Hey there runner,
We’d love to welcome you to the Uwharrie Family!
We are only 25 days away from the first annual UFOREA 50k’s! We could not be any more excited to kick off this race with you. We hope all of your training has been going well and you are ready for a run through the unrelenting and rugged Uwharrie Mountains.
All of the information in the letter below can be found on our race site UFOREA 50K's.
GETTING THERE
The races start at the WoodRun Trailhead, just west of Troy NC. While the surrounding towns of Troy and Albemarle are truly beautiful mountain towns, full of hospitality and charm; the race headquarters is…“primitive”. We will have portable toilets and incredible aid stations (more on that later); but there is no running water or electricity. Please plan accordingly.
PARKING AND CAMPING
Parking is right at the trailhead. Runners are also welcome to camp in and around the start/finish area.
Dispersed camping is available Friday/Saturday evening in the woods surrounding the parking areas. No fee is required to camp.
PACKET PICKUP
Packet pickup will be available the Saturday morning of the race from 6:30 AM - 7:30 AM for the DAYTIME and ULTIMATE UFOREA events at Woodrun Trailhead (Start/Finish).
Packet pickup will be available Saturday evening of the race from 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM for the NIGHTTIME event Woodrun Trailhead (Start/Finish).
THE START - DAYTIME UFOREA
The pre race briefing will happen at 7:40AM sharp.
The DAYTIME and ULTIMATE UFOREA races will start promptly at 8 am the Saturday of the race. There is an 11 hour cutoff to cover the course finishing at 7pm Saturday, April 19, 2025. This is roughly a 20:35 per mile pace to cover the course.
The run will consist of a daytime, "clockwise" tour of the Uwharrie and Dutchman's Creek Trail systems. Each runner will complete a massive 20.5 mile loop, followed by a "lower" 11.4 mile loop, to finish the 32-ish mile course.
YOU MUST LEAVE START/FINISH AID ON YOUR SECOND LOOP BY 3PM SATURDAY. This will give you 4 hours to complete the lower 11.4 mile loop.
THE START - NIGHTTIME UFOREA
The pre race briefing will happen at 7:40PM sharp.
The NIGHTTIME and ULTIMATE UFOREA races , will start promptly at 8 pm the Saturday of the race. There is a 12 hour cutoff to cover the course finishing at 8am Sunday, April 20, 2025. This is roughly a 22:30 per mile pace to cover the course.
The run will consist of a nighttime "counter-clockwise" tour of the Uwharrie and Dutchman's Creek Trail systems. Each runner will complete a massive 20.5 mile loop, followed by a "lower" 11.4 mile loop, to finish the 32-ish mile course.
YOU MUST LEAVE START/FINISH AID ON YOUR SECOND LOOP BY 4 AM SUNDAY. This will give you 4 hours to complete the lower 11.4 mile loop.
DROP BAGS
Drop Bags can be placed at the Start/Finish aid area, but will not be available on course. This means you will have access to your bag at around mile 20.5 after the first large loop; prior to going out on your shorter, 11.4ish mile loop prior to the finish. You will have access to your bag once during the race, at mile 20.5.
CREW AND PACERS
Crew are welcome! Crew access is limited to Start/Finish and Kelly’s Kitchen. There is NO CREW ACCESS at Crossroads. This is due to our permit limitations.
No Pacers are allowed for either event.
TIMING
Timing will be provided during this event. Transparently, we are working to see if live timing is available at each aid. The timing link will be provided at the start of the race.
Service is unpredictable in the park and often impacts the availability of live timing updates. Please make your friends and family aware so they don’t worry if timing becomes unavailable. Regardless of live timing capabilities, each runner will have their finish time recorded for placement and UltraSignup results.
SWAG/AWARDS
Each 50K runner will receive a race-T as well as other swag to be determined.
Each ULTIMATE UFOREA runner will receive a hooded sweatshirt as well as other swag to be determined.
All finishers will receive a custom medal from Ashworth Awards.
Top 3 Male and Female for DAYTIME, NIGHTTIME and ULTIMATE UFOREA will receive custom awards provided by local wood artisan WadevilleWoodWorx.
THE COURSES
There isn’t any getting around the fact this course is difficult. It is 99.9% single track, full of rocks and roots, stream crossings, steep climbs and technical descents. The “bigger cousin” of this course, the Uwharrie 100 has the tagline of “Simply Unrelenting”; that same mantra applies here.
The link to the course map for the Daytime event is here:
The link to the course map for the Nighttime event is here:
AID STATIONS
Aid stations will be stocked with water, Tailwind, and Spring Energy for both events. *We should have plenty of Spring for both races; but please only take what you need and consider others.
Stations will have not only traditional fare (chips, pretzels, candy, soda), but also the kind of food our races have become known for! Don’t be surprised if you run into the kind of food you’d expect at a sit down restaurant. We’re not kidding.
Start/Finish and Crossroads will be a fully stocked stations with multiple options across the culinary spectrum. If you bonk at this race, it’s your fault.
Kelly’s Kitchen will be a liquids and lite snacks station ONLY. This is due to the logistics of keeping our most remote station open all weekend for only a few brief hours for each race.
When leaving the Crossroads Aid station heading for Kelly’s, the rule of thumb is to carry enough calories needed to get through around 9 miles of rugged, mountainous and potentially dry terrain. If you have crew who are tracking you, they can have access to you at the Kelly’s Aid. The location can be found here.
COURSE MARKINGS
The course is marked with a mix of signs and flags and native course markings of paint and plastic diamonds nailed to trees. All major turns will be heavily marked and reviewed at the pre-race brief.
Uwharrie Trail is marked with WHITE blazes.
Dutchman’s Creek Trail is marked with YELLOW blazes.
The course is more heavily marked by native markings in the counter-clockwise direction. Meaning, the NIGHTTIME folks will have prominent markings every few hundred feet, while the DAYTIME runners may be a little more drawn out than that. However, the rule is you should never go more than a quarter mile without seeing a marker. Regardless of your direction of travel, if you feel as though you are off course, remember to stop and look for markers. They should be apparent.
PARTNERSHIPS
Our title sponsor is Lowa! Lowa will be providing a FREE pair of ATRs to the first place male and female for the ULTIMATE UFOREA contest. Lowa has been an amazing partner for our races and we are honored to be partnering again!!
Tailwind Nutrition and Spring Energy will be table side at aid-stations, supplementing your calorie needs.
If for some reason you cannot attend the race, please take send us an email at uwharrieultras@gmail.com. Please refer to the refund policy on our site prior to requesting a refund or deferment.
If you have additional questions that were not answered in this email or the links provided, please reach out to us directly.
We can’t wait to see you in April!
All the Trail Love,
Ryan and Meghaan Hampton
Race Directors