The bridges on the half marathon and 50k courses

Founder's Corner 2012

Can you believe it? 2012 is the 10th anniversary of the Rainier to Ruston! How time flies when you’re having fun running! Because it’s our anniversary, we are making the R2R even more fun with a few important changes. Here’s what you can look forward to.

We are dropping the “walking only” category and replacing it with a half marathon (13.1 miles) and a marathon+ (27.7 miles). Participants can run, walk or both as they wish. The half will start in the town of Buckley, the place where the first mile of Foothills Trail was built. Over twenty years later, the Buckley connection is still not completed, although there is an isolated, paved section of trail with four bridges on it in the middle of the unfinished portion. Dirt trails connect both ends of this beautiful paved trail that most people have never seen. The half marathon course will follow this route, crossing all four bridges, picking up the completed trail at the fire station in So. Prairie and finishing in Orting.

The marathon+ course will begin at the traditional R2R start in the Tacoma Mountaineers’ parking lot near the Carbon River entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park. It will follow the relay course all the way to its finish in Orting.

We have also moved the 50K course to the upper end of the R2R course. Instead of starting in So. Prairie as in the past, it, too, will start at the Mountaineers’ lot near MRNP in order to replace sidewalks and noisy urban development with unpaved trail and quiet forest scenes. The 50K ultras will leave the relay runners and 50M ultras after Wilkeson and run the highway margin to Buckley, then join the half marathoners on their course down to So. Prairie, finishing in Orting.

We recommend that solo runners and walkers take the free shuttle buses up to their starts and leave their cars in Orting at their finish. This will help us prevent traffic congestion near the starts while also providing immediate access to runner’s cars after their event, although we hope you stay for the festivities celebrating your achievement.

Finally, runners and walkers are advised to keep their eyes peeled for Sasquatch. There have been sightings reported along the course, and you just might see him yourself out celebrating National Trails Day on the 10th anniversary of this “adventure in your own backyard!”

John S. Selby, Founder email: johnselby16@gmail.com