Participant instructions for 2025
- Chris
- Apr 22
- 6 min read
Kit Pickup Options
Pre Race Day Kit Pickup at Sojourn Outdoors, Barrie
Grab your kit before race day and take flattened selfies with your swag. Grab last minute race gear like hydration vests, Salomon handheld water bottles or even sassy new shoes at Sojourn with the $25 off coupon you'll receive in your kit to spend right there in-store!
10:00am - 4:00pm @ Sojourn Outdoors, 31 Commerce Park Dr, Barrie ON
Race Day Kit Pickup at The Heights, Craighurst
Race Day
All activities take place at the Heights of Horseshoe (aka, the start line)
7:00am kit pickup (if you were unable to attend pre-race kit pickup)
8:00am 50k race start
8:30am 25k race start
9:30am 12.5k race start (note: this is 30 minutes later than previous years)
If picking up your bib on race day be sure to leave time to park and get your race kit.
It is advised to arrive an hour before your race time.
The Course
Navigating
Pink flags will be on your right the entirety of the course. There will be a pink flag every 100m. If you go more than 30 seconds without seeing a pink flag you are off course. 1m high 🅿️☠️🅿️ signs will be marking hard turns. New this year, routes that you shouldn't take are blocked by massive piles of trees and branches that we didn't clear. You would literally have to climb over 3m high piles of branches to go off course.
Hydration
3 on course aid stations are ready to keep you hydrated! Excited to have Hammer Nutrition Lemon-Lime Heed sports drink available for all runners to give you sustained energy and buffer lactic acid. There will also be water and coke/ginger ale available.
We are a cupless event which means you need some way to transport and drink your liquids. Reusable cups, hydration vests, and handheld bottles are all great examples. Sojourn Outdoors has great options available for purchase including the all new compact Salomon 500ml handheld - perfect to get you from aid station to aid station and you can save $25 off purchases of $100 with the coupon you receive in your kit.
Aid Stations
We'll have Hammer Nutrition gels and other standard aid station food available at all three aid stations.
Ski Hill Aid Station @ 4.5km
Climb that ski hill after your first long flat section and get your reward!
Golf Course Aid Station @ 8.0km
While this isn't a long distance from the last aid station, some of those climbs made it feel like you'd been on course forevah! You'll want to top up and be prepared for the last section. No jokes, it's the longest, and hardest. If you're to take any advice from the RDs, don't underestimate what you need to get through this section!
The Heights Aid Station / Start-Finish @ 12.5km
Well at least the final approach is downhill because nothing else leading up to this was, including Little Katie, the notorious hill that never ends. Oh wait, before you get to the aid station, you'll be heckled for 750m by the Grim Reaper! At least there's full service bathrooms and your drop bag and crew before you head out on the loop to do it all again.
Crew Points/Drop Bags
Crew can only access runners at the main aid station at the Heights of Horseshoe. Drop bags can be placed at the start/finish and we will have a designated area with shelter.
New to crewing? Check out this great article on how to support your runner!
Bathrooms
The Heights of Horseshoe has full service bathrooms and we'll have the door on the lower floor open to access them without having to use stairs during the race. Look for the signs within the first 20m of the course. Please do not pee in the parking lot or outside the main chalet. Use the inside bathrooms at the chalet or go discreetly in the woods. If caught peeing in the parking lot, within sight of the chalet or outside the chalet you will be immediately removed from the race and banned.
Other
Poles: yes, you can use them.
Dogs: welcome at the start/finish on-leash. Please don't run the course with them. Cannot go in building. Standard Ontario health laws and all.
Finish Time: all runners have until 5:00pm to finish their race. Final lap must be started by 2:30pm
Food and Beverage
Lunch is provided for runners at the Heights of Horseshoe. When you registered you chose your lunch options including letting us know about dietary restrictions. If you do not remember what you ordered for lunch please ask our volunteers at registration and they will be able to confirm your choice.
Families and friends of runners are more than welcome to enjoy the Heights Pub inside the Heights of Horseshoe where they can get food and drink.
Runners may also enjoy a frosty beverage at the Heights Pub after but please no outside alcohol in the venue or parking lot. Being caught consuming alcohol you did not purchase at the Heights Pub will result in an immediate disqualification and a permanent ban from the race.
Official Timing
Our race will once again be timed by our timing partners Chip Timing. Winners are based on gun time (not chip time) and the top 3 female, male and non-binary will be awarded in each distance.
Awards
We are very excited to have some great gift packs for our top runners this year thanks to our sponsors.
1st Place
Unique placement prize
$70 gift card from Sojourn Outdoors
Grab bag of Hammer Nutrition gels
Limited edition 🅿️☠️🅿️ soaps from Sue's Soap Creations
Permanent recognition on our trophies
2nd Place
Unique placement prize
$45 gift card from Sojourn Outdoors
Grab bag of Hammer Nutrition gels
Limited edition 🅿️☠️🅿️ soaps from Sue's Soap Creations
3rd Place
Unique placement prize
$25 gift card from Sojourn Outdoors
Grab bag of Hammer Nutrition gels
Limited edition 🅿️☠️🅿️ soaps from Sue's Soap Creations
Finisher Awards
Finish the distance that you signed up for and you will receive the coveted 🅿️☠️🅿️ socks! This year we also have a very special additional custom made medal from our award sponsor, Evans Tree Work. Steve has hand made beautiful medals for our finishers and they convert into amazing coasters when you're ready to enjoy your post-race refreshment!
On Course Photography
We're excited to once again have Sue Sitki photography on course capturing the highs and lows, the fun and the grind of your race.
Please ensure that your bib is worn on the front of your body and clearly visible to camera to enable Search By Bib within the gallery. Where bibs are not visible to camera, Search By Selfie will find your photos within the gallery. This feature works very well and is state of the art technology. The new gallery used by Sue only searches by bib number and selfie/facial recognition. No names are associated with your images for online privacy reasons. 24-48 hours after the race, your race gallery will be hosted at the link below. Announcements and links will also be posted to Facebook and Instagram @suesitkiracephotos. Your high resolution digital images are free to download, courtesy of 🅿️☠️🅿️.
Sponsors
We couldn't make this a trail running party without help from sponsors. Special shout out to all these great community minded folks
Sue has once again created a delightful and unique soap for our winners. Support local artists and craftsfolk to show your Canadian pride! Sue's Soap Creations offers free shipping on order over $150.
Steve Evans hand crafts furniture from recovered wood. His unique style and sustainable approach make him a great partner for our finisher awards and every single award was crafted by hand from wood that was downed in a storm.
Visit EVANSTREEWORK - Etsy Canada for fun, sustainably sourced gift ideas
Richard Bowers has helped bring Hammer Nutrition Canada products to our race for several years now. They have once again donated Heed sports drink and Hammer Nutrition gels to our aid stations keep our runners going strong in all types of weather. We are also very excited to be able to add Hammer Nutrition prize packs to our awards!
Visit Hammer Nutrition Canada | Fuels & Supplements for Endurance Athletes and use code richard20 to take 20% off your order!
We're excited to have Sojourn Outdoors back for a second year helping us award our runners for their achievement. A huge thanks to Rob Burtch and our 🅿️☠️🅿️ trail running ambassador Emma Ross. Be sure to cheer Emma on in the 12.5k distance as it will be her longest race! Grab your race kit on Friday at Sojourn and round out your adventure gear with a $25 off coupon. They have an amazing selection of all types of gear and clothing and are proudly Canadian and woman owned.
Visit Sojourn Outdoors | Source For Adventure for all your adventuring needs!
See you all on race day!