October 01, 2016 Race

Saturday, October 3, 2015
50K, Half-Marathon, 5K
Branded B Ranch
Lake Perry, Kansas

Packet Pickup:
You can pick-up your packet on race day morning, an hour prior to your event. The 50K & 1/2-Marathon starting time is at 8:00 a.m. The 5K start is at 9:00 a.m.

Directions to Start of the Race:
From 24 highway (between Lawrence and Topeka), turn north on 237 highway.
Take 237 Hwy North for about 7 miles. I’ll have a couple of yellow “Trail Race” directional signs on 237.
Look for the “Branded B Ranch” sign, and take a right. Park in the grassy lot marked “Trail Race Parking.”
Google Map

Note: this race is on the west side of Lake Perry off of 237 Highway. There will be more than one road that will be labeled “Lake Perry” or “Perry,” that you might encounter on 24 highway. Don’t go down them, or you will be 40 minutes from the race.
Also, don’t set your GPS unit for downtown Meriden, Kansas; you will be at least 20 minutes from the start of the race if you do that.

Drop Bag Locations:
For the 50K entrants only, there will be two drop bag locations on the course: At the Main Aid Station (that you hit at approximately miles 14, 15.5, 29; and at the Kimberley Road Aid Station that you will hit approximately 6 miles into the first loop, and mile 21 on the 2nd loop. Before the event, there will be two places near the starting line to place your drop bags. Please label them (clearly) with your name & bib number.

Cut-off Times:
50K Cut-off Times:
There will be a 12:30 p.m. cut-off for 50K runners leaving the Main Aid Station for their final 16-mile loop.
You will have to leave the Kimberley Road Aid Station by 2:45 PM (at mile 21). If you do not make these cut-off times, you will be pulled from the race. To stay ahead of the cutoffs in the 50K, this is the pace needed: Pace Per Mile: 17 Minutes, 12 Seconds. Miles Per Hour: 3.49

For the Half-marathon, you will definitely need to leave the Kimberley Road Aid Station by Noon, 6 miles into your event. That's about a 1.5 MPH pace, or a 40 minutes per mile pace.

Please: no complaints about this...after-all, this is supposed to be a run, not a slow nature hike.

Spectator / Crew Viewing Locations:
In a single-track trail race, there are very few places for your crew or loved ones to see you on the course.
As long as you don’t interfere with the runners, you can hang-out near the main aid station, just two blocks from the start / finish of the race (down-hill on the dirt road). You can also see them at mile 6 and 21, if you drive south on Hwy 237 to Kimberley Road, left on Kimberley Rd, travel a little way until you see a parking lot on your right. Please don’t interfere with the aid station.

The main aid station is a short walk down the hill from the start/finish area.

The Kimberly Road aid station is about 3 miles away.

Driving directions to Kimberly Rd Aid Station
(Mile 6 and Mile 21)

From Branded B Ranch:
1. Head west on 74th St toward KS-237 S/W Lake Rd, Travel 0.5 mi
2. Turn left (south) onto KS-237 S/W Lake Rd, Travel 1.9 mi
3. Turn left onto Kimberly Rd, Travel 0.5 mi
Map

Race Bibs:
Please pin your bib number to the FRONT of you somewhere, so that it is VISIBLE. This race is chip-timed, but we will still need to see your bib number, to have an accounting of you during the race and in the results. If you like pinning your number to your back, you’d better plan to run the race backwards, Gomer.

Aid:
Our Staffed Aid Stations will have real food, in addition to these Hammer Nutrition products: Hammer Gel, Endurolytes, and Heed sports-drink. In addition to Endurolytes, we will also these electrolytes available: Succeed brand S-caps and GU Electrolyte Brew Tablets. Our aid station personnel are experienced trail and ultra-runners; they are there to help you complete your race.

Hydration Device is Mandatory for 50K & Half-Marathon Entrants:
If you are running in the Half or 50K, please plan to carry a water bottle or hydration device of some kind. The unstaffed (water only) aid stations will NOT have cups, so you will need something to put the water into. This keeps the potential for litter to a minimum. The staffed aid stations WILL have cups.

Aid Stations will be in these approximate locations:
50K Race:
4 miles unstaffed (water only)
6          staffed (full aid) AND PORTA-POTTY
8          unstaffed (water only)
10        unstaffed (water only)
13.5     staffed (full aid) AND PORTA-POTTY
15.5     staffed (full aid) AND PORTA-POTTY
19        unstaffed (water only)
21        staffed (full aid) AND PORTA-POTTY
23        unstaffed (water only)
25        unstaffed (water only)
29        staffed (full aid) AND PORTA-POTTY

Half-Marathon Race:
4 miles unstaffed (water only)
6          staffed (full aid) AND PORTA-POTTY
8          unstaffed (water only)
10        unstaffed (water only)
11.5     staffed (full aid) AND PORTA-POTTY

5K Race:
1.5 miles   staffed (Full aid) AND PORTA-POTTY

Litter:
This is a State Park that you will be running in. Please do not litter. Anyone caught littering will have their name stricken from the race results.

Pacers:
Pacers are ONLY allowed for the last half of the 50K. They must sign a waiver at the starting area (if they haven’t signed-up, online). Pacers don't have to pay, and can use all of the aid stations.

Course Marking:
It takes a while to mark this course and chop-out the eye-pokers and head-bonkers, to make it as safe as possible. Here is a run-down of what type of trail markings to expect on this course:

Little Pink Flags: they are 15” high… in a trail race you are looking down in a trail run, so I mark low. Only follow Pink Flags. In addition to the pink flags, there are directional arrow signs and Wrong Way signs.

When in doubt, follow the little pink flags. The furthest distance between pink flag locations is 150 feet.

I didn't remove all of the head-bonkers, but most of them are marked with bright pink ribbon. This is a REAL trail race. You will have to occasionally duck, pick your feet up to clear fallen logs & rocks, and whatever stuff Nature comes up with. It’s part of the fun of running in an event such as this.

Nobody should get lost; if they do, it's a great way to "give back to nature"...the coyotes will have a feast!

For a Course Map, click here. You can tattoo it onto the back of your left arm or print it out, but: it will do you absolutely no good to find your way on the course. Please follow the course markings!!! BTW, the map is shrunk to fit onto a piece of paper, so it is the shorthand version (that shows intersections, etc). It may be of use to your crew, though.

Snakes, Spiders, and Ticks, oh-my!
Unless you are leading the race, you won’t have to contend with breaking through spider webs, and the front-runners scare away any snakes that might be hanging out on the course. Please thank them for their service!

When someone asks me, “what’s the most dangerous animal on the course,” I’ll invariably say, “Ticks,” due to the diseases that they can carry. Please do a tick-check when you get home after the race. If a tick is removed within 24 hours, there is really no concern. Once again, the frontrunners will pick up most of the ticks encountered on the trail; but if you wander into the woods or through tall grass, you more than likely will pick up a few.

Special Weather-related Safety Information
This is Kansas, after all. Your safety is our primary concern. In the event of severe weather (lightning, flooding, sustained winds above 40 MPH, or tornado), Race or Park Staff will shut the race down. In the event of a tornado siren sounding, please find your way to a substantial shelter and wait for the sirens and danger to subside. Or, if severe winds suddenly hit your location, lay down in a ditch or low spot (that hasn’t yet filled with water), and put your hands over your head. After the danger has passed, make your way to a paved road crossing or to a staffed aid station, so that we can get you back to your car or civilization. Important: we will need an accounting of you, so that we aren’t looking for you.

I will inform you of potential weather conditions later in the week. The course right now is very dry, and could use some rain prior to race day. This trail drains well, so mud is not a factor.

Staying at Branded B Ranch

Rod Brown, the owner of Branded B Ranch, works a very busy day job, so it sometimes takes him a while to get back to you. It’s best to contact him via email.

Rod Brown,  email , 785-633-4888


Lodging at the Race Site (Branded B Ranch):
Stay in bunks in air-conditioned comfort for just $25 overnight. This includes flush toilets, sinks, and showers.

Camping at Branded B:
Just show-up and pitch a tent in the mowed-grassy-area that is fenced-off. Settle-up ($20) with Rod (the owner), later.

Here is the webpage for Branded B.

Directions to Branded B Ranch (Start of the Race):
From 24 highway (between Lawrence and Topeka), turn north on 237 highway.
Take 237 Hwy North for about 7 miles. I’ll have a couple of yellow “Trail Race” directional signs on 237.
Look for the “Branded B Ranch” sign, and take a right. Park in the grassy lot marked “Trail Race Parking.”
Google Map
$$$ to the Trails

Note: A large portion of this race’s net proceeds will go to the Kansas Trails Council exclusively for the Lake Perry Trails "Friends of the Trail" Fund. So the actual trail that you will be running on, will receive the funds from the race!

Brief Description:

Map to Race & Lodging Information