F.A.Q.
the correct dates are saturday and sunday nites check out mon morning. this year i moved the run back to president's day weekend to take advantage of the 3 day weekend. the race is on sunday the 17th.
The 50k will start at 8:30 am. The 25k will start ten minutes later at 8:40. the early start for the 50k will be at 7:30. there will be no early start for the 25k.
familes are very
welcome at orcas! every year i set aside one of the
big cabins just for families. also the park has plenty
to ofer your family while you run, there's plenty of
easy hiking trails right from the cabin door, there's
also canoes and all the gear to go out on the lake
which is also a short walk away, and the start/finish
is right in the middle of all the cabins and is also
the first aid station(for the 50k) so your family can
see your progress with out going anywhere. also there
will be a tv and dvd player and i belive board games
and to play indoors with and sports balls to kick or
toss around outside. and in town(about 15 minute
drive) there is the non-profit childrens interactive
hands-on childrens education center, The Funhouse.
check their website out at www.thefunhouse.org
as for the weather you can expect cold(in the 40s the last two years) especially for
someone coming from so cal. and from our track record
we've got a 50% chance of snow but in reality the odds
are probably less than 25%. i'd recommend coming
prepared for the worst and maybe we'll be pleasantly
surprised with nice warm sunny weather like we had our first year.
orcas can be a hard race to predict weather wise from
so far out. and even on race day conditions can change
quite a bit especially as you go up and down and up
again in elevation. one thing that has been
consisitent has been the wind up on the ridges so
someting wind proof/resistant would be good to have at
all times. i've never worn under armour before so i
don't know what to say about it but i bet it would be
fine as your first layer and then you could always
build upon that but most likely it'll be warmer than
in minnesota.
in your drop bags i'd have some dry layers just
incase. and basically i'd say about what you bring in
general is that" better to have and not need it than
to not have and need it.
as for snow and rain i usally try to keep moving fast
enough to stay warm even when i'm wet but you can't
always count on that. so maybe the same jacket for
stopping the wind could stop the moisture too.
hat and gloves are also nice to have and if you don't
need them they're pretty small and lite to carry.
i wish i could be more specific but i don't pay to
much attention to gear and everyone is so different.
sunday evening/nite: there are two:one leaving orcas at 6;15 and arriving at anacortes at 7:40 and the last one leaving at 9:00 and arriving at anacortes at 10pm.
Monday: there are 5 ferries
(depart-arrive))
7am-8:20,9:50am-10:40, 1:15pm-2:05, 3:35pm-4:40, 8:35pm-9:35.
for ferries on sunday you should arrive about an hour
early; for ferries on monday you should arrive about 2
hours early since it's the last day of a holiday
weekend. missing the first ferry you attmept is
always a possibility so playing it safe and leaving
plenty of time would be a good idea