Magnus Gluteus Maximus

Magnus Gluteus Maximus is the VHTRC’s annual “Fat Ass 50.” In prior years, to be different (who, us?!), we used various languages — French, German, Italian, Vietnamese, Latin, Swedish, Jamaican Patios, New Guinea Pidgin, Chinese, Hawaiian, an anagram from “Fat Ass Fifty K” that came out as “Fat Taffy Kiss,” Thai, Ukrainian, and Japanese. After a while, we decided to pick one name and stick with it. So we chose Latin.

Parking can be tight at Hemlock. We will use the close-in parking within the Hemlock campus behind the start and finish area, as well as the small lower field used for carpoolers at the Bull Run Run 50 miler. There will be volunteers to help maximize the parking while keeping the fire lanes open. So just drive on in and follow their instructions. Do not park in the nearby Paradise Springs winery parking lot! Do not park in the areas along Yates Ford Road that are marked for hikers to use. Make sure you park inside the Hemlock Overlook park campus, even if you arrive late.

Although this is still considered a “Fat Ass” - we now have to charge $20. This will get you the warm lodge at Hemlock to hang out in before and after the run, bathrooms, fully stocked aid stations and a catered after party with delicious food and beverages. I promise, it will be worth your $20 entry fee! It’s an out and back course so you can do any distance you want. If you look at past results, you will see that many take advantage of this option - the finishing percentage tends to hover at 50% or even lower. This is not due to the course difficulty, but instead to the varying distances that participants choose to run.

The Course

From Hemlock Overlook, the course follows the Bull Run-Occoquan Trail (BROT) downstream to Fountainhead Regional Park and then out to the Do Loop. The BROT is blazed blue — follow the blazes (it will not be marked with ground chalk or ribbons). We do not do the White Loop, and we do not go on the Fountainhead mountain bike trail. We do not go upstream from Hemlock. NEVER cross a stream on concrete cylinders!

We will have some extra course markings at two points in the race: to go under Old Yates Ford Road along the Bull Run just downstream from the Marina aid station; and then to use the Horse Trail and to navigate the Do Loop, between your two aid stops at the BROT trailhead alongside the big parking lot at Fountainhead. For those of you newer to trail running in general or the trails that we use for this event, it is highly recommended that you take the time to download the gpx file and use that to confirm that you are on course during your run. This is always a good idea for any trail event, but particularly so with one that is as lightly marked as MGM will be.

There are four aid stations evenly spaced out along the course. The one at Fountainhead will be run and fully stocked by Eric Levy-Myers, and the one at the Bull Run Marina will be run by volunteers. They are located roughly at miles 5, 11.5, 18.5, and 25. Note that you run through each aid station twice - outbound and then again on your return leg of this lollipop course. The aid stations will have water, Gatorade, soda and other typical aid station goodies usually seen at VHTRC events. In an effort to cut down on trash there will be no cups at the aid stations. You will need to run with a water bottle or reusable cup.

Each aid station will have a “closing time” and those are posted in the aid station chart below. They are based on a minimal pace of roughly 20 minutes per mile. While we do not have formal cutoffs at this race, our goal is to get all the runners in off the course prior to dark, if possible, and to close down the Lodge that serves as the host site around 6 pm.

Results

On December 12, 2009 and on December 11, 2010 a bunch of people started and some finished. We don’t have results for either year. See the sidebar for all the other results. We generally post the results a day or so after MGM Saturday is over, and those results likely will include a report and some photos. We very much welcome additional reports and photos, so please reach out to RD Katie if you want to share after the race!

Be sure to wear seasonal colors!