turn-off onto the trail.
I have a habit of getting lost on trail runs, and when I ran this stretch of road with Fernando last summer, I nearly missed the left turn onto the trail! Once on it, though, it was easy to follow.
Much of the trail here is wide enough to run two wide, if you want. There are a number of switchbacks, and I remember the path being made of a fine dirt that was soft to our footfalls.
The Dardanelles aid station is tucked precariously on the side of a steep hill. I was surprised to stumble into it. The space wasn't much of a clearing, and the canyon dropped far below us into the river. It's a small aid station, and runners are better fit keeping their visit to a short stint, as the path could bunch up as you approach the river.The leaders will pass through Dardanelles at 3:15 PM, with 24 hour runners over four hours behind at 7:30. 30 hour runners will arrive at midnight, and the absolute cutoff for all runners is at 2:30 AM.
Pass through Dardanelles, and it's a long way back to civilization again. It's also just 34.5 miles to the finish line!
No comments:
Post a Comment