Wednesday, June 23, 2021

The FLRC 100k Ultra Challenge

Late last year when in-person races were still in flux due to COVID-19, the Finger Lakes Runners Club put together a unique virtual race series with a competitive element. The FLRC Challenge is a year-long event that involves running 10 specified race courses in the Ithaca area. Some of these are courses from in-person races and others are popular non-race routes, with distances ranging from one mile to the half marathon. Some cover asphalt, some are gravel rail trails, and others are on singletrack trails. There's flat, hilly, and everything in between. Anyone who completes all 10 is considered a finisher and earns a medal. Competition for each individual course is scored based on fastest overall time, fastest average, and most completions, with additional series-wide scoring aspects. There's a lot to it, and rather than explain it all myself you can get the rundown on the event Web site

One element of the FLRC Challenge is the ultra version. The total distance for all 10 courses is advertised as 65.3 miles—a little over 100k. The Ultra Challenge involves completing all 10 in a 24-hour period. You can run the routes in any order you want, but