Germantown 50K Trail Run

Germantown MetroPark, 6910 Boomershine Rd., Germantown, Ohio

August 23, 2008

New Germantown 50K Course Description

Start to aid station 1.
Starting at Cottonwood Shelter take the access trail to the green trail.  Turn right, proceed about 15 feet and make a 90 degree left turn onto the orange trail.  Proceed on the orange trail until it dumps out onto Manning road.  The park has made a change to the trail.  At the first major climb after the orange has paralleled Twin Creek for a while the trail used to bear to the right and then head down into the mud flats of the flood plain.  The trail now goes off to the left and stays up out of the mud flats.  It has added some distance but only dumps you out on Manning road about 100 feet west of where it used to.  Turn right down Manning road and proceed across the bridge.  The trail now dumps off the road into the lower field off to your right.  The park has added steps right after the bridge.  Continue on the orange trail through the prairie and back into the woods until you come to the pink trail.  Turn left onto the pink trail and follow it all the way around until it intersects with the orange trail again.  Turn left on the orange trail and keep following it.  You will descend down to Twin Creek again and then climb to aid station 1.  Aid station 1 is on a big sweeping right hand turn before you cross the dam.  You are at mile 4.8 and have 5.3 miles to next aid.

Aid station 1 to aid station 2.
Leaving aid station 1 continue on the orange loop across the dam on through the nasty hilly section of the orange loop.  The yellow trail intersects with the orange trail just before the orange trail is about to make it’s descent down to the mud flats of Twin Creek again.  Turn left on the yellow trail.  Continue on the yellow until it intersects with the blue trail.  Take the blue trail to the right and follow it past the white trail intersection until the blue intersects with the orange trail.  Follow the blue trail to the left.  At this point it has become the blue, white, orange, and yellow trail.  Concentrate on following the yellow trail and it will take you back to where you originally entered the blue trail. Stay on the yellow trail until you get back to the orange trail again.  Turn right on the orange trail and retrace your footsteps to aid station 1 staying on the orange trail.  You just arrived at aid station 2.  (Note: you had all the hills again).  You are at mile 10.1 and have 3.1 to next aid.

Aid station 2 to aid station 3. 
This is the new connector trail.  The tail leaves aid station 2 and follows the dam spillway down across a road and through a small parking lot.  The trail continues from the right side of the parking lot through a wooded fairly hilly section.  After traveling 1.5-1.75 miles the trail takes a 90 degree right turn and descends into a field that parallels twin creek.  (This is the only ugly part of the course)  Follow the field until you go under the bridge at Route 725.  The trail then dumps out onto a paved bike path around Germantown.  Follow the bike path to your right.  You will cross Astoria road and head into Kirchner Park.  The shelter in the park is aid station 3.  You are at mile 13.2 and have 2.9 to next aid.

Aid station 3 to aid station 4.
Leave the shelter and continue on the bike path until it ends.  At the end of the bike path get on the sidewalk and run until the end of the guard rail, about 20 feet, and make a 180 degree turn and head out of Germantown on Cherry Street (becomes Eby Road out of Germantown).  Run out of town on Eby Road into the small town of Sunsbury.  After you cross a bridge you will turn left on Arch Street.  Follow Arch Street and go through a couple of 90 degree turns and then Arch Street dumps onto Sugar Street.  Turn left on Sugar Street and follow it around in front of the gravel pit.  The road will take about a 90 degree turn and in the middle of the turn to your left the connector trail picks up again.  Follow the trail about 200 feet and turn right…the trail continues on so don’t miss the turn.  This will wind around and pass under a bridge.  After going under the bridge the trail continues off to the right.  There is a grassy strip between Twin Creek and a horse farm which is the final leg of the connector to Twin Creek Metropark.  Follow the grassy strip until it intersects with a single track trail.  You have arrived at the orange loop at Twin Creek Metropark.  Turn right onto the trail and climb a pretty decent climb up to the Hilltop Shelter and aid station 4.  Remember this climb because if you start to make it again, you have missed the connector trail on your way back and you are stuck in a “do” loop.  You are at mile 16.1 and have 3.5 miles to the next aid station. 

Aid station 4 to aid station 5. 
I’m not as familiar with Twin Creek Metropark as with Germantown so my descriptions here will not be very detailed.  At any rate leave aid station 4 and head out on the orange loop at Twin.  It descends a bit and stays pretty grassy for a while before entering into the woods.  There are a couple pretty steep climbs in the first mile to mile and a half but overall the trail is pretty tame.  At one point you emerge from the trees into prairie and there is a pond off to your left, the trail turns to the left and you drop down to the pond.  My natural instinct was to keep running around the pond but the orange loop makes a 90 degree turn to the left just before getting to the pond and heads back into the trees.  Follow the orange trail to the parking lot at the far end of Twin Creek off of Chamberlain Road.  The last three-quarters of a mile or so to the aid station is open grassy area….sorry for the heat.  Arrive at the aid station and you have covered19.6 miles.  We will have drop bags at this aid station and make sure you tank up as it is 5.5 miles to the next aid station.  Heed the heat!

Aid station 5 to aid station 6.
Aid station 6 was also aid station 3.  That is good cause that means you are headed back.  Leave aid station 5 and continue to follow the orange loop.  After finally leaving the prairie and heading back into the trees take a look around…if I remember right you are out on a spine with a ravine to both your left and right…pretty decent view.  You will leave the trees and have a fair amount of prairie running again before heading once again back into the trees and following the orange trail back to the connector.  The connector will be on your right side and will not be too far after a set of steps that you have to climb.  Take the connector to your right, go through the grassy area, back under the bridge and back out onto the pavement.  A personal note here.  I know this is contrary to everything you’ve been taught as a child but I would run with traffic here until you get back to Arch Street.  The shoulder is much wider and there is a serious 90 degree turn after going past the gravel pit and people come around there pretty hard and there is not much room to run on the inside of that turn.  I’m only suggesting it….do as you feel is necessary.  Follow the road to Arch Street.  Right on Arch Street and back into Sunsbury.  Arch Street T’s into Eby Road (which is Cherry Street in Germantown) and you turn right to head back to the bike path.  Back to the bike path and head to the shelter in Kirchner Park.  When you arrive there you have covered 25.1 miles and have 3.1 miles to next aid. 

Aid station 6 to aid station 7.
Leave the shelter and run to the end of the bike path.  Being careful crossing Astoria Road again.  The connector trail is off to the left of the bike path about 100 yards before the bike path ends at 725.  Go under the bridge and through the ugly section of the course again.  Once you hit the tree’s you are pretty much shaded till the end….(with just a few exceptions).  Climb up out of the valley and make a 90 degree left turn at the top of the climb.  Pay attention when you are making this climb.  At a point near the top of this climb there is a switchback that almost takes you 180 degrees to continue on the trail…if you are walking with your head down and not looking for markings you will walk straight into a camping area.  It is marked so pay attention.  Anyway having missed the campground follow the connector trail back to the parking lot, across the road and up the spillway to what was aid station 1 and 2.  You have arrived at aid station 7 having covered 28.2 miles and it is 3.2 miles to the finish and chow.

Aid station 7 to the finish.
Leave aid station 7 (thanking the poor folks who have been out there all day) and continue on the orange loop across the dam again and through the nasty hills at Germantown yet again to the yellow loop.  Turn left on yellow as this morning and continue on the yellow trail until it intersects with the blue trail.  Take the blue trail to the right and follow it past the white trail intersection until the blue intersects with the orange trail.  Follow the blue trail to the left.  At this point it has become the blue, white, orange, and yellow trail.  This time concentrate on staying on the orange trail….for those of you who have ran this before you are now going to finish the loop the way the old course went.  Follow the orange trail to the Nature Center, across the boardwalk and up through a cedar grove.  (you are close).  In a couple hundred yards you are back at the intersection of the green and orange trail you took at the very beginning.  Go on the green for about 15 feet and then turn left on the connector taking you back to Cottonwood Shelter and the finish.

A couple of notes.
There is a lot of new trail out here.  Some on the orange loop at Germantown and some on the connector.  It will not be that well established at this point and there are still some small stumps (lovingly referred to as land mines) out there.  If you are shuffling along on the new trail I can guarantee a muddy butt or something …. You will fall.  You can tell the new parts…be careful.
Secondly, the connector trail was put in as a hiking trail, there are several places where there are switchbacks that for runners were probably not necessary.  Stay on the trail….do not cut the switchbacks.  We (being the ORRRC) seem to have a good relationship going with the people at Germantown now, I don’t want that jeopardized.  If I see anyone cutting the switchbacks I will disqualify you and ask you not to come back.
Thirdly, try not to throw trash on the trail.  It’s not like we’re giving away a $10,000 purse or anything, there really is no hurry.  Carry a zip lock baggie with you for your trash or carry it to the next aid station.  Yes we will be cleaning up anything we find but there is no reason to throw anything down in the first place. 
That is all.  I hope you enjoy the new course.  I like it…I know there is some security in doing a loop course…the car is there every loop but I like the adventure of doing one gigantic loop.  We’re always open to suggestions so if there is something you think we can do to improve the race let us know.