Menu

Directions

250 Whitney Ave, Holyoke, MA 01040
Directions to Elks
The Elks is just off I-91 Exit 12 Lower Westfield Road Ingleside (Mall exit)
Coming from the south you will be taking a left off the exit.
From the North, take a right. Then go straight thru each traffic light towards Homestead Avenue (away from Mall).
Going straight at last light at the Homestead Ave intersection bringing you up a slight hill into a small neighborhood.
Take your first right and the Elks is right there.
Plenty of parking on both sides of the building for everyone. The parking lot furthest as you come is adjacent to the trail gate where the race starts and finishes.
The Start/Finish is just feet away on the other side of the trail gate. Go to the rear of the building to the lower level underneath the outside deck.

There are many fast food chains, Dunkin Donuts and CVS Pharmacy very close by. Many open early & located just on the other side of the I-91 exit.

Race Day Check-in

No early shirt & bib pickup at Fast Feet store this year. Race Day only!
Building will be open 6:30am, or shortly thereafter, registration & pickup starts by 7am.

Race Starts 8am

We’ll do a quick announcement with final instructions at the start line and get this thing going 8am sharp!

Course Description

This is a beautiful walking trail around the scenic Ashley Reservoir.
No car traffic but the trail will not be closed to the Public. This is a small event and there will be plenty of room to navigate around. The trail is almost entirely a hard packed dirt & gravel mix.

The course map with elevation can be found at these links...
[MAP WITH TURNS, WATER STOPS...] and at [MAP @ Map My Run]
While we have people on course passing out water out and keeping track of runners, we will not count the loops/laps for you. It is the runners responsibility to keep their own lap count.
The course will be marked and people out there at the main intersections making sure people stay on-course. Please refer to the maps above. It is a very basic loop with two out and backs. One at the start. The other at approx 3 miles in the 4.3x mile loop. Full Marathon runners will do six loops. Half marathoner runners do three.

Course Directions

The course starts & finishes on top of it's only real hill. The hill comes in two sections with about 60ft total climb. The rest of the course is flat. After you come down the hill you will approach the main intersection. Turn right at the intersection to start the outer loop around the reservoir.

At approx 1.5 miles into each loop a very slight rise and then a small section of pavement. Proceed straight.
Water Stop #1 and a Porta-Potty here.

2nd Water stop is at 3 miles into each loop. Do not go left here just yet! Go straight for a short out & back to the cone. ~.2 miles each way.

On the return from the out & back, you will then go right, continuing the reservoir loop coming back to the same intersection you started the loop on. Turn right at the intersection heading back up the hill to the start/finish line to complete each loop.

Please try to stay to clear of the finishing chute on the right side until your final loop. Thanks!

Water on Course

Water and Gatorade will be set up at approx 1.5 miles and ~3 mile spot in loop and the start/finish line.
You will never have to go more than two miles between each water stop

Weather

Weather is looking quite nice for the race. It will be cool to start but expect it to warm up close to mid 70's by noon. Less than a third of the course is tree-lined. The rest is just off the water edge and exposed to sun and wind.

We will have a table and possibly an easy-up/popup tent at the start/finish. A good place to dump any layers as the day goes on.

As of Thursday the course was a little wet with puddling in some areas, but I expect by Sunday it will be dry and in quite good shape.

Time Limit

Six hour time limit. After six hours the water tables are picked up and timing stops.
Accommodations for an early start may be made for walkers at the Race's discretion. Request for early start must be made before race day at the contact info below.

Spectators & Family

With the six-loop course, it’s a very spectator friendly course. People are welcome to hang around the start/finish line and anywhere along the course and even walk the reservoir loop during the day.
The trails will remain open to the public. The intersection that starts the main loop around the reservoir is less than a half-mile walk from the start.
No dogs are allowed on the trails.
This intersection breaks the larger loop into two smaller loops. The loop to your right is about a 1.25 miles. The left loop is about 2.7 miles.

This is a USATF sanctioned race and Boston Marathon qualifier. USATF rules must and will be enforced. Only official participants in the marathon will be allowed to run the course. Pacing by non-participants will not be allowed at any time during the race and could subject a runner to disqualification.

Family and spectators may hand off any additional fluids and gels, or take clothing etc, from runners anywhere on the course.

Any other questions on rules, please email or check with me or other race officials before the race.

Post-Race

We will have a small post-race dinner starting around noon. Salad & pasta fare intended just for the runners and volunteers. We planned for a small turnout so we don’t have much extra. Please ask before sharing with family and friends to make sure we don’t run out before the last runners and volunteers come in. Thanks. Post-race food and awards are in the same area as check-in, the bottom floor of the Elks building. There is also a cash bar where you can purchase drinks.

Awards

With the small number of runners this year, I expect several age-groupers might not be done before a decent number of runners are done, ate and are ready to go home.
Typically, it’s about 5 hours after start time before we do an awards ceremony. We will at least do the overall category and if it gets too late ,we will mail out age group awards (certificates) to anyone that leaves early.

Local Attractions & Restaurants

The race is located right next to the Holyoke Ingleside Mall. Several chain restaurants very close by are easily found using Google. If you are looking for something other than typical local chain restaurants fare, there is JP’s less than a mile away which is your typical busy local establishment - not much for décor but good food. A popular Italian family style choice is Red Rose Pizzeria about 10 minutes away in downtown Springfield. Some of the best pizza in the area. Can be very busy but they move people through quickly.

Finally good luck runners!

Contact

Robert Landry
email?