Twin Peaks 50/50 Blog

15 Weeks!

Twin Peaks 2010 is only 15 weeks away!  Hope your training is in full swing!  Working on many details for Twin Peaks such as finalizing sponsors, pricing shirts and medals, etc.  If you or someone you know can help out as a volunteer for this race - let me know.  We still need plenty of those! :)

Newest Sponsors include Hammer Nutrition and Montrail.  Hammer will provide Heed at the aid stations and there will be Hammer gels available as well.  They are also throwing in a few giveaway goodies!  Nuun will also be provided at the aid stations for those of you who prefer.  Montrail has provided coupons for a some free pairs of shoes!  Very nice as I LOVE Montrail shoes.  Too bad I can't have them myself..

Still working on a few more sponsors as well.

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

Safety & Communications for TP 2010

Communications and safety for Twin Peaks 2010 will be provided by Riverside County RACES

"The Riverside County, California Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) is under the direction of the Riverside County Fire Department, Office of Emergency Services."

Twin Peaks Start Times Calculation

In case you were wondering... Starts times for Twin Peaks are based upon runners previous ultra times, or are estimated if Twin Peaks is their first ultra.   They are roughly based as follows:

50K
8:00 Start
Estimated Finish Time = 7.5+ hours
9:00 Start
Estimated Finish Time = 5 - 7.5 hours

50M
5:00 Start
Estimated Finish Time = 13-16 hours
6:00 Start
Estimated Finish Time = 11-13 hours
7:00 Start
Estimated Finish Time = 8-11  hours

(Note: In order to run the 50 miler you need to have finished a road marathon or trail race greater than 30K.  Contact RD for any possible exceptions!)

Early Bird Registration Opens Sept 9th, 2009

If you want to get in Twin Peaks 2010 for cheap then you'll want to sign up for early bird registration.  Early bird rates end September 30th.  Socal Trailheadz members, Orange County Trail Runners members, and volunteers from Twin Peaks 2008 will receive a 10% discount on all rates (early bird or not). 

NEW requirements in 2010:  Due to difficultly, You MUST have completed a marathon or trail race of greater than 30K if you wish to enter the 50 Mile race.  Cut off times will be strictly enforced for 50 mile runners.  If you wish to seek an entry exception, please contact the RD for consideration.  

Details:

Registration Opens on September 9, 2009. Rates are as follows:
Sept 9 - Sept 30: $60 (50K) $70 (50M) Early Bird
Oct 1 - Dec 31: $65 (50K) $75 (50M)
Jan 1 - Feb 1: $70 (50K) $80 (50M) Late Reg
(no Registration after Feb 1st, 2010)

Refunds: There will be no refunds for personal reasons. In the event the race is canceled by an act of God/Nature or per the race directors discretion (for safety reasons, etc.), the following guidelines apply depending on the date of cancellation:
Jan 2nd - Feb 6th, 2010 = $0 Refund
Nov 2nd - Jan 1st 2010 = 75% refund
Aug 1st - Nov 1st, 2009 = 100% refund

Hope to see you at the starting line!
Run free & Dirty,
Jessica

Winners run Free!

New starting in 2010 -

If you are a previous winner of Twin Peaks 50K or 50M you will get free entry into future Twin Peaks races (on the same course)! ie. if you won the course in 2008 it won't count toward 2010 since it was a different course.  2009 winners will get free entry to the 2010 race if you enter in the same distance you won in 2009.  This applies to first place male and female in the 50K and first place male and female in the 50M.

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

Tech Shirts

Good news if you plan on volunteering for Twin Peaks in 2010.  I'll be offering short sleeve TECH shirts to all volunteers.  Race entrants will get black long sleeve tech shirts and volunteers will get short sleeve white tech shirts.  So if you are on the fence about volunteering then maybe this added bonus will help your decision :)

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica Deline

13 Months

Twin Peaks is 13 months away but that doesn't mean nothing is happening with the race.  Being a race director in some ways is not just about doing a job, but about who you are since there is almost always something happening.  Right now I'm processing emails and the like in the aftermath of canceling the 2009 race.  In addition to that I'm working on building my sponsor and volunteer list for 2010 already from the list I had started for the 2009 race.

A recent decision was to add 3 non-profit organizations to the list of Twin Peaks beneficiaries.  Starting in 2010 and going forward, a portion of Twin Peaks processed will go to The Nature Conservatory, The Conservation Alliance, and Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary.

Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary is an obvious choice since it was the home base for the original Twin Peaks race and hopefully will be again in 2011.  They are still recovering from the Santiago Fire of 2008.  In addition, they own the land that leads up to the Forest Service boundary on Harding Truck Trail, so whenever you access the mountains via Harding you are traversing Tucker owned land.

I first learned about The Conservation Alliance through Krissy Moehl.  Their mission is to engage outdoor businesses to help protect and conserve threatened wild places for their habitat and recreation values.  This of course, has a direct impact on our future enjoyment of wilderness trails and races that take place on them.

Founded in 1951, The Nature Conservatory helps protect many areas, including the Santa Ana Mountains (Home of Twin Peaks).  They do work in all 50 states and more than 30 countries.

Through the years, I look forward to donating to these very worth causes.  It's one small way I can give back from the trail running community for the chance to hold races in (and enjoy) these beautiful places.

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

New Web Site

I've launched a new website for the Twin Peaks 50/50.  Hopefully it's easier to navigate and has all the important information on there!  I've been busy in the aftermath of canceling the 2009 race.  Whether or not the course opens in time for what would have been the race - I'm not going to second guess my decision.  Hindsight it always 20/20 and doing races in the mountains also poses some inherent risks and challenges.  Hopefully 2010 won't bring any massive logistical challenges as I'm certainly looking forward to putting on another race! 

I'm going to stick with the 50/50 distance for now and get the course down (one of the reasons I didn't want to risk an alternate course for 2009).  The 2010 course remains the same as 2008 and the 2011 course may revert back to the original course if Harding Truck Trail should open up sometime in 2010.

Happy Running & Dirty Feet,
Jessica

TP 2009 Cancellation

Dear Twin Peaks 2009 runners,

Regretfully, I am writing to inform you of the cancellation for Twin Peaks 2009. 
The decision did not come easily. It came with much consultation from other runners
and other race directors. While I know the race would have been well supported with
a good communications team in time for race day, there are some extenuating
circumstances, especially the possibly that Indian Truck Trail will not be cleared
in time for the Feb 28th race. At best it's a 50/50 chance. The Santa Ana Mountains 
received extensive storm damage and so far, Indian Truck Trail (or other trails) is 
not a clearing priority as the Forest Service is working on keeping Main Divide clear. 

This decision was not influenced in any way by the Series email that was recently
sent out. Twin Peaks existed before I knew of the series and it will always exist
whether the Series does or not. Or whether Twin Peaks is part of the series or not.
 It was merely an issue of me not wanting to take a gamble and letting people know
of the situation early enough so as to make alternate arrangements. 

In order to provide the best race experience possible, I have made this decision -
though not lightly. I take great joy in putting on races and seeing the smiles at
the finish line (remarkably even from the DNFs)! I will greatly miss putting on a
race in 2009 but will bring Twin Peaks back in full glory for February 2010. 

Per your request, you may either receive a refund of race fees or carry over your
entry to 2010. If you request a refund, please allow 4-8 weeks for processing as I
may have a large number of requests and I'm a small operation :) 

Twin Peaks 2010 will be back and is sure to be an incredible experience. It will
have been over one year in the making and sadly I'll have to wait until then as well
to present to you some exciting changes, including a fantastic new logo, course
marking from a certified land surveyor, roaming 4x4 support with Ham radio
communications, trained emergency medical response team on-site, at least one hot
food aid station, and much more. I hope you will bear with me through 2009 and try
Twin Peaks in 2010. I promise it will be worth the wait! 

If you are looking for an alternate race you can try the San Juan 50K on March 14th
(RD Baz Hawley) or the Old Goat 50 miler (RD Steve Harvey) on March 28th. If you
are looking for a 100K race you may be able to beg, borrow, or shmooze your way into
the Coyote Two Moon race on March 14th.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please 
be patient with my response. You can stay up to date on
Twin Peaks by visiting the website or the new Twin Peaks update blog.

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Regards,
-- 

Jessica Deline
http://www.twinpeaks5050.com
http://socalrunnergirl.typepad.com/twinpeaks/