Foresthill to Dardanelles (Miles 62.0 to 65.7) (47 days to go!)

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!

Bath Road to Foresthill (Miles 60.6 to 62.0) (49 days to go)

Special thanks to Brian O'Donoghue and Paula Roberts-Banks for their donations to the Wounded Warrior Project that sponsor this section of the course tour!



Other than the river crossing at Mile 78, this is the shortest distance between two checkpoints. Runners emerge from the canyons onto Bath Road and enjoy a relatively easy jog, some of it on paved roads, into the circus that is Foresthill.


Foresthill is the biggest city along the course. It even has a school! Most of the runners pick up their pacers here, sure to have a companion runner for the final 38 miles through the night. An announcer reads the names of entering runners, who weigh in at the medical station in front of the elementary school. This is the school, minus the hundreds of people.


While Foresthill is the biggest dot on the map along the course, it's still just a small town. There aren't any hotels, and I only noticed one restaurant when I spent the better part of my afternoon waiting for Fernando's arrival last summer. That said, the energy is soaring there....runners are elated to see their families, find their pacers, and gear up for the nighttime run--including adding a headlamp for the miles ahead. It's a truly spectacular sight.

The leaders exit Foresthill at 2:45 PM. 24 hour runners won't leave until 6:45 PM, and 30 hour runners leave at 10:45. The aid station closes at 11:45 PM. I hope I don't find this out from personal experience, but I hear that this is a popular dropout point, since crew cars are mere feet away along the busy road that cuts through the town. Why drop out now? You've added a pacer....and there're only 38 miles to go!