Participant Information

Check-In

The UltraChallenge will take place rain or shine. All participants must check in at the United Methodist Church between 3:45 AM and 4:45 AM on Saturday August 29 where you will receive your race packet and ID tag. You may also check in on Friday evening between 5 PM and 8 PM. Please pin the tag on your right side at waist level so it can be scanned at each Checkpoint. You are responsible for ensuring your tag is properly scanned!

Starting

The shuttle bus will depart from the church at 5:00 AM to take the individual participants and first leg relay team members to the trailhead where their tags will be scanned just prior to a group start. All participants must take the shuttle bus or be dropped off; there is no parking at the trailhead.

Aid Stations and Checkpoints

There are nine aid stations along the course providing water, Gatorade, gels, PB&J; sandwiches, and fruit. Candy such as M&Ms; and other snacks will be available at some stations. Four of these stations are also relay transfer spots and checkpoints where your tag will be scanned and your time recorded. Except for the start, relay teams are responsible for their own transportation to and from each transfer spot. Each Checkpoint has a designated cutoff time; participants must depart the checkpoint by the appointed time or they will be pulled out.

Elevation Profile

Total Ascending 6310 ft. Total Descending 6578 ft.

Course Map

Finish

All participants will finish back at the United Methodist Church where food will be provided. An outside hose will be available for cleanup.

Awards

Awards will be issued to runners as their finishing position becomes official.

Course Description

The first relay leg is 97% trail, 3% dirt road. The second leg is 90% trail, 10% paved or dirt road. The third leg is 80% trail, 20% paved or dirt road. The fourth leg is 30% trail, 70% paved or dirt road. The final leg is 5% paved roads, 95% rail-trail (a crushed limestone surface) including five bridges over or along the Redbank Creek.

Overall, the trail surface is mostly single-track which can include rocks, roots, sticks, humps, and holes, except in portions of Cook Forest where it's been widened and smoothed.

At mile 32, there is a twin-cable bridge across Mill Creek. The creek is usually shallow enough at this point that you can walk across, but if you want to keep your shoes dry, you'll need to use the bridge.

Along paved roads at critical turns, the course will be marked with Baker Ultra painting on the road in addition to the blazes. In the woods and along forest roads, you'll find the standard yellow blazing. Note in Cook Forest, the Baker Trail shares its blazes with the blue-blazed North Country Trail. There you'll find the top half of each blaze is blue and the bottom half is yellow. Only follow blazes that are entirely yellow, or that are blue on top and yellow on the bottom.

On the final leg between AS9 and the Finish, the course will be marked with Baker Ultra signs.

Course Map

A printable map of the course is here (3MB PDF). Right-click and choose Save As to download it to your local storage. It's vector format and yields good resolution on any size paper, the larger the better. Recent versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader offer a Poster feature that prints a single page across several sheets which increases legibility. Copies of this map will be available at check-in.

Drop Bags

You may leave bags or gear at the church for pickup and use when you arrive there upon finishing. Also, you may have a bag delivered to any Checkpoint (AS 2, AS 4, AS 6, AS 8), and you may drop off gear, clothing, etc. at any aid station (plastic bags will be available). Everything will be brought back to the church when the aid station closes. Be sure to label everything with your name and ID number.-

Rules

Please adhere to these rules or risk disqualification:

• Runners must check-in at the start of the race, at each of the checkpoints, and the finish line.
• Runners must depart the checkpoint by the designated cutoff time. However, runners will be permitted to miss one of the first three cutoff times, provided it is by less than 30 minutes. Exceptions to this rule may be granted during the race and are solely at the discretion of the Race Director.
• Runners are not permitted to obtain any outside assistance. If a runner leaves the course for any reason (including getting lost), they must return to the course by their own power at the point they left it.
• At all times, only one member of each relay team may be on the course. Relay members must turn in their tag upon completion of their last leg.
• Pacers are not permitted for relay runners.
• Pacers are permitted for individual runners beginning at mile 30+ Checkpoints. Pacers may not carry food, drink, or gear for the runner or provide any other assistance. Pacers are permitted to consume aid station food and drink. Runners are permitted one pacer at a time, and pacers must be at least 18.
• Support crews may meet their runner anywhere along the course, but must not impede traffic. Crews must not park or operate (a) on private property without permission from the property owner, nor (b) in an unsafe manner or location. Runners are responsible for the conduct of their support crew.

Transportation

There is no shuttle service to the aid stations! Relay teams must provide their own transportation. If you drop out at an aid station and cannot arrange your own ride, the volunteers will do their best to assist you in securing transportation. However, you will almost certainly be required to wait, perhaps for several hours, for someone to take you. If you drop out between aid stations, you will need to find transportation yourself.

Covid-19 Protocol

Please carefully review these rules and be prepared to comply with them. Covid-19 is a serious disease so it's critical that no one deviates from the protocol in order to keep all our runners and volunteers safe.

The operating principle is that the primary transmission vector is the air and infection is a function of exposure quantity ("viral load") and time. That means constraining individual emissions (via masks) and minimizing time spent in enclosed areas.

If you simply behave as though you are infected and don't want to infect anyone else, all these rules will come naturally.

General

• Masks are required while on the shuttle bus, at the start, at each aid station, and the finish. Masks are not required while on the course.
• Maintain at least six feet separation when near other people for more than a few moments.
• Wear a mask which covers your mouth and nose when around other people.
• Turn away from people when exhaling heavily, even when wearing a mask.
• Masks and hand sanitizer will be available everywhere. If you don't see them, ask.
• Portable toilet doors will be kept open when not occupied. Please prop the door open after use.

Check-In

• At the check-in table, provide your name to the volunteer. Your race bag will be retrieved and given to you across the table.
• Blue barrels for drop bags will be in the church parking lot, labeled with the aid station location. Place your bag(s) in the desired barrel(s) on Friday evening or before 4:45 AM Saturday morning.

Friday Dinner

• Pizza will be provided. Volunteers will place slices on plates for participants to take.
• Canned soda and cups with ice will be set out.
• There are no chairs outside the church. Please bring chairs for yourself and any others with you.

Friday Night

• Tent camping in the grass field next to the church is recommended.
• Car camping in the church parking lot is recommended.
• Hotels are five minutes away if desired (see Lodging below).
• No one may sleep in the church building.

Shuttle Bus to Start

• Everyone must wear a mask.
• Staggered seating will be used as shown here. Please fill the bus front-to-back and sit in the proper place based on the position of the person in front of you.
• During the bus trip, please sit quietly and refrain from talking.
• Weather permitting, please lower the bus window next to your seat.

Start

• There will be no group (gun) start this year.
• Runners (both Solo and Relay) will be started in batches of 10-20 with 2-3 minute separation between batches sequentially with a ten second separation between them.
• To reduce passing, batches the sequence will be ordered by runner's historical race performance (i.e., the fastest runners will start first). Your assigned starting batch queue position will be on your bib; start line details are here. You can request a different starting batch if you expect your performance will be better or worse.
• Each runner will have an individual start time.

Aid Stations

• Runners and volunteers must wear a mask within the aid station area.
• Volunteers will take the runner's hydration pack or bottle(s) and fill them. Runners will not have access to the fluid dispensers.
• Cups with water, Gatorade, and soda will be placed on the table for runners to take.
• Gels, PB&J, fruit, candy, etc. will be individually packaged and dispersed on the table for runners to take.
• Relay teammates and crew are not permitted near the aid station tables -- only runners and volunteers.

Finish

• Pizza will be provided. Volunteers will place slices on plates for participants to take.
• Canned soda, water, chocolate milk, Gatorade, and cups with ice will be set out.
• There are no chairs outside the church. Please bring chairs for yourself and any others with you.

Lodging

There are economy hotels within a few minutes drive of the United Methodist Church at the Brookville I80 interchange and some farther away in Cook Forest. You may also sleep in a tent in the field next to the church, or your vehicle in the church parking lot.

ID Tags

If you drop out and don't make it to the finish, please give your ID tag to a Marshal. If you do not return your tag you will be charged a $5 replacement fee.

Advisories

• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Drink lots of liquid in small amounts at a steady, frequent rate. You should be carrying at least two quarts.

• Water, sport drinks, and snacks will be available at each aid station.
• Wear a hat and use a high-SPF sunblock. You'll be outside all day.
• Watch the weather forecast closely to know what gear to bring; the UltraChallenge will happen rain or shine.
• Stay on the trail!
• Backtrack to find the last trail blaze and reassess your direction if you haven't seen a blaze in a hundred yards or so, as you may have missed a turn.
• Respect private property! Much of the Baker Trail crosses privately owned land and the owners graciously allow us there; do not impose upon any landowner you may encounter.
• Clean up any trash you bring and any you encounter along the way. There are trash receptacles at each checkpoint.
• Stop if you feel sick!
• Check in at each checkpoint. This is how we keep track of you! You must have a time recorded at the start and every checkpoint or your finish time will be disqualified.

Volunteers

We'll need quite a few volunteers to help us stage the UltraChallenge. Please cajole and/or coerce your friends, relatives and co-workers into helping! Review the Volunteer Roles and Responsibilities and mark the meeting date on your calendar!