The Latest regarding Covid 19 and Our Plans
5/22/20 Thank Yous, Race Cancellations and A New Rainshadow
First, a Bunch of Thank Yous
Thanks for all of your support over the years and through this on-going crisis. Here at Rainshadow we are fortunate to still have a path forward though it's going to be different than any of us could have ever imagined just a few months ago. We are adapting in a variety of ways to match the new circumstances that we face. Our focus will be, as always, to provide fun races in world class locations while providing the best customer service that we can. But there must be major changes to do this as safely, sustainably and consistently as we can in this uncertain world.
Before I explain all the changes I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to thank Elizabeth Reese, William Worrell, Jessie McClurg and Ben Perri for all that they have done for Rainshadow, the trail/ultra running community as a whole and for me personally. You could not ask for a better group of people to work with, laugh with, run with, cry with. Jessie and Ben were pretty new to working for Rainshadow, both were hired last year, but you couldn't tell as they fit right into our family, were a joy to have around and were poised to take on larger roles this year. William our official staff "worrier" through his dogged determination oversaw a financial transformation behind the scenes to make a Rainshadow a leaner and more cost efficient organization and on race days was our go to guy to make sure everyone was safe and that everything was going smoothly out on the course and at the aid stations. And as one of my closest friends and someone I've spent many miles with on the trails William also could speak frankly with me and get me back on track when maybe my focus had slipped.
Elizabeth gets her own paragraph. Elizabeth as many of you know was my co-race director and for many of you she was your main contact here whether you were a runner, volunteer, sponsor or permit grantor. Elizabeth was Rainshadow for the past few years. Initially hired to manage The Trail Running Film Festival she wasn't even initially going to work on race related stuff but it was quickly apparent we needed her help with the races as well as the film fest. And then a few months later when we suddenly lost two key staff members she took over their responsibilities and basically kept the ship afloat through a tough transition. Then she lead our organization as we repaired our public image, revised our policies and the general feel to be more friendly, welcoming and authentic than ever before while simultaneously making us more organized and capable. Also thanks to Elizabeth we also had the help of her husband Joel and her dad Rob who both gave countless hours to support the races and always brightened our days.
I urge you all to reach out to Elizabeth, William, Jessie and Ben and stay in touch with them and support them with their future endeavors. I expect each of them to go forward and do many good things. I will forever be grateful for all that they've done for me and the Rainshadow community.
First, a Bunch of Thank Yous
Thanks for all of your support over the years and through this on-going crisis. Here at Rainshadow we are fortunate to still have a path forward though it's going to be different than any of us could have ever imagined just a few months ago. We are adapting in a variety of ways to match the new circumstances that we face. Our focus will be, as always, to provide fun races in world class locations while providing the best customer service that we can. But there must be major changes to do this as safely, sustainably and consistently as we can in this uncertain world.
Before I explain all the changes I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to thank Elizabeth Reese, William Worrell, Jessie McClurg and Ben Perri for all that they have done for Rainshadow, the trail/ultra running community as a whole and for me personally. You could not ask for a better group of people to work with, laugh with, run with, cry with. Jessie and Ben were pretty new to working for Rainshadow, both were hired last year, but you couldn't tell as they fit right into our family, were a joy to have around and were poised to take on larger roles this year. William our official staff "worrier" through his dogged determination oversaw a financial transformation behind the scenes to make a Rainshadow a leaner and more cost efficient organization and on race days was our go to guy to make sure everyone was safe and that everything was going smoothly out on the course and at the aid stations. And as one of my closest friends and someone I've spent many miles with on the trails William also could speak frankly with me and get me back on track when maybe my focus had slipped.
Elizabeth gets her own paragraph. Elizabeth as many of you know was my co-race director and for many of you she was your main contact here whether you were a runner, volunteer, sponsor or permit grantor. Elizabeth was Rainshadow for the past few years. Initially hired to manage The Trail Running Film Festival she wasn't even initially going to work on race related stuff but it was quickly apparent we needed her help with the races as well as the film fest. And then a few months later when we suddenly lost two key staff members she took over their responsibilities and basically kept the ship afloat through a tough transition. Then she lead our organization as we repaired our public image, revised our policies and the general feel to be more friendly, welcoming and authentic than ever before while simultaneously making us more organized and capable. Also thanks to Elizabeth we also had the help of her husband Joel and her dad Rob who both gave countless hours to support the races and always brightened our days.
I urge you all to reach out to Elizabeth, William, Jessie and Ben and stay in touch with them and support them with their future endeavors. I expect each of them to go forward and do many good things. I will forever be grateful for all that they've done for me and the Rainshadow community.
A New Way Forward
With the combination of COVID and our staff changes I've sought ways to still honor the commitment to the runners already registered for our races as well as honoring the spirit of Rainshadow and all of you that are a part of the greater Rainshadow family. What has resulted is a new operating model for Rainshadow for at least the short term and possibly beyond.
This is what we are planning to do:
Thanks Again & I'll be in Touch Soon
This is a tough time for all of us. I feel bad for all of you that had been hoping to run one of the races we have canceled. I really wanted things to work out differently.
I hope everyone is taking care of themselves, their friends, families and neighbors as best they can under these circumstances. I know if we stick together we will get through this. If nothing else I hope you all know that I love you and that I believe in you. Thank you again for your support and I'll be in touch again soon with more info and exciting new opportunities for you!
James
With the combination of COVID and our staff changes I've sought ways to still honor the commitment to the runners already registered for our races as well as honoring the spirit of Rainshadow and all of you that are a part of the greater Rainshadow family. What has resulted is a new operating model for Rainshadow for at least the short term and possibly beyond.
This is what we are planning to do:
- All 2020 races will be canceled except Secret Beach 100k/50m in October and Deception Pass 25k in December. There will not be a Deception Pass 50k option.
- All runners in one of the 2020 races that will be canceled(Yakima 50k/25k, Sun Mountain 50m/50k/25k, Millersylvania 50k/30k/10k, John Cappis 50k, White River 50m, Beacon Rock 25k, Waldo 100k and Oregon Coast 50k/20m) will have multiple options to choose from on how they would like to proceed including rolling over to next year, credit towards another race and more. We will be emailing each of the runners registered for these races soon with more details and the process to follow.
- Going forward we will be operating races on a much smaller scale(meaning less runners per race/day) and in a more "bare bones", "old-school" manner that will put more of the onus on the runner to be self sufficient. This will allow us to operate more safely and sustainably while meeting COVID era restrictions and guidelines while still offering fun races and beautiful courses. Some of you will like the changes and some of you might not. More details coming soon.
- For those interested we will be providing you with a variety of ways to support us. We'll have some fun new events including at least one virtual race this summer, group runs through our running club, a new merchandise partnership with Territory Run Co. and multiple new shows from The Trail Running Film Festival which I co-direct so when you buy a ticket you're helping me out! More details coming soon.
- Other race related changes: We're gonna take a year off from directing the Orcas Island 100(but we do plan to bring it back in 2022). Also Waldo 100k will no longer be directed by Rainshadow, it's now directed by Elizabeth Reese for the non-profit organization Waldo Ultras. And we will not be offering 50k options at Beacon Rock and Deception Pass going forward. Stay tuned for the announcement of our 2021 race calendar.
- Expect changes to our policies, procedures, and communications to account for and prepare everyone for the new way we'll be operating our business in general and specifically how we'll operate our races and other events and how we will all have to adapt to physical distancing and other measures to limit the spread of the virus as well as ways we'll need to be prepared for future economic and social disruptions. Things will be vastly different in some major ways but we will stay true to our goals of providing safe and fun events and the best customer service as we can.
- Our goal as always is to treat each and every runner, volunteer, crew/family member, spectator, staff member, vendor, land manager and member of the general public with care, compassion and respect. And we hope each person we have at our races and interact with can treat each other and anyone else they come in contact with with care, compassion and respect. Discrimination or harassment or hatred will not be tolerated and if myself or anyone associated with our events or participating in our events in any way(running, volunteering, spectating, etc.) has done or does something to hurt or offend you or anyone please let me know immediately at [email protected]
Thanks Again & I'll be in Touch Soon
This is a tough time for all of us. I feel bad for all of you that had been hoping to run one of the races we have canceled. I really wanted things to work out differently.
I hope everyone is taking care of themselves, their friends, families and neighbors as best they can under these circumstances. I know if we stick together we will get through this. If nothing else I hope you all know that I love you and that I believe in you. Thank you again for your support and I'll be in touch again soon with more info and exciting new opportunities for you!
James
4/2/20 The Latest News: Deception Pass Lotteries Postponed, Status of Currently Open Races and More!
Hello friends
The current status of our world may be as foggy as a winter day in Western Washington but have no fear the future is as bright as a sunset on the Oregon Coast. We just gotta band together and do what we can to take care of each other and we'll get through this.
I wanted to update y'all real quick on things here in Rainshadowland:
And lastly I want to say thank you to all of you that have been supportive of us through all of this. It is truly appreciated! Rainshadow will go on, we will all go on!
James (and on behalf Elizabeth, William, Jessie and Ben who have been laid off, hopefully just temporarily)
Rainshadow Running
The current status of our world may be as foggy as a winter day in Western Washington but have no fear the future is as bright as a sunset on the Oregon Coast. We just gotta band together and do what we can to take care of each other and we'll get through this.
I wanted to update y'all real quick on things here in Rainshadowland:
- As of now all 2020 races, other than Yakima Skyline and Sun Mountain, are still planned to happen on schedule. This includes races this summer that are currently on lands that are closed to the public such as Millersylvania, White River, Beacon Rock and Waldo. I'll be sure to update everyone immediately if we need to cancel or postpone any of those. Also expect me to check in again with y'all in early May with more updates if you don't hear from me sooner.
- If we do have to cancel or postpone any of our other races this year we will offer runners signed up for those races the same offer we extended to the Yakima Skyline and Sun Mountain runners. Either accept an automatic entry into the postponed date or transfer your entry to someone else or accept a free entry into that race in 2021 or 2022 or if none of those options work out for you let me know and we'll talk about it and we'll try to work out a solution. NOTE: Waldo is not technically a Rainshadow race we simply direct it for the non-profit, Waldo Ultras. The board of Waldo Ultras will decide the policy if that race is cancelled or postponed not Rainshadow.
- No dates yet for the postponement of Yakima and Sun Mountain. I'll be in touch with those dates as soon as I have them confirmed.
- The lotteries for Deception Pass 50k and 25k have been postponed to June(the 2nd-9th for the 50k and the 16th-23rd for the 25k). I decided to do this not because I am nervous about the race happening but instead because I feel having a lottery at this time would be unfair to those who are facing financial hardship. It is my hope that, for various reasons, folks will be in better positions by then. If not we may delay the lottery again or hold the lottery but offer folks who need it a deferred payment option.
- The lotteries for Orcas Island 50k and 25k will likely be sometime this summer, probably in July. Look for registration to open soon for Orcas Island 100.
- The Trail Running Film Festival will be announcing something fun on Monday! Stay tuned!
And lastly I want to say thank you to all of you that have been supportive of us through all of this. It is truly appreciated! Rainshadow will go on, we will all go on!
James (and on behalf Elizabeth, William, Jessie and Ben who have been laid off, hopefully just temporarily)
Rainshadow Running
Letter from March 22 explaining our plans for the 2021 Yakima Skyline 50k & 25k and Sun Mountain 50m, 50k, 25k & 1k races and the options we are offering to our runners in response to the Covid 19 situation we are in. As well as an update on our current plans for the rest of our races this year. As well as an update on our staff.
Hello friends
I hope this email finds you and your loved ones in good health, properly socially distanced and sanitized. I know these are uncertain, and sometimes scary times, we're living in and I appreciate everyone's patience, understanding and support. As always it is my goal to provide you, the Rainshadow runner, with the best customer service and race experiences I can and I hope that's one thing in this crazy world you can be certain of.
I have decided that the Yakima Skyline 50k & 25k and Sun Mountain 50m, 50k, 25k & 1k kids race will be postponed to this fall. The exact dates have not been approved yet by each of our permitting agencies so I do not have dates for you just yet. Hopefully this week I'll get back to you with those. But to give you a rough idea I'd say think late October for Sun Mountain and early or mid November for Yakima. And also to let you know so far each of the agencies and other key partners we have communicated with have been supportive of our plan to postpone to the fall so I'm quite certain we will be able to do so.
Obviously none of us can know with 100% certainty when this virus is gonna loosen it's grip on us and when life will return to normal but I feel confident that we will all be able to go back to running races again well before late October. And if I'm wrong and we aren't running races by then I think we'll all have bigger issues on our minds than these races. So here's to being hopeful!
All currently registered runners will be automatically transferred to the new race dates. If that works for you you don't have to do anything. That being said I know that there are various reasons why you may not be able to or want to run the race you're currently signed up for on the new date. If that is the case I have options for you. Here are all the options we are offering
OR
OR
The status of our summer races, Millersylvania 50k/30k/10k, White River 50m and Beacon Rock 25k as well as Waldo 100k which we direct for the non-profit Waldo Ultras as a fundraiser for the Willamette Pass Ski Patrol, is of course not 100% certain but until I have reason to decide otherwise I am still planning to hold them as scheduled. Same goes for our fall races Oregon Coast 50k/20m, Secret Beach 100k/50m and Deception Pass 50k/25k.
And lastly some of you may have noticed I've been saying "I" a lot instead of the normal "we" and that's because it's just me, James, here for now. In order to try and ease the financial strain of having multiple races postponed, Elizabeth, William, Jessie, and Ben sadly had to be let go. We all hope the world social distances the crap out of this virus and Rainshadow Land goes back to normal very soon and all the staff can come back to work! Until then I'll be doing my best to uphold the high standard they have set!
Thanks again everyone for all the support and please do look out for each other out there! And I will be in touch again soon with the confirmed dates for these races this fall.
James (and on behalf Elizabeth, William, Jessie and Ben)
Rainshadow Running
Hello friends
I hope this email finds you and your loved ones in good health, properly socially distanced and sanitized. I know these are uncertain, and sometimes scary times, we're living in and I appreciate everyone's patience, understanding and support. As always it is my goal to provide you, the Rainshadow runner, with the best customer service and race experiences I can and I hope that's one thing in this crazy world you can be certain of.
I have decided that the Yakima Skyline 50k & 25k and Sun Mountain 50m, 50k, 25k & 1k kids race will be postponed to this fall. The exact dates have not been approved yet by each of our permitting agencies so I do not have dates for you just yet. Hopefully this week I'll get back to you with those. But to give you a rough idea I'd say think late October for Sun Mountain and early or mid November for Yakima. And also to let you know so far each of the agencies and other key partners we have communicated with have been supportive of our plan to postpone to the fall so I'm quite certain we will be able to do so.
Obviously none of us can know with 100% certainty when this virus is gonna loosen it's grip on us and when life will return to normal but I feel confident that we will all be able to go back to running races again well before late October. And if I'm wrong and we aren't running races by then I think we'll all have bigger issues on our minds than these races. So here's to being hopeful!
All currently registered runners will be automatically transferred to the new race dates. If that works for you you don't have to do anything. That being said I know that there are various reasons why you may not be able to or want to run the race you're currently signed up for on the new date. If that is the case I have options for you. Here are all the options we are offering
- Stay in the race for the new date. No need for you to do anything as this is the automatic/default option unless I hear from you that you would like one of the other options. If you ordered shirts or other merchandise those will be ordered for you just as planned.
OR
- "Rollover" your entry and any merchandise you paid for to 2021 or 2022. To take advantage of this option please email [email protected] You must do this no later than 7 days before the new race date(once we're under 7 days before race day we will assume you are planning on running the race). Please put "Rollover" and your race name and distance in the subject of the email.
OR
- "Transfer" your entry into the rescheduled race to another runner as well as any merchandise you paid for. To take advantage of this option please email [email protected] You must do this no later than 7 days before the new race date(once we're under 7 days before race day we will assume you are planning on running the race). Please put "Transfer" and your race name and distance in the subject of the email and please include in the email the first and last name of the runner you are transferring to and cc them on the email with the email address that they use for their UltraSignup account. Please note that you can take money from the runner you are transferring your entry to but please do not charge them more than you we're charged. If you ordered a shirt or other merchandise and would like to transfer that to the new runner please know that all shirts and merchandise are ordered 45 days prior to the race and once they are purchased, we cannot adjust any sizes (you can still transfer the name, but they will have to keep the size you ordered). If there are any leftover shirts on race day, after the race starts, they can exchange the size at that time.
- "Let's talk about it" If none of these options work for you please email me and we'll talk it through and try to work something out. I know these are hard times for many and I know what I've offered above might not work for everyone. Please keep in mind these are hard times for me too and that we're all in this together. I will do the best I can to meet you where you're at.
The status of our summer races, Millersylvania 50k/30k/10k, White River 50m and Beacon Rock 25k as well as Waldo 100k which we direct for the non-profit Waldo Ultras as a fundraiser for the Willamette Pass Ski Patrol, is of course not 100% certain but until I have reason to decide otherwise I am still planning to hold them as scheduled. Same goes for our fall races Oregon Coast 50k/20m, Secret Beach 100k/50m and Deception Pass 50k/25k.
And lastly some of you may have noticed I've been saying "I" a lot instead of the normal "we" and that's because it's just me, James, here for now. In order to try and ease the financial strain of having multiple races postponed, Elizabeth, William, Jessie, and Ben sadly had to be let go. We all hope the world social distances the crap out of this virus and Rainshadow Land goes back to normal very soon and all the staff can come back to work! Until then I'll be doing my best to uphold the high standard they have set!
Thanks again everyone for all the support and please do look out for each other out there! And I will be in touch again soon with the confirmed dates for these races this fall.
James (and on behalf Elizabeth, William, Jessie and Ben)
Rainshadow Running