BIG NEWS!

Team RED will be taking over the 2016 version of the Chester Woods Races.
Expect to have the same fun you've always had running the beautiful trails of Chester Woods and much, much more.

2015 Results

Jim Onigkeit won the 5k in a time of 19:20... Katie Baures was the female 5k winner in 22:47

Jeff Maclellan of Minneapolis won the 10 mile in 1:02:43

Emily Renner of Lauderdale MN was the female 10 mile winner in 1:12:41

Brian Mansky of Onalaska WI won the 50k in 3:58:37

Becky Brudwick of North Mankato MN was the female 50k winner in a new record time of 4:49:46

Click on link below to view results
 

Jay Callahan 2nd place age group winner

Chester Woods Trail Race Results

Chester Woods Races Time Line

* Friday June 3rd  4-7 PM     Pick up packets ( if possible) from Terra Loco 



Saturday June 4th

* 5:00 AM 50k runners arrive and get packets ( if they haven't done so already)  50k runners park as close to the start as possible.

* 6:00 AM 50k start (here)

* 6:10 AM- 7:00 AM    5k and 10 milers arrive PARK IN OVER FLOW AREA ( HERE)  At 7:00AM we will block off the overflow parking area so 50k runners will have an open road to run on. After 7:00 AM 5k and 10 milers will be directed to park  HERE


BATHROOMS AND SHOWERS ARE HERE (beach house) You are also welcome to use the campground bathroom  and showers HERE

5k and 10 mile late packet pick up is at picnic shelter #5 HERE

* 8:00 AM 5k Start is HERE NOTE: 5k start is different than the 50k and 10 mile. We could move it, but it would be a long 5k  :)  Ha!

* 8:15 AM 10 mile start is the same as the 50k HERE

* 9:00 AM 5k awards (hopefully) in shelter by finish HERE

* 10:30 AM 10 mile awards Finish Line Shelter

* 50k winners will get their awards when they finish :)

50k course instructions

 Go to this link for special instructions for 50k runners. 50k course instructions

Latest Chester Woods Races Info

Please go to our face book page for all of the lates race tips. They will be coming in rapid fire. The face book link is on the right side of the page.

50k Route (kinda)

Chester Woods 50k or Whatever by waynelsona at Garmin Connect - Details



This will show you how the 50k and 10 mile races are run.  One loop around the meadow and out to the woods. The 10 mile is exactly the same except you won't go in the east meadow at all. The 10 milers will do a complete loop around the picnic area and then head for the woods

10 Mile Map

 You will start in front of the beach house, make a complete loop around the picnic area, and head for the woods. THe finish for all of the races is by picnic shelter # 6 10 Mile Map

MDRA Grand Prix

 
  The Chester Woods 10 Mile Race is now one of six MDRA GRAND PRIX races. The MDRA is the largest running club in Minnesota and hosts many very high quality races.Check out the link to see how you can sign up to compete in the GP series. This means the races will fill up very quickly so sign up soon there is already a significant increase in registrations.

A few updates

  Registration is in high gear for the Chester Woods Races. We have almost 90 people from 5 states signed up so far and it's only February. The 50k race is capped at 100 people and it's 45% full, so sign up soon!
I find it's way easier to post some updates on the Facebook page so be sure to click on the link on the right side of the page. You can see whose registered there.Be sure to "like" the FB page and tell other trail friends to like it also.
When we finally get rid of old man winter I plan to slightly tweak the courses once more. I am going to eliminate the east meadow/campground section from the 10 mile course and add on the extra loop that the 50k runners use . This will cut down on running on asphalt and add some really beautiful sections of the Chester Woods trails. There is another hill on that extra loop :-)
I am going to take out the campground section in the 50k but I'll have to leave some of the meadow to get 31 miles :-)
The 5k will stay exactly the same.

Chester 50K Is Now Part Of The UMTR Ultra Series

  I'm happy to report that the Chester Woods 50K race is now a part of the Upper Midwest Trail Runner's Ultra Series. UMTR Ultra Series  If you join the UMTR you can participate in either the ultra series or the trail series. UMTR series races are high quality events located throughout the Midwest area of the U.S
 The Chester Woods 10 Mile Race is a UMTR Trail Series Race.
On-line registration for all Chester events is now available. On-Line Registration
Remember the fields are limited for the CW races so sign up early
Field Limits
50K-     100
10 Mile-200
5K-       200

It's cold outside now. Let your mind dream of silky smooth trails in a green lush forest. Sign up for a trail race today!

Another Record

David is in the blue top in the middle of the picture

I missed one on the previous post.
Bloomington's David Peterson gave the young guns all they could handle and ran a smoking fast 19:24 in the 5k.
Beating his own record from 2011 by 42 seconds. Excellent work David :-)

New Records

Despite tough conditions a few new records were set in the races.
Dallas Davidson beat his own record 5k time by 10 seconds lowering the 5k overall record to 18:20.

Zach Klein smashed his own record >19 age group record in the 10 mile race. He set the old record when he was 14 and now at the ripe old age of 17.beat his old time by 20 minutes. His new time is a very speedy 1:05:55

One of the classiest, nicest people I know is the new record holder in the female 5k ,50-55 age group with a time of 28:24. Masami Kita is pictured here with her husband Hirohito. Congratulations Masami !

Here's a link to 2013 results

Chester Woods 2013 results

Park Entry Fee

Have one of these guys ready when you enter the park. I keep the race fees down just a bit because there is an entry fee to get into the park.
  50k Runners- there might not be someone at the gate when you get there, if thats the case, just drive in and pay when you leave. Don't bother with the self payment form at the gate. It will slow things down too much.
Volunteers- Tell them you are a volunteer when you come in. Volunteers don't get charged

Bathrooms

There are nice flush toilets in the beach house. When you get parked make a visit there. There is one mens and womens pit style toilet near the 5k and 10 mile start. There are several pit toilets near the various shelters but you might have to walk a ways. You can also stop in to the campground bathrooms if you prefer the nicer smelling toilets :)
There are also showers in the beach house and campground bathrooms. Once you are in the woods there is a bathroom behind every tree ;) but beware there is poison ivy in a lot of spots
Beach house bathrooms/showers
Campground bathrooms/showers
Pit toilet nearest to 10 mile start
Pit toilet next to the 5k start

Packet Pick Up / Parking

I would like to have  as many local people as possible pick up their packets from the Running Room on Friday from 5-9.
If you are coming from out of town you can certainly pick up your packet race day. Come early so we can get the races started on time :-)
There will be a few of us at the beachhouse area starting at 5:00AM Saturday morning.

We will be directing people to park in the beach house parking area from 5:00AM till 7:15AM
Beach house parking area I want the 50k runners closest to the beach house in case they want to grab gear out of their cars as they do their loops. After the 50k runners get parked we will direct cars to the grass beach overflow area to fill that up.
At 7:15 We will block off the east part of the picnic area loop. This will take traffic away from where the runners are going down the road. If you arrive after 7:15 you will want to park as close to picnic shelter #6 as you can. This is the packet pick up area and is very close for the 5k and 10 mile start
Picnic shelter # 6 parking

Latest version of the 50k loop 1

50k Loop 1

I've slightly tweaked the 50k and 10 mile routes in an effort to make it a little easier and less confusing with three races going on at the same time.
After circling the picnic area runners will make a loop through the east meadow and campground area. From the campground runners will run down the Lake Trail for about 1/3 mile to the beach house. From the beach house runners will go directly down the road towards the park entrance( there will be blue arrows on the road) Just south of the park entrance runners will take a left and head towards the horse trailer parking area and into the woods.
The 50k loop 1 and 10 mile route are very similar. The 10 milers will not do the extra loop from 6.5 to 8.5 miles.The 10 milers will not run all the way back to the beach house. They will take a left turn ( there will be a large sign directing you to the finish) and run to the finish line near picnic shelter # 5.
Loop 2 and 3 are the same except Do not run the east meadow/ campground area.  go directly from the beach house down the road to the horse trailer trail.
50k runners after completing loop 3 turn at the finish sign and complete your race :)

Whats New at The Chester Woods Races This Year ?

Awards! Lots of them We have added 3rd place awards for each age group this year. I also added a Masters award to the 50k and the 10 mile races for runners over the age of 40. This brings a grand total of 118 wooden plaques that have been laser engraved, sanded and coated with polyurethane( 3 coats) .
There will be a lot of people going home with a nice award this year.
I will be doing my best to get the awards ceremony going when 70% of the runners have finished the race.The last few runners can join us in progress. People are welcome to run the races at whatever pace they are capable of but a lot of the lead runners just don't have time to hang around for too long.

Prairie Ridge, Zieman Loop and South Sand Prairie Intersection

Google map of intersection

Finish Detail

Add caption

Google map of Finish intersection