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Elizabeth’s Furnace Fat Ass 50K

Saturday March 13, 2010
Starting time - 7:00 a.m.

A 50-Kilometer Run in the Elizabeth’s Furnace/Signal Knob area of the George Washington National Forest in the Fort Valley of Virginia.

Details

The Elizabeth’s Furnace Fat Ass 50K run will be held on Saturday March 13 beginning at 7:00 AM. The start and finish will be in the Signal Knob parking lot in the George Washington National Forest (at the northern end of the Fort Valley) off of Route 678, west and south of Front Royal, Virginia.

As this is a Fat Ass 50K, you know the drill: no fee, no awards, no wimps, no aid. Well, not entirely without aid, but fairly limited aid, as much of this course is inaccessible except on the trails at this time of year, since the Forest Service has to close some of their unpaved roads during the winter. Most of you who are familiar with VHTRC Fat Ass events are used to being spoiled at the aid stations, and that will still be the case at Elizabeth’s. We just won’t be able to provide full aid until just after the 22 mile mark, in the Elizabeth’s Furnace parking lot, so you will only be spoiled once.

The Elizabeth’s Furnace 50K course is very challenging, composed primarily of mountainous, technical single-track trails, with some stretches of fire roads. Total elevation gain is approximately 6,070 feet. Since the race is being held in the mountains in late winter, the weather can be unpredictable, so be prepared! Virtually the entire course is forested, so blowdowns and other trail obstacles may be encountered. Under normal conditions there will not be any significant stream crossings, but wet feet and mud are definitely a possibility on the Mudhole Gap and lower Sherman Gap portions of the run. If you are not used to running for extended periods unaided on very technical trail, you may want to pass on this run.

All runners will need to carry turnsheets describing the various blazed trails that will be followed over the course of the run. The turnsheet may be viewed below – be sure to print it out and bring it with you, as it won’t be available at the start. There will be no other trail markings other than the blazes. Anyone doing this run should also have the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club’s Map "G" Massanutten Mountain-North Half (George Washington National Forest, VA and WV, VA-56 southward to US-211). It is available at many area outdoor stores as well as online at the PATC site.

Again, the aid will be minimal. There will be a single full aid station at the 22.2 mile point on the course, and another unmanned water stop that the runners will pass by on two occasions (at the 6.4 and 18.9 mile points). Runners who wish to have specific items at the aid station in addition to the food and drink that will be provided by the run organizers may bring a small, sturdy, marked bag to the start. The aid station is about ¾ of a mile from the start/finish. Please do NOT drop early without checking in at the aid station, so that we won’t be worried about your whereabouts.

There is only one cut off: Runners arriving at the full aid station at 22.2 miles after 3 PM will be asked not to continue – not that anyone getting there after 9 hours would be likely to try to continue, especially with the evil climb up Sherman’s Gap on the pink trail looming.

Entry

So now that you are salivating at the prospect of taking on this challenge, the only question left is where do you go to sign up? The VHTRC Web site of course – enter some basic information, check off the waiver, and you are in. The first week of entry (January 26 to Feb 2) is limited to current VHTRC members only (i.e., don't join just to sign up for this). We will open to all others after one week if there is still room. The Forest Service has a backlog on permits, so we were unable to secure one for this event. As a result, the cap on the number of participants is 73. If by some fluke the cap is reached, there will be a limited waiting list. Entry will be closed after March 8 so don’t delay! And if you can’t run but want to come out and play anyway, we would be happy to get some help from one or two volunteers. Please contact Quatro Hubbard (quatro.hubbard@gmail.com) or Mike Bur (mjcbur@yahoo.com) if you have any questions about the Elizabeth’s Furnace 50K.

GO HERE TO ENTER:

Directions to the start at Signal Knob:

From the DC Beltway (I-495) take 1-66 West approx. 60 miles to US 340 south (Exit 6, - the second Front Royal exit). Follow US 340 south 1.1 miles to the traffic light at VA Route 55. Turn right onto VA 55 and follow it west for 5.2 miles to Waterlick. Turn left (south) onto VA Route 678. Follow VA 678 1.8 miles into George Washington National Forest, and a total of 3.4 miles to the marked entrance of the Signal Knob parking lot, located on the right-hand side of the road. Plenty of parking spaces are available in this lot. Map

Elizabeth’s Fat Ass – Turnsheet

Open Turnsheet [pdf] in Separate Window for Printing

1) Start at south end of Signal Knob parking lot, cross bridge, then RIGHT on Massanutten Trail (orange blaze) towards Signal Knob

2) LEFT on Meneka Peak Trail (white blaze)

3) LEFT on Tuscarora Trail (blue blaze)

4) First Aid - at junction of Sidewinder Trail with Tuscarora Trail

5) RIGHT on Sidewinder Trail (pink blaze)

6) RIGHT on Mudhole Gap Fire road/Trail (purple blaze)

7) LEFT on Signal Knob FR 66/Massanutten Trail (orange blaze)

8) RIGHT on Massanutten Trail from FR 66 (orange blaze)

9) RIGHT on Tuscarora Trail (blue blaze) on western ridge of Massanutten Mountain (Three Top Mountain) – BE ALERT HERE!

10) LEFT on Massanutten Trail/Signal Knob Fire Road 66 (orange blaze) up and over Signal Knob

11) RIGHT on Meneka Peak Trail (white blaze)

12) LEFT on Tuscarora Trail (blue blaze) - this time taking it all the way down across Rt 678 to Elizabeths Furnace Parking Lot

13) Second Aid Station in outer Elizabeths Furnace Parking Lot

14) Continue over bridge and through the length of the Elizabeths Furnace parking lots (paved; unblazed; stay left)

15) Pick up the Botts Trail (white blaze) at left rear edge of southern-most parking area next to wooden kiosk/sign.

16) LEFT on Sherman Gap Trail (pink blaze)

19) LEFT on combination Massanutten Trail/Tuscarora Trail (orange & blue blazes) on eastern ridge of Massanutten Mountain

20) LEFT at Shawl Gap, continuing on Massanutten/Tuscarora trails (orange & blue blazes) to Elizabeth’s Furnace parking area.

21) Continue on Massanutten/Tuscarora (orange & blue blazes) across Rt 678

22) RIGHT on Massanutten Trail (orange blaze, when it splits from Tuscarora Trail) towards Signal Knob parking and the finish.

 

Turn	Dir.	Trail Name	Blaze	Description	Leg Dist.	Total Dist.
S	(NW)	MMT	ORANGE	Signal Knob Parking Lot to Meneka Trail	3.4	3.4
L	(S)	MENEKA	WHITE	Massanutten Mountain Trail to Tuscarora Trail	1.2	4.6
L	(E)	TT	BLUE	Meneka Trail to Sidewinder Trail (AID)	1.8	6.4
R	(S)	SIDEWINDER	PINK	Tuscarora Trail to Mudhole Gap Trail	0.8	7.2
R	(SW)	MUDHOLE	PURPLE	Sidewinder to FR 66/Massanutten Trail	3.3	10.5
S	(S)	MMT	ORANGE	Mudhole Gap to Powells South gate	0.4	10.9
R	(W)	MMT	ORANGE	Powells South gate to Tuscarora Trail	0.5	11.4
R	(N)	TT	BLUE	3 Top Mountain to FR 66/Massanutten Trail	3.5	14.9
L	(N)	MMT	ORANGE	Tuscarora Trail to Signal Knob Overlook	1.2	16.1
S	(SE)	MMT	ORANGE	Signal Knob Overlook to Meneka Trail	1.1	17.2
R	(S)	MENEKA	WHITE	Massanutten Trail to Tuscarora Trail (again)	1.2	18.4
L	(E)	TT	BLUE	Meneka to Signal Knob Parking Spur trail	3.5	21.9
R	(SE)	MMT/TT	ORANGE /BLUE	Signal Knob Spur to Elizabeth Furnace AID	0.3	22.2
L	(SE)	BOTTS	WHITE	Elizabeths Furnace to Sherman Gap Trail	0.9	23.1
L	(SE)	SHERMAN	PINK	Botts Trail to MT/Tuscarora Trail	2.6	25.7
L	(N)	MMT/TT	ORG/BLU	Sherman Gap to Shawl Gap	2.3	28
L	(W)	MMT/TT	ORG/BLU	Shawl Gap to Signal Knob Lot/Spur Trail	2.5	30.5
R	(NE)	MMT	ORANGE	Signal Knob Spur to Signal Knob Parking lot	0.5	31