The Reverse Ring
The Winter Massanutten Trail Circuit Run

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This late February tradition is back again to haunt a handful or two of trail runners this year – the Reverse Ring. The 2010 Reverse Ring will be the fifth running of this semi-invitational event. The Reverse Ring is a roughly 71-mile counter-clockwise circuit of the Massanutten Trail, and it will be held this year on February 27-28. The “semi-invitational” label means that there is only one requirement to get in the Reverse Ring: a runner must have successfully completed a fall running of The Ring and be a member of the “Fellowship of The Ring.” Very simple. (List of Fellowship Members)

Those eligible to run (see first paragraph) should enter on-line by February 22, 2010. If you have questions about the run, e-mail Mike Bur (mjcbur@yahoo.com) or Quatro Hubbard (quatro.hubbard@gmail.com). We will also be looking for a small handful of volunteers to help on Saturday, so if you would like to come out and play for a few hours please let us know.

The Details

2010 Participants
Runners
Volunteers
Mike Bur
Quatro Hubbard
Ed Demoney
Dan Pesta
Bill Wandell
Doug Sullivan
Tom Simonds
Kristine Davis
Jen Jacobs

The Reverse Ring is a Fat Ass run – there is no entry fee required, there will be no awards. It should also be noted that any whiners will be heckled unmercifully by the RDs. However, as the runners are all members of the Fellowship of The Ring already, we are confident that there will be no wimps or whiners in the group. Again, the only qualification needed to run the Reverse Ring is a previous completion of The Ring. Some things in life just are what they are. If you can't do it this year, just go do what you need to do to run this in the future: finish The Ring in the fall. Those who have run the Reverse Ring in the past are of course welcome to return for future Reverse Ring runs – in fact, two of the finishers in 2008 (Mike Dobies and “Billy-Bob” Losey) have finished the Reverse Ring all three years years that it has been held.

The run will start at 7:07 am on Saturday February 27 at the Signal Knob parking lot trailhead. Since the runners will all be repeat offenders, there is no need for additional directions here. Each runner will be allowed a single, sturdy, well-marked drop bag, which will be collected prior to the start in the parking lot. Please try to keep the size of your bag within reason! We will shuttle that single bag around the course for you. There will, of course, be aid available to the runners over much of the course – see the checkpoint list below. For runners who think that they may need more time on the course, there is an early start option. Contact Mike or Quatro to discuss this if you are interested.

Check Points on the Ring

Powells Fort Camp (maybe?) 8.4 miles	Woodstock Tower 14.2	Edinburg Gap 22.4	Moreland Gap 30.4	Chrisman Road 36.8	Camp Roosevelt 46.1	Finish 71.1

The access road to Powells Fort Camp is closed at this time of year, so there likely will not be aid at that point along the Massanutten Trail. We may have a volunteer on a mountain bike make his or her way into that area to provide some aid, if one is available and willing. Otherwise, first aid will be after 14 miles at the Woodstock Road crossing. The same situation will apply to the traditional halfway point on the orange trail, the Chrisman Road crossing aid station, as the runners descend from Kerns Mountain section of the trail. Chrisman Road is closed at this time of year, and aid will only be available if volunteers can bike it in. If not, runners will be doing the 15.5-mile section from Moreland Gap to Camp Roosevelt without aid. And of course, the notorious 25-mile long night section along the east ridge of the Massanuttens, from Camp Roosevelt to the finish back in the Signal Knob parking lot, did not have aid in the past. This year we plan to pitch a tent at the junction of the Veach Gap Trail and Massanutten Trail, about 8 miles from the finish. There will be aid in the tent, and it will provide shelter in case any is needed during the night-time hours.

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

Resources

For full information about the Ring, go to the Ring page.

• Masters of the Ring
• 2009 Results
• 2008 Results
• 2006 and 2007 Results
• Photos
  • 2007 - Mike Bur
  • 2007 - Michele Harmon
  • 2006 - Quatro Hubbard
• Mileages on the MT Trail (these mileages are counter-clockwise -- the way the Reverse Ring goes
• Wil Kohlbrenner's Report on the Massanutten Trail (PATC Site)
• Massanutten Trail Dedication
• Get Map G from the PATC

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Sun and Moon Data for One Day

Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Observatory
Astronomical Applications Department

The following information is provided for Front Royal, Warren County, Virginia (longitude W78.2, latitude N38.9):

        Saturday 
        27 February 2010      Eastern Standard Time          

                         SUN
        Begin civil twilight       6:21 a.m.                 
        Sunrise                    6:48 a.m.                 
        Sun transit               12:25 p.m.                 
        Sunset                     6:03 p.m.                 
        End civil twilight         6:30 p.m.                 

                         MOON
        Moonrise                   3:53 p.m. on preceding day
        Moonset                    5:53 a.m.                 
        Moonrise                   5:11 p.m.                 
        Moon transit              11:54 p.m.                 
        Moonset                    6:25 a.m. on following day

 

Phase of the Moon on 27 February:   waxing gibbous with 98% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.

Full Moon on 28 February 2010 at 11:40 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Masters of the Ring

2005

Mike Bur
Quatro Hubbard

2006

Mike Broderick
Bob Combs
Mike Dobies
Margie Hughes
Barb Isom
Vicki Kendall
Bill Losey
Kerry Owens
Deb Pero
Graham Zollman

2008

Jim Harris
Debbie Shaffer
David Snipes
John Straub
Bill Wandell

2009

Keith Knipling
Greg Loomis
David Garman
Jen Jacobs
Bill Wandell
Mark Mckennett

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