Minutes from February 1, 2021 Board Meeting

New business

Reverse Ring

Quatro and Mike presented a proposed Reverse Ring, modified for COVID, to be held on February 27, 2021. These modifications included:

• All runners self-supporting by providing their own crew.
• No aid at the finish.
• With exception to Milford Gap, the VHTRC would provide no aid or assistance and Quatro and Mike would be there only to “keep score.”

Quatro and Mike pointed out that, by its nature, the Reverse Ring is limited in size, with starting fields numbering ~30 people with good weather and ~20 with bad. This is consistent with the precedent set by prior events this year, with fields limited to 40 runners. Quatro and Mike proposed capping entry at 40 runners for the Reverse Ring.

A lengthy discussion ensued, during which some members of the Board expressed concerns over having aid stations of any sort, and also encouraging travel and exposure of people in the form of mandated crews.

Keith made the motion that the Board vote on approval of a modified Reverse Ring where runners must provide their own crew and support, with no aid provided by the VHTRC. There would be no aid station in Milford Gap. Sheila seconded the motion. The motion was not carried; Bob, Tom, and Tracy voted no and Keith and Sheila voted yes. There will be no VHTRC-sponsored Reverse Ring in 2021.

Elizabeth Furnace 50 km

Elizabeth Furnace is scheduled for March 13, 2021. Quatro and Mike proposed an event similar to Waterfall, employing waived starts, contact-less aid stations with water only, and runner-supplied disposable drop bags available at Elizabeth Furnace. Entry would be capped at 40 runners.

Keith made the motion that the 2021 event be carried out in this manner and Bob seconded. The motion was carried unanimously.

Forest Service 2021 Annual Trail Cooperator’s Meeting / Trail work

The National Forest’s annual Trail Cooperators meeting is on the evening of March 10 and is virtual this year. For several years, the VHTRC has had a presence at this event and Keith volunteered to attend, where he will present a list of upcoming 2021 Club activities in the National Forest and also summarize the trail-work that was done in 2020.

Historically, the Club has a large trail-work effort the week before MMT. While with the cancellation of MMT we are not tied to a particular weekend, it was discussed that doing trail-work in the mid-May time frame is still a good idea since significant growth will have occurred since our last work outings in September. Keith will check with the Forest Service if any particular dates are preferred.

U.S. Trail Running Conference on racing in COVID

Tracy attended a webinar sponsored by the US Trail Running Conference on January 21. The content focused on and explored the future of safe trail races during the COVID pandemic. She took notes on the webinar and debriefed the Board.