Trail Mix Race 2010 Map

When I first signed up for this race, I couldn't find a map anywhere of the route for this race.  So, now that I have run it, I proceeded to create my own rough map using Google Earth overlay for others to use as a reference.  The resolution got pretty low, so sorry about that.  Without buying some map software, I'm not sure how to improve that.

Word on the street is that this route does change from year to year, so don't assume this is the way it will always be.  When trail conditions permit, the race loops through the down-hill ski and snowboard area.  This was not the case this year and instead a loop through the wood chip trails near Richardson Nature center substituted for the ski hill.

The loop as detailed below is 12.5km (7.75 miles).  The 25k would obviously be 2 loops and the 50k race would be 4 loops.  It sounds like the aid stations ran short near the end of the 50k race, so those participants should plan accordingly for future races.  It looked like a lot of the 50k runners set up there own little aid stations near the start of the loop alongside the trail.  I thought this was a pretty smart thing to do if you want to make sure you have the water and fuel you need to push through to a strong finish.

The Race (red line) started at the green start button and headed north and stayed left up through to Richardson Nature Center.  It loops back to the south and stays to the east of the northbound traffic.  This creates a couple places where there is 2-way traffic, but the trail is plenty wide for this.  The loop near the Richardson Nature Center is all on wood chip trails that felt somewhat like running on a mattress, not easy!!  There was an aid station set up at the south end of the 2-way traffic that provided water and gatorade.  I'm not actually sure if they had anything to eat as I brought my own gels.  The race loop pushed across to the east side of the park and followed the east side of Hyland Lake where once again, there was 2-way traffic.  At the split of the 2-way traffic, there was another aid station set up.  Both aid stations are pretty strategic in that you won't run any farther than about 2.5 miles without a station.  After the second aid station, the loop heads south and then west up a good size hill.  This hill was pretty defeating for me on my second loop and end up being my slowest mile split of the whole race.  The loop then circles back north and then east to meet up with on-coming traffic on the east side of the lake.  Looping around the north end of the lake, the trail heads west to finish up where it started.