2nd Annual Kismet Cliff Run – Sunday 10:00 AM | September 19, 2010
Sponsored by:
A challenging, five mile race around beautiful Cathedral and Whitehorse Ledges in North Conway, New Hampshire. Come for the steep climbs and descents, technical singletrack, and stunning views, with approximately 1,100 feet of elevation gain. Starts and finishes at Echo Lake State Park. Great food from Kearsarge Cafe, prizes and raffle after the race. This event is USATF sanctioned, and part of the Eastern New England Trail Running Series. NEW for 2010: A non-competitive walking division!
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2009 Cliff Run photos courtesy of Joe Klementovich:
Rough course description from race director Gabriel Flanders:
From the start, the course follows the south shore of Echo Lake on easy double-track. Take a left fork toward the ledges and the Bryce path. Pass an old car on the left and an interesting quarried boulder on the right. At a four-way intersection, go right on double-track toward Cathedral ledge. Stay left at a fork. There is an interesting 15′ tall boulder on the left. Approximately 100′ past the boulder, look for red boundary markers and the start of a single-track trail on the left. Follow that trail northward. It comes close to the road near the kiosk, but stays in the woods. There is a very large, undercut boulder (the Cote boulder) on the left. 6-8 feet to the right of the Cote boulder, follow a trail back into the woods. You will have to disregard two wooden “trail” signs as you follow this path northward, paralleling the road. Drop off a rocky promontory, dropping down to the road. About 100′ past the gate, just before the road turns uphill, make a hard left into the woods, look for blue boundary markers. This trail basically follows the clifftop to the summit of Cathedral. Head south across the summit of Cathedral (water stop), veering right into the woods to join the Bryce Path.
From this point on, the course follows yellow-blazed trails, first the Bryce Path to a 3-way junction, then the Whitehorse Trail up and over the summit of Whitehorse. From the summit of Cathedral, the trail drops very steeply into the saddle. Stay right at the 3-way intersection. The trail climbs steeply, crossing the top of a smaller cliff (the Guide’s Wall). More steep climbing gains a beautiful wave of granite at the top of Whitehorse. Follow the wave uphill (west), then go right back into the woods. The trail curves west, then southward, passing the Red Ridge Link Trail. Follow a dry streambed, then contour northward, passing an unmarked trail on the left (the climber’s trail to the South Buttress of Whitehorse). Drop toward the golf course, then head north past huge boulders. A stretch of flat, fun single-track leads to the four-way intersection.
Go right back toward Echo Lake. Take the second wide trail on the left. Follow the north shore of Echo Lake to the beach and the finish.
2009 CLIFF RUN RESULTS AND PRESS RELEASE
