Mt. Toby Ultra & 24k

Welcome to Western Mass's newest Ultra Race! 

*WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!  Information and sign-up for volunteering is here: Beast Coast Trail Running: Mt. Toby Trail Race *

Distance: Either 24k or 50k options.  The 24k is one loop over/around the mountain.  The 50k is a figure-8 around and over the mountain. 

The Basics:

This race is a fundraiser for Girls on the Run of Western Massachusetts, which inspires girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.  Isn't that AWESOME?  

This is a low-key race, where you'll enjoy an early season run on some challenging trails and kick the season off with some fun!

Date: April 9, 2022

Time: 7:00am start for 50k, 9:00am start for 24k.

Check in: 6:00am to 6:45am for 50k; 8:00am - 8:45am for 24k.

Location: Sunderland Town Park, Park Road, Sunderland MA

Cost: $35 for 24k, $70 for 50k
Bonus: buffs to the first 100 who register!

Sound like fun?  Sign up here.

There will be day-of registration available, however prices will jump so pre-reg preferred.

A bit of the details on this race are below:

1)  Elevation Gain/Loss:  The course is hilly - it's at Mt. Toby after all!  Folks in the 24k race will get to the peak once and climb over 2700 feet total.  The 50k folks will summit three times and climb about 7000 feet total.  

2)  The Course:  The course is on rugged double track trails and some single track trails (course map here - it's hard to follow, but you get the idea).  Here is a .gpx file for the 24k course, and here is the .gpx file for the 50k course.  You'll have to scramble through a short cave along the course (we'll provide the headlamps, further info on the cave below), and 50k runners will run (well, more likely hike) next to a beautiful waterfall. (*Note - the course has changed slightly from the 2019 version to include a few more fun single track sections!)

3) Aid Stations:  There will be plenty of aid along the way, see the aid station chart (including opening/closing times, and mileages) here.

4) Cutoff Times: There is no hard cut-off time at the finish line, however there are hard cut-off times for the 50k race at the Bull Hill Aid Station (18.7 miles at 11:45am) and the Cross Mountain Road Aid Station (21.6 miles at 12:30pm).  These are timing splits in alignment with an 8-hour finish (15 min/mile average pace).  *If you are nervous about making these cut-off times, you can request an earlier start time.  Reach out to the Race Director to discuss.

5) Crew Access:  Your crew can cheer you on (and support you) at the following locations:

    1) The start/finish line at the Sunderland Town Park (Park Road, Sunderland MA)

    2) Cranberry Pond (Reservation Road near Rt. 63, Sunderland MA)

    3) Bull Hill (Bull Hill Road, Sunderland MA) *50k runners only

 These three locations are approximately 15 minutes drive away from each other.

6)  Start Location:  The race will start/finish at the Sunderland Town Park, located on Park Road in Sunderland.  From the center of Sunderland, there are small green signs that direct you there.

7)  The Price:  We are trying to keep the price as reasonable as possible, however with a relatively new race we need to budget for a few unexpected things.  As mentioned before, all proceeds go towards the Girls on the Run of Western Mass, so any excess funds will help promote young girls in the area gaining confidence through running opportunities.

8)  Weather warning:  This race is held during the early spring, and this is New England.  Further, Mt. Toby has an amazing ability to shed water in excess of what falls from the sky.  It can be muddy, it can be icy, or it could be hot and humid.  Prepare for anything!!!

9)  Nourishment:  We'll have all the basics needed for a race!  For hydration, we will have water, energy drink, and soda.  If colder temps are predicted, there may be hot soup.  For food, there will be the standard  cookies, candy, chips, pretzels, fruit, etc.  

10)  Medical:  There will be amazing Sunderland Fire Department crews along the way, so see them (or aid station volunteers) if needed.

11)  Guidelines:  If you are stopping, you must let a race official know.  Per USATF regulations, we discourage the use of headphones.  Otherwise, have some fun out there!

12) AWDs: We think that Athletes with Disabilities are awesome and welcome them to participate at this event!  To learn how it all works, we will follow the general rules as set forth here.

13) Volunteers: We of course can't do this without the support of volunteers to help out runners along the way. If you are interested in volunteering, reach out at racedirector_at_7sisterstrailrace.com, or even better sign up here!  Thank you!!! 

14) The Cave: The cave is a relatively short 'rock tunnel' that runners will go through.  Most folks will likely have to stoop to get through, but no crawling required.  The cave itself is maybe 20-40 meters in length, not tight (but you may need to do one sideways shimmy step), and requires a short scramble up rocks.  *We light up this passage, and provide headlamps for participants to use at this location.  If you don't feel comfortable with going through the cave (which we understand a few folks might not be), we'll just add a 10-minute time penalty to your race finish time.  For the record, EVERYONE in the 2019 edition went through the cave, but there is no pressure.

15) Prizes: Patagonia shirts will be given to the top 3 in each of the male and female category, for each distance race.  There may be additional prizes for top finishers or random participants.

Contact Info:  Let us know if you have further questions that aren't answered here.  You can contact the race director at racedirector_at_7sisterstrailrace_dot_com.