Hey Kids…
Well, would you look at that.
We pulled off another trail race!
And what a BEAUTIFUL friggen day to do it!
I'm still trying to process everything from Saturday, but what a turnout for the inaugural Deadfall Trail Race!
If you've ever seen Uncle Buck, you know the story.
A lovable idiot gets put in charge of something important, makes a few questionable decisions, but somehow manages to pull it all together.
I'm starting to think John Candy was preparing me for race directing back in 1989.
FIRST THINGS FIRST. THANK YOU!
To every runner, spectator, sponsor, and volunteer who helped make Saturday happen — THANK YOU!
An extra big thank-you to everyone who worked aid stations, course marked, swept, helped with setup and teardown, and kept things running while I wandered around pretending to be useful.
I tried to personally thank as many of you as possible, but if I missed you, please know how much we appreciate you being part of this.
COURSE MARKINGS — WE'RE GETTING BETTER!
I think we FINALLY cracked the code on course markings.
Mostly.
We know we were a little light in a few sections of the 18K, and we've heard your feedback about the yellow flags blending in with the fall leaves.
Turns out yellow is a fantastic color for marking a course.
Until the entire forest turns yellow.
Who could've predicted that?
We'll be looking at alternatives for next year.
CHECK-IN
Woof.
That was brutal.
For those of you who arrived early enough to experience our check-in process, congratulations.
You participated in an additional endurance event that wasn't advertised on UltraSignup.
And that one was entirely my fault.
I have been scolded by mother and wife since then.
They will be taking over next year.
Remember, this was our biggest race to date.
We're still freshmen. Next year is our sophomore year.
Thank you for your patience.
We'll do better!
PHOTOS!
A huge thank-you to Pre-Race Productions and PawAnRepeat Media for spending the day capturing all your sweaty, muddy, occasionally questionable facial expressions!
Their photos are FREE to use. Just be sure to give them credit and tag them when sharing!
@preracepod_productions
@pawanrepeatmedia
They're tagging us on Instagram as photos become available, so keep an eye out!
We'll send out another email later once the 4,000 photos they took have been sifted through
AND NOW… THE RESULTS!
The Deadfall results are LIVE on UltraSignup!
If you notice anything that doesn't look right with your time, distance, or placement, please email me and we'll get it sorted out.
And congratulations to our fastest male and female finishers in each distance, who will each be receiving a pair of Altra shoes!
SHIRTS!
We had a bunch of last-minute registrations and unfortunately ran short on certain shirt sizes.
Good news! I've rounded up the extras from our no-shows and deferrals, and here's what we've got available:
XS: 11
S: 2
M: 6
L: 2
XL: 4
2XL: 1
First come, first served!
If you ended up with a shirt that doesn't fit (or lack thereof), email me with the size you'd prefer and I'll mail you a replacement!
If you're feeling gracious and want to mail back the original item we're replacing so we can keep the inventory circulating your fellow runners would greatly appreciate it! The return address will be on the package I send out.
It's not quite Amazon Prime, but we're doing our best over here.
MORE TO COME!
I've got plenty more to say about this weekend, but I mainly wanted to get the results out to everyone and I want to watch the new season of Love Is Blind.
We'll be sending out a short questionnaire soon, and I genuinely want your feedback.
The good, the bad, and whatever you were muttering about me to your friends and family.
We're already talking about next year's Deadfall.
Apparently we didn't learn our lesson.
Hopefully you didn't either.
Thanks again for trusting us with your Saturday and helping make our first Deadfall something special.
You guys are awesome.
J & the ever-expanding Blackwood Trail Racing Team
