Hey Cougar Runners!

It’s almost time for the last Cougar Mountain Trail Race of 2024! We had a fun and successful summer and are now looking forward to our biggest race of the year AND celebrating the milestone of $250K in donations to our partner, King County Parks! Thank you for pre-registering for the race. Please read through the entire email so you know what to expect this Sunday:

Weather – The current forecast for Sunday the 27th is mid-50s and rain.  Please double check the weather forecast Saturday evening and bring layers!  We will have a covered drop-bag area for dry clothes near the post-race area.

Carpool Carpool Carpool – Parking is available at Sky Country Trailhead at Cougar Mountain (Google map here). You do not need a parking pass. Parking near the race is limited, so we recommend carpooling with friends or family. Once the parking lot fills up, you will be directed by our volunteers to park on the west side of 166th Way SE. Do not park on the east side of the road. Please give yourself plenty of time to walk to the start line as you may have to park far away. Please be kind to the parking volunteers and follow the directions they give you.

Course Maps – Course maps and approximate elevation gain can be found for all of our races on our website.  The 50K gains about 7,200 feet. The 19.5-Miler/30K gains about 3,700 feet. The 7.6-Miler gains about 1,000 feet. And the 5K gains about 350 feet. 

HEADS-UP for 50K runners – We were notified yesterday by King County Parks that there’s a bridge on the Squak portion of the course that is “simply not safe to use so we flagged it off and we excavated a small trail along a contour to cross the drainage.”  The course marking team is aware and well help flag runners where to safely proceed.

Schedule (Start Times, Awards, Cut-offs):

7:00-9:30 AM – Registration and bib pickup (see 50K early start for the exception).

8:00 AM – 50K & 19.5 Mile Start

9:00 AM –  7.6 Mile Start // Cougar Mtn Cup Start

9:30 AM –  5K Start

11:00 AM –  Cougar Mtn Cup Awards and 5K Awards

*19.5 and 50k awards will be given out as runners finish

***If you were a Cougar Series winner and you haven’t received your award, please come find Gretchen!

Cutoffs: 

11:00 a.m. – 50k Cut-off time at Aid Station #2 (9.6mi, Hwy 900)
2:00 p.m. – Cut-off time at Aid Station #4 (21.0mi, Hwy 900)
3:30 p.m. – Cut-off time at Aid Station #5 (26.4mi, De Leo Wall) 

Early Start (50k) – For the 50K only, we are offering an early start. In order to participate in the early start, you must check in with Gretchen/RD between 6:45 AM and 6:55 AM. You must have a headlamp or waist lamp, and there is no guarantee that aid station 1 will be open by the time you reach it, so make sure you are prepared to go 9.6 miles without any aid. If you do the early start, you will not be eligible for podium awards…but finishing this 50k will be its own reward – YOU GOT THIS.

Cupless Event – Please remember that this is a cupless event and bring a collapsible cup or hand-held water bottle for the aid stations and for post-race drinks.

Change in Race Distance & Did Not Finish – If you would like to drop down in distance prior to the start of your race, please let the race volunteers know of your intentions at check-in. You cannot drop in distance once you start the race. If you would like to go up in distance, please notify the registration volunteers and you will be charged $15 (7.6 -> 19.5) or $25 (19.5 -> 50K).

If you drop-out of the race, you must notify the nearest aid station that you are leaving the course. Make sure to give your bib number and your name to the aid station volunteer. If you are not near an aid station, you must report back to the timing tent at the finish line and let them know you dropped out. If you do not notify the race that you dropped out, we will assume you are missing and will start looking for you…and I will blow up your phone and emergency contact’s phone if you are not accounted for because safety is priority number one! 

Cougar Mountain Cup – The 7.6-Mile race is a team race (individuals are still eligible to run the 7.6 mile race for podium awards). The Cougar Cup is open to any team, group or club. In order to participate in the event, teams must sign-up the morning of the race and declare who is on the team. All team members must sign a waiver and list an emergency contact who is not racing, and the entry fee of $170. This is a mixed team event and 2 women must score for each team. Teams can consist of 4-6 people with 4 people scoring and 2 displacing. There will be a cup handed out to the winning team. TEAM CAPTAINS – please forward this email to your team!

Aid Stations – There will be 5 aid stations for the 50K, 4 aid stations for the 30K/19.5 Mile, and 1 aid station for the 7.6 mile and 5K.  Aid stations will consist of water, Skratch hydration, and some basic snacks. Then stick around the finish line for more snacks, pumpkin pie, pizza (after 11:00am), and beer from Flying Lion Cougar Mountain Kolsch (for those that are over 21) as well as non-alcoholic drinks.

Aid Station 1 – Clay Pit Road, 5.4 mile (1.1 miles for the 5K)

Aid Station 2 – SR 900, 9.6 Miles (Drop Bags for 50K)

Aid Station 3 – Squak Mountain Road, 15.4 miles

Aid Station 4 – SR 900, 21 miles (Drop Bags for 50K)

Aid Station 5 – De Leo Wall, 26.4 miles

*Please remember that this is a trail race and distances may not be exact.

Drop Bags– There will be a designated area for the 50k drop bags at check-in, which will be available to 50k runners at aid stations 2 & 4. There will be a drop bag area for all runners post-race.

Costume Contest – Previous RD Jack Rosenfeld started the tradition of wearing costumes because this race is so close to Halloween and we are keeping that tradition going!  An award will be given to the person who ran the race in the best costume AND to the best group costume–this award is a subjective decision by race management. 🙂  

Raffle Table – Every runner will be entered into a raffle for Cougar Mountain Trail Running swag along with some sweet additional prizes like a signed copy of Alison Mariella Désir’s book “Running While Black”, a $150 Brooks gift card, a limited addition Seven Hills Running Shop hat, and more! There will be a raffle table by the post-race food so simply check to see if your bib number was drawn!

Litter – Please do not litter. If you have trash, please put it in the trash receptacles at aid stations or the finish line. If you see trash on the trails please help pick it up. If you knowingly litter you will be disqualified from the race and not allowed to enter future SRC events. 

No Tolerance – Seattle Running Club events are zero tolerance events. We will not tolerate any harassment of participants, volunteers, organizers, or bystanders. If you have witnessed harassment or have been a target of harassment, please reach out to the race director. 

Other Northwest Trail Runs – Our Cougar Mountain Series partner, Northwest Trail Runs, has events year round and registration is now open for their Winter Trail Series!  Check out details here: https://nwtrailruns.com/  

SPECIAL THANK YOU – The Trail Sisters Seattle group is providing 15 volunteers to help runners reach their goals Sunday.  Thank you TS Seattle crew!

We are looking forward to seeing you on Sunday (not Saturday!) for a spooky, muddy good time!