Afton Trail Run Volunteer Email 1 2021

Date: Wednesday June 16, 2021
Subject: Afton Trail Run Volunteer Email 1 2021

Hey Awesome Humans,

You are receiving this email because you have signed up to volunteer for this year’s Afton Trail Run. So first off, thank you SO MUCH for your willingness to help. While this year’s race (our 27th annual) will be different from years past, it is still going to be a great time!

In keeping with the theme of this past year-and-a-half, with everything generally being backwards, disjointed, with added challenges etc., my first email to volunteers is coming out quite a bit later than it normally would, thank you for your patience. It looks like we are just about at ‘critical mass’ / have the volunteers we need to pull off this year’s race. That said we are just waiting for some final commitments and would like to clarify some availability with folks seeing as though things are happening on different days than normal. If you could, please have a look HERE https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zasBUyMkGQ4t4DFFrcZ7W3e4NKDiZAHrrV8VzpKKX2o/edit?usp=sharing – scroll down to find your name and please let me know if your availability is any different than what you previously indicated. If any of you have a camera and consider yourselves above average on the photography front, please let me know as it looks like we could be short on photogs this year.

Generally, the event will unfold like this: We will set up the start / finish area and aid stations starting at Noon on Thursday July 1 (this will take about 4 or 5 hours)… then we will race on Friday July 2 and Saturday July 3! Both days will roughly go down like THIS https://www.aftontrailrun.com/schedule-of-events/

If you have someone planning to join you and you do not see their name on the list HERE https://www.aftontrailrun.com/volunteer-assignments/ , please ask them to sign up HERE https://www.aftontrailrun.com/volunteer-signup/ – thank you.

I am shooting to have volunteer assignments done and out to you by early next week (week of June 21) – if in the meantime you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Thank You,

John Storkamp
Race Director
racedirector@aftontrailrun.com

 

 

Afton Trail Run
50KM & 25KM Trail Races
Afton State Park – Hastings, Minnesota
Saturday July 4, 2020
50KM 6:30AM
25KM 7:30AM

Registration:
Opens Wedneday January 1, 2020 at 12:01AM CST
Closes Friday June 26, 2020 at 11:59PM CST
*Or once the field limit has been met
Complete Registration Details HERE

Directions to Race Start:
Afton State Park
6959 Peller Avenue South
Hastings, MN 55033
Hastings, Minnesota
Google Maps Directions HERE
Approx 25 minutes East of St. Paul, MN and 40 minutes East of Minneapolis, MN

Terrain / Course Description:
The Afton Trail Run consists of a hilly 25K loop (two loops for the 50K), winding through Afton State Park’s trail system. The race is held 100% off road, primarily on very runnable / not very technical single double and single track. There are 7 long climbs per loop, rising from the river valley and down again with a good mix of rolling and flat terrain between the hills.  Be sure to see maps, elevation charts and stats provided on this website HERE.

50KM:
2 x 15.5 mile loops =  31 miles
Elevation Gain 4,670 FT
Elevation Loss 4,670 FT
NET Elevation Change 9,340 FT
11 Aid Stations
9 hour time limit
Complete 50KM Info HERE

25KM:
1 x 15.5 mile loop = 15.5 miles
Elevation Gain 2,335 FT
Elevation Loss 2,335 FT
NET Elevation Change 4,670 FT
5 Aid Stations
8 hour time limit
Complete 25KM Info HERE

More About the Race / Area:
The Afton Trail Run is one of the most challenging and beautiful trail races around.  The race was established in 1994 and is now one of the oldest, largest and most competitive trail races in the country and routinely draws runners from all 50 states and beyond.  The race takes place entirely within the borders of Afton State Park.  Afton State Park lies on a glacial moraine, scribed with deep ravines running down to the St. Croix River.  The 169 mile St. Croix River was one of the original eight United States rivers to have significant portions placed under protection by the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.  Within the park sandstone outcrops have been exposed in some of the ravines. The vertical drop from the blufftop to the water is 300 feet.  A few patches of remnant prairie survived the decades of farming that took place on the blufftop. Today the former fields are being restored to prairie and oak savanna. The ravines leading down to the riverbank are thickly wooded with oak, aspen, birch, and cherry.