Trail Runners,

The Raven Rocks 10k Trail Run is BACK for its NINTH YEAR! 🙂

Date is Sunday, November 10, 2024 @9am for the RAVEN ROCKS 10k TRAIL RUN… Woo hoo!

We are also bringing back the Raven 100k Virtual Challenge for the fifth year — with all of the fun elements from last year — activities that make the Virtual Raven 100k challenge a bit more interesting! 

Topline News

You can sign up for the Raven Rocks 10k Run or the Raven 100k November Challenge — or you can do BOTH!

Early bird (before 10/1) signups get the early bird discount. Signups for both events at the same time also get a discount which appears at checkout. 

Shirts this year will be one design and runners can choose to purchase the long-sleeved cotton shirts (traditional) and/or short sleeved tech fabric shirts. You can purchase one, both, or neither shirt. If you are a purely virtual Raven 100k Challenge runner, we will mail you your shirt (if ordered) — along with your finisher “woodallion” if you hit the 100k goal.

As always, these Raven events support the Friends of Trailside Museum and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. We encourage runners to join as members of the museum during registration to support their non-profit educational and conservation purpose. 

This year we are also planning to support the Friends of the Cross River Mountain Fire Tower. We will be working with the Westchester Parks Foundation and will be raising funds to support Westchester County and NY State in the restoration of the fire tower to Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. That fundraising account will be set up under the WPF with a range of support levels. More to come on this news!

See you on the trails!

….Rob, Ciorsdan, and the Raven Cobweb Crew volunteers

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More detail about each event:

## Raven Rocks Run – 10k Trail Run ##

The Raven Rocks Run is a challenging 10k trail run at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River, NY.

Race is in-person Sunday, November 10, 2024 starting at 9am. 

The race will start in the Meadow near the fallen oak tree and its massive remains. The course passes by the spot where the Leatherman’s Loop begins. Instead of heading towards the river as the Loop does, the Raven Rocks Run 10k course climbs and climbs up to the two highest points in the park (Raven Rocks Overlook and the Fire Tower Summit) before heading back for a (mostly) downhill and (relatively) flat finish.

The course passes by the site of the former Cross River Mountain Fire Tower which is the highest point in the park. We are working towards getting back the tower to its former spot in the park. See Course Map page for course details and the fire tower’s former (and if we can make it happen the future) location.

More information about the race and tower project is on the About page and the FAQ page of our ravenrocksrun.org website and also the crmfiretower.org information site.

We are looking forward to November when we will run this event for the EIGHTH time!

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## Raven 100k Challenge ##

The Raven 100k Challenge is simple: first, register for the challenge. Then run, hike, or walk 100k during the month of November 2024.

The official tracking for the Raven 100k November Challenge is via RunSignUp.com – we will provide instructions to all who have signed up.

As a supplement (NOT the official tracking) we have a Strava group: (https://www.strava.com/clubs/raven2024) where you can join and share your runs – but we can’t get the data automatically from the Strava group, so unfortunately we can’t use it for official tracking.

Note: You can register as late as November 16 and enter your mileage to date for the month when you register. 100k for 30 days works out to an average of around 3k per day or 25k (15 miles) per week.

If you complete the challenge, you will receive a wooden finisher medallion with achievement badges custom to your Raven Challenge journey. Shirts are optional. 

The Raven 100k Challenge helps support the Friends of Trailside Museum and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, with easy donations during the registration for the challenge and 10k race. The Friends group is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization based at the Trailside Museum at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. 

Join the Friends of Trailside Museum and Ward Pound Ridge Reservation for 2025 membership during signup. One of the most popular levels is the $100 “Wood Turtle” membership which gives the member a parking pass for the park either for the rest of 2024 or all of 2025 depending on when you join during the year.

Bonus achievements for the Raven 100k Challenge

In addition to running, walking, or hiking 100k during November, there are several bonus achievement badges you can unlock if you are able: 

• Run 10k on the Raven Rocks Run course (raven badge).This can be done at the Raven Rocks 10k Run race on Nov 12. It can also be done any time at the park. The Course will be marked from 11/9/24 – 11/10/24 for those unfamiliar with it.
• Run 5x on the 10k Raven Rocks Run course (ultra raven badge)
• Run 10x on the 10k Raven Rocks Run course (full flock badge)
• Run 33x on the 10k Raven Rocks Run course (Peeter badge). Note: The Peeter badge is named after Peeter Muursepp who ran the Raven Rocks course 33x during the month of November 2020 during the First Raven 100k Challenge. Peeter exceeded his 2020 feat in 2021 with 63 Loops around the Raven Rocks Run 10k course during the month of November 2021. That is more than 2x RRR loops per day average.
  • Note: If you run 64x or more on the Raven Rocks Run course the Peeter badge is renamed after you. 
• Take a selfie at the Raven Rocks Overlook and send it in (photographer badge)
• Take a selfie at any Raven related site, store, zoo, etc. and send it in (traveler/citizen badge)
• Submit a photo of yourself on a run with your “I Voted” sticker or if you can’t vote in the November election, next to someone with an “I Voted” sticker. (bald eagle badge) 
• Run on Thanksgiving (turkey badge).Submit a Thanksgiving run photo to get a badge upgrade to the Photo Turkey badge.
• Do a run in the dark to Raven Rocks (night owl badge). Note: you can use a headlamp or flashlight while running!
• Do a run early in the morning to Raven Rocks (cobweb crew badge)
• 200k distance in November (snowy owl badge)
• 300k distance in November (white raven badge)
• Read a stanza from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” poem and send us a link of you doing this. Use soundcloud, youtube, facebook, whatever service you want. We have most of the poem read by challenge participants last year but need a few more to complete the full 16 stanzas. (wise owl badge)
• Find your Raven challenge object in the Rez (GPS Badge). See below for details

We will incorporate the badges on the physical wooden finisher “woodallion” that we create and send to you once you complete the Raven Challenge. See sample from 2021’s Raven Challenge here.

Any other badge ideas? We are open to suggestions.

In addition, we will have awards for:

• First 3 men and First 3 women to 100k
• Top 3 men and Top 3 women in total kilometers.

IMPORTANT: Anyone in contention for these Top 3 awards must make their entries in a timely manner: All entries must be made within 36 hours of your run/walk. 

This is to prevent participants from “batch entering” their results.

Keep your results up to date if you are in the running!

Note: In order to win these awards distance submissions need to be verifiable via GPX files in case it is really close.

See instructions submitting results on RunSignUp Raven 100k Challenge page.

Halfway bonus GPS challenge badge search

For those in the area near Ward Pound Ridge Reservation we have a special treat in mind that will lead to a bonus badge. If you opt-in via the status form (to be sent to participants in the challenge in November), then after you pass the 50 kilometer mark on your Raven 100k Challenge posted stats, we will send you your own coordinates via “What3Words” app to somewhere in the park where we have hidden a small challenge surprise for you to find. It will be obvious once you get there, but not easy to find unless you have the coordinates.

Everyone will have a different and unique spot somewhere in the park. Some will be further off-trail than others depending on how familiar you are with the park. Let us know when you find your halfway bonus (or if you can’t find it! – we don’t want to leave the challenge items out there!)

→ Sign up for the Raven Rocks Run and/or the Raven 100k Challenge Today!

You can participate in either event – they can be completely independent of each other. Or you can participate in both events. There is overlap in the 100k challenge and the 10k race since one of the Raven Challenge badges is awarded for completing the Raven Rocks Run course.

We are super happy to be out running on trails with you all! See you out there…

The Raven Rocks Run is a challenging 10k trail run at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River, NY.

Race is Sunday, November 10th, 2024 starting at 9am. 

The race will start in the Meadow near the fallen oak tree and its massive remains. The course passes by the spot where the Leatherman’s Loop begins. Instead of heading towards the river as the Loop does, the Raven Rocks Run 10k course climbs and climbs up to the two highest points in the park (Raven Rocks Overlook and the Fire Tower Summit) before heading back for a (mostly) downhill and (relatively) flat finish.

The course passes by the site of the former Blue Trail fire tower which is the highest point in the park. We have been heavily involved with a group working towards getting back the tower to its former spot in the park. See Course Map page for course details.

More information about the race and tower project is on the About page and the FAQ page of our ravenrocksrun.org website.

Sign up ASAP – summer and early fall signups get the early raven discount! 

We have gotten close to our limit the last few times we put on the race — so it could get full, or it may not. It depends on the runner demand!