Aid Station Directions and Drop Bags

 

Directions to each aid station from SR3 and SR97:

Station E Mohican Adventures: Crew/Family Access and first place pacers allowed to meet 100 mile racers. Start/Finish will also serve as an aid station. Runners who are finishing will proceed through a separate well marked finisher’s only chute. Runners who are lapping will proceed to the aid station.

Station A :  Park Road Aid Station: No Crew/Family Access

NEW for 2013: The Mohican 100 is planning to move this aid station to a large parking area near the Gorge Overlook for 2013 pending Park and Forest Approval. There is no anticipated change in mileage. However a routing adjustment is required. This move would allow crew/family access along with more space and a large parking area. (;

Supply team and volunteers only: Proceed WEST on SR 97 one mile to the 1st park entrance. There is a small grassy parking area at the northwest corner of SR97. Walk up the park road a few blocks just past the trail crossing to the Columbia gas road. Aid station will be located here. Parking is also available at the overlook area at the top of the park road. Absolutely no parking on the Columbia Gas service road! Failure to comply may result in ticketing by park rangers.

Station B Fire tower: Crew/Family Access. Aid station B is located just behind the southwest corner of the fire tower at the first trail split.

Volunteer and Crew PARKING is only available at either the MTB parking lot about a half mile from the fire tower or at the closed juvenile facility parking lot, just a few blocks from the fire tower. Both are a short walk to the aid station and fire tower handler location.

How to get there: Proceed WEST on SR97 3 miles to the 2nd Park entrance. About two blocks up, the park road will "Y". Proceed to the right. The trailhead entrance is one block farther on the right. Sign reads: "mountain bike trailhead". Walk east on mountain bike trail to aid station. The Mohican Youth Center parking lot located a few blocks further down the road, closer to the aid station and handler location.

Handler Location: Fire tower: see above info for directions. Crews will only need this access point for Mohican Marathon runners, Mohican 50 mile runners on lap two and Mohican 100 mile runners on laps 3 and 4.

Handler location: Crew Access at Pleasant Hill Dam: Proceed WEST on SR97 5 miles to McCurdy Road. There is a sign that says "3 miles to Pleasant Hill Dam". Turn Right and Proceed north on McCurdy for 1.8 miles to Goon Road. Turn Right on Goon Road 3.2 miles to Pleasant Hill Dam. There are restrooms, running water, shelters and picnic tables available here.

Station C Covered Bridge: Absolutely NO Crew or Family Access. Failure to comply may result in disqualification of the racer.

Supply personnel and volunteers only: Proceed WEST on SR97 3 miles to 2nd Park entrance located next to the day use horse bridle area. Turn RIGHT on the second park road entrance located next to the day use horse bridle area. About two blocks up, the park road will "Y". Proceed to left and downhill on the park road across the covered bridge. Turn right into class B camping where aid station will be located. There is water, restrooms and picnic tables available here.

Station D Hickory Ridge : No Crew or Family Access

Supply personnel and volunteers Proceed WEST on SR 97 3 miles and turn RIGHT onto 2nd Park/Forest entrance located next to the day use horse bridle area. About two blocks up the park road will "Y". Proceed LEFT and downhill on the park road across the covered bridge and left up the hill . Follow the park road to the top of the hill to the first stop sign and intersection at CR959. TURN left on CR959 and proceed for about one mile to the end of the road at TR3006. Turn RIGHT onto CR3006. Go straight .1 mile and bear RIGHT onto TR 3006. TR 3006 is indicated as ‘no outlet.’ Follow the road to dead end where parking area and Aid Station are located.

Hammer Nutrition is the official nutrition sponsor of the Mohican Trail 100. Aid Stations will stock water and Hammer Heed along with a variety of foods, both salty and sweet. All Aid stations will feature Hammer Nutrition products including Hammer Heed. All Natural Hammer Nutrition products do not contain artificial sweeteners or simple sugars and have become the choice of many top athletes. To learn more about hammer nutrition and how you can benefit now by including Hammer Nutrition in your training plan, visit www.hammernutrition.com

RACERS NOTE: If you require special foods, it is recommended that you include them in your drop bags.

 

Drop Bag Information

Tagged drop bags may be left ONLY at the following aid stations.

E: Mohican Adventures

C: Covered Bridge

The race packet that you receive at Friday check-in will contain your bib/race number, T-shirt, and a meal ticket for the Friday night dinner. The bib numbers and color of the bib for the 50 mile race will be distinct from those for the 100 mile race. Pacers will have a unique color bib as well. Your race number and the aid station letter must be clearly marked on each bag in a manner that will not be obliterated by moisture. We suggest zip lock bags.

Please mark aid station letters and your race number clearly. Volunteers distributing the drop bags use the aid station letter to deliver the bags to the proper aid stations. The aid station personnel use the numbers on the bags to organize them and to find your bag for you when you need it.

Please be sure to include your name on your drop bag tag. Your name is essential so that if your crew members go to an aid station to pick up your bag after you have no further need of it at that location; they retrieve YOUR bag and not one with a similar number. Your name will also prevent someone’s family from picking up your bag. It is very easy to reverse digits in a runner’s number, 142 and 124, etc. Runners can be distraught upon reaching an aid station and discovering their drop bag missing. Think about the baggage claim at an airport when preparing your bags. Many look the same.

Try to make yours unique in some way by using brightly colored ribbons, straps, etc. This can help the volunteers find your bag for you more quickly and will also prevent others from picking up your bag by mistake. Because Mohican has an abundance of rain some years, waterproof the contents of your drop bags but do NOT use black garbage bags as drop bags. They can be mistaken for trash and disposed of accidentally. If the bag which you are using is not waterproof, you may put a garbage bag inside that bag.

Large lettered placards near the conference center start/finish area will designate locations at which drop bags for the various aid stations should be placed. Please have all your aid station drop bags in the appropriate area by 10:00 PM Friday night. Only the aid stations listed above will have such placards. Aid station drop bags will be returned to the conference center area before Sunday noon. Most will be back earlier as aid stations begin closing.

If you finish the race early or DNF, you and/or your crew may pick up your drop bags at the aid stations. You/your crew may even retrieve drop bags from the Covered Bridge Aid Station. This is the only time that your crew is allowed near that area during the race.

When you pick up your bags, please carefully check the number and name on the bag tags. Again – think of the airport baggage claim area; many bags look the same. Volunteers who are handling the drop bags will greatly appreciate any help that you/your crew may provide in loading the drop bags on the truck at the Mohican Adventures Conference Center and/or unloading them on Sunday morning. Many hands make light work!

It is highly recommended that you also have a drop bag containing some warm clothing at the finish line especially if you expect to finish the race prior to the sun warming up the air on Sunday. Saturday night is often chilly during the Mohican race. Your exertion while running can make the clothing that you are wearing damp or wet. Runners have often succumbed to spastic shivering when they stopped moving and became chilled at the end of the race. After running the 100 miles you may not want to run/walk/crawl/slither to your camp site or car for warm clothing. If you have family/crew holding warm clothing for you at the finish line you won’t need a drop bag there.

You must pick up your drop bags and take them and your other belongings with you when you leave Mohican Adventures the final time. They will not be mailed to you. If you left bags last year, they will be available for retrieval at Mohican Adventures Start/Finish on Friday during check-in and packet pickup.

Information for Family, Crew, Handlers

IMPORTANT PARK & FOREST RULES -- PLEASE OBSERVE!

DO NOT EXCEED FOREST/PARK SPEED LIMITS!!!

SPEED LIMITS ARE ENFORCED WITH RADAR

Anyone intentionally littering in the state park or forest will be disqualified

No bicycles allowed in Forest/Park, except on designated Mountain Bike Trails.

No campfires. No camping overnight at aid stations. No vehicle parking at Covered Bridge. No nailing on any Forest property. Put garbage in OUR bags. Do not use barrels.

Allow yourself sufficient time to meet your runner. Family, crew, volunteers, etc. have been ticketed in previous years both on the park/forest roads and on the area highways for speeding and not wearing seat belts (Ohio law).

RENDEZVOUS WITH RUNNERS

Please refer to the course map for Crew Access (CA) and Handler locations. These are the ONLY places where you may meet your runners. Attempting to meet our runner in any other location may result in that runner’s disqualification.

Crew Access refers to an aid station or designated area where crew is allowed. The directions to aid stations let you know how to reach the aid stations and crew access areas from the intersection of SR 3 and SR 97. When going from one aid station to another, there is frequently a shorter route than going back to that intersection. This document is also used for supply delivery, volunteers, etc. so it gives the directions to all the aid stations even though you are not permitted to go to some of the aid stations except in an emergency (e.g. to pick up a DNF runner).

In order to reach the intersection of SR3 and SR97, from Mohican Adventures Start/finish, head south about 1 mile on SR3

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Family and friends who will not be crewing for a runner are encouraged to volunteer at an aid station during the race. Aid station volunteers provide assistance to all runners during their shift but also have an opportunity to pay special attention to their own runner too. Registered Volunteers will receive an official Mohican Trail 100 race Tee and are welcome to join us at the pre-race dinner Friday evening and the Sunday breakfast at no charge. Please contact the race director, Ryan O’Dell, nolimit@mohican.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it prior to the race and let me what times you are available so that we can find an aid station assignment that fits your schedule. Choose which aid station you’d like to help out with, even a station generally off limits to crew/family, e.g. the Covered Bridge aid station. Be a part of the Action, Don’t delay, email TODAY! (“

HELPING RUNNERS

Your runner may estimate his/her arrival time at an aid station. This time may vary greatly in either direction depending on course and/or runner condition and thus the runner may arrive at the aid station much earlier or later than anticipated. One daughter missed her father at the Fire Tower two years in a row. If your runner is finishing the race at night, have warm clothes / blanket with you at the finish line for him/her. It is often quite chilly before the sun comes up. Runners have often shivered uncontrollably when they stop running while they are drenched from their efforts. Carry these warm items with you; don’t just have them in your car which may be some distance away. You may take your runner’s drop bags after they leave the aid station the last time. You may also pick up their drop bags at the various aid stations if they DNF. Please be extremely careful about the drop bag numbers. Do not reverse digits of the number and pick up the wrong bag. E.G. If your runner is # 123, do not take #132 or #213. If you have any doubt, do not take the bag.

SOME BASICS

A pasta dinner on Friday evening is included for 50 and 100 mile runners in the registration fee. There is space on the registration form for registered runners to purchase order tickets for extra dinners for family/crew. It is also possible to purchase a meal ticket on Friday. A light breakfast is served on Sunday starting around 7:00 AM. All 50 and 100 mile runners are welcome for this at no extra charge. Please do not partake of the goodies at the aid stations. Supplies at the aid stations have been calculated for the number of runners in the race. Runners pass through many of the aid stations multiple times, so the appearance of superabundance of food is in reality enough for the runners but not for family members, etc. Different runners have different needs at various times; sugary, salty, proteins, etc. Handfuls of M&Ms or chips may be exactly what a runner needs to regain energy. These same items may also be extremely tempting to children (as well as to some adults.) Please have goodies ready to offer children when they are tempted by the wide array of foods meant for the runners many of whom may still be coming through the aid station one or more times. Of course if anyone is diabetic or hypoglycemic and needs sustenance, they are most welcome to use the runners’ food available at the aid station.

The race pavilion at Mohican Adventures is, in essence, the last aid station. The food that is there before 7:00 AM Sunday is meant for the runners and their pacers as they arrive back at the campground during the night. This is not the breakfast food that will be served in the morning. If you anticipate hunger during the night hours please provide your own snacks.

Loudonville is the closest city to the race. It has many stores where you may buy supplies, etc. There is a McDonald’s a short distance south of Loudonville on SR3. There is also a Dollar Store, Pizza Hut, Trails End Pizza located within walking distance of Mohican Adventures on SR3 between McDonald’s and SR97. There is a saying in Ohio, “If you don’t like the weather, stick around a minute.” Be prepared for any and every type of weather. Daytime temperatures may range between 50^o - 100^o F. on race weekend. Nighttime temperatures may dip much lower. The thermometer may rise or drop over 50 degrees during the race. It may be very humid, hot, sticky, clear, delightful, calm, windy, thunderstorms. Layered clothing and available rain gear is highly recommended. One year a family from the south had to invest in sweaters because they had brought only very light clothing. Many types of birds, butterflies, and small animals inhabit the beautiful Mohican area. Unfortunately some years there is also an abundance of flies, mosquitoes, and other pesky creatures. Binoculars and bug spray may be useful as well as sunscreen. You most probably will need a flashlight at some time during the race. Extra batteries are recommended.

If you are planning a canoe, raft, or tubing trip during your stay, make your reservation at the Mohican Adventures camp office. Mohican Adventures features a variety of trips from 5 miles or more. The Mohican River is one of the most popular in Ohio, family friendly, mostly shallow with a gentle current as long as there has not been several days of severe rains. Check with the camp office for river conditions.