Below is the email sent to all registered racers on 9/25 about the postponement of the Harepin Hustle Trail Run to Nov 9th.

Hi FIRST NAME,

It is with much disappointment to report that the Harepin Hustle Trail Run scheduled for this Sat, September 28th has been officially postponed to our rain date of Saturday, November 9th. See below for your options.

All weather outlets are in agreement, with a very high level of certainty, that 1″-3″ of rain from Hurricane Helene is expected in the Triangle on Thurs and Fri. And, this is on top of the significant rain the park has received since I sent the weather update/race day info email yesterday (1.59″ to be exact, based on the rain gauge at the park). Also, the high winds predicted will surely take down trees/limbs/debris, especially given the wet and super-saturated soil. Racing in these conditions would drastically increase the risk of falling, and thus injury, and cause significant damage to the trails – neither of which are acceptable.

Why make the call now? I scouted the trails at Lake Crabtree today and it was very clear that, given the forecast, there is no way that this race could happen on Sat. And frankly, even is we receive 0″ of rain from now to Sat, the trails might still not be ready. The photos above (of the trails) and below (staging area) are from today. The park trails and staging area are a mess and will be even worse after this next weather event. This is a slam dunk decision, if I ever saw one, and this is why we (the park manager and myself) are making the call now instead of waiting until tomorrow (as I said mentioned in the email sent yesterday). Bright side – now you have more time to make other plans for the weekend ahead.

One last comment – I know you have been looking forward to the race, trained hard, blocked off your morning, booked the sitter, made travel plans, unpacked your game face, etc. – I understand that it is disappointing not to race. I do not take postponing a race lightly and it is always a last resort. But, in this case, it is warranted. We love putting on races and facilitating the fun, and were looking forward to this weekend as well. Postponing is also difficult on us financially and is administratively time consuming. We share your disappointment.

OK, so now what? You have three options:

1) Option 1 – Attend the rain date on Nov 9th. If you can race on Nov 9th, THERE IS NOTHING YOU NEED TO DO. You will remain on the start list and start times will remain the same.

2) Option 2 – Receive credit to any remaining 2024 race (Rootrock on 10/19, Birds of a Feather Trail Trot on 11/28 Thankgiving, or Run at the Rock on 12/7) or to any 2025 Roadless Races event. To select this option, email your request BY WED, 10/2 to info@roadlessraces.com and we will send you a coupon code good for 100% of what you paid for this race.

3) Option 3 – Receive a refund (minus the runsignup processing fee that was charged when you registered – we do not receive these funds). To select this option, email your request BY WED, 10/2 to info@roadlessraces.com and we will process the refund.

THANK YOU for your support, patience, and understanding and I look forward to seeing you on Nov 9th (if you can make it) for a morning of awesome trail running action, under blue bird skies, amidst colorful fall foliage (added benefit of an early Nov race in NC). And if you can’t make the rain date, I hope to see you at a future RR event.

Jim

Jim Harman
Race Director
Roadless Races
571-251-6034
jim@roadlessraces.com
roadlessraces.com