Home for the 2024 Sun Mountain Trail Races: Big Twin Lake Resort

Hi Folks

Thanks so much for signing up to participate in and/or volunteer for our Sun Mountain Trail Races. We have a big update for you. Due to being unable to get permission for an essential trail that we had assumed we'd get permission to use (a trail we’ve used numerous times in the past), we will be moving the race start/finish from Spring Creek Ranch to Big Twin Lake Resort. 

Making assumptions before actually getting the permit is a big mistake and can really get you in trouble. Just because we’ve used a trail in the past doesn’t mean we can just count on being able to use it in the future. As experienced race directors we should have known better. So ever since we found out in January we wouldn’t be able to use that trail we have been working to figure out a suitable re-route, and finally today after many iterations we've gotten all the approvals. This process took way longer than we could have imagined and it resulted in us being unable to announce the new start/finish location and the new race routes until now as we didn't want to give out any information until we were certain. We didn’t want to assume anything again. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

The good news is we've found a great new start/finish location for race weekend and we have routes that will still take the runners through beautiful pastoral landscapes, along the shore of Patterson Lake, amongst the blooming wildflowers and lots of fun trails! Big Twin Lake Resort is a beautiful campground on the road to Sun Mountain about 3 miles from Downtown Winthrop. We'll have low cost lakeside camping available at the start/finish. And the routes will actually have a bit less elevation gain and more smooth surfaces than “normal”. So for most folks you'll likely end up with faster times than the previously planned routes probably would have allowed. We’re lucky that there are so many great options in the area! 

The bad news is the start/finish area is no longer walking distance from all the downtown Winthrop hotels like Spring Creek Ranch is and the race routes will start and finish with five miles of pavement to get to/from the trails at Sun Mountain. It definitely wasn't our first choice but it's the best we could do this year and thankfully it's a scenic lake-side road with not a lot of traffic. Also with the changes to the routes and aid station locations there will now be no crew access to the course including the aid stations – this is for the runners safety and enjoyment as the road to/from Big Twin Lake Resort and the Sun Mountain Trails that your crew would drive is also the route you’ll have to run to get to/from the rest of the race course. Also there’s very limited parking at the aid station locations so for that reason as well we can’t allow your friends and family to see you at the aid stations. We instead encourage your crew to enjoy the beautiful Big Twin Lake and many other things to do and places to explore around the Methow Valley (we will follow up soon with lots of fun and relaxing ideas for your crews).

Again we apologize for all the changes and lack of information over the past four months. We have been working on this all year, scouting our options, having meetings with and submitting various plans to multiple different land agencies, land owners and non-profits about numerous different options. We have never had a permitting process as difficult as this one (well at least not one that actually still ended up with a permitted event) and honestly we were getting quite nervous that we would run out of time before we found suitable options for the powers that be. But finally we did and now we have a race to run. Phew!

Below you’ll find more info about:

1: The New Start/Finish Area: Big Twin Lake Resort

2: The New Race Routes

3: Low Cost Camping at the Start/Finish

4: Last Chance to Order Race Merchandise

5: Info about Canceling Your Race Entry

1: The New Start/Finish Area: Big Twin Lake Resort

From the very first conversation with Loree and Jessica it was obvious we had found our new home for the race this year at Big Twin Lake Resort. This multi-generation family business will soon be celebrating their 100th anniversary! Any small biz that's been around that long must be doing something right and after our first meetings with them at Big Twin it was easy to imagine us having a great race weekend there. It's a huge park-like property on the west side of Big Twin Lake just a few miles outside of downtown Winthrop and just 5 miles from the trails at Sun Mountain. Since we only just reached out to them a month ago today they already had quite a few folks with reservations there including one group of folks who come to fish the lake every year. So we won't have the property all to ourselves, which would be ideal, but the property is plenty big enough for our start/finish area. And for those of you who are looking for low-key, no services (RV hook-ups, etc.), dry camping at the start/finish we can probably accommodate you-- see below for more info about camping at the start/finish. Since we'll be sharing the campground with others we will need to strictly adhere to the quiet hours (10pm to 7am) and their other rules including no arriving after 10pm, pets on leash, 5mph speed limit, etc.

Big Twin Lake Resort is no longer taking any new reservations. See below for more info about camping at the start/finish.

2: The New Race Routes

While coming up with the new race routes we did the best we could to maintain the characteristics that have come to define our Sun Mountain races: beautiful scenery, fun trails and courses that are challenging but beginner friendly. The new routes have all of that. They also have five miles of pavement to get from Big Twin to the Sun Mountain Trail System and five miles of pavement to get back to Big Twin at the finish. It's a pretty road, with not a lot of traffic, that goes around the base of Patterson Mountain, past bucolic ranches and alongside Patterson Lake. But there's no sugar coating the fact that it's a paved road and especially for the 25K runners it makes up a substantial chunk of the course. We had other routes that used less pavement to get to/from the trails but each of those got denied. In some ways this was our last option. But all of that said we still believe we have fun and scenic routes for the four distance options and this will likely be the fastest year yet for our Sun Mountain races. Watch out world record holders! 

Here's some other quick notes about the courses:

The 50K course forms the backbone that we base all four race routes off of. The route will take Patterson Lake Rd. from Big Twin to the Cabin Trail at Patterson Lake, climb up to the Chickadee area and then begin making its way to and up the Ridge Trail then down the Ridge Trail to Woodpecker and then run nearly the full length of the Woodpecker trail and then drop back down to the Chickadee area and then down the Cabin Trail and then back down to Big Twin. The 50K will have about 4700 feet of elevation gain and 4700 feet of elevation loss. There will be four aid stations: Gobblers Aid Station (8.0 miles), Ridge Aid Station (14.6), Pass Aid Station 19.0) & Chickadee (25.2).

The 50M is basically two loops of the trail part of the 50K course (including the big climb and descent on the Ridge Trail) and will have 8100ft of gain and 8100ft of loss. There will be seven aid stations: Gobblers Aid Station (8.0 miles), Ridge Aid Station (14.6), Pass Aid Station 19.0), Gobblers Aid Station (27.0 miles), Ridge Aid Station (33.6), Pass Aid Station 38.0) & Chickadee (44.3).

The 20M is basically the 50K course but with a shortcut, the biggest difference is it cuts out the Ridge Trail and uses a mix of the Upper Climb-it, Woodpecker and Meadowlark Trails to form an upper loop. There will be about 2700ft of elevation gain and 2700ft of elevation loss and three aid stations: Chickadee (6.0 miles), Wild Turkey (9.6) & Chickadee (15.7). The 20M will actually be a little on the long side, closer to 22 miles (21.7)

The 25K is basically the 20M course but with a shortcut, the biggest difference is it cuts out the upper loop and after going up the Lower Climb-it Trail will then descend Lower Inside Passage and Magpie back to the Chickadee area. There will be about 1800ft of elevation gain and about 1800ft of elevation loss and two aid stations: Chickadee (6.0 miles) & Chickadee (9.8).

We'll get all this info and more updated to the race website soon! We just wanted to get this email announcement and as many details as we could get out quickly out right away. Stay tuned for another short email letting you know when we've updated the website.

3: Low Cost Camping at the Start/Finish

One of the best parts of the new start/finish area is that we should be able to accommodate everyone (or at least most) who wants to camp at the start/finish. Camping at the start/finish will be pretty basic with no water/sewer/electric hook ups or WiFi. Just a nice grassy area. Portable bathrooms available nearby. A lake to swim in nearby. Folks will be able to stay Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Arrival and Departure times and other details TBD.

The cost is TBD but maybe something like $20/per adult or maybe a little more if we're able to bring in portable showers. The cost will be the same whether you stay one night or all three nights. Kids 18 and under are free. Volunteers are free. There might be a limit on or additional charge for large RVs/Trailers.

If interested in camping at the start/finish please click below and fill out the form. The information you provide us will help us to figure out how much interest there is in camping at the start/finish area and to help us figure out if we have enough room for everyone, how best to manage the logistics and to set the prices.

4: Last Chance to Order Race Merchandise

Pretty much every race when folks arrive to check-in and they see the race t-shirts and hoodies they instantly regret not pre-ordering one. Especially because we don’t order extras just what folks pre-order. Well maybe not everyone regrets it but quite a few. So now that we have mock-ups of the merch we figured we’d give folks one last chance to place an order. The deadline to place your order is by the end of the night Sunday May 5th as we’re placing the order the next morning. The t-shirts are 100% soft ring spun cotton and come in fitted and unisex styles and cost $35. The hoodies are heavyweight 95% cotton and cost $60.

5: Info about Canceling Your Race Entry

With any race we understand that things happen or plans change between the time you register and the time when race day approaches. We try to keep that in mind with our cancellation policies and try to be as generous as we can. And with all these changes to the Sun Mountain races and the late notice about those changes we definitely understand if you’d like to make some changes of your own. So we’re making our policies for this race even more generous:

​

• From now until May 6th you can cancel your entry and get: 50% of your race entry fee + 100% of merchandise or anything else extra you ordered as a credit that you can use at any of our races.

• May 7th to May 12th you can cancel your entry and get: 50% of your race entry fee + 50% of merchandise + 100% anything else extra you ordered as a credit that you can use at any of our races.

• Or until May 7th you can rollover your race entry to 2025

Thanks so much for all your support and patience. We know many of you have been wondering what's going on and wanting the info you needed to plan and train for this race for months. We understand the lack of info can be frustrating but we hope you've still been able to prepare effectively and that you're going to have a very fun experience with us in a few weeks! If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please let us know. 

Thanks again and we'll be in touch again soon with more info!

James, Katy, Sean and Rick

Rainshadow Running