10K Challenge - Part 1: “Fast Start, Faster Consequences” (3.5 miles | +39 feet / ‑1032 ft.)
We give you exactly one instruction off the start: go.
You’ll rip down Evergreen Lane between the pavilion and the clubhouse, and if you hesitate, that’s on you - because in a matter of seconds, you’re funneled into tight singletrack where passing becomes… theoretical.
Black Bear Trail kicks things off. It’s flowy, fast, and just technical enough to keep you from getting too comfortable. Roots, rocks, quick turns - it’s the kind of trail that feels playful right up until it isn’t.
Then it’s a left onto Lost Porcupine, where the turns tighten and the rhythm gets a little more chaotic. A right onto Tree-odge (yes, we’re sticking with that), then onto Code Blue, where the forest shifts - pines, moss, mountain laurel - it’s lush, it’s beautiful, and it absolutely does not care if you trip.
Somewhere in here, you may find yourself doing a bit of “wilderness parkour.” That’s not in the official race manual, but it is… encouraged by circumstance.
Eventually, you spill out onto a grassy doubletrack.
And that’s when things get interesting.
Welcome to the first half of Devil’s Hairpin.
Six hundred thirty feet down in three-quarters of a mile. Wide trail. Big lines. Real speed. This is your chance to open it up - if you trust your legs and your judgment equally. If not… well, gravity always collects.
At the bottom, there’s an aid station.
Take a breath.
You’re going to need it.


