The Mad Maple @ Hueston Woods

Thank you for your interest in the Hueston Woods Trail Races. This event is in conjunction with the Mad Maple Running weekend, which includes a Saturday 30K and 50K race.

We have a comprehensive FAQs page and a handy virtual assistant (Wolfy), so I won't attempt to cover every detail in this blurb.  Hueston Woods is a great state park with a large lake, comfy lodge and cabins, and a cool old covered bridge, over which all of our routes run. The park is located about 10 minutes from the college town of Oxford, Ohio (home to Miami University). Oxford is a full-service town with hotels, restaurants, gas stations, etc. The park features a small camp store and some other amenities at the lodge area. There is no gas available in the park.

The races begin at the Hueston Woods Mountain Bike Trailhead, previously known as the Hedgerow Picnic Area.  You can put it into Google Maps, don't worry if it says the area is temporarily closed. It is not. You can park anywhere on the grass, avoiding the obvious start/finish area. There is plenty of free parking, and you do not need to show up early to find a convenient spot. There are several vault toilets in the starting area, and flush restrooms in the A area camping, a few minutes' drive away. 

Registration/packet pickup starts at 9:15. You do not need to arrive early. Most of our runners are Pack members who do not need to register for individual events, so registration moves quickly. You will receive a bib, a sticker, a souvenir race medal, Hammer fueling products, and access to hydration and snacks before the event. The event will start at 10 am. You can start late, but your time will reflect the 10 am start.

The first part of every course ascends the legendary ski hill, which is about a 100-foot climb out of the gate. Some routes are lucky enough to run the ski hill more than once! After the ski hill, you will cross a road, run under the covered bridge, and enter the primitive campground. This section is on pavement, but it really feels like a trail. About a mile in the 10K-1/2 Marathon route will break right onto Equisitem Trail, and the 5K-6 Hours route will stay left until Gallion Run Trail. 

We use color coding to mark our routes. For the Hueston Wood Trail Races, the 10K/1/2 Marathon will follow the orange route, and the 5K/6 Hours of Power will follow the blue route. The event is timed, and we do record results. You must complete the routes as marked and finish under the race arch to be considered for the results. Results will be posted the following day by 5 pm. We have put on hundreds of races. Your watch will not get the exact distance. That's fine, and no one cares! We measure the courses with three different software/GPS systems and have run this race dozens of times. We use the average of all that data to get the routes as close as possible. 

There are free refreshments/snacks at the finish. Help yourself to what you need to refuel. We ask that you don't stock up on items to take with you, as we still have runners on the course who need some supplies as well. The lodge offers pizzas and fine dining. There are showers available in the A area campground. Due to the spread-out nature of finishers, we do not hold a live awards ceremony. We send an email every Tuesday. Winners, points leaders, and race updates are included in that email. 

Races are rain or shine. If, for some reason, we need to cancel an event, we will post a message on our website (www.wolfpacktrailruns.com), on this site, on our Instagram, on our Strava page, and will send an email. You can also email us at info@wpackevents.com for more information.

Happy Trails!