ARCHIVED RACE: Jenkins Mountain Scramble @ Paul Smith’s College Visitors Interpretive Center (VIC), Paul Smiths, NY, United States on 26 May 2012

There are two runs: A 13.1-mile strenuous half-marathon with 2,364 feet of elevation gain that includes a climb to the summit of Jenkins Mountain, and a shorter run of about 6 miles that does not include the Jenkins Mountain climb.

Both races will be run as “wilderness trail runs.” This means is that there will be no support during the race. All participants are on their own from start to finish and will need to carry their own water, food and other supplies they may require during the race. Any volunteers stationed on the course will be there to ensure runners take the designated trail. They will not be providing water, food, goo’s, moleskin, etc. It is absolutely critical that all racers respect the beautiful network of the trails that they will be using. If you drop an energy packet by accident, please stop and pick it up. Anyone failing to do this will be immediately disqualified.

Course Description: Variety is the best word to describe the course. Both runs begin by winding their way for about a half mile around the grounds adjacent to the main VIC building. For the next 4 ½ miles the course follows a network of well defined trails that are part of the VIC trail system. These are generally 6-7 ft wide trails on a mulched surface. They also include some wooden boardwalks that traverse bog/swamp areas. The next section is primarily on narrow single track. It includes a short “trail less” section. The course runs along side the shoreline of Black and Long Ponds and climbs the trail to the summit of Jenkin’s Mt. at the 10 ½ mile mark. The one-mile decent is steep, uneven and trail less. It descends through mixed hardwoods and runs along a slope that was once the college’s alpine ski area in the early 1960’s. From the bottom it’s a little less than 2 miles on the rolling terrain of Jenkins Mountain Road to the finish.

The 10K run also starts at the entrance to the VIC building and continues for approximately 3.5 miles over gently rolling terrain on mulched trails. The next section is narrow single track and runs along the shoreline of Black and Long ponds until the intersection with the Jenkins Mountain Road. From this point it is 1.5 miles to the finish.