Vulcan's Fury Trail Race presented by GoLite Footwear

View from 24 Hours of Great Glen

Gorham, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Our Official Footwear

"It's not where you finish, it's how you finish that counts."

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Pawtuckaway State Park

128 Mountain Road

Nottingham, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Race director: Chris J. Dunn

Course designer: Geoff Cunningham

Distance: 12 miles (approximate)

Registration: 8:30-9:30 AM

Race starts at 10:00 AM

Cost: $20 pre-registration; $25 event day registration

COURSE DETAILS:

Your friends at aR have designed one of the most technical and scenic courses possible in a location that was once brimming with fire...yes...'Pawtuck' was once a volcanic site. We think the race’s namesake – the Roman God of Fire – would be proud of a course that will have you traversing a massive boulder field, tearing through dense forest, hammering down single-track switchbacks, jumping streams, crossing bridges and heading up a rocky slope appropriately named the Devil’s Staircase. The lava making up the park has long cooled, but your legs will be burning. This particular area of Pawtuckaway has gone unraced for too long so join us in what will be one of the most talked about trail races of the 2011 season.

This is a rugged trail race who's distance and elevation profile combine for a very challenging test even for the fittest endurance athlete. Make no mistake about it, the course travels along hiking trails with sections that must be negotiated very carefully. Run at the peak of NH foliage make sure to steal a peek or two at the highest elevations...it'll be worth the effort.

There will be at least two manned aid stations with water along the course.

presented by

CLICK TO VIEW COURSE MAP & ELEVATION PROFILE

Bouldering Terrorist within Pawtuckaway State Park. The park is home to the most diverse outdoor recreational pursuits in New Hampshire. For more information on all the NH State Parks visit http://www.nhstateparks.org/.

[Photo by Tim Kemple]

NATURAL HISTORY

Geology

One of the older geological formations in the Pawtuckaway area is the ring-dike surrounding the mountains. This circular intrusion was formed about 275 million years ago. Molten rock found a circular weak spot to seep into and created the ring-dike. This igneous rock resists weathering better than the interior valley rock. The ring-dike represents the inner workings of a volcano. The top covering has been eroded away. It is likely the volcano never erupted.

Other intrusions of molten rock are seen throughout the mountain area. They are often seen as dikes only a few feet wide. One such dike slipped and cracked while cooling to form a series of "steps" near the top of South Mountain. They are named the Indian Steps or Devil's Staircase.

Perhaps the most spectacular geological formations are found near North Mountain. One was caused by rock faces slipping and moving under internal pressure to produce faults. We see large cliffs as a result of this movement. Another occurred about 10,000 years ago when all of Pawtuckaway was under a mile thick sheet of ice. This ice sheet was part of a large glacier covering much of North America. As the glacier moved over the land it plucked and scraped at the mountain faces. Huge boulders were scoured from North Mountain and deposited in the valley below. This Boulder Field shows the power of the glacier. The plucking action also formed Devil's Den, a cave in the North Mountain cliffs.

Indian Lore

There is evidence that small Indian groups lived in the Pawtuckaway region. The name "Pawtuckaway” was derived from an Indian word meaning "place of the big buck”. Relics of a mortar and pestal were found when the Visitor's Center was built. Indians used these tools to grind corn.

These small groups all belonged to the Penacook Confederacy, a part of the larger Algonquin Division which covered northeastern America. They were mild mannered people, influenced by the colonization of the French, as well as the English. Their leader Passaconnaway was said to be a peaceful man. The Penacooks' greatest enemy was the Mohawk tribe, part of the greatest Iroquois Division from New York. The Iroquois were more organized and warlike than the Algonquins. The Mohawks were always on the warpath in New England. They were called "maquas" or "main-eaters".

OUR EVENT NON-PROFIT

A portion of the proceeds will benefit;

Giving Every Child Knowledge of the Outdoors (GECKO). The premise sounds simple enough. Yet study after study shows that our children aren't getting enough outdoor play. And this trend isn't improving. The latest information shows that less than 25% of children are active outdoors more than twice per week. Does this worry you? It definitely worries us.

Through donations and events, GECKO is raising money to help children from all walks of life experience outdoor programming through scholarships to the nation's leading outdoor education providers. Our goal is simple: To give EVERY child knowledge of the outdoors.

To learn more about GECKO visit them at www.joinGECKO.org