Sasquatch Shuffle

Description:

Come Frolick With Us in the Fall Foliage!
Join us for the inaugural Sasquatch Shuffle 50k/30k/10k/Triple Threat: A brilliantly beautiful set of FUNdraising fun runs through one of the best parks in Idaho, for as many miles as you see fit! ALL proceeds/registration fees go to Ponderosa State Park trails via Friends of Ponderosa and Endless Trails.

As McCall locals who also founded a trail-centric non-profit (Endless Trails) in 2013, RDs Matt & Kerri log hundreds of trail work hours in the Park each year, and are passionate about creating fun, low-key events for trails. This is a sister race of the Sharlie Shuffle 6- & 12-Hour, which will be four years old in 2020.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2019: 50k.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2019: 30k & 10k.

Registration opens for ALL distances June 1, 2019, and the campgrounds at Ponderosa State Park will be OPEN on a first-come, first-serve basis for our 2019 race-weekend, so you can (& should, if you want to) camp if you really want to experience all the park has to offer for the weekend.

With gorgeous views of Payette Lake and towering ponderosa pines, varied terrain, and a festive, low-key atmosphere, we think this is a race you [and your family, and friends, and well-behaved, leashed dogs] will just keep coming back to, one 10k loop at a time. Sign up and run whichever distance most appeals to you—if you’re feeling particularly brave, you can even sign up to run all three (see below for more information on the Triple Threat option!). Every single runner will get something awesome simply for showing up to run, but this isn’t your typical plastic/throwaway medal sort of event.

In addition to being heaps of F-U-N, and a great way to challenge yourself as trail-running season starts wrapping up, our races are also low-impact: You won’t find any paper products at the Sasquatch Shuffle, and we strive to have less than one full bag of trash at day’s end. As with all of our races, we also avidly support local businesses, which means as much aid (and prizes!) as possible will come from the McCall area. Speaking of aid, we’ll have some of the best out there. We’ll supply awesome fuel as your legs push through the challenging and scenic loop, and we’ll also provide reusable mugs for you to use throughout the day (though if you have a favorite mug, you’re of course welcome to bring your own).

GO GO GADGET EPIC LOOPS
We love loop events, and we’ve been enthusiastically putting them on for years. The Sasquatch Shuffle runs utilize a clockwise, 6.2-mile loop in McCall’s Ponderosa State Park. The beauty of using the same loop is not only do you learn what to expect, but you also pick up new things each time. And, depending on which distance(s) you sign up for, you can run anywhere between one loop and (if you sign up for the triple threat) nine!

Here’s what to expect on each loop: Rolling trails, rocky trails, flat trails, lots of serene single-track, some stride-widening double-track, and even a little gravel and pavement to keep things interesting. Note: This 10k loop is DIFFERENT THAN OUR SHARLIE SHUFFLE LOOP, and features noticeably less rocks than Sharlie. Some trails will go up, and some trails will go down. Each loop contains just enough gain to keep you honest (~600′), so expect to (have fun, yes!, and) be challenged.

If this description of the event feels somewhat vague, don’t worry—We promise we send out more detailed info to all registered participants as we get closer to race-weekend. But if you’re looking for maps or an elevation profile, you’re not going to find that here. Or anywhere.

Part of the fun of the Sasquatch Shuffle races is how low-key and old-school it is, which means we like to keep the course a secret for participants until race-day, and we don’t sweat the small stuff (and hopefully you don’t either!). We hand-make our bibs and “medals,” reward our participants (canine or human) with treats each lap, and work with the Park to ensure a brutally beautiful and sustainable course for you to run—so basically we’re trying to tell you that you’re in for a really really FUN day.

WANT DISCOUNTED RACE REGISTRATION?
Like we do for our other beloved loop races, we’re offering a way for you to knock $15 off the registration price of the 50k, 30k, or Triple Threat.

Just email us at [email protected] and sign up to bring a tasty aid station food and/or drink to share with your fellow runners on race-day (we keep these events intentionally small, so we’re not talking huge quantities here), and we’ll give you a code that’ll discount $15 off your race entry when you go to register. You can make a local farmer’s market stop, and/or grab something you love from Costco/Ridley’s/your pantry, or you can even bring something homemade!

We’ll keep a master list of stuff folks are planning to bring, and might even ask you to bring something specific, so we don’t end up with too much of one good thing. And we’ll keep offering discounted entry as long as we need more aid station food and/or drinks—BUT PLEASE EMAIL US BEFORE YOU REGISTER if you’d like the discount.

If you don’t want to worry about bringing something to share, that’s cool, too! Just register as usual and we promise we’ll take good care of you. We always aim to have some of the best aid station food around, and we always try to keep things simple and easily digestible (nuts; wraps; fruit; vegan soup; good sweets, etc.)

TAKE ON THE TRIPLE THREAT!
Are you brave or foolish enough to take on all three distances? Register for the Triple Threat option in the 50k registration and you’ll automatically also be registered for the 30k and 10k as well. We’ll keep track of all Triple Threat participants’ cumulative time and have special prizes for everyone who successfully completes all three race weekend distances. Think of this as a great way to give yourself a great end-of-season challenge and really get to know that loop!

NEED EVEN MORE INCENTIVE? THIS A FUNDRAISER FOR LOCAL TRAILS!
As McCall locals, these are our beloved backyard trails, which means we’re very passionate about them, and extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with Ponderosa State Park to ensure these trails get the continued love and support they need to thrive.

The Triple Threat starts at a modest $115 (+ applicable sales tax & UltraSignup processing fees), the 50k at $70, the 30k at $50, and the 10k at an equally modest $30. Prices first increase September 1st, then once more September 28th (two weeks from race weekend).

This race, like all of our other Endless Trails FUNdraising trail races, is a fundraiser for local trails, so any and all funds that don’t go to permitting fees/awesome aid and prizes will be donated to Ponderosa State Park via our Northwest 501(c)3 non-profit—to support ongoing trail work, trail education, and trail advocacy. We’ll be accepting cash and check donations on the day of the event, too, and you’ll also have the option to make an additional donation to Endless Trails as you’re registering. Every little bit helps, and all of it goes back to work done in Ponderosa! Which means you can feel doubly good about your registration fees and any additional donations you make being put to good use. It also means we’ll give you extra high-fives of gratitude every chance we get.

RACE WEEKEND
Start & finish beside Payette Lake in Ponderosa State Park.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12TH: For the 50K Run (and the first run for you crazy Triple Threat-ers), gates to the park will be open for us by 7:30 AM, at which point check-in starts; the fun begins at 8 AM. Runners must be on their final 10k loop by 4 PM and must finish by 6 PM to get an official finish. That’s 10 hours for a 50k with approximately 3000′ of gain and equal loss.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13TH: For the 30K Run (and the second run for you crazy Triple Threat-ers), gates to the park will be open for us by 7:30 AM, at which point check-in starts; the fun begins at 8 AM. Runners must be on their final 10k loop by 12 PM and must finish by 2 PM to get an official finish. That’s 6 hours for a 30k with approximately 1800′ of gain and equal loss.

For the 10K Run (and the final run for you crazy Triple Threat-ers), check-in starts at 2:30 PM; the fun begins at 3 PM. Runners must finish by 6 PM to get an official finish. That’s 3 hours for a 10k with approximately 600′ of gain and equal loss.

For all three races, expect pre-race announcements just a few minutes before the start. Part of the reason for the finish deadlines and respective cut-offs is to ensure that no one runs in the dark; while the days are still relatively long in mid-October, we’ll be on our way toward winter.

We’re capping registration right around 100 runners, total, so if you’re interested, sign up! Like our other looped events, we want this low-key event to stay small and feel cozy, like a fun family gathering between like-minded trail crazies.