Pre-Race FAQ

These are your final instructions!

The weather forecast calls for clear skies for several days leading up to the race, in contrast to last year’s mud fest. I apologize in advance for the good weather.

With a modicum of good luck, this should answer all your questions:

1.      Start Time: The first wave starts with a gunshot at 9 am on October 14th, rain or shine. Only a severe storm could alter plans. If you don’t pick up your packet beforehand, please leave ample time before the race for parking/packet details.

2.      Wave Start: Four waves, with five minutes between each, with an estimated 150-200 runners per wave. While you can jump back a wave to start with a friend, or finish up at the toilets, you cannot jump forward! The race is electronically timed and we know from your chip where you’re supposed to start. You’ll get your wave assignment when you pick up your bib.

For an explanation of how (and why) we set up the waves click this link.

3.      Number Pick-up: We encourage runners to pick up race numbers and shirts prior to race day at Westchester Road Runner at 179 E. Post Road in White Plains:
Friday: 5-8 pm
Saturday: 10 am-4 pm

The first 100 to pick up their packets will receive a free copy of Trail Runner Magazine.

The store will also recycle old running shoes to charity, so bring in the shoes laying in the back of your closet for the last couple years.

You must pick up your own number and nobody else’s.  The only exception is picking up for someone with your same last name or address. Please do not ask for additional exceptions.  Please bring a picture ID to packet pickup.

4.      Number transfers are not permitted. If you transfer a number, a kitten will die. Please remember that this is a fund-raiser to improve the trails you are running on. This is what we have done for the trails and what we hope to do in the future.  If you were to transfer a number you would foul up the results, and could deprive another person of an award.  This is the reason for the no transfer (and no refund) policy.

5.       Tech shirts are guaranteed to those who registered by September 15^th. If you don’t get a shirt at check-in, you can pick one up after the race on a first come, first serve basis (depending on the number of no-shows). Our shirt policy can be found at this link.

6.      Late Registration: If you have a friend that still hasn’t registered, well, shame on them for waiting. But if they come to number pick-up on Friday or Saturday, or to the registration area between 7-8:30 am race day, we’ll try to squeeze them in if we still have openings. But we will not oversell the race and swamp the trails with too many runners. Please check the website for updates if you insisted on waiting until the last minute. Shirts are not guaranteed to late registrants.

Late registrations must be paid by check or with exact change.

7.      Parking is available in two parking lots and on the street. The lot in front of the High School will fill up early. The lot behind the High School on Clove Road is quite large, and has a walkway bringing you past the front of the school toward the start. Don’t even think about parking on Broadview, as that is the racecourse. Click here for a printable map of the parking areas, which you can click again to enlarge. Please consider carpooling to alleviate congestion.

8.      Public transportation from NYC: There is a Metro North train (New Haven line) out of Grand Central at 7:37 that pulls in to New Rochelle at 8:08. A taxi from the station should cost about $7. We expect many Manhattan/Brooklyn runners, so keep your eyes open to share a taxi with other runners. To find taxis, go up the mid-platform stairs to the bridge over the tracks. There is a taxi stand next to the northbound track and also next to the southbound track after you cross the bridge and go through the station house. There is more at this link, including taxi numbers.

Return trains to Grand Central are at 11:33 am, 12:33 pm and 1:33 pm.

9.      Baggage Drop is available at the start. You can check one bag, which will be brought to the finish line. Your bib will have a numbered pull tag that can be pinned to your bag. Please don’t leave valuables in the bags, as we are not responsible for them.

10.      Course Markings: We expect to lay down about 500 bright yellow flags with our Colonial Runner logo, placed at trail intersections and occasional intervals. Some people will ignore the flags and run off course anyway.

11.      Toilets: Porto-potties at the start (get there early!), the 7.5-mile mark (Saxon Woods golf course) and the High School locker room at the finish.

12.      Water/Medical: Water and medical attention will be available at only three spots during the race, in addition to the start and finish. These aid stations are at miles 3.8, 7.5 and 10.8. If you want more water, you better carry it.

13.      Mid-Race Drop-Out: If you get injured, or are too exhausted to finish, you should check in with a volunteer at an aid station. If you can’t make it to the aid station, tell a volunteer on the course. If you tell the police you are injured they will transport you to the emergency room, not the finish line.

14.      The course closes: A sweeper will discharge police and volunteers, starting in Wave 4 and finishing in three hours. Please stay in front of the sweeper! We estimate that middle-of-the-pack finishing times will be your regular 1/2 marathon pace plus an extra 15 minutes to account for the rough terrain.  If you are slower than the sweeper you are on your own, but we will leave the flags in place so you don’t get lost.

15.    Kid Races: We will have kid races for the first time. Young teens will run approximately one mile on a course that takes them on a dirt trail around the twin lakes in front of the high school (with rocks, roots and uneven ground, suitable for tripping and falling). The young teens start around 9:30, while P2P is in progress. Younger kids will run on the football field afterward. Listen for details on race morning.

16.      Post-Race: Food by Fairway! Need we say more? OK, we’ll say more.Robek’s smoothies are back! And VitaCoco coconut water and bottled water fromWalgreens. Oh yeah. We expect an awards ceremony at 11:30.

There will also be a medical tent staffed by Sound Shore Medical Center and we expect several independent massage therapists to assist with post-race stretching.

17.      Post-Race Showers! We’ve once again arranged for the High School locker room to be opened so you can shower and change. But if your shoes are muddy, please remove them before entering the building. We’d like to continue using the facility in the years to come, and trashing it will be, shall we say, counterproductive.

18.    No Dogs. We have dogs. We like their happy, wagging tails. Sadly, we don’t get to make all the rules for the school grounds. That means Tucker, Princess and Snoopy have to stay home.

19.    Volunteers: This event is put on by a local running club, and the entire event committee, race director included, is volunteer. We expect 150+ volunteers on race day. Please be nice to them, they are working hard. Kissing volunteers is permitted. But not the cheerleaders; kissees must be 18 or older.

Feedback: We started with 50 people in 2008, had 191 finishers in 2009, 300 in 2010 and 475 last year. As of this writing we have become one of the largest trail races on the East Coast, having surpassed 850 registrations. The vast majority of our runners learned of the race by word of mouth. We encourage feedback regarding the event to know what works and what doesn’t as we continue to grow and continue to rely on word of mouth as our main means of marketing. This feedback includes, most importantly, our desire to avoid trail congestion with strategic wave assignments that break the middle-of-the-pack runners up into different areas.

Sponsors: This race would not be possible without our sponsors. They include:

Private:

NewRo Runners
Fairway Market (Pelham Manor)
Westchester Road Runner (White Plains)
Walgreens
Nathan Sports
Robeks (New Rochelle)
Vita Coco
PR Bar
Houlihan Lawrence
REI (Yonkers)
Twin Lakes Farm
Sound Shore Medical Center
The Turkewitz Law Firm (NYC)
Breaking The Tape Productions (Mamaroneck)

Municipal:

Westchester County Parks
City of New Rochelle
Town of Mamaroneck
Village of Scarsdale