ALL ABOARD THE PAIN TRAIN!! CRA FULL (or half) PULL!!!

OVERVIEW

Want to bask in the glory of as many Virginia peaks in one day as possible? Well look no further, for I present to you the Catawba Run Around (aka CRA) (aka Triple Crown)! This is a ~36 mile loop that hits 3 of Virginia’s premiere hikes all in one monumental loop. Together we will rest our eyes on Dragons Tooth, Angel’s Rest, AND McAfee’s Knob ALL IN SINGLE DAY!!! How we can do this you might ask? Well the answer is that we must run, and run ( and power hike) it we shall. This loop is absolutely stunning and I am super stoked to do it with whatever bangin group we piece together!

There are two options for this trip:
(1) The full, 36 mile loop. This covers >8000 ft of elevation gain and will take about 10 hours total to complete.
(2) Newport road to Angels Rest Parking lot. This is about a 17 mile segment, with 4-5000 ft of elevation gain. We will drop a car at the end of this segment for food and water restock, so this is the perfect break point for anyone who would like to run a little bit shorter. Similarly if you need to bow out of the full loop this gives anyone who may need to the chance.
Pick whichever one of these you feel the most comfortable doing, these are some serious miles and its important to know your limits and listen to your body. I’ll be upfront, this route is H.A.R.D. But we will power through it together, hiking the steep parts, and running when are legs are content to. I did this run a year ago and it took about 10 hours to complete, so be prepared for a long day on the trails.

Heres a strava map of if if you want a feel for the route: https://www.strava.com/activities/4239070541

THE PLAN:
5:00 pm – Depart from the shred shack and hit the road
7:00 pm – Arrive at our camp spot/run start site and fuel up on yummy snacks and prepared for the journey tomorrow
5:00 am (Saturday) – Wake up, grab a quick breakfast, rally ourselves to hit the trail
~ Run all day long ~
3-4pm (ish) – Complete the full loop, exhausted, but will full hearts proud of our big accomplishment
** Note that the 17 mile runners will finish a few hours ahead of this and likely arrive home much earlier**
5:00 pm – Head back to Cville, maybe stop for some pizza or other food pending our state of hunger
8-8:30pm – Arrive home, bedtime.

What you bring:
– Dinner/Breakfast for the night before and day of
– Lots and lots of running snacks and food for the day (post run snacks too!). It is really important that you maintain enough calories in while doing this run to when in doubt always pack extra! Gels and bars are great for low weight fuel, but bring whatever suites you and can keep you chugging along
– Lots of water!! I will bring plenty of extra water (to drop along the route) but I would recommend that you pack a few nalgenes worth as well.
– Tent, Sleeping bag, sleeping pad, etc. (all your typically camping necessities)
– Headlamp (We will start this run in the dark to get to Dragon’s tooth in time for the sunrise!!)
– A water/food pack to carry while we run
– Clothes you are comfortable exercising the entire day in (good shoes, quick dry materials, etc.)
– $ $ $ for snackies and post run gorging on food

DRIVERS NEEDED!
-Drivers need to show up to Echols with a full tank of gas!
-Drivers get priority off the waitlist. The club reimburses for gas +50% tip!

If you have any question/concerns, or just want to know more about this run before committing to the beast, text me! 5408086732