So what's the deal with the North Face Endurance Challenge? I mean is it asking too much to know course details a month and a half before a race. Because if that's the case, I may be out of line here. To me it seems that the vast majority of folks running any distance, especially an ultra, like to plan their schedule in advance. Most people, and I know there are some exceptions, probably aren't going to jump into a 50 mile race on a whim.
That's why it's absolutely shocking to me that the May 10th North Face Endurance Challenge hasn't nailed down a course yet. The race had originally been set for May 10th in Seattle, and now Seattle has come to mean Bellingham, 3 counties and an hour and a half from Seattle. Having a bit of an inside look at their race organization, I can speak to what a complete cluster f#!k the whole thing is. I know for a fact that the Seattle race was originally slated to take place at Cougar Mountain, and now since that fell through, Bellingham has become the new location. I'm fine with the race taking place in Bellingham, in fact that's why I'm tempted to run, but it's frustrating to see such poor planning.
You shouldn't feel like you're gambling when signing up to run any distance, let alone 5o friggin' miles. You need only read Uli Steidl's race report of the championship race in December 2007 to realize how poorly the course was marked, and this with $10,000 on the line for the winner. I just don't think that it's too much to ask, especially for a race that you're shelling out 70 or 80 bucks for, to have a course map and elevation profile at least a few months before the race. Last time I checked this wasn't the North Face Endurance Fat Ass. This series has the potential to be something huge. There are some big name sponsors and prize money, but poor management is really killing it.
That said, I'm willing to roll the dice on this one. Why? Well for a few reasons really 1) It's only a tune-up race in my case. 2) I do love the trails on and around Chuckanut Mountain. 3) There's a pretty good chance to win some prize money. Talk about selling out, huh?
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The North Face
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4 comments:
Brian, I couldn't agree more. New races and race series deserve the benefit of the doubt, since it's hard to get everything right the first time, but my impression is that things are just as disorganized this year as they were last year. At least they're giving prize money to 2nd and 3rd this time around....
Just to clarify the previous comment: When I referred to last year's disorganization I was thinking of the series as a whole, not the Seattle race in particular. I know you were Assistant RD of that one....
Thanks for the clarification, Greg. I think we did the best we could with what we had, but the event was definitely far from top notch.
Also Greg, I think they're giving money to 2nd and 3rd this year, but even that's a little fuzzy. The website says that the money will be three deep, yet we just got a pamphlet here at the store on how to train for the event. It gives a few basic details. One of which states that the 2nd and 3rd place will receive TNF prize packs.
They really need to do some evaluation in regard to their whole series and philosophy. Last year was a complete funk from what I heard and read. This year they have a race in my home state of Wisconsin. However with little thinking they scheduled it the weekend after the legendary Glacial Trail 50m/50km races on the northern section of the Ice Age Trail. This race has been around for 20+ years, Tom Bunk the creator of it. I ran it for the first time last year and love the challenging course. NFC comes in and schedules their event the weekend after on a section not to far away. This makes no sense at all. Besides, the fact that all of the races on the Ice Age Trail will have already been run, and I doubt many will want to show up for this.... Maybe I am wrong, but you won't find me at the NFC. I'll be doing Glacial again without a doubt.
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