Pre-Race Info

START AND FINISH LOCATION
Shenandoah Acres, 348 Lake Rd, Stuarts Draft, VA 24477

RACE START TIMES
50 Miles | 5:30am, 14 hours cutoff
50K | 6:30am, 12 hours cutoff
25K | 7:30am

LIVE TRACKING
REGISTER YOUR PHONE. You MUST register your phone for live tracking before the event.
Live tracking will allow your family and friends to follow you live during the event and it helps us keep us safe. Please make sure to register the phone you will be carrying with you on race da. Carrying your phone is mandatory.
On race day, download the MAPROGRESS APP on your phone and find “Bel Monte”. Once you press “start tracking”, it will show you real time if you are/are not on course. Instructions can be found HERE.
Share your journey with your friends and family! Send them this link.

SAFETY GEAR
A waterproof jacket, hat and gloves are the mandatory gear list.

POST-RACE FOOD
VALLEY PIKE BBQ will be on-site with food for sale from 10:30am to 7:30pm. Stuarts Draft is an easy drive away if you are craving something different.

DROP BAGS
Drop bags will be available at Stony Run (50 mile), Turkey Pen (50 mile and 50K, twice) and Slack Overlook/Camp Marty (50 mile and 50K, twice). No drop bags will be available for the 25K.
ALL DROP BAGS MUST BE AT THE FINISH BY 6:00AM. This is a hard cutoff: no drop bags will be delivered to the aid stations after 6:00am.
Label your drop bags with name, bib number (posted on UltraSignUp here- https://ultrasignup.com/entrants_event.aspx?did=98021) and aid station where it’s going. You will drop off your drop bag on the morning of the race on the side of the UHaul: you will see signs for each aid station. We’ll take care of transporting the drop bag to the aid station. NO valuables and NO larger than a backpack, please. Please note, drop bags will NOT return to the finish until AFTER the aid station closes: if you would like to retrieve it before, you can drive to the aid station on your way out.

COURSE MARKING & IMPORTANT TURNS
The course is marked with ORANGE surveyor flags, ORANGE chalk, ORANGE arrows and ORANGE cones on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We will also have some “Wrong Way” signs at critical turns. You will also see some Bad to the Bone signs with arrows.
The course is well marked and easy to follow. We strive to always minimize the impact on the trails and possible refuse from our markings blown by the wind or eaten by deer: hence, we do not over-mark sections where there is nowhere to go. Our course markings are also reusable.

• - Coal Road will ONLY have orange chalk: there will be NO confidence flags. Just STAY ON THE ROAD until the next aid station.
• - The 50 mile will go to Kennedy and make the climb and descent to Stony Run. At Stony Run, the 50 mile will turn around and run back to Kennedy. The 25K will go to Kennedy and make the climb and descent to Stony. Once you arrive at Stony, you will continue on Coal Road back to the finish.
• - The Kennedy trail is a 3-mile single-track trail with NOWHERE to go. Hence, ONLY THE TURNS will be marked on and off the Kennedy trail.
• - On the 50 mile and 50K course, after Turkey Pen you’ll run on the Mill Creek trail for about 5 miles then climb a mile up the switchbacks. At the top of the switchbacks, make a left onto Bald Mountain Jeep Road. After less than 1/2 mile, make a left again at the wooden sign: do not make a right, or you will end up on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
• - The turn at the intersection of the Slacks trail and Torry Ridge trail , about a mile before and after Camp Marty (RIGHT on the way out onto Slacks downhill, LEFT on the way back onto Torry Ridge uphill).
• -The turn on the spur to and from the Slacks Overlook (if you miss the spurs you’ll bypass the aid station).
• -You will do an out-and-back on the White Rock Falls trail: once you get to the White Rock Falls parking lot, you will turnaround.
• - You will CROSS the Blue Ridge Parkway ONCE on the way out and ONCE on the way back. You will ONLY cross it: if you are running on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a while, you missed the White Rock Falls Trail.

COURSE MAPS
Here
Please note: The Blue Ridge Parkway has recently changed its policy on allowing vehicles on the parkway if the parkway closes due to weather. If there is inclement weather the day before the race, the BRPW will be closed. If this is the case, we will need to implement the snow course to allow us access to the runners and we will communicate the change to all runners on race week. The snow course is very similar with only a minor change

LITTERING
It is VERBOTEN! Please don't litter, especially now that all the aid station food is single-serve.  If you come across any gels or bars wrappers lost by mistake, please pick them up.

HEADLAMPS
The are mandatory for the 50 mile race. If you are on pace to finish over 11 hours, you MUST have a headlamps with you for the return. Sunrise is around 6:30am, sunset around 6:15pm. We’ll have a bin at the Kennedy aid station for you to drop your headlamp. It will be returned to the finish.

CUTOFFS & DROPPING OUT
The 50 Miler has a cutoff of 14 hours, the 50K of 12 hours.  The cutoffs are strict and will be enforced.  Nobody will be allowed to continue beyond a cutoff, with or without a bib number: even without a bib, you are still to abide to the race rules and regulations. Unless there is a medical emergency requiring medical transportation, race staff will not give you a ride back to the finish.  If you decide or need to drop out, you must arrange your own transportation back to the finish with your own or other crew.

BIB NUMBERS & CHECK-IN
Your bib numbers are posted on the website (Race Information/Entrants) and on Ultrasignup here. If you registered recently or switched events, your bib number will be posted soon. For extra safety on top of live tracking, everyone will be checked in on Saturday morning, so we know who is on-course.

SWITCHING RACES
You can switch before the event (just send us en email), but you may not switch events during the race.

AID STATION FOOD
The Aid Stations will have LIMITED CUPS, so bring your hand-held bottles. Aid stations will have water, Gatorade and sodas. Food will include single-serve items such as potato chips, Oreo cookies, candy bars of mixed varieties, bars and fig newtons of mixed varieties, GU vanilla bean gels, fruit snacks, Gummy bears, M&M’s, muffins, peanut butter filled crackers, donuts, Twinkies and ding dongs, filled pretzels, some fruit like bananas and mandarins. Turkey Pen and Slacks/Camp Marty will have single-serve hot soup. All our aid station food is SINGLE SERVE, which means individually wrapped. We care about your health, so we have gone away from communal bowls.

LODGING AND CAMPING
Camping or bringing your RV? PLEASE make sure to reserve a spot with Shenandoah Acres. You can’t just camp in a field: the camping and RV rates are very reasonable. Check out “Lodging” on the website for all the info.

PARKING
You will park at Shenandoah Acres. As you arrive at Shenandoah Acres, follow staff directions and signs.

TOILETS
Toilets are located inside the building next to the parking lot (by the lake).

PACKET PICKUP
4:00pm to 5:00pm at Shenandoah Acres on Friday March 10. Starting at 4:45am on Saturday morning at Shenandoah Acres (packet pickup will remain open for each event until the 25K start at 7:30am). Here is the schedule (https://belmonteraces.com/index.php/en/race-information/schedule-packet-pickup). Please do not forget the HARD DROPBAG CUTOFF at 6:00am.

WAIVERS
Please email your signed waiver to francesca@badtothebone,biz. The waiver can be found at https://belmonteraces.com/index.php/en/race-information/rules-regulations

AWARDS
Awards will take place at the finish line. The times are: 10:30 for the 25K, 12:30pm for the 50K, 3:00pm for the 50 mile.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/belmonteraces/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belmonteendurance/
Hashtag: Our race hashtag is #BelMonteRaces... hashtag on!

PACERS AND CREW DIRECTIONS
Information can be found on the website here
Please have your crew or spectators print directions ahead of time, as we will not have any printed available at the finish.

SAFETY
Do not come to the race if you are sick or if you have been exposed to Covid.
Masks will not be required.
Please WATCH FOR TRAFFIC while crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway. Coal Road is gravel but has traffic on it, so watch for cars. It can be narrow, so ALWAYS run agains traffic and on the side of the road.
Watch out on any WOODEN BRIDGES, as they can be slippery.
Carrying your phone is mandatory (make sure to register it on the “Live Tracking” page). Your race-day emergency number is (434) 466-8016 OR (434) 242-7115.
In case of emergency, please reach the closest aid station. If you come upon an emergency on the trail and have cell service, please dial 9-1-1.
For minor medical issues, we’ll have our resident EMT at the finish. For serious medical issue, we’ll call emergency rescue. Several Bad to the Bone members have just competed CPR certification: we don’t plan on using it.
If you get lost, please retrace your steps until you reach the race course again. If you get really lost, call us (see above). You can also download the Maprogress app, find Bel Monte and it will show you if you are on course or not.
This race includes variable weather conditions, where hypothermia is a real concern, sharp rocks, isolated areas, wild animals, some dangerous, such as venomous snakes and bears, steep drop-offs, fast-moving water crossings, etc. Please be aware of the dangers.

WEATHER
Please continue to check the weather prior to the race, as it can change very quickly from day to day. Stuarts Draft is the correct location for accurate weather report but, please note, temperatures in the mountains can be 15-30 degrees colder than in the valley.