Martha Moats Baker

Aid

Common aid at the event will be fairly minimal. We will provide the liquids at the three aid stations (water, Gatorade, and sodas), and likely will have some light snacks along the usual lines (chips, cookies, candy, etc.). The good news is that YOU will otherwise be offered the opportunity to provide your own aid. As there are three aid stations, you can pack up to three ziplock bags with your last name clearly marked on them, and we will transport them for you to access during the run. You can also mark them with the name and/or number of the aid station if you would like, but the key is to put the ziplock in the right bin at the pre-run check-in: Reddish Knob is Aid Station #1; Wolf Ridge is Aid Station #2; and if you plan to do the full 60k, then you can also have a ziplock at Grooms Ridge, Aid Station #3.

Note: These are small aid bags, with your special food, gels, powders and potions. These are NOT drop bags, so they should not include clothing items, shoes, or poles. We will get the bags back to the finish, but likely late in the run (in the 4:30 or so time range, when the last aid station closes up shop). So bear that in mind when it comes to what you pack in those marked ziplocks, and what you then leave behind after you access any one of your three ziplocks at the aid points.

Logistics

The start is at the same trailhead as the TWOT start/finish. If there is no room for your vehicle in the parking lot (which is highly likely in this very small lot), park along the road near the lot, but as far off the pavement as you can safely place your vehicle. You need to be very aware and careful in some places, as there may be a stone culvert or ditch to be avoided. Another (and safer) parking overflow option: you can go back to the road junction about 200 yards back down the hill from the parking lot, turn left and park along the side of this dirt road (Tilghman Road). Tilghman Road has a shoulder that can handle a couple dozen vehicles. Be careful parking on Tilghman, as runners have, in past years, ditched their vehicle while trying to pull off the roadway. Do not park at the Camp May Flather entrance, which you will pass on your way in. If you see cars already parked along Tilghman as you drive in on event morning, you can save yourself time and frustration by just pulling in to the next spot there and not coming to the TWOT lot first, as it will be a clear sign that the lot is full.

While in the parking lot and on the trails, remember that we always want to leave our surroundings cleaner than we find them. Carry out not only any of your own trash, but try to achieve some good trail running juju by picking up after other users. Leave No Trace!

Volunteers in 2024

[For the 2025 MMB run we will be seeking additional volunteers to serve as sweeps to cover three sections on event day, and to assist with trail work and course marking prior to MMB.]

Brennan Henning - Course Marking/Reddish Knob
Zach Weinberger - Reddish Knob
Homer Komthirath - Reddish Knob/Finish Line Cafe’
Jesse Fuller - Reddish Knob/Finish Line Cafe’
Guy Towler - Wolf Ridge
Charlene Howard - Wolf Ridge/Sweep
John Hord - Wolf Ridge
THE Bill Gentry - Grooms Ridge
Lauren Jefferson - Grooms Ridge
Chef Jeff Best - Finish Line Cafe’
Scott Cadle - Finish Line Cafe’
Katie Stollenwerk - Finish Line Cafe’
Dani Sevel - Finish Line Scorekeeper
Heather Dougherty - Sticker Distribution
Tom Calla - Sweep
Quatro Hubbard - Heckling & Course Marking
Dennis Herr - RD Emeritus

Thanks to all of the above for committing to come out to assist their fellow trail runners! Please email Q to add your name to this esteemed list. Ideally, we would like to have about 8 volunteers, so that we have backup coverage at each of the aid stations, and at the finish line.

Entry

Entry to this event is limited to achieve a field of 40, due in part to Forest Service regulations and even more so due to the logistics of parking in the start/finish area. The entry opens in mid-July, a month before the event date. Please review the posted details of this event before entering, and in particular, the location of this run. We have had a high rate of no-shows for the event in the past, and hope that all who enter know what they have signed up for, so that we can start as close to 40 runners as possible on the day of the event, if interest is that high.

For the 2023 event, in lieu of a wait list, we just overfilled the field with expectation that roughly one third of those in the field of 60 would drop prior to MMB run morning and leave us with our optimal starting field of 40 or so entrants. For 2024, we maxxed out at 65, and then closed the event to any further entry. We ended up with 46 starters.

If you are on the entrants list, and you know that you will not be coming out to run with us, please contact the RD to let him know. Virtually everyone who has dropped in years past has shown that courtesy, and please know that it is much appreciated, as it makes event prep and the runner accountability during the run much less stressful. Thanks to you all!

Note

Again, since there historically has been decent demand to run MMB, make sure you have fully absorbed the wheres, the whens, the hows of this event before you commit to enter. The Wild Oak Trailhead parking lot is about 2:30 to 3 hours of drive time during non-rush from the DC Metro area; it is about 2 hours from the Richmond area, and about 1 hour from Charlottesville. This is a very remote, very difficult run in the heat of August. The average distance between aid stations is plus or minus 10 miles. If you get lost you will, quite literally, likely end up in West Virginia. This is not a recommended run for newbies to the trails and the ultra distance (though the 2022 MMB 60k winner was running his first ultra trail event, so there was that).

Final word

So now that you have read this far, and hopefully have a good sense of the nature of this event. If you are still interested in joining us for MMB, then smash that entry button below!