If you have a race report you'd like to share, email the
link to pkirsch at roadrunner.com
>Course Previews, Flagging and
Grass Cutting
The grass will be cut for the race on Monday June
22nd from 7 AM until completed. If you have a great desire to run in front
of a tractor with the race director, call Paul at 603-367-8676 or by email
at pkirsch at roadrunner.com and you can join in the fun.
We will be doing a course preview (uncut grass) on Sunday
June 21st the day after the Mt. Washington race. If you are interested in
joining in, call Paul at 603-367-8676 or email pkirsch
at roadrunner.com
The course will be flagged late morning on Thursday June
25th. It will be a combination of Orange and Yellow surveyor flags.
Rule of thumb in following the course is that the flags are always on your
left. The course can be run before that and should be pretty evident
by where the grass is cut. Any questions, contact Paul at
603-367-8676 or by email at pkirsch at roadrunner.com
>Interactive Course Map with
Photos
>Elevation Profile
>CW-X Conditioning Wear and Tech4O have signed
on as product sponsors
>USA & NACAC Mountain Running
Championships
The 2009 Cranmore Hill Climb will serve as the USA
Mountain Running Championships and as the NACAC (North American-Central
American-Carribbean) Mountain Running Championships.
>USA Mountain Running Team Qualifying Race
The top three American Men and Top American woman at the 2009 Cranmore Hill
Climb will receive automatic berths on the Teva
US Mountain Running Team that will compete in September at the World
Mountain Running Championships in Italy. To qualify for the US
team, racers must be both US Citizens and members of USA Track and Field.
>USATF Signs on as Sponsor of NACAC Mountain
Championships
USATF-New England has signed on a Primary Sponsor of the NACAC Mountain
Championships. They are assisting with the cost of both transportation
and awards for the NACAC athletes. We appreciate the continued support
of USATF-New England to the sport of Mountain Running.
Course Information
The 2009 Cranmore Hill Climb will consist of two 5.8
Km laps up and down the mountain for both men and women. The course
is a mixture of single track, grass ski slope and double-wide cat track
with some rocky sections on the final portion of the ascent.
Each lap will gain 1200 feet in elevation for a total
of 2400 feet of total elevation gain & descent.
There will be water & Heed Sports Drink available at
the bottom and the top of the mountain.
NEW
Interactive 2009 Course Map with Photos
NEW Elevation
Profile
2009 Course Map compared to
2007 Cranmore Course (helpful reference point if you ran in 2007)
Detailed Course Description (Updated 4/12/09)
Red Text below refers to trail names that are
on the trail map located here:
The Ascent
On the uphill you start on a grass ski slope for about 75 meters (Beginner
Basin) before you make a right turn into a wooded single track section
that lasts for about 200 meters. After that you are cutting up and across
the mountain on a moderately steep grassy ski trail (The
Ledges, North Slope, Darkside Terrain Park, Zip) for about .5 Km.
The footing in this section is probably the worst, just because the course
is cut the week of the race and you are on grassy slope there. It's not
technical but if it rains it's wet grass.
The trail then continues across on a dirt/grassy section
(Steenbogen Glades, South Slope, Outta Luck)
for about another .5 Km before you make a hard left up the mountain (Roundabout
to Snow Train, across The middle section of The Ledges). This section
is ski trail but because of trail work in the last year, it's very good
footing as the grass grows back in. This lasts for another 300 meters or
so until you take a right up steep single track that's a combo of scree,
dirt and rock for about 30 meters. This pops out on a service road (Road
crosses The Ledges and Middle Trail) that has some rock from being
washed out but the footing is still very good. You continue to cut across
the mountain on this section for about 300 meters before making a hard right
up the grassy ski slope. This next section (Hurricane)
winds through some rocky areas (you stay on grass for most of it) and is
by far the steepest section of the course (about a 25% grade). It's
the part of the course that can reduces you to a power walk but, if you
are great climber/power hiker, it's where you can really put a surge on
your competitors. This lasts for about 200 meters before you level
out and cut across the mountain for about 100 meters on a mixture of rock
and grass. It's not dangerous rock where you could fall down
the mountain but if it's raining, it can be a little slick. You then make
a left and go up another 100 meters or so up a single track trail (Red
Pine Glades)that is very steep (about 20% grade) with a combination
of dirt and rock (footing has some scree but mainly just steep).
The top of the mountain
You then are at the top of the mountain, where there
is a water stop. After the water stop you have about 100 meters of flat
on the service road before you begin the descent.
The Descent
The descent continues down the dirt service road for about 300-400 meters
before you make a right hand turn onto grass ski slope. At the beginning
of this grass ski slope (Easy Street) you hit
the steepest part of the descent where if you are good reckless downhiller,
you can fly down it. That lasts for about 200 meters before you begin
a more gradual descent for about 1Km that is on service road (lower
section of Easy Street to Gibson, to Lower Gibson to Outta Luck),
albeit it a washed out service so it does have some rock and scree. If you
have a lot of leg speed you can really open it up in this section. At the
end of that section, you will make a hard left into the woods (Beech
Glades) for about 100 meters on the most technical part of the downhill.
It's recently cleared glades trail so it has some roots amid the winding
dirt section.
After you come out of the woods,
you continue at a good descent for about 500 meters down more service road
(Beginner's Luck, past Skimobile Station).
This section has a couple of water bars in it and is somewhat washed out.
At the bottom of that, you have about 300 meters of flat to the beginning
of the second lap (finish line is also right there). There
is also a watr stop at this start/finish area.
Registration
Information
The race is $17 before June 23 and $22 after June 19th and on race day.
Click
for Online Registration at Active.com
Click to download PDF
Registration Form
If you are an Elite Runner, please contact the Race Director
before registering.
See below for Elite Athlete details
Wicking T-Shirts will be provided to the first 150 entrants,
courtesy of Inov-8.
Prizes/Awards
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, CW-X
Conditioning Wear, Tech4O, Hammer
Nutrition Products & Julbo.
In addition, the top American men and women in the USA
Mountain Running Championships will be awarding the following prizes:
$200 First Place Male & Female
$150 2nd Place Male and Female
$100 3rd Place Male and Female
$50 First Place Masters Male and Female
*Entrants in the USA Mountain Running Championships must
be US Citizens and member of USATF to be eligible for prize money.
The Serendipity Award will go to the male
and female runner who finishes with a place closest to their bib number.
The winners will receive running watches from Tech4O
Elite
Athletes
Members of National Teams participating in the NACAC Mountain Championships
will be provided lodging with local families in the area. In addition,
transportation from the airport will be arranged. If you have questions
about this, please contact Race Director Paul Kirsch by email: pkirsch
at roadrunner.com or by phone at 603-367-8676.
If you are a USATF Member and elite athlete looking to
compete in the USA Mountain Championships, a limited number of homestays
with local families will be available on a first-come first-served basis.
Contact Paul Kirsch for more details via email: pkirsch
at roadrunner.com or by phone at 603-367-8676.
Race
Videos, Race History & Results
The 2009 edition of the race will be the 22nd 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
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