Trail Nut 10K & Half Marathon

Race Date – May 4th, 2024 at 9:00am

Registration is Open

Registration Fees

10k:

• $33.00 for one week ending December 9th (plus online processing fee)
• $36.00 between December 9th to April 9th (plus online processing fee)
• $41.00 after April 10th until May 2nd at 6pm (plus online processing fee)
• $45.00 after May 2nd at 6pm and until/on Race Day

Half Marathon:

• $38.00 for one week ending December 9th (plus online processing fee)
• $41.00 between December 9th to April 9th (plus online processing fee)
• $46.00 after April 10th until May 2nd at 6pm (plus online processing fee)
• $50.00 after May 2nd at 6pm and until/on Race Day

Virtual Option:

• $25 for both the 10k and Half Marathon
• Our Virtual events are setup for you to be a part of the series without having to be in person for each event.  This is a run anywhere option, that counts as one of the RNUTS qualifying races.  In addition, you will get the race shirt until 4/9/24, after that, all registrants will get a Mountain Junkies LLC Hoo Rag (similar to a Buff).

About the Race

This park is one of Bedford’s little known treasures.  We were first introduced to the park during years ago and have been amazed at how the park continually changes.  It is a family park, with a playground, pavilions, paved path with workout areas, Frisbee golf, fitness circuit, shuffle board, bird watching trails, mountain bike trails, bike park, downhill lines, and pump track (get maps and trail info at Bedford Trails).

It is loaded with over 9 miles of intermediate rolling, twisty, single track in a beautiful wooded setting.  It isn’t uncommon to see wildlife during one of your trips to the park (turtles, raccoons, rabbits, ground hogs, the occasional skunk, and deer).

Course Description

Water/Skratch Stops:

• The 10k will be one lap on the park’s rolling single track trails with a water/Skratch stop at the 3.4 mile mark.
• The Half marathon will do a 9 mile long loop and then a 2nd loop of 4.1 miles with water stops at 4.65 and 9 miles
• The race is 90% trail, 9%  grassy fields, and 1% gravel road.

10k Loop:

The race starts down from the pavilion near the creek and bridge (trailhead 2).  It follows the bluebird path going in front of the bathrooms and onto the Deer Trail at trailhead 1.  It follows deer trail to a left onto Piney Ridge taking you to an asphalt road.  Take this road to Beaver Dam and the Pond Loop where it will bring you back to the road where you will cross onto Turkey Hill and then Sleepy Hollow.  This will take you to the mowed Bluebird Path where you will take a left heading to our Water Stop at mile 3.4.  Then onto the Ledge, White Rock, Slick Rock, Hillndell, Race Course, to a left onto the Bluebird Path, Creekside to a right onto a social path leading to the bottom of Lower Deer Trail, up Lower Deer and then finishing in front of the big pavilion.

Here is a Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/973756912

Half Marathon does 1 Long 9 mile Loop and then then a shorter 4.1 mile Loop

There will be one Half Marathon Cutoff:

You will need to finish the first loop in under 2 hours and 10 minutes to continue on for the second loop.

Long Loop – The race starts down from the pavilion near the creek and bridge (trailhead 2).  It follows the bluebird path going in front of the bathrooms and onto the Deer Trail at trailhead 1.  It follows deer trail to a left onto Piney Ridge taking you to an asphalt road.  Take this road to Beaver Dam and the Pond Loop where it will bring you back to the road where you will cross onto Turkey Hill and then Sleepy Hollow.  This is where the course changes;  you will now take a sharp left up the hill to get a tour of the bike park and the views from the top of the park.  Here you will take the bike park trail looping and curving around the the skills area and then down the beginner downhill trail where you will meet up with the 10k runners at the Bluebird Path. This will take you along the mowed Bluebird Path where you will take a left heading to our Water Stop at mile 4.65 the Ledge, White Rock, Slick Rock, Hillndell, Race Course, to a left onto the Bluebird Path, to Creekside then a left onto Fat Albert, then take a left onto Ridgeloop, to Creekside to a left onto a social path leading to the bottom of the Lower Deer Trail and then finishing this long loop in front of the big pavilion (Water Stop 2 at mile 9.35).  From here you will circle around the asphalt path and then head into the trails again at Trailhead 1 for the shorter 4.1 mile loop.

Short Loop – Go through the finish chute, below the pavilion, follow the grass path to the asphalt path in front of the bathrooms to the Deer Trail at trailhead 1.  Take Deer Trail to a left onto Piney Ridge taking you to an asphalt road.  Take this road to Beaver Dam and the Pond Loop where it will bring you back to the road where you will cross onto Turkey Hill and then Sleepy Hollow.  At the bottom of Sleepy Hollow, at the Bluebird Path, take a right, then an almost immediate left across the creek, then a right onto Creekside.  From here, take a right on Creekside to the social path leading to the bottom of Lower Deer Trail, up Lower Deer and then finishing in front of the big pavilion.

Here is a strava link for the course;  https://www.strava.com/activities/973927864

Awards/Race Age Groups:

The top 3 male and female winners and overall male and female masters of each race will receive unique awards.

13 male and female age groups, with medals given to the top 3 in each age group.

Age brackets for the races include, for both male and female: 14 and under; 15-19; 20-24; 25-29; 30-34; 35-39; 40-44; 45-49; 50-54; 55-59; 60-64; 65-69; 70 & up.

If you win an award and cannot stay for the awards presentation, we’ll have the awards at Gilbert Chiropractic, for 2 weeks (540-375-3990).  After that, they will go into the rotation for the next year.

Packet Pickup and Race Day Info

Thursday 5/2/24 at Gilbert Chiropractic in Salem – 375-3990 from 10-1 & 3-6.

Friday 5/3/24 at Fleet Feet Sports in Roanoke – 4347 Franklin Road – 777-1166; from 10am-6pm

Saturday 5/4/24 Registration and Packet Pickup – 7:15-8:40

There will be a Race Briefing at 8:40.

Race Day Rules:

• Race number must be on your front, and visible at all times. Do not tear off the bottom strip until the finish (Even if we chip time the event. The tear tag is our backup).
• Follow the marked trail – no short cutting.  We have eyes everywhere!
• Communicate and be courteous when passing or being passed.
• Same goes for our volunteers.  They’ve taken their day off to help you.
• Headphones (ipods, mp3 players, etc) are permitted only if you keep the volume down so that you can hear other runners behind you and our volunteers when they need to get your attention.  Failure to do this will jeopardize the use of headphones for you and the other runners in the future.
• Dogs are NOT permitted.
• If you drop out of the race, please let us know at the finish line.

Race Sponsors:

Bedford County Parks and Recreation

Gilbert Chiropractic

Directions to the Park

GPS Address – 1257 County Farm Road, Bedford, VA 24523

From Highway 460

Head towards Bedford Virginia

At Bedford, look for the exit for Route 122 North.   Instead of going north on route 122 head, south on route 714 Falling Creek Road.

From the West – this is the exit before the Wal-Mart.  Go to the end of the ramp and take a right.

From the East – this is the exit after the Wal-Mart.  Go to the end of the ramp and take a left.

Go .8 Miles and take a left onto County Road (there will also be a sign for Bedford County’s Nursing Home)

Follow the road to the back of the nursing home and the parking lot is on the left of the old red barn.