Note: Registration location this year will be at the Arlberg Children’s Center (formerly North Base Lodge, for you old-timers) building at Cranmore: 7:30-8:30 AM. If you are looking at the mountain, Arlberg is way down to the left past the maintenance garage and snowmaking pond. It’s where the old pre-2005 Cranmore Hill Climb used to start.

The whole resort is now open in the summer too. For those of you who haven’t visited Cranmore yet in 2011, you won’t recognize the place. Lots of new summer rides and all of the buildings are being remodeled. Check out the Cranmore website for complete details on the new summer attractions and local lodging info too.

Course Information

The 2011 Cranmore Hill Climb will consist of three 3.87 km laps up and down the mountain for men, two 3.87 km laps for the women and junior men (19 and under) and one 3.8km lap for junior women (19 and under). The course is primarily grass ski slope and double-wide cat track with some small sections of single track.

Each lap will gain 206 meters and descend 206 meters.

There will be water & Heed Sports Drink available at the bottom and the top of the mountain.

Is this a change from the 2010 Course?

Why, yes it is. We changed it to help mimic the 2011 World Mountain Running Championship course in Tirana, Albania. The course has had some change to it every year since 2004 but this year, much like 2005 and 2007, is a pretty drastic change. We will not be reaching the summit of the mountain this time.

Click here for course Map and Elevation Profile.

Click Here for Map that shows trails (updated 6-1-2011)

Click here for a comparison between the 2009/2010 course and the 2011 Course (updated 6-5-2011)

Registration Information

The race is $21 before June 21. Online registration will close on the 21st and there will be $25 race day registration.

To register, click here. We’re using RaceIt for registration now, which allows you to register online and pay by check if you prefer to not give credit card info online.

Elite Runners and Homestays

One of the reasons the course for the Cranmore Hill Climb has changed every year since 2004 is because we are strongly committed to supporting the US Mountain Running Team. We know that mountain runners are not getting rich off of their support and anything we can do to help defray the costs of elite runners looking to make the team we will do. This includes waiving entry fees and homestays for runners. If you are an elite runner coming to Cranmore in 2011, please send a running resume and note to RD Paul Kirsch at pkirsch2 at gmail.com to see how he can help you out. We do have a limited number of homestays available so the sooner you can contact us, the better.

Prizes/Awards

Kasie Enman, 2011 USA Mountain Running Champion, crossing the finishing line

$3100 in Prizes for the USA Mountain Running Championships

The top men and women in the USA Mountain Running Championships will be awarded the following prizes:

$600 First Place Male & Female
$400 2nd Place Male and Female
$300 3rd Place Male and Female
$200 4th Place Male and Female
$50 First Place Masters Male and Female

*Entrants in the USA Mountain Running Championships must be US Citizens, current members of USATF and not competed for another country for at least 2 years to be eligible for prize money.

Awards to first place in the men’s and women’s 19 & under, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70 & over divisions. Awards provided by Inov-8, Fuel Belt, Hammer Nutrition Products & Julbo.

Race Videos, Race History & Results

The 2010 edition of the race was the the 23rd Annual Cranmore Hill Climb. Originally starting as a “pick your own way to the summit” ascent-only race in the 80s, the race evolved to a 3 mile uphill-only race up the mountain service road.

In 2005 the course was changed to an up-down format so that it could serve as a qualifying race for the US Mountain Running Team. Since then, the race has continued to be an up-down race, becoming part of the Inov-8 USATF-New England Mountain Running Circuit in 2005 as well. Tradition since then has been that the course has changed each year since then, exploring new sections of the mountain and giving local mountain runners something new to talk about each year.

The 2007 race served as the USA Mountain Running Champs and had the most challenging course of the race history. With the goal of mimicing the steep downhill at that year’s World Mountain Running Trophy, the course descended at a 20% grade down the face of the mountain, receiving the label as “toughest race ever” by self-proclaimed New England Mountain Running Historian, Dave Dunham.

The 2008 race saw a less difficult course than 2007 but had the added challenge of a strong rain and thunderstorm at the beginning of the race.

Running Raw racer Tim VanOrden made videos of the 2007 and 2008 Cranmore races. See below to watch the videos:

Running Raw: Cranmore Hill Climb – 6/29/08

Running Raw: US Mtn. Running Championships 6/24/07

2007 Race Results | 2007 Race Report & Photos

2008 Race Results | 2008 Race Report & Photos

If you have a race report you’d like to share, email the link to pkirsch at roadrunner.com

2009 Photos
Scott Mason (1) Scott Mason (2)
Mike Brown-Dowling
Richard Bolt
Ken Skier