Feb-5-2020 LLTH last minute notes

Online registration thru Ultrasignup has been extended thru tonight (Feb 5). 

There are 2 locations in Louisville with early packet pickup & registration on Friday, February 7:   KEN COMBS RUNNING STORE at 4137 Shelbyville Road from 12 noon to 3 pm EST and at QUEST OUTDOORS at 4600 Shelbyville Road in the Shelbyville Road Plaza from 5 to 7 pm EST.  QUEST OUTDOORS will be having their FREE pre-race pasta dinner again this year at their store location from 5 to 7 pm EST -- everyone is welcome.

You can also register or pick up your race packet at the Horine Center at the Start/Finish area on race morning starting around 7 am EST.  It's recommended to pick up your packet on Friday to avoid the rush & lines on race day.

Flagging will be orange this year.  Trail junctions will be marked with several flags & major junctions will also have signs or a volunteer on site.  Intermediate flagging is spaced approx. 200 to 300 feet along the entire course.

Out on the course today, the trails were wet from the rain yesterday but were hardly muddy at all (with a few exceptions) -- nothing like a couple years ago when the frozen trails thawed the day before the race making it muddy, then rain on race day.  Hard to predict what the trails will be like 3 days from now as the forecast for race day has been changing daily . . . .   The most current forecast can be found here:

National Weather Service

For current road/weather conditions (traffic cams):  Weatherbug

The courses are the same as last year with the minor exception being a short re-route around the 1st small lake at about mile 6.5.  After crossing the dam, instead of going thru the spillway, you'll now go over it using a small bridge (slick when wet!) and traverse a newly cut trail thru a dirt (now mud!) bank.



NOTE for 50k runners only:

There's one precautionary note I would like to add here.  Normally I  would not have to say anything to ultrarunners about trail technicalities, however, since it was a tricky maneuver for me today and the potential for real injury is there, I felt it best to at least say something about it.

At about mile 14.5, OUTBOUND on the Siltstone Trail, there's a small bridge where the trail turns right immediately at the end of it.  There use to be a large stump there that supported the trail on the corner but that has slipped off down the hill leaving a dropoff/hole & roots.  Be careful, especially if wet & slick, as a small trip or slip here will send you down a steep ravine on the right, and it's a long way to the bottom.

Photo shows the dropoff looking from the OPPOSITE direction going INBOUND (uphill) on Siltstone -- ravine is on the left in this photo.  The bridge end is tricky going OUTBOUND (downhill) and is about a half a mile past the little shelter on the sidewalk where the railroad tie steps start. Photo is deceptive & it's steeper than it looks.
                                          
A sign is being made & will be installed by race day & say something like:  "CAREFUL  DROPOFF AHEAD"  The bridge itself is a little green from the lack of really cold temps so you don't want to be flying across this slick bridge anyway to find this surprise.



 
Feb 6 update:
Found an older photo at the same location (runner is Rob Apple) when the big stump was still there:

             2010 LLTH photo by Susan Donnelly

Feb 7 update:
Early this morning near mile 6.5 on the Blue Trail:

We didn't get all the rain forecast for this week but we did get a 1/2" - 1" snow last night.  The snow has been melting all day with upper 30's this afternoon --- the current forecast calls for more wet snow in the morning. 




Be SAFE, HAVE FUN & GOOD LUCK!




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