Hello JMTR blog followers! The 2010 JMTR preparations are starting to take place and I thought I'd fill everyone in on the recent haps:
* The races will be held on Saturday, May 22nd, 2010. This is a week later in May than in previous years. The good news is the hardcore folks can now run the Massanutten 100 and JMTR a week later. The bad news is it might be a bit warmer than previous years. Bring your electrolytes.
* Race entry fees are largely unchanged. The 50 mile will be $70, the 50k will be $60 and the half marathon will be $40.
* JMTR will be using the great UltraSignup.com site for registration. Registration for the 50 mile and 50k races opens on December 1, 2009. Registration for the half marathon opens on February 1, 2010. Check out the JMTR UltraSignup.com page (and create your account now for speedy registration on December 1st!)
* JMTR has a new Facebook group page. If you're a Facebook user, join the JMTR group.
That's it for now. It's still a bit early for hard JMTR training but keep up the base mileage through the winter. See you in May.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
2009 post-race
What great weather we had for the race ! The course is a tough one for sure but the amazing territory we pass through takes your mind off the pain. I must say thanks to all the volunteers that dedicated huge amounts of time to make this race possible. The aid station volunteers were fantastic and put in a huge day.
The results have been posted online (remember to completely refresh the page in your browser if you don't see the 2009 links.). If you post any photos or race reports that you'd like to share, send us the links using the "please let us know" link at the bottom of the "Photos" page.
I hope everyone had a great race and met their goals while enjoying a tough but nice day in the mountains.
The results have been posted online (remember to completely refresh the page in your browser if you don't see the 2009 links.). If you post any photos or race reports that you'd like to share, send us the links using the "please let us know" link at the bottom of the "Photos" page.
I hope everyone had a great race and met their goals while enjoying a tough but nice day in the mountains.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Fire and Weather
Race day is almost here and we are finishing up the last minute details. The weather forecast for race day is looking great. The forecast is for a high near 70 in town. It will be 10 to 15 degrees cooler up on the peaks. There is also a slight chance for a shower to two, so don't forget to put a rain jacket in your drop bag.
There is also a lot of smoke visible just north of town. The forested service is conducting a prescribed burn. This is scheduled to be competed tomorrow (Friday) and we do not expect this to have any impact on our race. Depending on the wind direction, you may smell some smoke but that should be about all.
Some more photos of trail work.
See you all tomorrow or Saturday morning for race check in.
There is also a lot of smoke visible just north of town. The forested service is conducting a prescribed burn. This is scheduled to be competed tomorrow (Friday) and we do not expect this to have any impact on our race. Depending on the wind direction, you may smell some smoke but that should be about all.
Some more photos of trail work.
See you all tomorrow or Saturday morning for race check in.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Aid Stations - Final Update
We hope to feed everyone well on-course this year! Listed below are some of the food and beverage items you can expect to find at the aid stations.
Water
HEED electrolyte drink, assorted flavors
Coke, Sprite, and ginger ale
Succeed S-Caps
Fresh fruit (oranges, bananas, watermelon)
Dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, apricots)
Boiled potatoes
Sandwiches (PB&J, turkey, ham, cheese)
Broth and soup
Sweet snacks (M&Ms, Snickers, Jolly Ranchers, choc. chip cookies, gingersnaps, Fig Newtons)
Salty snacks (peanuts, pretzels, potato chips, tortilla chips, cheez-its)
Hammer Gels (assorted flavors, limited quantities)
Quantities and availability of certain food/drink will vary around the course. You will have access to a wide variety of first aid supplies and friendly, helpful volunteers at every aid station.
Some stations will only offer limited food and drink aid. These stations are:
AS #1 Mitchell Trailhead
AS #2 Guaje-Mitchell
AS #3 Caballo Base
AS #4 Caballo Peak (*check-in location only; expect very little food/drink*)
The crews will work as hard as possible to get plenty of supplies to those locations, but quantities of certain items will be limited or entirely unavailable. Please plan accordingly.
The JMTR team does all that we can to accommodate a wide variety of food preferences and nutritional needs at our aid stations. If you have certain dietary restrictions or prefer specialty items not found on the list above, we strongly suggest you include such items in your drop bag(s).
All the volunteers look forward to seeing you at their stations on race day!
Water
HEED electrolyte drink, assorted flavors
Coke, Sprite, and ginger ale
Succeed S-Caps
Fresh fruit (oranges, bananas, watermelon)
Dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, apricots)
Boiled potatoes
Sandwiches (PB&J, turkey, ham, cheese)
Broth and soup
Sweet snacks (M&Ms, Snickers, Jolly Ranchers, choc. chip cookies, gingersnaps, Fig Newtons)
Salty snacks (peanuts, pretzels, potato chips, tortilla chips, cheez-its)
Hammer Gels (assorted flavors, limited quantities)
Quantities and availability of certain food/drink will vary around the course. You will have access to a wide variety of first aid supplies and friendly, helpful volunteers at every aid station.
Some stations will only offer limited food and drink aid. These stations are:
AS #1 Mitchell Trailhead
AS #2 Guaje-Mitchell
AS #3 Caballo Base
AS #4 Caballo Peak (*check-in location only; expect very little food/drink*)
The crews will work as hard as possible to get plenty of supplies to those locations, but quantities of certain items will be limited or entirely unavailable. Please plan accordingly.
The JMTR team does all that we can to accommodate a wide variety of food preferences and nutritional needs at our aid stations. If you have certain dietary restrictions or prefer specialty items not found on the list above, we strongly suggest you include such items in your drop bag(s).
All the volunteers look forward to seeing you at their stations on race day!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Trail Marking Update and Information
Trail Marking is almost complete, only a few segments need to be completed. Check out some photos from marking on the ski hill. All photos can been seen here.
A couple of comments on the course marking:
1) On sections of the course that is run on well defined trails (which includes all of the half and 50k courses) we have marked with very few flags. In places there can be almost a mile without a flag. This means depending on how fast you run and if you are going up or down a hill, you may not see a flag for between 10 and 30+ minutes.
2) All trail junctions are marked with several flags. In general we have placed a flag at the junction and then several along the trail just past the junction. If you come to a junction, look for the flags and if you pass a junctions and do not immediately see any flags, you may have missed a turn.
3) For the trails along the edge of town (Bayo Canyon, Dot Grant, and Perimeter Trails) all the junctions will also be marked with flour. Once you are on trails away from town there is generally very few junctions.
4) For the 50 mile runners, the cross country sections are marked heavily with flags and orange flagging tape. You should be able to see the next marker from the location of the previous marker. The ski hill is also marked heavily with both flags and flagging becuase of the large number of trails.
We now have less than a week until the race and things are coming together nicely. The temperatures of lately have been warm in town and the forecast for next weekend is calling for the lower 80s, so it may be a hot run. I hope that your training went well and we look forward to seeing you all in Los Alamos next weekend. It is going to be a great race!
A couple of comments on the course marking:
1) On sections of the course that is run on well defined trails (which includes all of the half and 50k courses) we have marked with very few flags. In places there can be almost a mile without a flag. This means depending on how fast you run and if you are going up or down a hill, you may not see a flag for between 10 and 30+ minutes.
2) All trail junctions are marked with several flags. In general we have placed a flag at the junction and then several along the trail just past the junction. If you come to a junction, look for the flags and if you pass a junctions and do not immediately see any flags, you may have missed a turn.
3) For the trails along the edge of town (Bayo Canyon, Dot Grant, and Perimeter Trails) all the junctions will also be marked with flour. Once you are on trails away from town there is generally very few junctions.
4) For the 50 mile runners, the cross country sections are marked heavily with flags and orange flagging tape. You should be able to see the next marker from the location of the previous marker. The ski hill is also marked heavily with both flags and flagging becuase of the large number of trails.
We now have less than a week until the race and things are coming together nicely. The temperatures of lately have been warm in town and the forecast for next weekend is calling for the lower 80s, so it may be a hot run. I hope that your training went well and we look forward to seeing you all in Los Alamos next weekend. It is going to be a great race!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Getting psyched...race day is almost upon us!
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| From Valles Caldera-Cerro Grande Trail Marking, 2009-05-03 |
Race day is only 11 days away and I'm getting pretty excited about it! Things are coming together nicely and we've got a large portion of the course marked already. This past Sunday Tom, Mike and I had the tough obligation to mark the 50 mile course through the Valles Caldera over Cerro Grande and down Cañon de Valle. It was an awesome day to be out there with cool temps and beautiful views. This whole section is now marked very well and we hope the elk don't eat too many of the flags. The exception to the obvious marking is a very short section right over the summit of Cerro Grande. Because this land borders Bandelier National Monument, we kept the flagging to a minimum so as to not upset Bandelier management and visitors. I encourage you to look at the maps before the race to get familiar with the Cerro Grande summit area. It's very straight forward but just be on the safe side.
If you didn't run the 50 miler last year, I posted some photos from Sunday's outing online. I have a few more points that I feel are worth mentioning...
- When you leave the Pipeline aid station for the first time and drop into the Valles Caldera, use caution. The descent into the caldera is along the pipeline "road" and is very steep and loose (affectionally known as "Nate's Nemesis"). I find staying to the right is the best line for this descent. If you're really worried about loose rock, head way to the right into the trees. The footing is better in there.
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| From Valles Caldera-Cerro Grande Trail Marking, 2009-05-03 |
- Heading up out of the caldera towards Cerro Grande we cross a talus field. Some of the big blocks wobble a bit so use caution here so you don't twist an ankle or something.
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| From Valles Caldera-Cerro Grande Trail Marking, 2009-05-03 |
- While descending the awesome, very runnable trail in Cañon de Valle, we must step over a barbed wire fence. We built up some rocks to make this step over a bit easiet but again, use caution.
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| From Valles Caldera-Cerro Grande Trail Marking, 2009-05-03 |
See you all soon...it's going to be great!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Course Marking: SM-NM-GC-Caballo-GC-PL-GR
David, Brian, Steve, and Tom slogged through extreme rain and wind conditions to marked the JMTR course from the Perimeter Trail/South Mitchell intersection - South Mitchell - North Mitchell - Guaje Canyon - Caballo - Guaje Canyon - Pipeline - Guaje Ridge.
The trails are pretty clear of snow (the little bit of snow should melt soon).
Caballo: has 2 trees down across the trail that will be a nuisance but we cleared a path through both.
Guaje Canyon-Pipeline: 4 trees down, one of them is big and blocks the trail.
Guaje Ridge: about 20 smaller trees , mostly small Aspens.
Pipeline Road has a number of down trees.
Here a few photos by Tom
The trails are pretty clear of snow (the little bit of snow should melt soon).
Caballo: has 2 trees down across the trail that will be a nuisance but we cleared a path through both.
Guaje Canyon-Pipeline: 4 trees down, one of them is big and blocks the trail.
Guaje Ridge: about 20 smaller trees , mostly small Aspens.
Pipeline Road has a number of down trees.
Here a few photos by Tom
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Runners Manual updated for 2009
The runners manual has been updated for 2009. For those of you who ran last year, the only major changes are that the half marathon starts at 8am and the Caballo summit aid station will not have any aid this year. Runners will be required to obtain supplies at the Caballo base aid station. Please let us know if there are any questions that you have that are not covered in the runners manual.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Course Volunteers Needed!
Help make the JMTR another great success!
We still need enthusiastic volunteers to assist at the following locations on race day:
Want to help? Want more information?
Please email Emily, the 2009 JMTR Aid Station Coordinator, and include the following:
(1) where you'd like to volunteer
(2) what time(s) of day you're available
(3) your contact information
(4) any certifications (CPR/First Aid, EMT, Wilderness First Responder, etc.)
(5) any questions you have
We still need enthusiastic volunteers to assist at the following locations on race day:
- AS#1 Mitchell Trailhead
- AS#5 Pipeline (note: requires a hike)
- AS#8 Townsite
- Finish Line AS
- Post-race cleanup
Want to help? Want more information?
Please email Emily, the 2009 JMTR Aid Station Coordinator, and include the following:
(1) where you'd like to volunteer
(2) what time(s) of day you're available
(3) your contact information
(4) any certifications (CPR/First Aid, EMT, Wilderness First Responder, etc.)
(5) any questions you have
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Trails Conditions Update
I realize there have been a number of posts regarding the trails recently but it's been our main focus of late. Here's a summary of the trails conditions in so far as I know them as of today, 4/22/09 (all approx. distances listed are for 50 mile race):
Start to Guaje Ridge (miles 0 to 7): All clear
Guaje Ridge to Caballo Base (miles 7 to 10): All clear
Caballo Base to Caballo Summit and back (miles 10 to 14): Unknown. Still snowy
Caballo Base to Pipeline AS (miles 14 to 17): Unknown but likely OK
Pipeline AS to Valles Caldera AS (miles 17 to 21): Unknown but likely OK
Valles Caldera AS to Pajarito Canyon AS (miles 21 to 29): Unknown but likely OK. One tree reported down in lower Cañon de Valle.
Pajarito Canyon to Townsite Lift AS (miles 29 to 33): All clear but a couple of small trees down just below Townsite lift.
Townsite Lift to Ski Lodge (miles 33 to 36): Unknown. Still snowy
Ski Lodge to Pipeline AS (miles 36 to 39): Unknown but likely clear
Pipeline AS to Guaje Ridge AS (miles 39 to 43): Unknown. Still snowy
Guaje Ridge AS to Rendija Canyon AS (miles 43 to 48): All clear but watch out for nasty locust bushes
Rendija Canyon AS to Finish (miles 48 to 50): All clear
Start to Guaje Ridge (miles 0 to 7): All clear
Guaje Ridge to Caballo Base (miles 7 to 10): All clear
Caballo Base to Caballo Summit and back (miles 10 to 14): Unknown. Still snowy
Caballo Base to Pipeline AS (miles 14 to 17): Unknown but likely OK
Pipeline AS to Valles Caldera AS (miles 17 to 21): Unknown but likely OK
Valles Caldera AS to Pajarito Canyon AS (miles 21 to 29): Unknown but likely OK. One tree reported down in lower Cañon de Valle.
Pajarito Canyon to Townsite Lift AS (miles 29 to 33): All clear but a couple of small trees down just below Townsite lift.
Townsite Lift to Ski Lodge (miles 33 to 36): Unknown. Still snowy
Ski Lodge to Pipeline AS (miles 36 to 39): Unknown but likely clear
Pipeline AS to Guaje Ridge AS (miles 39 to 43): Unknown. Still snowy
Guaje Ridge AS to Rendija Canyon AS (miles 43 to 48): All clear but watch out for nasty locust bushes
Rendija Canyon AS to Finish (miles 48 to 50): All clear
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Trail Work a Success
We had a very successful day working on the North Mitchell and Guaje Canyon Trails. We cleared many trees and locust bushes from the trails. The entire North Mitchell Trail and Guaje Canyon Trail up to the turn off to Caballo Mountain is clear. Thanks to those who helped!
Here are some pictures from Jason and Bill.
Here are some pictures from Jason and Bill.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Trail Work Day, April 19th
Hi all...I've heard from a number of people interested in helping out with some trail work in support of the JMTR. This awesome, thanks! A few of us plan to meet at the Mitchell trail trailhead around 8:00am on Sunday, April 19th to go up to work on "North Mitchell" trail and into Guaje Canyon. Most of the work will be centered around clearing downed trees and those nasty, thorny locust bushes.
This is an informal, no-frills, trail work session and if this appeals to you, come on up to help out. If we have a larger turn out, I'm hoping some folks will be interested in heading up Guaje Ridge from the Mitchell/Guaje Ridge intersection to cut locust bushes and clear trees up that way.
Because of the locust bushes, I suggest long pants, long sleeved shirts and leather work gloves. Water and food would also be good although you can filter/treat water from the stream in Guaje Canyon if desired. As far as tools are concerned, some pruning shears would be great to bring. There is a tool cache we have access to that has a saw or two along with a few other trail tools.
See you Sunday. Thanks!
This is an informal, no-frills, trail work session and if this appeals to you, come on up to help out. If we have a larger turn out, I'm hoping some folks will be interested in heading up Guaje Ridge from the Mitchell/Guaje Ridge intersection to cut locust bushes and clear trees up that way.
Because of the locust bushes, I suggest long pants, long sleeved shirts and leather work gloves. Water and food would also be good although you can filter/treat water from the stream in Guaje Canyon if desired. As far as tools are concerned, some pruning shears would be great to bring. There is a tool cache we have access to that has a saw or two along with a few other trail tools.
See you Sunday. Thanks!
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