Martha Moats Baker

Aid

Aid at the event will be what has become the new normal for most VHTRC events. We will provide the liquids at the three aid stations (water, Gatorade, and sodas), and you will otherwise provide your own aid. As there are three aid stations, you can pack up to three ziplock bags with your last name clearly marked on them, and we will transport them for you to access during the run. You can also mark them with the name of the aid station if you would like, but the key is to put the ziplock in the right bin at the pre-run check-in: Reddish Knob is Aid Station #1; Wolf Ridge is Aid Station #2; and if you plan to do the full 60k, then you can also have a ziplock at Grooms Ridge, Aid Station #3.

Note: These are small aid bags, with your special food, gels, powders and potions. These are NOT drop bags, so they should not include clothing items, shoes, or poles. We will get the bags back to the finish, but likely late in the run. So bear that in mind when it comes to what you pack in those marked ziplocks, and what you then leave behind after you access any one of your three ziplocks at the aid points.

Logistics

The start is at the same trailhead as the TWOT start/finish. If there is no room for your vehicle in the parking lot (which is highly likely in this very small lot), park along the road near the lot, but with all four wheels off the pavement. You need to be careful in some places as there may be a stone culvert or ditch to be avoided. Another (and safer) parking overflow option: you can go back to the road junction about 200 yards from the parking lot, turn left and park along the side of the dirt road (Tilghman Road). Tilghman Road has a shoulder that can handle a couple dozen vehicles. Be careful parking on Tilghman, as runners have, in past years, ditched their vehicle while trying to pull off the roadway. Do not park at the Camp May Flather entrance, which you will pass on your way in. If you see cars already parked along Tilghman as you drive in on run morning, you can save yourself time and frustration by just pulling in to the next spot there and not coming to the TWOT lot first, as it will be a clear sign that the lot is full.

While in the parking lot and on the trails, remember that we always want to leave our surroundings cleaner than we find them. Carry out not only any of your trash, but try to achieve some good trail running juju by picking up after other users. Leave No Trun!

Volunteers in 2023

RD Emeritus Dennis Herr
Quatro Hubbard
Guy Towler
Karen Wille
Bill Gentry
Jeff Best

Please email Q to add your name to this esteemed list!

Entry

Entry to this event is limited to achieve a field of 40, due to Forest Service regulations and the logistics of parking in the start/finish area. The entry will open in mid-July, a month before the event date. Please review the posted details of this event before entering, and in particular, the location of this run. We have had a high rate of no-shows for the event in the past, and hope that all who enter know what they have signed up for, so that we can start as close to 40 runners as possible on the day of the event, if interest is that high.

For the 2023 run, in lieu of a wait list, we have just overfilled the field with expectation that roughly one third of those in the field of 60 will drop prior to run morning and leave us with our optimal starting field of 40 or so entrants. If you are on the entrants list, and you know that you will not be coming out to run with us on August 12, please contact the RD to let him know. Virtually everyone who has dropped in years past has shown that courtesy, and know that it is much appreciated, as it makes run prep and run day accountability much less stressful. Thanks to you all!

Note

Again, since there historically has been decent demand to run MMB, make sure you have fully absorbed the wheres, the whens, the hows of this event before you commit to enter. The Wild Oak Trailhead parking lot is about 2:30 to 3 hours of drive time during non-rush from the DC Metro area; it is about 2 hours from the Richmond area, and about 1 hour from Charlottesville. This is a very remote, very difficult run in the heat of August. The average distance between aid stations is plus or minus 10 miles. If you get lost you will, quite literally, likely end up in West Virginia. This is not a recommended run for newbies to the trails and the ultra distance (though the 2022 run winner was running his first ultra trail event, so there was that).

Final word

So now that you have read this far, and hopefully have a good sense of the nature of this event. If you are still interested in joining us for MMB, then look for the entry link here in July!