Sunday 27 December 2009 • 8:30 AM
Bowling Green Country Club North, Front Royal, VA

For lack of anything better to do on the 27th, and because of the dearth of distance races in the Shenandoah Valley, we're throwing together an extremely low-key half-marathon (13.109 mile) race, along with a concurrent 13½K (8.389 mile) race for no particular reason. No fees, no awards, no wimps, no whiners, minimal support. Basically it's little more than a marked course and a guy with a stopwatch. (Read some important notes below about the nature of this crummy little event.) Run it competitively or run it for fun, we don't care! We don't recommend this event for beginners or for runners under 16, but if you're capable of covering the distance, you're welcome to participate.

RACE STATUS (updated on Sat. 12/26, 6:00 PM): The race is definitely ON! Due to slush & ice on the unpaved sections, however, we will be using alternate out-and-back courses entirely on pavement. There may still be patches of ice with which to contend, since it rained today and the temperature will be dropping below freezing overnight. So we do not guarantee a 100% ice-free event. But it should be much safer than it would've been. Also note that the weather forecast is calling for patchy fog before sunrise, so please drive carefully! Remember, you're not obligated to run this thing (even if you've RSVPed), and you participate at your own risk. This is a stupid little ultra-low-key event which is undoubtedly not worth anybody's time. Don't say we didn't warn ya! The page below has been updated with information about the alternate courses and with the names of everyone who has RSVPed so far. Look for the updated text in dark blue. Didn't RSVP but want to run the race? No problem, just show up in the morning! You'll need to sign a waiver before the race. Many thanks to the folks at the country club for letting us be there. Please avoid tracking mud indoors, don't trash the bathrooms, don't drop trash in their parking lot, etc. We'll be setting out a "tip jar" at our check-in table so that we can contribute a few bucks to the country club as a "thank you".

VOLUNTEERS WANTED! This stupid thing will go a lot better if we can find people to man our water stops. If you'd like to help us out on the 27th, e-mail the non-race director! SPECIAL THANKS Brian Jones & Bowling Green Country Club for letting us park there and use their bathrooms! BETTER RACES NEARBY Sat. 12/26 - SVR Jingle Bell 5K at Blandy in Clarke County (rescheduled from 12/19) Sat. 1/2 - SVR Long Branch Hangover 5K at Historic Long Branch in Clarke County Sat. 2/27 - SVR Predicted Time 5 Miler, also at Bowling Green Country Club North! FACEBOOK PAGE   If you're one of those Facebook people, we have a Facebook event page for no real reason!

Date & time:  

Sunday 27 December 2009, with both races starting roughly at 8:30 AM. Registration and check-in will be from, oh, let's say 7:45 to 8:20 AM.

Location:

Bowling Green Country Club North, on Bowling Green Road in northern Warren County, Virginia, about seven miles from I-66 exit 6. See below for driving directions and map links.

Entry fee:  

Free! (We may, however, set out a "tip jar" so that we can contribute a few bucks to Bowling Green Country Club as a thank-you. So drop in a buck or two if you'd like, but don't feel obligated.)

Registration:  

No preregistration is required, and runners are welcome to simply show up on race day. But if you intend to participate, please consider submitting an R.S.V.P. by e-mail so that we'll have an idea of how many people to expect, and so that we can provide you with updates about the event if necessary. Use the subject line "Santa's Big Butt R.S.V.P.", and copy the following lines into the body of the message (and add your information):

Name: 
Age on 12/27: 
Gender: 
City & state: 
Which distance? 
Emergency contact name & number: 

Whether you R.S.V.P. or not, all participants will be required to sign a waiver on race morning. See the important notes & restrictions section to learn what you'll be agreeing to. (Runners under 18 must have a parent or legal guardian present to sign the waiver. This event is not recommended for runners under the age of 16.)

A list of runners who intend to participate appears at the bottom of the page. R.S.V.P.ing does not obligate you to participate, and you're free to back out or simply not show up on race morning. And runners who do not R.S.V.P. before race day are still welcome to participate.

(Privacy note: We won't use your e-mail address for anything other than updates about this event, and your address won't be shared with anyone.)

Courses:  

Both races will start & finish on Bowling Green Road near the country club entrance, and both will follow rolling, lightly-traveled rural roads. Due to slush and ice on the unpaved portions of our original courses, we will be using alternate out-and-back courses which will remain entirely on pavement. The 13½Kers will turn around after 4.194 miles, and the half-marathoners will turn around after 6.655 miles.

Both courses have been wheel-measured and, although not measured to USATF standards, should be reasonably accurate unless I screwed up the math. All of the miles will be marked on the left side of the road (13½K with small light blue signs, half-marathon with yellow signs). All turns will be marked with some combination of surveyor's flags, chalk, flour arrows, traffic cones, and/or signs. For both races, there are three left turns on the way out, and three right turns on the way back. You should be able to follow the courses without any difficulty if you pay attention.

Both races will start together, with the start/finish line located in front of the Bowling Green Country Club North entrance.

There shouldn't be a lot of traffic out on the courses, but please watch for (and stay out of the way of) vehicles. We recommend that you run on the left side of the road (as you would on any training run). There are many blind hills and blind curves. Please be extra cautious on the brief, 0.14-mile stretch on Fairground Road (near mile 1 and with 1 mile to go), as this is the busiest road on the course and has a blind curve. There may also be patchy ice on the pavement depending on how much the roads dry out on the night before the race.

We've adapted the original half-marathon elevation profile below to show the profiles for the alternate half-marathon and 13½K courses. You can check out a larger version of the new alternate course map here.

Water stops:  

There will be five water stops in the half-marathon (at roughly 2, 4, 6.55, 9, and 11), and four water stops in the 13½K (2, 4, 4.4, and 6.4). We expect all of the water stops to be manned by at least one volunteer. But there may be only one per, so that volunteer might be too overworked to actually get a cup of water into your hand.

(Technically there are only three water stops; runners will pass two of these twice, and the half-marathoners will pass the third one at their turnaround point.)

Awards:

None. (Thus, no need to wait around after you finish!)

Post-race refreshments:

At the finish, we plan to have water, some bananas, and maybe some soda. Obviously we don't have the budget for much beyond this! Bring some food with you if you think you'll be hungry when you're done.

Results:

Results will be tracked via the "finish card" method. (You'll be handed a card when you cross the finish line, and you'll fill out your card and turn it in.) Complete results will be published here and on a few other running sites. We may also try to take & upload some photos from the event!

Severe weather:  

We are not expecting severe weather. As of the evening before the race, the National Weather Service is calling for patchy fog and a race time temperature of around 32°, going up into the upper 30°s as the sun breaks through the clouds.

Frequently asked questions:  

Why the name "Santa's Big Butt"? In the world of ultramarathons, there is a style of event called a "fat a**" race, which is basically a very informally organized race without all the bells and whistles of a typical running event. Since our event is pretty much just a short, all-road version of a "fat a**" race, we've borrowed the label, cleaning it up to "big butt" since we're not vulgarians like those dirty ultrarunner people. Also, let's face it, Santa Claus has an ample posterior.

Why a 13½K event? Because the shorter loop turned out to be close to that distance. And we thought a 13½K sounded funnier than, say, an 8.3 miler.

Can I switch from one race to the other? Since our alternate courses will be using the same start & finish line, yes, you may switch in the middle of the race. Just be sure to check off which race you actually ran when you fill out your finish card upon finishing!

Will there be bathrooms? Yes, we expect to have use of the country club's bathrooms.

What's the point of this event? There are almost no running races in the region on the weekend following Christmas, and there are almost no road races longer than 10K in the entire Shenandoah Valley. We figured we'd kill two birds with one stone.

Is this race a part of the Shenandoah Valley Runners' Winter Series? No, this race is not affiliated with or sponsored by the SVR. We intentionally picked a weekend without a scheduled SVR Winter Series race so as not to interfere with the series... but due to the December 19th snow event, the SVR's Jingle Bell 5K wound up being postponed to December 26th, the day before our event. Oh well, we tried!

Why not make this a fancier event? If this goes well, we might turn the half-marathon into a more official event sometime in 2010!

Below are the simplest driving directions to Bowling Green Country Club North. Online map sites and/or GPS devices may send you a different way. The street address for Bowling Green Country Club North is 838 Bowling Green Road, Front Royal, VA.

From I-66: Take exit 6 (Front Royal/Winchester) and head north on Routes 340/522. In 3.5 miles, turn right at a stoplight onto Fairground Road (Route 661). 2.8 miles later, turn left on Bowling Green Road (Route 683), and follow it for 0.9 miles to the country club on your right.

From Winchester, Berryville, & the north: Follow Route 522 or Route 340 south to where they join at Double Tollgate in southern Clarke County. Continue south on the combined Routes 340/522 for 4 miles, then turn left at a stoplight on Fairground Road (Route 661). In 2.8 miles, turn left on Bowling Green Road (Route 683), and follow it for 0.9 miles to the country club on your right.

Links to online maps of the race location:

	Google Maps			MapQuest
	Bing Maps			Yahoo! Maps

Important note: There are two Bowling Green Country Clubs, known as "North" and "South". We will be at Bowling Green Country Club North, on Bowling Green Road. Bowling Green Country Club South is on Bowling View Road nearby. Both courses run past Bowling Green South, but our race site is Bowling Green Country Club North. So don't be confused!

Bowling Green North is (by driving distance) approximately 11 miles northeast of downtown Front Royal, 17 miles south of Winchester, 19 miles southwest of Berryville, 40 miles northwest of Warrenton, 45 miles southwest of Leesburg, 59 miles southwest of Frederick, 62 miles west of Fairfax, 68 miles northeast of Harrisonburg, 77 miles west of Washington, 100 miles southwest of Columbia, MD (hi Chris & Alan!), and 103 miles west of Bowie, MD (hi Jon!).

Questions/blame:

Contact non-race director Karsten Brown. Phone number is (540) 635-7539, but your best bet is to try him by e-mail.

R.S.V.P. list:

As of late afternoon on Saturday 26 December, the following people have e-mailed us to say they intend to participate:

People who have pledged to serve as volunteers so far: Karsten Brown, Nancy Bullock, Kyra Brown, Paul Grosz, Doug Sullivan, Jorge Minera, Michelle VanHorn, Tim Hudson, Bri Paxton. If anyone else would like to volunteer, please e-mail us!