Mt. Ashland HillClimb
IMPORTANT UPDATE (As of March, 2021):
So, it's now 2021. While we are far from through with the pandemic, those of us here at HillClimb HQ are trying very hard to remain optimistic that 2021 will be an improvement on 2020. One way we are hoping so is the return of live running events. As of this writing, however, the City of Ashland is not yet processing event permit applications - but they have accepted ours and given us a "save the date" type vibe that we felt we should share. So, as of now, we are looking at August 14th for this year's HillClimb, and sincerely hope we are able to do it live (in whatever makes sense from a safety protocol standpoint, of course).
In our excitement, we want to also start allowing people to plan for - and ideally have an extra incentive to train for - our event. So, we are going to open registration this Saturday, March 13th, at 8 am. Having learned from the last few years (one cancellation due to smoke, one reroute due to snow, and most recently a pandemic caused virtual/cancellation scenario) we are opting to play it somewhat safe for now. When you register this weekend, you will not be charged anything as of yet. It will simply be a "placeholder", such that when we are approved for our event permit, we will flip a fancy UltraSign Up switch that should notify you all that you can finalize your registration and make payment at that time. While we are optimistic we will have our event this year, we also recognize that even if that happens, a lot can and will happen between now and then, and people may have varying degrees of comfort with whatever our scenario looks like and what protocols we are enforcing. As such, we feel this gives our runners the most flexibility, while simultaneously giving us an idea of interest and direct contact to those that want to run through registrations "holding" spots so to speak. It may not be ideal, but let's face it, what has been during the past 12 months?
We sincerely appreciate everyone's understanding, patience and flexibility as we all try to adjust to the ever changing landscape of running events over the past year. It is our deepest hope to be able to celebrate everyone's accomplishment in some format on the mountain this summer, and to see the smiles that can only be earned through 13 miles of purposeful uphill effort.
Set your alarms, register this weekend - should we be forced to have our event with a limited number of participants, we will simply go in a "first come, first served" format (with priority given to those that rolled over from last year, of course). Therefore it's in your best interest to register early if you want to be sure to be included once we are granted a permit.
Thank you again, stay safe and we hope to see you on the trails soon.
General Info:
The Mt Ashland Hill Climb is among the races with most elevation gain of any continuous hill climb in the continental United States. The race begins at 7:30 am, and the following cut-off times will be enforced on race day: 10:15 am to Four Corners (~7 miles), 11:30am to Bull Gap (~11.3 miles) and 12:15am to the Lodge (~13 miles)
Start is on Winburn Way near Sesame Asian Kitchen right at Lithia Park. There are no early starts, everyone begins at 7:30 am. Race packet pickup is the day before, between 3pm and 6pm, at Rogue Valley Runners, 161 E. Main St, downtown Ashland or at least 20-minutes before race start. Participants are responsible for getting themselves back to Ashland. We will be offering bus rides, for free, however you must sign up for this service in advance (upon registration). There will be limited "day of" seats available, however preregistered runners obviously are given preference. The buses drop off near Rogue Valley Runners downtown.
All runners MUST check in the morning of the race with our volunteers, 1. to get your raffle ticket (for our amazing prizes) and 2. so that you can be counted as "on course." Failure to check in will mean you will not have an official finish time. We offer no refunds, bib transfers or roll overs to the next year. No exceptions. This is a pretty affordable race, really, so if you are unable to participate please consider your registration fee a donation to AWTA's.
This year we will have shirts available for purchase at registration, but please note they are not included in the registration price. This is by design. We don't want to force shirts on people, and we want to keep the price of this event low, so shirts are purchase if you want them, don't if ya don't. That said, we are offering a pretty sweet deal to those that DO want them. Shirts only cost $22. Yup, only $22. True story. During the registration process, you can order a t-shirt with our amazing, unique logo. We will NOT be able to accommodate many orders day of or at packet pick up. Last year we were asked by quite a few people if we had extras for sale, but we ran out of popular/common sizes. There are no t-shirt orders after JUNE 1st, however if we have any extras they will be for sale at packet pick up. We will be closing t-shirt sales at the end of May, to insure we get them ordered and printed in time. Therefore, if you want one, don't delay registering and purchasing one. We mean it.
So, it's now 2021. While we are far from through with the pandemic, those of us here at HillClimb HQ are trying very hard to remain optimistic that 2021 will be an improvement on 2020. One way we are hoping so is the return of live running events. As of this writing, however, the City of Ashland is not yet processing event permit applications - but they have accepted ours and given us a "save the date" type vibe that we felt we should share. So, as of now, we are looking at August 14th for this year's HillClimb, and sincerely hope we are able to do it live (in whatever makes sense from a safety protocol standpoint, of course).
In our excitement, we want to also start allowing people to plan for - and ideally have an extra incentive to train for - our event. So, we are going to open registration this Saturday, March 13th, at 8 am. Having learned from the last few years (one cancellation due to smoke, one reroute due to snow, and most recently a pandemic caused virtual/cancellation scenario) we are opting to play it somewhat safe for now. When you register this weekend, you will not be charged anything as of yet. It will simply be a "placeholder", such that when we are approved for our event permit, we will flip a fancy UltraSign Up switch that should notify you all that you can finalize your registration and make payment at that time. While we are optimistic we will have our event this year, we also recognize that even if that happens, a lot can and will happen between now and then, and people may have varying degrees of comfort with whatever our scenario looks like and what protocols we are enforcing. As such, we feel this gives our runners the most flexibility, while simultaneously giving us an idea of interest and direct contact to those that want to run through registrations "holding" spots so to speak. It may not be ideal, but let's face it, what has been during the past 12 months?
We sincerely appreciate everyone's understanding, patience and flexibility as we all try to adjust to the ever changing landscape of running events over the past year. It is our deepest hope to be able to celebrate everyone's accomplishment in some format on the mountain this summer, and to see the smiles that can only be earned through 13 miles of purposeful uphill effort.
Set your alarms, register this weekend - should we be forced to have our event with a limited number of participants, we will simply go in a "first come, first served" format (with priority given to those that rolled over from last year, of course). Therefore it's in your best interest to register early if you want to be sure to be included once we are granted a permit.
Thank you again, stay safe and we hope to see you on the trails soon.
General Info:
The Mt Ashland Hill Climb is among the races with most elevation gain of any continuous hill climb in the continental United States. The race begins at 7:30 am, and the following cut-off times will be enforced on race day: 10:15 am to Four Corners (~7 miles), 11:30am to Bull Gap (~11.3 miles) and 12:15am to the Lodge (~13 miles)
Start is on Winburn Way near Sesame Asian Kitchen right at Lithia Park. There are no early starts, everyone begins at 7:30 am. Race packet pickup is the day before, between 3pm and 6pm, at Rogue Valley Runners, 161 E. Main St, downtown Ashland or at least 20-minutes before race start. Participants are responsible for getting themselves back to Ashland. We will be offering bus rides, for free, however you must sign up for this service in advance (upon registration). There will be limited "day of" seats available, however preregistered runners obviously are given preference. The buses drop off near Rogue Valley Runners downtown.
All runners MUST check in the morning of the race with our volunteers, 1. to get your raffle ticket (for our amazing prizes) and 2. so that you can be counted as "on course." Failure to check in will mean you will not have an official finish time. We offer no refunds, bib transfers or roll overs to the next year. No exceptions. This is a pretty affordable race, really, so if you are unable to participate please consider your registration fee a donation to AWTA's.
This year we will have shirts available for purchase at registration, but please note they are not included in the registration price. This is by design. We don't want to force shirts on people, and we want to keep the price of this event low, so shirts are purchase if you want them, don't if ya don't. That said, we are offering a pretty sweet deal to those that DO want them. Shirts only cost $22. Yup, only $22. True story. During the registration process, you can order a t-shirt with our amazing, unique logo. We will NOT be able to accommodate many orders day of or at packet pick up. Last year we were asked by quite a few people if we had extras for sale, but we ran out of popular/common sizes. There are no t-shirt orders after JUNE 1st, however if we have any extras they will be for sale at packet pick up. We will be closing t-shirt sales at the end of May, to insure we get them ordered and printed in time. Therefore, if you want one, don't delay registering and purchasing one. We mean it.
Due to the unknown nature of this year's registration, we are not doing "tiered" pricing this year, all registrations will be $35, on the opening day of registration as well as a few days before the event - assuming we have capacity of course...
The race begins near the entrance to Lithia Park (see map below), parking near the start can be a challenge and many of the spots near the start are time limited (and enforced) so it's in your best interest to get there early or be dropped off.
Below is the elevation profile. As you can see, around mile 9 is a semi-flat section, you're welcome.
