Directions to Aid Stations
All of the aid stations in the Chuckanut Mountain 50 Km. are accessible by normal passenger car, assuming no road closures due to snow or high wind. There is ample time to drive from each station to the next one. Even the swiftest runner will take longer than the slowest driving time between stations, unless you leave too long after your runner has departed!
Start is at 8:00 a.m. at Fairhaven Park in south Bellingham.
Directions, Start to Aid Station #1: Ample parking
(minimum driving time 10 - 12 minutes):
From main park entrance, turn left onto Chuckanut
Drive and continue south for about 6 miles, passing the Chuckanut Fire
Hall in perhaps 4 miles from Fairhaven Park.
About 1/2 mile south of the main entrance to Larrabee State Park on the right, turn left into the Clayton Beach Trail parking area on your left. Runners approach the aid station from the far left corner (NW) of the parking area and cross over to the gravel road behind the rest room.
Directions to Aid Station #2 from #1:
Very limited parking! Your car must not block the road! Crews are discouraged here due to parking limitations.
(driving time 5 minutes from station 1):
From station 1, return north on Chuckanut Drive,
back toward Bellingham, and just north of the Chuckanut Fire Hall turn
right on clearly marked Hiline Road. Continue on this road which
soon turns to gravel and begins a steep climb, for about 3/4 mile. Close
past a residential driveway on the left but before an obvious steel rail
gate on the main road, pull off the road and park downhill from the trailhead, marked
by large boulders and a "no camping" sign, and a wooden bench by the Larrabee State Park sign. The
second aid station is here.
Driving time from aid station #1 is only about 5 minutes, and the first runners arrive here at about 9:00 a.m. Last runners get here at about 10:15.
From here the runners continue up the road, the same way you go to reach stations #3 and #4. In the rare event that the upper gate is closed, the aid station will be moved to the upper gate and that is where the drop bags will be.
Directions to Aid Station #3 and #4 from #2: No parking! Your car must not block the road. Ample parking 200 yards up the road
(driving time 10 minutes):
Drive uphill on the Hiline (Cleator) Road, passing
the lower gate and making a righthand switchback in another 1/2 mile. At about two
miles beyond Aid Station #2 continue past the upper gate if it is open. In
2.9 miles on the road you will reach a second sharp switchback to the right,
nearly at the mountain top. This switchback is the location of both
Aid Station #3 and #4. Unless you are officially working at the aid station, don't even think
of parking here!
It is essential that you continue on up the road another 200 yards, park there, and walk back down the road to the station. DO NOT park along side the road at the aid station, as you will restrict traffic flow and endanger people.
Let us repeat ourselves: DO NOT park along side the road at the aid station!
The runners will arrive at #3 from between 9:20 and 11:15 (approximately).
This next section is only 7.5 miles but is technical
and slow. You may wish to explore the area a bit before your
runner returns to the same spot beginning at about 10:45 a.m. for the lead
runners to 2:00 for the last few.
Directions to Aid Station #5 from #3/4
(driving time 15 minutes):
Return down the road you drove up on. At the
bottom of Hiline Road, turn left onto Chuckanut Drive and drive south to
the same spot where hours before we had Aid Station #1. This has
now miraculously been transformed
into Aid Station #5.
The lead runners arrive at #5 at about 11:00, and
the last runners get here at about 2:30 (we hope). The aid station closes
shortly after 2:30.
Directions to the Finish:
From any of the aid stations, return to the start at Fairhaven Park. The first runner may arrive as early as 11:30 - 11:40, and the final finishers will be in at about 4 to 4:30 p.m.
Drivers and crews:
Please help us keep this a safe and sanctioned
event by observing speed limits, parking only in designated places well
off the roads, watching carefully for runners, bicylists, and auto
traffic especially on the Hiline Road, and picking up any runner-generated
litter you see (sometimes those energy bar wrappers get away).
Finally, if the spirit moves you, lend a hand at
any of the aid stations. The volunteers will let you know if they
need assistance during the frantic times when runners are arriving several
per minute. Tasks everyone will appreciate include finding and opening
runner's drop bags, filling their water bottles, etc.
Please be very observant if you ask the head checker if your runner has come through. They
must not be distracted and thus miss checking off any runners!
Thanks to each of you for being here and adding
to the great camaraderie of the ultra scene!
Phone numbers during the race: Race Director (206) 715-0919 Emergency 911. Larrabee State Park (360) 676-2093
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