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2012 Bobcat Trail Marathon
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Registration OPEN |
The Bobcat Trail Marathon will take place on Sunday, November 4th at Burr Oak State Park in Glouster, OH.
Check out our website at www.bobcattrailmarathon.org for more information and to register. You can also join our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/2012BobcatTrailMarathon

The 2012 Bobcat Trail Marathon is designed to be a low key, fun endurance event emphasizing the beauty of the course and camaraderie of trail runners!

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Never too late to get
Good and Dirty! |

The Dirty Trial Series is more than half over but we have seven more opportunies for you to join in The Dirty fun!
Get dirty down south on Saturday, July 21st. The Dirty Mo' consists of the toughest hills Mohican has to throw at you. 11 miles in Mohican State Park. Over 1,400 feet of elevation gain! Yes, not a typo! You will be proud you ran this one!
* Dirty Mo is a Legacy Race not owned by Dirty Trail Racing LLC. It is included in Series Scoring. You will be re-directed to a separate registration page for this event.

Dirty Signal Trail Race 8K takes place on Saturday, July 21st in Cascade Valley in the Summity County MetroParks
Shhhh..... The logo is a secret but the date & place are not! The Dirty Secret 10K will be held on Saturday, August 18th at Girdled Road Reservation in Lake County Metro Parks!
Complete race results and information on upcoming races are available on the Dirty Trail Series web site: www.dirtytrailseries.com
Check our the event page on Facebook for more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/371689379510445/.
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Night Owl FA Trail Marathon
Brecksville
Midnight - November 10th |
Fundraiser for the Buckeye Trail Association!!! Minimum donation of $10 gets you a FREE Vertical Runner T-shirt. Coffee and bagels upon finishing up at the store. As of right now we are looking at a MIDNIGHT start time on Saturday, November 10th!
Join the Facebook page so you can be in the loop for upcoming details...
www.facebook.com/events/177665349029114/ |
Burning River 100 Mile Endurance Run
Merchandise! |

New Burning River Items for Sale!
Check out the new Burning River 100 baseball caps and the return of the black tech tees, now available for sale through the race's web site.
You can go directly to the store at http://burningriver100.org/store.
 | New this year! Hats! |
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Registration Update |
- Click here for more information
Burning River 100 Mile Endurance Run
- Saturday, July 28, 2012
- Registration now open!
- Click here for more information
Run With Scissors
- Sunday, October 28, 2012
- Registration now open!
- Click here for more information
Bobcat Trail Marathon
- Sunday, November 4, 2012
- Registration now open!
- Click here for more information
Bigfoot 50K & 10 Mile Trail Challenge
- Saturday, December 1, 2012
- Registration now open!
- Click here for more information
Complete WRTR race and registration information can be found at wrtr.org.
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The Future of CVNP Trails | |
The National Park Service has announced the release of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) Draft Trail Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for public review and comment until August 20, 2012.
The park will hold three public meetings in July in communities near and in the park. The public meetings will begin with a short presentation followed by general questions and public comment stations available. All meetings will have the same information.
Public meetings are scheduled from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at the following locations:
- Thursday, July 24, Cleveland Metroparks, Canalway Center, 4524 E. 49th Street, Cleveland
- Friday, July 25, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Happy Days Lodge, 500 W. Streetsboro Road, Peninsula
- Saturday, July 26, Akron Main Library, 60, S. High Street, Akron
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Volume 5: Issue: #6 | July 2012 |
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Trails Forever Donation |
Through Western Reserve Trail Running (WRTR) the Burning River 100 race has once again made a donation of $5,000 to the Trails Forever program of the Conservancy for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
More information about the program is available at:
http://www.conservancyforcvnp.org/help/trails-forever/. |
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Spotlight Runner
Joe Jurczyk
Burning River 100 RD |

1. Tell us about yourself outside of trail running
I've been married since 1995 to Lynne, who is a professor at the University of Akron. We have two daughters: Marisa, who will be entering Walsh Jesuit High School as a freshman in the Fall and Katrina, who will be entering 6th Grade at St. Michael's School in Independence. Both girls are involved in a lot of extracurricular activities, most of which involve music, dance or the Girl Scouts.
I also coached or helped out at CYO Cross Country and CYO Track and Field at St. Basil in Brecksville for several years.
2. Why did you decide to start directing races?
I started the Buckeye Trail 50K (BT50K) back in 1994 as a fun run and a way to celebrate my 30th birthday. I also wanted an opportunity to start a race on some local trails. I had run the Nipmuck Trail Marathon in Connecticut in 2003 and realized that there was something totally different about trail running. (And not just the fact that my finishing time was about an hour slower than on a road marathon course.)
I had read about the Northeast Ohio sections of the BT from the book, Cleveland on Foot. One day I decided to go out and explore the BT, starting at Ottawa Point. Being a newbie I had trouble finding and following the blue blazes. From Ottawa Point I eventually wandered onto Parkview Dr. on to Riverview Rd. (This was before all of the overgrowth that since took over Parkview.) I made it down to Snowville Rd. and then stumbled onto the BT entrance on the south side of the street. So, after running about 50 yards onto the trail I saw this mountain of stairs ascending towards the skies. (I realized immediately why the book authors rated the section between Snowville and Blue Hen Falls "Difficult".) I spent another few hours running down to Blue Hen Falls and eventually back to my car in Brecksville, getting lost and being dehydrated most of the way. Still, that run remains one of my most memorable as it was the day that I found out what a great resource we had in our own backyard.
That initial BT50K had 15 runners and 13 finishers. Unfortunately I was not one of them. I underestimated the time it would take people to run the course, thinking everyone would finish in less than 5 hours. I got to Boston Store and realized the slow pace of everyone and needed to get back home to prepare for a post-race party. I also didn't realize that the course was closer to 35 miles than 31. (This was in the pre-GPS days and using a print map to estimate distance was difficult because the BT has so many turns throughout the 50K course and because many sections of the BT were difficult to identify on a traditional print map.)
The next year I took over as the race director for the Mohican 100 which I directed from 1995 until 2002.
I directed the BT50K for ten years and it grew to more than 75 runners while still remaining a fun run. I was always amazed that so many people would want to subject themselves to running an ultra distance at the end of July on such a hot and hilly course without any major awards or recognition, other than getting their name published in the UltraRunning race report.
3. What has been your most challenging/rewarding experience while trail running?
I've been running marathons since 1983 and trail races since 1993. My most enjoyable running experiences tend to be the times when I stumble onto trails that I haven't run before. When I go out of town for work or a vacation or even a race, I love stopping along the way and checking out local trails. Along the same lines, most of my favorite running experiences come from memorable training runs, not from races.
My biggest challenge in trail running was always staying awake through the night while running a 100 mile race. I've personally solved that problem by not running 100s anymore. (Note to Burning River 100 runners: ignore that tip!)
4. This is the 6th year for th BR100, how did the idea of an endurance run through NE Ohio come about?
Years before the Burning River 100 (BR100) was conceived a few people had thrown around the idea of having a local 100 miler to showcase the trails throughout our local area. We put together a group of local ultrarunners and race directors to discuss the idea, including Tanya Cady, Mark Godale, Steve Godale, Roy Heger, Vince Rucci, Mark Shelton, and Bill Wagner. We decided to move forward and then assigned responsibilities for the various tasks involved (course design, marketing, volunteer management, etc.)
Most of the initial course, which was designed primarily by Mark and Steve Godale, remains the core of the current race. The point-to-point course showcases three park systems: Cleveland Metroparks, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and the MetroParks serving Summit County. Once again, the BR100 will be the USA Track and Field 100 Mile Trail National Championship and will offer more than $10,000 in prize money.
Being a suburban race we also showcase the tremendous running community that we have here in the Northeast Ohio area. With more than 400 volunteers each year I am overwhelmed with compliments on the quantity and the quality of the aid station volunteers that help runners throughout the race. In six years the race has grown from just over 150 entrants to more than 300 runners. That growth is due in large part because of the great team of volunteers that work on the race including; the people working at registration/check-in, aid station volunteers, the course marking and cleanup team, the supply delivery crew, the timing and Finish line volunteers.
5. What advice do you have for runners who want to run a 100 mile race?
There are a lot of tips and clich�s that I've heard over the years which are good to remember when you make that decision to run 100 miles and are even good to remember during the race itself:
- Just about every 100 miler has hills and valleys (literally and figuratively). You are not going to feel great for the entire 100 miles. But likewise, you aren't going to feel terrible for the entire 100 miles.
- There's not much you can do in the last 3-4 weeks that will help you get any faster on race day, but there's a lot you can do in that time that will make you slower.
- The hardest part of a 100 miler isn't dealing with the weather, the hills, or the terrain. The hardest part is that you have to run 100 miles.
- Drink, drink, drink. Pee, pee, pee.

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Burning River 100 Mile Endurance Run
Countdown! |

The Burning River 100 Mile Endurance Run is less 20 DAYS away! To date there are over 300 entrants ready to toe the line on July 28.
Join the Burning River 100 Facebook group and visit the web site for updates.
http://www.burningriver100.org https://www.facebook.com/groups/br100/
If you can't run, but still want to participate, consider volunteering! We still need help at the Finish Line! Help us congratulate our amazing Finishers as they complete their 100 miles and receive their belt buckles.
If you're interested in helping, please contact the Race Director at : http://burningriver100.org/contact/e-mail.html |
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Submit an Article |
Are you interested in submitting an article for the WRTR newsletter? Do you know of someone who should be featured in the Trail Runner Spotlight section?
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Western Reserve Trail Running, Inc. is a nonprofit organization registered in the state of Ohio. The organization's first event was the 2007 Burning River 100 Mile Run held on August 7-8, 2007. Our mission is to promote trailrunning in the Northeast Ohio region through the development and management of new events (races, fun runs and training runs) within local park systems and municipalities. Questions?: contact info@wrtr.org |
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