The Cayuga Trails 50 is a spankin’-new 50-mile ultramarathon scheduled for June 8, 2013. The race takes place on the trails surrounding Ithaca, New York and offers up rocky climbs, digger descents, 6,500 feet of vertical gain, thick hardwood forests, waterfalls, views of the Finger Lakes region, a whopping 11 aid stations, and…
[Keep reading, there’s a sweet contest below!]
Prize Money
…prize money totaling $12,000 plus gear from sponsors. Check it:
- The first male and female will claim $2,500.
- 2nd male and female: $1,500
- 3rd male and female: $500
- 4th male and female: $250
- male/female age-division winners: sponsor awards
- $500 to the first top 10 finishing male or female who can also return to finish in the top 5 at either the Finger Lakes Fifties 50 mile or the Virgil Crest 50/100 mile.
- Elite prem* prizes: $1000
- Non-elite prem* prizes: $1,000 worth of gear, food, cash, and more
*Race officials will be planted on the course in certain spots. Entrants approaching will be notified of a given performance incentive (like ‘$250 to the first racer to the top of this climb’ or ‘an apple pie to the first of your group to make it across the creek’). Prems are designed to encourage entrants to push their pace/effort and to just plain make the race fun.
Elite Field
Some top trail and ultrarunners have already entered the Cayuga Trails 50. Here’s the current high-level who’s who:
Sage Canaday - Yassine Diboun
Matt Flaherty Dave James - Nikki Kimball
- Dave Mackey
Jordan McDougal - Krissy Moehl
- Ben Nephew
Jacqueline Palmer Ragan Petrie - Leigh Schmidt
Any other speedsters out there jonesing for a June 50-miler in upstate New York? I mean, the RD is offering on-course apple pie!
Sponsors and More
All of this is coming together under the race directorship of Ian Golden, a long-time upstate New York trail runner and owner of the Finger Lakes Running and Triathlon Company, a brick-and-mortar Ithaca running store; a grant from the Tompkins County Tourism Program; and the following sponsors:
- Gu
- UltrAspire
- Scott
- Atayne
- Finger Lakes Running and Triathlon Company; and
- iRunFar.com.
Contest
We’re hosting a contest to celebrate this new, competitive, and well-prized race’s arrival onto the ultrarunning scene. We’re giving away three prize packs containing the following:
- Entry into the 2013 Cayuga Trails 50
- Your choice of an UltrAspire Spry, Surge, or Revolution pack
- A pair of Scott Kinabalus, and
- An iRunFar.com-branded shirt from Atayne.
To enter the contest, post your answer to the following question as a comment to this post by March 2, noon MST: Why do you want to run the inaugural Cayuga Trails 50? [Editor’s Note, March 17: The contest is now closed; winners have been chosen and will be/have been contacted. See RD Ian Golden’s comment below for details on who’s taking away this contest’s schwag. Thanks for your enthusiasm!]
My boys will be off at Philmont for their adventure. I'd love to be here for a new adventure of my own. Nothing beats running on some gorgeous trails!
I first met Ian and his staff when they graciously opened the store early so that we could stage my fraternity brother's 28 birthday miles from there back in 2009. Their dedication to the local running community, and their product knowledge, inspired me to do more with my regional running community.
My introduction to running, and trail running, was while attending college in Ithaca. I didn't fully appreciate how special this area was until I moved down to the Carolinas, and couldn't find a similar trail network. Running this race would be a great chance to return to the Finger Lakes and rediscover where my passion for trail running began.
Mike
Greensboro, NC
Michael,
Thanks for the praise and glad it inspired you to more activity in your community. For an eastern small city sandwiched by private lands Ithaca really does offer quite a bit of trail opportunity. Be good to have you back if it works out.
I'll be honest I just want to do it for the Pie! Also, it's always nice to escape the TN heat. Seriously though I just want the Pie!
Very cool, Ian! btw, I'm your buddy Karen who helps out at the Rock Pile and pacing a VCU :-)
Oh right on, thanks again Karen!
To a West coaster, New York is a another world. My training grounds are the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains with dry weather (almost year-round) and chaparral covered terrain. We are soft because we don't have to deal with the elements. New Yorkers deal with harsh elements. Snow, rain, hail, and humidity is the stuff that creates toughness. I would like to run the inaugural Cayuga Trails 50
to test myself against the elements, which in this case will be high humidity. I think I have what it takes but who knows. Also, a change of environment like the rocky climbs, thick hardwood forests, and waterfalls will be a welcome change.
Why do I want to run the Cayuga Trails 50? I live in Western NY plus this is the year of 50's. I'm in my 50's, running Bear Mt. 50M, the Cayuga Trails 50M, and hopefully the Virgil Crest 50M.
Thanks Nick!
Why do you want to run the inaugural Cayuga Trails 50? To begin with I have never run a 50 mile race before. I actually had seen this inaugural ultra and thought about running it but decided to hold off for the Virgil Crest 50 Miler in September. But hey, if you pick me ill do both. Ill give it my all, dig deep, and do my free entry proud. On top of that its a beautiful area. I had friends and family that went to school in Cortland (Go Red Dragons). Figure i can also squeeze some rock climbing and hiking in. I'd love to be a part of the first running of this sure to be classic ultra!
I want to run the inaugural race because I've never done an ultra back east. And so I can meet Nikki Kimball. And because even a mountain course back east feels flat compared to Utah. Oh, how I long for east coast trails! Bring it!
I want to run the inaugural Cayuga Trails 50, to engage the wilderness, to challenge my mind and body and to share the joy of the experience with others.
Almost 30 years ago I went to college in Ithaca. While I eventually moved away, my soul never left. Running there would be coming home.
Just ran my first ultra. The Red Hot 55k in Moab. It was epic! The next logical thing to do is a 50 miler, right?! Stoked!!!
International flavoUr and because I am Canadian EH!
I want to run because while I'm "limited" to east coast events due to finances, this event makes it seem like maybe that's not such a bad thing! I would love to see a beautiful new wilderness and of course eat some pie :)
thanks Ben, great to know 4 weeks would probably be enough recovery time for you, and hopefully the others too. I wish you the best of luck in both runs!
Because June 8 is my birthday! and what better way to spend it then running 80 kms and praying that the "wheels don't come off"
Because marathons are getting old and turning 50 that week my chance of 50 @ 50 just makes sense. May not be a (my usual run) stroll through the (Central) park or the Scottish mountains I grew up with – but some real air and a chance see some 'real' runners like Canaday and Mackey in action would be incredible.
I need a June race! Only month absent.
1) Ithaca and its' gorges are incredibly beautiful. 2) It would be one of the few times I would be shoulder to shoulder with the current greats of trail racing. 3) I have a free place to stay nearby….
I want to run Cayuga because ultras are where my passion lies, and come race day, anything can happen…
After growing up in Ithaca, the longest race I could ever run was a 5K. Now I return six years later to run a distance I could have never possibly imagined. I run the Cayuga 50M to prove once and for all that the chubby kids in Ithaca High School don't always stay so chubby.
Some of my favorite Virgil Crest finishers have been Clydesdales, so we'd want you even if you were still chubby. But we can for sure track down that high school sweetie that didn't give you the time of day secondary to chubbiness and invite her to work an aid station and while filling your bottles shersherealize
Ct'd…realize who you are and how much tougher you are than her currently overweight jobless former star quarterback husband.
LOL whut. You got the wrong person here…internet research fail
No research. You gave me return to hometown and not chubby anymore. Took liberties from there.
I could list many reasons why I want to raun Cayuga 50, like how I loved Virgils Crest and want to revisit the area, how my job doesnt pay much and need to save what little I have, and the chance to meet some awesome women running the event..but my main and honest answer is this: I want to meet my twin sister's boyfriend! I dont know if anyone know's much about twins, but they can be awfully protective. And since she lives in Colorado and I live in Ohio, we dont get to see eachother a lot. While I am giving this guy the benefit of the doubt (okay, he does seem exceptionally kind and good-hearted) I still want to make sure!
:)
He's harmless. You and S need to get yourselves out here regardless of said speedster.
I would like to run the Cayuga trails 50 because it sounds like it's going to be a fun day out. Plus doing it in free gear and on someone else's dollar would be the icing on the cake!
Because who wouldn't want to run the same trails as Nikki Kimball??
Hi there! Any updates on the Cayuga Contest? Biting my nails over here!
Sorry for the delay all…Bryon was off to New Zealand to cover Tarawera, Meghan's running some of the backend and getting things in order for MdS, and I wasn't sure of a process here. So, l'll just get out there the three winners who can all can send me an email (iangolden@gmail.com) re: the details. Thanks to all for chiming and to iRF, Atayne, Scott, and UltrAspire for the trappings. The winners are: Kristin Z, Rob Rowlett, and Michael Hughson.
Will there be a live web cast?
Yes. We'll have some coverage on Twitter and Facebook with fuller coverage on a CoverItLive page on iRunFar. We'll post the latter on Friday.
We're also hoping to provide coverage as we go, updating aid station splits within an hour of real time (as we do with the Virgil Crest Ultras)…that is so long as we can figure out an internet connection. They'll be on the racecenter on http://www.CayugaTrails50.com .