Keep in mind that Yellow Gap Rd is a narrow dirt road with a number of one car at a time bridges to cross. Cars will be waved into the campground and directed where to park. Once you turn left you will drive 3.3 miles on Yellow Gap Rd until you take a right into Wolf Ford Horse Camp. Yellow Gap Road(FSR 1206) will be 1-2 miles on the left down Hwy 276 and is the first possible left that you can take. It's an easy 5 minute walk from that area.Īfter that, they will need to drive down the parkway to Hwy 276 and take a left towards Brevard. Parking is available about 1/4 mile from there at the Mt Pisgah Overlook on the opposite side of the parkway. parkway personnel will be there to prevent anyone associated with the race from parking there. However, no one from the race will be allowed in the parking areas at that overlook. The last possible place to see runners is at the Buck Springs Overlook just below the old Mt Pisgah finish line. No one is allowed to stop traffic on the parkway. When parking along the parkway, all wheels of the vehicle must be off of the roadway. Race Finish: Wolf Ford Horse Camp at Yellow Gap Road. This new 4.8 mile section is EXTREMELY technical and slow except for the last dirt road section. The new distance for the course will be 22.6 miles. After that left they will go one tenth of a mile and take a left into the campground and finish about half of a tenth into the finish line. At Yellow Gap Road they will go right for seven tenths of a mile until they reach the left that takes them to Wolf Ford Horse Camp. At this intersection runners will take a left onto the Pilot Rock Trail and run for 1.85 miles until they reach Yellow Gap RD (FSR 1206). Runners will take a right onto the Laurel Mtn Connector Trail for three tenths of a mile until it reaches the next intersection. Runners will stay on this trail for 1 1/2 miles until the next intersection. Once on the Mtn to Sea Trail, runners will go one half mile to a two way intersection and will bear left onto the Laurel Mtn Trail. Runners never reach the parkway during that one tenth of a mile paved stretch. Runners will reenter the Mtn to Sea Trail on the right side of that overlook. At this point it will continue one tenth of a mile on the paved road to the Buck Springs Overlook on the left. The race will start at the NC Arboretum at the original start and continue on the same course as in the past to the Mt Pisgah parking area. The course this year will be longer due to the Blue Ridge Parkway requirement that it or any other races can no longer finish on the Parkway. And then another mile, thanks, Norm."įull course map for 2023 can be found HERE. And mostly, be thankful for getting to share these moments with so such an amazing community who will be cheering for you all the way to Pisgah. So, as you lace up those shoes on what will surely be a beautiful first Saturday of November once again, take a moment to be grateful for all that you have and all that you have accomplished to get to the starting line. It’s a race that requires preparation and sharing the accomplishment of putting in that work with so many in one place is truly joyful. If it’s October and they’re on a hard trail, you feel like you know why. Sometimes simply passing by someone coming up Ferrin as you’re going down, sharing nothing but a smile, could inspire the rest of your run. A chance to push and encourage each other. Sometimes that journey got to be shared through weekly group workouts or long weekend runs. Congratulating each other on whatever their journey looked like to get to the starting line that day and whatever will follow the starting gun. It feels like the entire running community is there, some running, some supporting runners and many just there to bear witness to the eventual legendary stories that will follow over the next few hours. The Arboretum offers up a beautiful fall backdrop of the changing seasons while 200 neon clad runners manage their pre-race anxieties. For many, the first Saturday of November marks a special “runners homecoming”. I use the word “participated” purposefully because this race offers up so many ways to be enjoyed that it brings with it its own feeling of belonging just by showing up to watch. Anyone believing so has not participated in the Shut In trail race before. "Disney is not the happiest place on earth.
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