50k
Saturday, March 29, 2014: 7:00am-7:45am Check-in at Benson State Recreation Area. Buses Depart at 8:00am to go to race start. Race Starts at Wyeth Trailhead at 9:00am. No early start. See more details below about the transportation plan.
100k
Sunday, March 30, 2014: 3:00am-3:45am Check-in at Benson State Recreation Area. 4:00am race start. No early start. Everyone will need to start with flashlights/headlamps(sunrise is at 7am)--you'll be able to leave them at the aid stations so you don't have to carry them the whole way.
Where: Benson State Recreation Area in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area about 13 miles East of Troutdale, OR at Exit 30 on I-84. Click here for road map and driving directions Note: Exit 30 is only accessible for Eastbound traffic that means for folks coming from the east you'll have to go past Exit 30 to Exit 22 and then get back on the interstate heading East to get to Exit 30. And for folks heading home after the race to places West of Exit 30 you'll have to go East to Exit 31(Multnomah Falls) to get on on I-84 heading West.
Parking Fee: To park at the Start/Finish you'll need either a $5 day pass that you can purchase on site at the fee kiosk(Debit/credit cards only. No cash or check). Or you can use your 12 month or 24 month Oregon State Park Pass (purchase prior to race day!)
50k Bus to Start Details:Since the 50k is a point-to-point course runners will be bused before the race from the finish (Benson State Recreation Area) to the start (Wyeth Trailhead/Campground). Runner Check-In starts at 7am at Benson and the buses depart at 8am. It's a 15-20 minute drive and the race will start at Wyeth at 9:00am. Runners will not be able to leave anything on the buses but we will have a vehicle available to transport "warm-up" clothes back to the finish.
Entry Fees:
50k: $70 (not including shirt)
100k: $130 (not including shirt)
NEW: Registration for the lottery opens at Ultrasignup.com on December 3rd, runners will have a week to sign up for the lottery and lottery will take place December 10th.
Lottery: Due to the overwhelming popularity of some of our races(Orcas Island 50k/25k literally crashed the ultrasignup server!) we will now be using a lottery system for the most popular ones. This race sold out in minutes last year. Registration for the lottery will be open for one week so everyone won't have to be on their computers at the exact minute registration opens. We will open registration on December 3rd and announce the lottery results sometime on the 10th. There will be no wait list, We realize this system has flaws but so do any other system when you have demand that far exceeds supply(see hardrock and western states lotteries). On a positive note we do have lots of other amazing races to choose from if you don't get in this one.
Also a note about the lottery process: Your payment info will be gathered by ultrasignup when you register for the lottery but you will not be charged at that time, After we hold the lottery drawing everyone will receive an email stating whether or not you were a lucky lottery winner. The winners will be given the opportunity to accept or decline a spot in the race. Only those who accept will be charged the entry fee.
You should register for your preferred distance, 100k or 50k. You will be asked in the registration process "If you are not selected in lottery for this distance would you like to be added to the other distance if space is available?". We are assuming that only the 50k will actually sell out. We will hold the 50k lottery first. Any of the 50k runners who are not chosen and who selected to be added to the other distance will be added to the 100k if there is space available. If there is not enough room in the 100k for all the runners who originally registered for the 100k and those runners who originally registered for the 50k but didn't get accepted then we will give preference to those who chose the 100k as their first choice and select them for the race and the remaining spots in the race will be doled out by holding a 2nd lottery for all of the "50k losers". Be sure to register for the distance that is truly your first choice because if both distances sell out then we will not do all this 2nd choice stuff, you will only have one chance.
BYPASS THE LOTTERY: For those of you who volunteered at 2013 The Gorge Waterfalls 50k or are planning on volunteering at the 2014 Gorge Waterfalls 50k or 100k or are bringing a volunteer who will volunteer while you are running you can bypass the lottery process. Those of you willing to volunteer or bring a volunteer to bypass the lottery you will need to register for one of the volunteer spots before 6AM(PST) December 10th. More details on our brand new volunteer registration process coming soon, please don't email us we're working a setting up a more efficient system(thanks!). Those of you who already volunteered at the 2013 Gorge Waterfalls and you haven't already used your free entry that you earned and would like to run this year's please email james@rainshadowrunning.com and we'll send you a registration invite.
Volunteers who have helped at our other past races or who will volunteer at Deception Pass 50k/25k or Orcas Island 25k or Orcas Island 50k can use their coupon codes for the 2014 Gorge Waterfalls 100k/50k but they do not get to bypass the lottery. The same applies with folks who want to use their coupon codes they received when they requested to transfer from one race to another.
T-Shirt: Our t-shirt philosophy: Who wants another ugly crappy race shirt that's just gonna take up space in your closet? Instead we'd rather use the best shirts with fun and tasteful designs and give the runners the choice to buy it instead of forcing it upon them and adding on the cost to the entry fee. For all of our races we use high quality, eco-friendly technical shirts from Patagonia. For this race the shirts are short sleeved Capilene 1 with gender specific sizes. The fit is true to size or maybe a little on the small size-- they are definitely not the over-sized monstrosities that you get at most races that are more like dresses than t-shirts! More specific sizing details can be found here on the Patagonia Website. To see some examples of our past shirt click here.
Price: $35
***Deadline is March 8th to get shirt!
Cutoff Times:
50k: 9 hours
100k: 16 hours
See the Course Page for the cut off times at each of the aid stations
Also a note about the lottery process: Your payment info will be gathered by ultrasignup when you register for the lottery but you will not be charged at that time, After we hold the lottery drawing everyone will receive an email stating whether or not you were a lucky lottery winner. The winners will be given the opportunity to accept or decline a spot in the race. Only those who accept will be charged the entry fee.
You should register for your preferred distance, 100k or 50k. You will be asked in the registration process "If you are not selected in lottery for this distance would you like to be added to the other distance if space is available?". We are assuming that only the 50k will actually sell out. We will hold the 50k lottery first. Any of the 50k runners who are not chosen and who selected to be added to the other distance will be added to the 100k if there is space available. If there is not enough room in the 100k for all the runners who originally registered for the 100k and those runners who originally registered for the 50k but didn't get accepted then we will give preference to those who chose the 100k as their first choice and select them for the race and the remaining spots in the race will be doled out by holding a 2nd lottery for all of the "50k losers". Be sure to register for the distance that is truly your first choice because if both distances sell out then we will not do all this 2nd choice stuff, you will only have one chance.
BYPASS THE LOTTERY: For those of you who volunteered at 2013 The Gorge Waterfalls 50k or are planning on volunteering at the 2014 Gorge Waterfalls 50k or 100k or are bringing a volunteer who will volunteer while you are running you can bypass the lottery process. Those of you willing to volunteer or bring a volunteer to bypass the lottery you will need to register for one of the volunteer spots before 6AM(PST) December 10th. More details on our brand new volunteer registration process coming soon, please don't email us we're working a setting up a more efficient system(thanks!). Those of you who already volunteered at the 2013 Gorge Waterfalls and you haven't already used your free entry that you earned and would like to run this year's please email james@rainshadowrunning.com and we'll send you a registration invite.
Volunteers who have helped at our other past races or who will volunteer at Deception Pass 50k/25k or Orcas Island 25k or Orcas Island 50k can use their coupon codes for the 2014 Gorge Waterfalls 100k/50k but they do not get to bypass the lottery. The same applies with folks who want to use their coupon codes they received when they requested to transfer from one race to another.
T-Shirt: Our t-shirt philosophy: Who wants another ugly crappy race shirt that's just gonna take up space in your closet? Instead we'd rather use the best shirts with fun and tasteful designs and give the runners the choice to buy it instead of forcing it upon them and adding on the cost to the entry fee. For all of our races we use high quality, eco-friendly technical shirts from Patagonia. For this race the shirts are short sleeved Capilene 1 with gender specific sizes. The fit is true to size or maybe a little on the small size-- they are definitely not the over-sized monstrosities that you get at most races that are more like dresses than t-shirts! More specific sizing details can be found here on the Patagonia Website. To see some examples of our past shirt click here.
Price: $35
***Deadline is March 8th to get shirt!
Cutoff Times:
50k: 9 hours
100k: 16 hours
See the Course Page for the cut off times at each of the aid stations
Aid Stations: There will be three full aid stations for the 50k and seven full aid stations for the 100k, The aid stations will have water, nuun electrolyte drink, succeed electrolyte caps, gu, and a wide variety of the normal ultra aid station food(cookies, chips, candy, potatoes, fruit, etc.) See the Course Page for the mile points each of the aid stations, maps elevation profiles and course descriptions.
Drop Bags: You can have drop bags at all of the aid stations. Please have your drop bags labelled with your name.
Bathrooms: There will be portable toilets at the start and the finish and at all aid stations.
Post Race: We'll hang out at the Benson Lake State Recreation Area drinking tasty locally brewed beer and other beverages, eating yummy food including handmade hot pizza. The Pine Hearts will also be playing live at the finish(if weather allows) and Saturday night at McMenamin's Edgefield, the host hotel located just a few minutes away in Troutdale.
The Trail Running Film Fest:
The Trail Running Film Fest will not be shown at Edgefield on race weekend afterall, sorry. (Someone else has reserved the theater for the weekend already) BUT we are showing the film fest all over the Northwest in March and around the country this summer! Here is the schedule for the NW Tour:
March ?? Portland, OR
March 12 Olympia, WA
March 13 Tacoma, WA
March 14 Bellingham, WA
March 15 Seattle, WA
March 16 Wenatchee, WA
March 18 Twisp, WA
March 19 Spokane, WA
March 20 Hood River, OR
March 22 Bend, OR
March 24 Ashland, OR
March 21 Eugene, OR
Where to Sleep, Eat, Etc.:
Highly Recommended: Troutdale, Oregon's historic Edgefield Inn, built in 1911 as the county poor farm, is a destination resort in the Pacific Northwest that blends Oregon's natural beauty with McMenamin's signature whimsy: original buildings carefully restored with cozy interiors, gardens grown using organic methods, great food and drink, live entertainment and more. Edgefield is sold out of rooms--it's a good place to come for dinner, drinks and to see The Pine Hearts so getting a hotel room in Troutdale is still a good idea.
Troutdale, Or and Cascade Locks, Or are the two closest options for hotels and restaurants. Portland is also close by being only about 30 minutes away. Closest camping is at Ainsworth State Park(which is right on the course).
Troutdale, Or and Cascade Locks, Or are the two closest options for hotels and restaurants. Portland is also close by being only about 30 minutes away. Closest camping is at Ainsworth State Park(which is right on the course).
Refund Policy: We no longer offer refunds. However, entry fees can be transferred to a future Rainshadow Running race if notice is given before race week.
Race Director: Email James Varner at james@rainshadowrunning.com
