2023 San Diego 100 Mile Entrants,
Congratulations on your selection to the San Diego 100-Mile Endurance Run! This is the first of monthly letters intended to help prepare you for the challenge of running 100 miles over some of Southern California’s most scenic and rugged trails. Over 250 experienced and passionate ultra-trail volunteers are committed to helping you succeed in this amazing endeavor. For those who have run the race before, I’m sure you’ll agree that we have the best volunteer corps in the business. We are looking forward to showing off some of the finest scenery in Southern California and are very humbled and appreciative of your decision to run with us. It is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we look forward to trying to give you the very best race experience possible.
We are also very pleased to see that we have almost half the field who have opted to run in the Solo Division without the aid or support of a crew and pacers. Anyone who would like to change from or to Solo Division can do so up until May 29. Just email us with your preference to change.
If you haven’t already done so, please take time to thoroughly review the information on the race website at: www.sandiego100.com. We’ve worked diligently to create a comprehensive site that includes detailed information/links to assist in your planning and preparations. The Racebook is from 2022 but should have the answers to any basic questions you may have. We are in the process of updating for 2023 (*ETA late February 2023), but we do not expect any significant changes. We are likely going to make the cutoff at Red Tail a tad tighter (sorry!) and we may have to move the Todd’s Cabin aid station as the cabin is currently for sale!
If you don’t see something you need on the site, don’t hesitate to reach out to us and ask us questions. We are here to help and make your race experience the best it can be.
Below are some important early reminders:
- Lodging (including camping and RV space) is very limited in early June. It’s extremely important to make arrangements/reservations soon. There are camping and RV sites at Lake Cuyamaca and at the adjoining Chambers Park (east side of Lake Cuyamaca). Many of the cabins at Lake Cuyamaca are already reserved for race weekend volunteers but there may be still a few available to rent. Reservations for Lake Cuyamaca/Chambers can be arranged through the Lake Cuyamaca web site: www.lakecuyamaca.org.
- Julian is 9 miles from Lake Cuyamaca and has several lodging options annotated on the Julian Chamber of Commerce website. Many people also stay in Alpine which is about 30 minutes from the start and has all the amenities you could hope for including a fantastic brewery and a large casino. Also, consider Mt Laguna Lodge and Paso Picacho and Green Valley California State Campgrounds.
- A requirement for participation at SD 100 is working 6 hours of trail maintenance or volunteering at a race, community or charity event if trail maintenance is not possible. The time period for this volunteer service is from mid-June 2022 to May 31, 2023. If you reside in the greater San Diego area, we hope and expect you to accomplish your trail work on the SD 100 trails you’ll be running. The San Diego Trailfit website (www.sdtrailfit.org) has information and signup dates. SD Trailfit outings will have post-work refreshments for everyone. It is the responsibility of all entrants to let the Race Directors know that you have completed the work by May 31, 2023. We don’t have a form to fill out as we believe in the honour system. Ultra karma is real, so no BS! This is a requisite for participation and anyone who does not accomplish 6 hours of volunteer service will not be allowed to run the race. You can also choose to donate $100 to support SURF Trailfit and our volunteers. SURF is the local ultrarunning club that sponsors our local ultrarunning trail work club, Trailfit. There will be a donate Pay Pal button on the front page of the website that will allow you to donate to the cause in lieu of your volunteer requirement. If you decide to pursue this option, you MUST include your name in the donation so we can give you credit!
- San Diego 100 offers a 50% refund for any entrant who withdraws by notifying the RD prior to April 15. There are no refunds after April 15 since after that date all funds are obligated, permits are finalized, and the waitlist is concluded. There are no rollovers or transfer of race entrant fees.
- In addition to the San Diego website, the race has a Facebook Page (the Official San Diego 100) as well as an Instagram and Twitter account which are linked on the San Diego 100 webpage. No vital information will be posted solely on social media, but there will be lots of fun nuggets going up on the various accounts, and we encourage you to log on and check it out sometime. Having said that, the primary method to disseminate race information is through your email address that you used to sign up on Ultrasignup. If you change your email address, please contact us with your new address, so as to continue to receive all Race Information Letters. Also, please periodically check the race website homepage for updates. If you have any questions or concerns that are not addressed on the website, feel free to contact us anytime at: sandiego100RD@gmail.com.
- There will be 4 informal training runs offered that will cover over 90% of the course. They will begin in mid to late March, and the information will be sent via e-mail as well as social media. We will both be attending all of these training runs, so if you want to run with the RDs and ask us any questions about the race, we will be there. We hope to have an unmanned aid station and some surprises on these runs, so stay tuned with more details to come. Again, we encourage you to follow SD 100 on social media to get the latest.
7. San Diego 100 is cupless, so you will need to bring your own cup and/or bottle for filling with drinks, soup, coffee, etc. at aid stations. For those who haven’t had to run a cupless race yet, several companies make nifty little foldable cups, many with a loop for attaching to a clip, that are lightweight, stand on their own, and can be used for both hot and cold drinks. We will have some version of one of those for sale at no profit to us on race weekend and possibly through the website if there seems to be any kind of demand for it.
Finally, on behalf of our race managers and volunteers, we wish you the very best of training along with your other race preparations! We’ll look forward to seeing you at the race and shaking your hand when you cross the finish line of this “sneaky hard course”. Talk to you again in February with more information regarding the training runs!
Happy Trails,
Angela and Bj
