Hello and welcome to the day before the day before the Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon and Squirrelly Six Mile!

You are receiving this email because you're signed up to join us for this special Albany Running Exchange event. We are very excited and hope that you are too! When you have a few minutes, please be sure to read this email to to ensure that you are ready to take on the challenge this Sunday.


**Note: This email also appears on the EVENT WEBSITE: http://www.HairyGorillaHalf.com**
--> We encourage you to visit the website a couple of times between now and Sunday for any additional updates. 
--> If you have any questions that are not answered in this email nor on the website, please leave a note on the ARE Event Productions Facebook page. (Most of the event staff will be literally "in the woods" between now and race-time. This will enable one of several people to reply - and for others to see the response.)

THE MAJOR BULLET POINTS

- The race is on Sunday, October 27, 2013
- Ideally arrive between 7:30am and 8:30am
- There is a ~1000 meter kids race at 9am. 
- The Squirrelly Six Mile and Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon kick off simultaneously at 9:30am, and run together for 5.9 miles, only splitting at the very end as the squirrels finish and the gorillas run off into the distance to meet their doom. :) 
- Bring a COMPLETE change of clothes, something warm for after (hoodie/sweatpants, etc.), a towel, and clean underwear (and an extra pair for someone who forgets - you can make a friend! :p)

 

Getting There
The race is at John Boyd Thacher State Park in Voorheesville, NY. It is staged from Hailes Cave Pavilion. We will have signs and animals directing you where to go off the main road. 
Have a GPS? Type in: 1 Hailes Cave Road, Voorheesville, NY 12186
Note: Parking is about 300 meters from the actual start/finish/packet-pickup. We suggest you arrive before 8:30am to give yourself ample time to get checked in, use the luxurious porto-potties, and all that fun stuff.
It is about 35 minutes from Albany Airport and 25 minutes from the Guilderland/Albany area.

General Map of Event Staging Area

 

Registration/"Packet Pick-up" (No packets, just bib and socks, baby!)

Per above, arrive on race day and head to the registration area (see "General Map" above.)

Race day registration is available ($25 for the Squirrel/$30 for the Gorilla) for all of your friends and family that were trigger-shy on pre-reg. :p Socks are not guaranteed to those procrastinators. 

 

THE SOCKS

You're getting socks! Yippee! Say goodbye to cold feet (FULL DISCLOSURE: May not help with cold feet with that special someone.)

But for all other situations, you're in comfy luck!

Check out the handy chart below so you know what size to ask for.

 

Sock Size

Women Shoe Size

Man Shoe Size

S

6-8

 

M

8.5-10.5

7-9

L

11-13

9.5-11.5

XL

 

12+

 

Race Timing
ARE Event Productions is timing the event using the ChronoTrack B-Tag. This resembles a very thin sticker that will be on the back of your bib. As such, for you to appear in the results, your bib MUST be worn on your OUTER-MOST layer. Do not crease your bib or do anything else to mangle the beloved banana artwork on your precious bib. :P Simply wear it so we can see it and you'll be all set. We will also have splits mats at a few locations on the course. These will be used both for results as well as our internal tracking purposes to assess where people are on the course.

The Costume Parade
Every year, people wear absolutely awesome costumes! At 9:10am, we will assemble our "Costume Parade", which is open to any and all participants wearing costumes. We're going to get everyone moving in a line so that we can evaluate you all for who has the best costume... and deserves the super tasty homemade pie that comes with it!

Banana-rama and Special Categories
Got bananas? Bring 'em. Yep, and then we'll sprinkle them around the course and for those who want to give it a go, see how many you can finish carrying! In 2009, Cory Ramsey finished with 82 bananas!! Holy heck, that's a lot of bananas.
We'll also be awarding the best gorilla impersonation and best pumpkin carving. And yeah, the fast people too... ;)
We have special homemade pies for our top Banana-Carrying Finisher, Pumpkin Carving, Gorilla Impersonation, and Costume

The Hairy Gorilla Experience
While you're running, keep your eyes out for gorillas in trees, squirrels throwing nuts at you, and other random obstacles. You may also run past gravestones with your name on them... if you happen to come across your own, you are welcome to bring it home with you after the race. Many parts of the course will also be decorated in the spirit of Halloween. All finishers will get the official "Hairy Gorilla Medal" and we've also got really cool socks for you too. You'll get those at packet pickup.

 

What am I running on?
This is a trail race at a park that sits nearly 1,000 feet above the city of Albany. It is beautiful! There are also treacherous sections. Please be mindful of leaves covering roots and rocks, etc. Definitely be aware of your surroundings. If you spot a hard to see root, yell "Root!" for those around you that aren't otherwise lost to the world with headphones on. (Polite way of saying wear them at your own risk! Plus, you'll want to hear the panting of gorillas lurking near you.) Be courteous to fellow runners. The course offers a little bit of everything. If you have never run on trails before, well… welcome to trail running. :) You will be running mainly on dirt and rock, with some grass sections as well. The course is thedriest its ever been and looks like it will remain that way.

How is the course marked and where are the aid stations?
The course is marked with yellow (and a few pink) flags in the ground, pink flagging tape (hung from trees), and also black arrows printed on white paper attached to trees. You'll also notice a few hundred gorillas on the course (last 7 miles). That's a lot of volunteer efforts at work! 
You can see the course map here.
Aid Stations are at approximately 2.2m, 4.4m, 5.75m, 8.1m, and 11.1m. Aid Stations will have water and pretzels, along with some other light snacks varying on the location. All locations are equipped with First Aid kits. If you are running with gels or some other item, please be considerate of the trail and do not litter. Leave wrappers at aid stations and our volunteers will clean them up.

Checking out the course ahead of time
In town and want to see where it's all going to happen? Head to the park on Saturday. We do not have any formal participant activities occurring on Saturday, but you are more than welcome to check out the park and see the setup. Perhaps get in a couple of miles on the trail. There will be event volunteers on-site for much of the day doing general setup.

 

Volunteers
An event like this relies considerably on volunteers. We will have upwards of 50+ scattered through the course making sure you are staying hydrated, nibbling on pretzels, and going the right way, not to mention dozens of others assisting in various roles. Be sure to thank them - in some cases they've had to hike in a couple of miles carrying supplies (or simply in some ridiculous costume! :p)

 

Course Cut-Off
There is no formal time-limit for the Squirrelly Six Mile. Hairy Gorilla Half Marathoners not past 5.75 miles in 1:17:30 (13:30 pace) will be re-directed to finish the 6m. You will still receive a gorilla medal. 

 

Let's Eat!
We're supplying the burgers and dogs (and veggie burgers) along with bagels and fruit. Many members of the Albany Running Exchange are also bringing baked goods and other treats, and we encourage you to do the same. To that end, if at all possible for you to prepare something to share in the pot-luck meal, that'd be awesome! We do our best to keep entry fees low but provide an all-around quality experience. To that end, if you're running the race and your spouse and nineteen children come with you, please respect that the food is only for the runners. We don't make you show any proof when you come up, but if a Gorilla spots someone who doesn't belong... don't say we didn't warn you! :D


We have participants coming from 9 states, including most of New England, along with FL and VA.

 

And with that, see you there!!

The Hairy Gorilla Half/Squirrelly Six Event Management Team