Hot Iron Trail Half Marathon
The Hot Iron Half &5k at Tymor Park, these new trail race are the brainchild of Ben Drew of Run On Hudson Valley and will take place October 22, in Union Vale, NY.
Set in the largest town park in New York, Tymor Park & Forest is 500 acres with a rabbit warren of trails. The races cover a mix of technical, single track, smooth double-track, and wide-open grassy fields. Runners will wind through tall pine forests, around pristine Furnace Pond, past a ruined iron furnace, and up hills with spectacular views of the surrounding hills and fields.
“When I first visited Tymor Park, I knew it would be a great place to stage a race, “Drew said. “First, the general area is beautiful. There are open fields with panoramic views of Union Vale - plus different types of forests, and a scenic lake and waterfall. The trails are challenging but not so hard that a new trail runner would find them overly difficult.”
There are amenities for spectators too.
“The layout of the park facilities also helps. There is plenty of onsite parking. Lots of bathrooms. A pavilion picnic area where people can hang out post-race. And if there is bad weather, there's a big hall we can use to take race registration and the post-race food and beer inside,” according to Drew.
Drew and his friend Jake Gosnell, who recently became the Parks Director at Tymor Park, decided to incorporate a 5k as well to make it friendlier to newer trail runners. The trails in Tymor offer a nice mix of easy double-track, more technical single track, and grass fields.
For Gosnell Tymor had been the first trail system he was exposed to when he started trail running. He always felt like it would be a good location for a half marathon.
When he became Park Director this year, he wanted to organize a half marathon to highlight the park but didn't have the event experience to put it on so he asked Drew if he’d like to help.
Drew and his friend Jake Gosnell, who recently became the Parks Director at Tymor Park, decided to incorporate a 5k as well to make it friendlier to newer trail runners. The trails in Tymor offer a nice mix of easy double-track, more technical single track, and grass fields.
For Gosnell Tymor had been the first trail system he was exposed to when he started trail running. He always felt like it would be a good location for a half marathon.
When he became Park Director this year, he wanted to organize a half marathon to highlight the park, but didn't have the event experience to put it on so he asked Drew if he’d like to help.
Set in the largest town park in New York, Tymor Park & Forest is 500 acres with a rabbit warren of trails. The races cover a mix of technical, single track, smooth double-track, and wide-open grassy fields. Runners will wind through tall pine forests, around pristine Furnace Pond, past a ruined iron furnace, and up hills with spectacular views of the surrounding hills and fields.
“When I first visited Tymor Park, I knew it would be a great place to stage a race, “Drew said. “First, the general area is beautiful. There are open fields with panoramic views of Union Vale - plus different types of forests, and a scenic lake and waterfall. The trails are challenging but not so hard that a new trail runner would find them overly difficult.”
There are amenities for spectators too.
“The layout of the park facilities also helps. There is plenty of onsite parking. Lots of bathrooms. A pavilion picnic area where people can hang out post-race. And if there is bad weather, there's a big hall we can use to take race registration and the post-race food and beer inside,” according to Drew.
Drew and his friend Jake Gosnell, who recently became the Parks Director at Tymor Park, decided to incorporate a 5k as well to make it friendlier to newer trail runners. The trails in Tymor offer a nice mix of easy double-track, more technical single track, and grass fields.
For Gosnell Tymor had been the first trail system he was exposed to when he started trail running. He always felt like it would be a good location for a half marathon.
When he became Park Director this year, he wanted to organize a half marathon to highlight the park but didn't have the event experience to put it on so he asked Drew if he’d like to help.
Drew and his friend Jake Gosnell, who recently became the Parks Director at Tymor Park, decided to incorporate a 5k as well to make it friendlier to newer trail runners. The trails in Tymor offer a nice mix of easy double-track, more technical single track, and grass fields.
For Gosnell Tymor had been the first trail system he was exposed to when he started trail running. He always felt like it would be a good location for a half marathon.
When he became Park Director this year, he wanted to organize a half marathon to highlight the park, but didn't have the event experience to put it on so he asked Drew if he’d like to help.
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Tymor Park was originally an iron foundry. There's an old iron furnace runners will pass during the race. So they took that theme and went with it.
The course winds around quite a bit so it will be marked with a mix of flagging, chalk paint, and signs to mark the course. We'll also have some field marshals at the trickier turns to direct runners. |
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For this new race the directors are going to try adding an additional component.
“We're going to try something new for this race that we're calling the Strava Challenge. We're going to set-up a few Strava segments on the course, including one into the finish. Runners on Strava will have 24 hours to load up their race on Strava. The top man and women from each race with the fastest combined Strava segment times win and be mailed a special award,” Drew explained.
There will also be some great food and beer post-race; 5k runners should stick around to cheer for the half marathoners finishing up while they enjoy the post-race repast.
Online registration ends Thursday, October 19.
“We're going to try something new for this race that we're calling the Strava Challenge. We're going to set-up a few Strava segments on the course, including one into the finish. Runners on Strava will have 24 hours to load up their race on Strava. The top man and women from each race with the fastest combined Strava segment times win and be mailed a special award,” Drew explained.
There will also be some great food and beer post-race; 5k runners should stick around to cheer for the half marathoners finishing up while they enjoy the post-race repast.
Online registration ends Thursday, October 19.
Course map and elevation profile-
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10:00 am – Half Marathon start
10:30 am – 5k star 
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