For your cartographic pleasure, Mike Epler has created the ultimate, Leatherman all-in-one, comprehensive guide to naviguessing the Coyote Backbone Trail Ultra. Thumbnail is below, but you really need to view full-size to appreciate it (and download the pdf.) Click here to go to our maps page. Nice, right?

Previous player-turned-mancake maker Luis Escobar displaying we-don’t-know-what

No surprise to Coyote veterans, Friday’s pre-game  dinner (latest details on time, location and directions here) ain’t just dinner; it’s a chance to display that hidden entertainer in you.  For those who need a nudge, we’ll at least give special recognition, Coyote-style (you don’t know what’s in the box til you open it), to those whose on-theme (trail running, this Coyote venue, or something just really special about YOU) limerick or haiku yields more than yawns from the fawning crowd of compatriots.

In other, fewer words: show up prepared with a limerick and/or haiku to be delivered open mic-style for a chance to spin the wheel for prizes. Ciao (or is it chow?) for now.

Pay your trail love forward by doing some trail maintenance on the Backbone on Saturday, March 2nd, sponsored by the Santa Monica Mountains Trail Council.  Running a race later in the year that requires trail work? Here is your chance.

Be sure to wear long pants and long sleeves, and bring gloves, lunch and water. SMMTC will provide tools, but please do RSVP to leader Barb Thomas at 805-492-0460 so they know how many loppers and McClouds to bring.

Check out the event page for more details.

We joke around a lot but we’re truly committed to leaving no trace of our fun on the Backbone Trail, and to reducing the amount of waste generated by the games. Towards that end, the Coyote Backbone Trail Ultra is happy to be going cupless.

Thanks to Krissy Moehl and UltrAspire, who provided us with a discounted price (retail is $6.00) and the initial inspiration (see Krissy’s cup-free announcement for her March 16th Chuckanut 50K trail race), we’ll be providing each of you with your own phthalate-, BPA- and PVC-free reusable cup. It folds easily (see pic below) so you can stash it in your pack between aid stations, where we’ll happily fill it – or your own handheld bottle or hydration pack – with your choice of beverages upon arrival. We’ll still have cups for hot soup, but other than that a cup request will likely result in the application of boner minutes to your official finish time.

As an example of the waste that is generated when using disposable cups, at a recent trail race a runner came upon the row of pre-filled cups of soda, electrolyte fluid, and water, and in a span of 30 seconds used four cups and moved on without a word. Over the course of a 68-mile romp such as ours, that can translate to over 4,000 cups being added to landfills. Multiply that by all of the road and trail events across the country and you begin to see the positive difference you can make by avoiding disposable cups, so we thank you in advance for taking one for the team.

More eco-friendliness: we will be recycling all of our plastic and cans at the event and collecting them in GREEN trash bags at the aid stations. PLEASE use these only for recyclable items!

Usage tip: we did a quick field test and found that if you slide your pinky finger under the bottom it stabilizes the contents. Just sayin’.

For any of you still working on recruiting new players to share the fun with you, this is a quick reminder that event registration closes at midnight this Sunday, February 17th.The deadline for cancelling entries has now passed. Sorry, but we cannot issue refunds to those players who must withdraw from the fun at this point, nor can we offer bib transfers. Those remaining in the game thank those who join the DL from here on  out for their generous contributions to their entertainment fund.

Also, there are two more chances to preview the game films: Sunday, March 3rd, and Saturday, March 16th. Check out the Training Run schedule here for details.

A reminder that the 2nd of 4 Coyote Backbone Trail Ultra training runs is this Saturday, February 9th at 7am. All training runs are free and open to everyone, official players or otherwise. They are self-supported and you participate at your own risk. These trails are tough and the weather fickle – bring more layers, fluids, electrolytes and calories than you think you will need, a strategy that will also serve entrants well on race day. Please be sure to RSVP either on Facebook using the  link provided below, or directly to H’ard Cohen via e-mail: howard(at)gravityh(dot)com

Distance: 16.6 miles
Course: Kanan Rd to Encinal Cyn Rd (2.5 mi) to Misha Mokwa (13.6 mi), with an optional out-and-back to the top of Sandstone Peak ( + 3 mi for 16.6 mi total)
Meet: Mishe Mokwa, then shuttle to Kanan Rd (map)
RSVP here

Highlights: This section has some nice rolling hills, all runnable if you are on fresh legs, but possibly not so much on event day. Route finding on this section, or rather, route searching-but-not-finding, has led to serious bonus mileage for would-be through runners, so mind the trail junctions. Fabulous ocean and channel island views before descending to Misha Mokwa. We will do an out-and-back up Sandstone Peak, another climb that’s easy when fresh but less so 52 miles in on race day.

And, welcome, welcome to the latest arrivals to training camp: NightLight Hewey, PinHead Alldredge, Hawknees Hambly, and PalmFrog Holmes. We’re so glad to have you. A full list of players to date can be found here.

Hiya Campers,

Mike Epler has kindly negotiated special team rates at three hotels in Camarillo. Please visit the Travel and Bunking page of our website (scroll down for hotel info) for details on rates and amenities. Be sure to book early as all rates are based on availability.

Sweet dreams!

Please join us in a somewhat bleary-eyed, post-Superbowl welcome to Rookster Glatt and Whiplash Worthington, who will surely be great additions to an already crackerjack team.

Also, those with successful pleas to the Backbone Buffoon re: start group assignments will find these reflected in the latest list of assignments shown on our website here.

Further desperate attempts to change your fate can be directed to him as before using our Contact page.

Finally, and no less importantly, please let us know as soon as you can if you will have transportation to the Start so we can plan bus fillage according. As with changes to the start groups, please us our Contact page to let us know, it simplifies stuff for us and you know we’re fairly simple minded people.

Hi people. Lots of questions about drop bags. Here are the answers:

1. They’re allowed – bring them with you to the registration/finish area (or, if you have your own transport to the start, bring them with you) and place them in the appropriate bins
2. We’ll have them waiting for you at Piuma Trailhead (mile 25.1) and Mishe Mokwa (mile 52). Used drop bags from Piuma will be transported to the finish; Mishe Mokwa drop bags are for consumables only and leftovers will be donated to deserving cast members.
3. The first drop bag location is earlier in the race than we posted in our last Aid Station table (new one is here) to ensure daytime access to lights and layers.

No questions about bobcats (yet), but here is a short article from L.A. Now about a recent milestone for Santa Monica Mountain bobcats, the first in a (short and likely haphazard) series from us highlighting some of the species with whom you’ll be sharing the Backbone Trail.

Courtesy L.A. Times blog L.A. Now

Halloooo, Backboners. If you haven’t done so already on our website, the head chicken respectfully requests that you take a good peep at the game rules. They are  important. Please read them.

LEAVE NO TRACE

The Backbone Trail has been a vision of Southern California runners and hikers for over 50 years. Because of the exhaustive and oft-unrecognized efforts of park rangers, elected officials, property owners, environmentalists and hundreds of community activists and volunteers, you have the opportunity to traverse this truly sacred ridgeline trail. It is our supreme privilege to be able to enjoy the natural beauty of the Santa Monica Mountains; honor this privilege by leaving no trace of your time here beyond the flashbacks amazing memories it will afford.

REFUND / BIB TRANSFERS

Once you sign up and receive our seal of approval, evidence of which will be in the form of a charge to your credit card, you have until February 1, 2013 to change your mind and receive a refund, less a $25 processing fee. After that, your entry fee will serve as a generous donation to those still in the game. Oh, and no bib transfers, sorry.

EVENT or PERMIT CANCELLATION

If for any reason the event is cancelled, be it an act of nature, National or State Park Service permit issues, or any other unforeseeable circumstance, the race management will make every effort to refund all unobligated funds to entrants who provide the necessary contact information. As with any wilderness outing, Mother Nature, state and federal authorities hold the cards, and there can be no guarantees that all entry fees will be refunded if the run is not held as advertised.

RULES and REGULATIONS

Your safety, and the preservation of the wilderness environment, are the top priorities at all times.

• Multiple factors are evaluated by the Park Service to approve races, and we are in the process of securing the numerous permits and approvals necessary to hold this event this year. To help us retain the possibility of future events, it is essential that you leave no evidence of your time on the Backbone Trail. Properly dispose of your trash at Aid Stations and respect the natural environment through which you are running.
• While crews and pacers are not allowed out on the course itself, we have designated aid stations (see table here) that are accessible to those who wish to encourage you at various points along the way. Too, the staggered start format is designed to ensure you have as much companionship as possible from your fellow players along the way, so do take advantage of the bonding time.
• Stay on the course! If you get lost, retrace your steps to get back on course. If you must leave the trail for any reason, leave your pack or water bottle on the trail at your point of exit.
• Bib numbers must always be visible from the front for runner identification.
• Check in and out with the radio volunteers at every aid station. Do not assume they saw you enter or leave as we will need to account for every runner along the route. It is our only way to know where to look for you in case of an emergency!
• Event management (which includes volunteers out on the course) retain the right to relieve you of your official entrant status when you violate normal protocol for trail events, like cutting switchbacks or taking aid at other than designated sites. Should we take this option, you’ll be relieved of your bib number and will be expected to leave the course.
• If you are defrocked of your race bib or bail voluntarily, you must notify the nearest aid station captain and hand over your bib number. Leaving the course without doing so could initiate a costly search and rescue operation that you will be required to pay for.
• Aid station cutoff times are not negotiable.
• After the final runner passes through each aid station, a safety sweep will be running the course and removing ribbons. If you leave an aid station, you must be prepared to make it to the next one.
• Do not try to return to a prior aid station, as the course markings may already have been pulled if you are near the back end of the field of runners.
• Please be courteous and kind to race volunteers, they are there to help you and are enduring much inconvenience and discomfort on your behalf. Fawning and other extreme displays of gratitude are highly encouraged.