Acadia Cross Island - (ACI) - May 18th, 2024
So here we are, the highly unofficial and certainly not an "official" race... the Acadia Cross Island 2024 race. Year 8!
Date: Saturday May 18th, 2024
Cost: $0
No Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat or Instagram please. Strava is the most public attention we can give this, even then only use ACI not the full written out description to keep it somewhat coy.
The Route: (GPX File emailed separately)
West to east, the most direct route from Seal Cove road to the finish at Gorham Trailhead. It's 31 miles, 11.5K+ in elevation gain. The fastest run times have been between 7:42:59 (2019 CR) by Jeff Rome and Dylan Brann 7:48 (2020.). The last runners took 12:30 to finish it.
https://www.strava.com/activities/2378780888/overview
The Stagger Start
We start people based on their expected time on course. So the runners that finished in 12:30 started almost 2 hours ahead of the winner.. From the earliest starter to the last starter, everyone else starts at different times based on their expected pace. This ideally creates a situation where a back of the back runner can be competing for the win with the upfront runners. The last two years Jeff Rome (2019) and Dylan (2020) ran us all down but several others made it really tight with super strong performances. I think with more tweaking and data from each year we can get it even closer and more runners within sight and chasing each other down that final Champlain descent.
First runner to reach Fabbri wins. Not the shortest amount of running time. First runner to the finish line.
How are the start times created?
I make them up. Sort of.
I use strava times, anecdotal reasoning, bias, judgement, guessing, and some good old fashioned math. Without data for the course (besides Tom and I over the years doing it more casually,) we didn't have an idea of just how fast someone would, or many people would, run it. Now with more data from 2019 and 2020 we'll be able to dial it in (hopefully) with more accuracy for the 2021 race. So every couple weeks I'll send everyone a pace chart update based on nagging injuries, training logs on Strava, or generally just as we tweak it from your feedback. You all get a chance to make your case, but I'm a firm believer of aggressive start times instead of sandbagging with an easier start time. The idea is for everyone to push themselves, not hold hands at the finish. There are plenty of ultras to do that. This isn't it. Go out harder than you think you should. When you get tired, run harder. That means something different for everyone, but if you're the first runner out the gate, you need to hustle to keep people from catching you. Run it like a race and run it hard.
In 2019 we had 9 runners, with 8 of those that came back in 2020 (winner Jeff Rome now lives in Colorado.) New additions in 2020 were Peter Philbrook, Darron Collins, John Rodrigue, Brandon Chase and Daniel Cortes. 2021 version we hope to start with 16 runners, up from 12 in 2020. As runners are spread out over several hours, there are only 1-2 runners heading out together at the same time and everyone is spread over the 31 miles. We have twenty on the entrants list now and we can start with 20, but my assumption (and experience directing races over the years) is that some people will have to pull out or otherwise "life" will keep them from doing it. But most people have this on their list as their "A" race for the season and barring injuries, I think we'll have a solid 16+ starting.
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK DISCLAIMER
Obviously we all live here and the park is our home and we don't want to do anything that irritates the park with what they might deem a "commercial" event or large groups that don't fall into their approved requirements. We are allowed by park rules to have up to 20 people doing the same event. So for that we keep the runner list limited within that number. I have also talked to several of the ANP Rangers about the event and unless we broke the 20 person threshold, created traffic congestion or otherwise were a group that was creating destruction, litter, or doing things that none of this group would do, we are an accepted "under the radar" event each year. It's the best worst kept secret on the island. We need to maintain a positive influence on the park and keep our areas clean, parking lots clean and safe (no illegal parking to see a runner, crews can create issues for us if they are not careful) and remaining polite to everyone we encounter. Easy stuff right?
Until then, here's a ton of stuff to read, digest, and dive into when you have time.
Strava Flyby 2019- (Make sure you check the boxes for Tom, Dylan, Jeremy, Rebeccah, Brad, William)
https://labs.strava.com/flyby/viewer/#2378474150?c=drzkh9dd&z=E&t=1Su14U&s=AO
Video of 2019 run:
https://youtu.be/dex-AIXcPaA
Relive route video from 2019:
https://www.relive.cc/view/v8qVMoXxY76
Date: Saturday May 18th, 2024
Cost: $0
No Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat or Instagram please. Strava is the most public attention we can give this, even then only use ACI not the full written out description to keep it somewhat coy.
The Route: (GPX File emailed separately)
West to east, the most direct route from Seal Cove road to the finish at Gorham Trailhead. It's 31 miles, 11.5K+ in elevation gain. The fastest run times have been between 7:42:59 (2019 CR) by Jeff Rome and Dylan Brann 7:48 (2020.). The last runners took 12:30 to finish it.
https://www.strava.com/activities/2378780888/overview
The Stagger Start
We start people based on their expected time on course. So the runners that finished in 12:30 started almost 2 hours ahead of the winner.. From the earliest starter to the last starter, everyone else starts at different times based on their expected pace. This ideally creates a situation where a back of the back runner can be competing for the win with the upfront runners. The last two years Jeff Rome (2019) and Dylan (2020) ran us all down but several others made it really tight with super strong performances. I think with more tweaking and data from each year we can get it even closer and more runners within sight and chasing each other down that final Champlain descent.
First runner to reach Fabbri wins. Not the shortest amount of running time. First runner to the finish line.
How are the start times created?
I make them up. Sort of.
I use strava times, anecdotal reasoning, bias, judgement, guessing, and some good old fashioned math. Without data for the course (besides Tom and I over the years doing it more casually,) we didn't have an idea of just how fast someone would, or many people would, run it. Now with more data from 2019 and 2020 we'll be able to dial it in (hopefully) with more accuracy for the 2021 race. So every couple weeks I'll send everyone a pace chart update based on nagging injuries, training logs on Strava, or generally just as we tweak it from your feedback. You all get a chance to make your case, but I'm a firm believer of aggressive start times instead of sandbagging with an easier start time. The idea is for everyone to push themselves, not hold hands at the finish. There are plenty of ultras to do that. This isn't it. Go out harder than you think you should. When you get tired, run harder. That means something different for everyone, but if you're the first runner out the gate, you need to hustle to keep people from catching you. Run it like a race and run it hard.
In 2019 we had 9 runners, with 8 of those that came back in 2020 (winner Jeff Rome now lives in Colorado.) New additions in 2020 were Peter Philbrook, Darron Collins, John Rodrigue, Brandon Chase and Daniel Cortes. 2021 version we hope to start with 16 runners, up from 12 in 2020. As runners are spread out over several hours, there are only 1-2 runners heading out together at the same time and everyone is spread over the 31 miles. We have twenty on the entrants list now and we can start with 20, but my assumption (and experience directing races over the years) is that some people will have to pull out or otherwise "life" will keep them from doing it. But most people have this on their list as their "A" race for the season and barring injuries, I think we'll have a solid 16+ starting.
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK DISCLAIMER
Obviously we all live here and the park is our home and we don't want to do anything that irritates the park with what they might deem a "commercial" event or large groups that don't fall into their approved requirements. We are allowed by park rules to have up to 20 people doing the same event. So for that we keep the runner list limited within that number. I have also talked to several of the ANP Rangers about the event and unless we broke the 20 person threshold, created traffic congestion or otherwise were a group that was creating destruction, litter, or doing things that none of this group would do, we are an accepted "under the radar" event each year. It's the best worst kept secret on the island. We need to maintain a positive influence on the park and keep our areas clean, parking lots clean and safe (no illegal parking to see a runner, crews can create issues for us if they are not careful) and remaining polite to everyone we encounter. Easy stuff right?
Until then, here's a ton of stuff to read, digest, and dive into when you have time.
Strava Flyby 2019- (Make sure you check the boxes for Tom, Dylan, Jeremy, Rebeccah, Brad, William)
https://labs.strava.com/flyby/viewer/#2378474150?c=drzkh9dd&z=E&t=1Su14U&s=AO
Video of 2019 run:
https://youtu.be/dex-AIXcPaA
Relive route video from 2019:
https://www.relive.cc/view/v8qVMoXxY76
Most Updated Pace Chart - 2019-2021 Actuals
2019-2021 actuals with 2021 fastest times ranking, relative effort ranking and 2021 winning time standings.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PDpPm9URYzVURu5MHeb63ZLwsJSfoiNx/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113685285402396230170&rtpof=true&sd=true
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PDpPm9URYzVURu5MHeb63ZLwsJSfoiNx/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113685285402396230170&rtpof=true&sd=true
| acadia_cross_island_invitation_2020_pace_chart_actual_01.25.2021.xlsx |
